A caller has client who uses what sounds like a strange, three-syllable word: indice. The caller knows that the plural of index is indices. But, he wonders...indice? And should he talk about it with his client?
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When ever this happens to me, I just use the correct form over and over again in multiple sentences. The caller should not correct the client. He should use "index" as much as possible and passively educate him/her on the correct term. "I noticed that the DOW index was trading higher today, while the S&P index and the Nasdaq index were both lower. It is a good thing that your index fund follows the DOW index."
Zeno, you raise an excellent point, one that comes up again and again in our work. When IS the right time to correct someone, and what's the right way? Of course, first you have to make sure you're right, and bear in mind McKean's Law. I also think there has to be an important reason for doing so, and that any correction should be done graciously and in private. I think it's sort of like whether and how you should tell someone they have toilet paper trailing from their high heel or their fly open or something along those lines. Your thoughts?
Martha, thank you!!! I LOVE McKean's law and, as someone who talks to the overeducated for a living, find it unequivocally (and unfortunately) true.
>>>> as someone who talks to the overeducated for a living<<
Now THIS sounds like an interesting line of work!
And Joie, if you loved McKean's Law, you'll love her blog, too. Erin rocks.