Enquiry/Inquiry

[Moog]

I've read two newspaper articles [in the Evening Standard and th Sunday Times] over the last week that discussed the deregulation of UK directory inquiries, yet the current BT ad campaign refers to directory enquiries... who's right?

[Quizmonster]

The two words are really synonymous. The spelling variation comes about because we got 'inquire' from Latin 'inquirere' and 'enquire' from Old French 'enquerre' and modern French 'enqu�rir'.

In actual usage, however - as in the Hutton nonsense currently going on - inquiry with an 'i' is generally used for a prolonged investigation whereas enquiry with an 'e' is normally used for a brief one-off question.

[darth vader]

we are not worthy.......

[Janetex]

Inquiry is correct - Enquire is acceptable. Grab an Oxford Dictionary, look up Enquire, the only information there will be "See Inquire". Sorry to disagree with you again Quizmonster.

[Quizmonster]

I'm not sure which Oxford Dictionary you use, Janet (there are several varieties, after all) but The Oxford English Dictionary - that's the 'real' one, the multi-volume one that fills an entire shelf in your Reference Library and the one I use - says (I quote):

"Enquire. An alternative form of inquire. Modern dictionaries give inquire as the standard form but enquire is still frequently used in the sense 'to ask a question'."

That is precisely the definitionof 'enquire' that I offered above. Unless one expects to spend ages on Directory Enquiries - which does appear to be happening with all the new 118 numbers! - one is, in common usage, making a telephone-number enquiry and not an inquiry.

I have no objection to your disagreeing with me, Ma'am, so long as I do not find myself disagreeing with the OED! And I didn't.

[Janetex]

Janet clutches her tattered Oxford to her breast and shouts "mine is more concise" (inwardly coveting volumes that would fill a whole shelf). On reading your original explanation more carefully, I realise that you do not necessarily agree with the "nonsense" you repeated there and, so, it would appear that I was wrong to say that I disagreed with you. Your apology is graciously accepted..

[Quizmonster]

Good morning, Janet! Friends once more. Had our disagreement gone any further, I was going to refer you to Page 2 of your BT Phone Book. There - at least in my copy - the entry listed at 'b' reads: "Bill enquiries" and that at 'd' reads: "Directory Enquiries". (Yes, one does have a small 'e' and the other a capital!)

The key linguistic and technical 'bibles' in this situation are both perfectly happy with the 'e'-version of the word in reference to one-off questions. Now, we should let Lord Hutton just get on with his prolonged inquiry! Cheers

[Janetex]

Ah, we'd never not be friends :)

[FredPuli]

Lord Hutton has an inquiry where he enquires of witnesses.. Who ever says ' We INN=quire' ? Stick with inquiry only for the formal inquiry, the inquest, as Lord Hutton's; use 'enquiry' for the rest e.g. the Directories' the timetable and the question here. I hear BBC reporters calling the Hutton inquiry an INN-quiry ( I do myself, failed classicist would-be legal-eagle that I am). To write 'inquiry' for the informal question is as quaint nowadays as writing 'gaol' for 'jail'. The 'en' form came to us from French, long ago, because that's how it was pronounced everyday for everyday instances. It still is. The 'in' form is some Latin scholar's version lifted straight from a Latin text; that was most likely legal ( Latin being the language of old for legal texts) , just like 'inquisition' and 'inquest' which have the same ultimate Latin root. There's no justification for making a BT question and answer service an 'inquiry service' or write 'inquiries' for it ; unless, of course, you are holding a formal post mortem on it.! :)