etymology - “Oriented” vs. “orientated”



I couldn't help but add an additional frame of reference.


Though I personally find the utterance of "orientated" to be a failed attempt at the proper word "oriented", the collective commentary is indeed food for though.


Commonality of the use of this incorrect word seems to be the explanation (justification?) for calling it an acceptable word. While this may drive crazy those that pride themselves on being moderately adept at identifying improper english, the reality is language evolves in this very way. Put another way, if an "incorrect" word is used commonly enough, by a large enough percentage of the population, and over a substantial enough period of time, it often becomes acceptable.


Common error is one of the reasons why multiple spellings for certain words, slang, and other verbal "anomalies" are added annually to the English dictionaries of the word.




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