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Lost word in Neil Armstrong's ‘mankind' quote?
Thread poster: Edward Potter
Igor Puzhai
Igor Puzhai
Local time: 01:44
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... Aug 27, 2012

He dropped the article, no big deal.
 
Ty Kendall
Ty Kendall  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
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Hebrew to English
As a Slavic language speaker, that's easy for you to say.... Aug 27, 2012

Igor Puzhay wrote:

He dropped the article, no big deal.


Since you don't have them. Linguistically speaking, it can be a big deal. In this specific sentence I don't think it's the crime of the century, since the meaning is clear regardless, but that isn't always so.

If anything, it's a testament to the importance of articles in English (or the importance that English speakers attach to them) that an argument about a monosyllabic article ( a schwa in many cases) has plagued the career of such a distinguished and revered astronaut.
 
Pavle Perencevic
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Armstrong most likely bungled it... Aug 27, 2012

... despite - or perhaps because of - the intense rehearsing that must have preceded the actual historic event. But no big deal. He just boldly left out an article where no one had left one out before.

However, I'm sure this would have never happened had the Russians been the first to land on the Moon. These words of some KGB apparatchik may well have been uttered in a parallel universe (imagine them spoken in a very thick Russian accent for good measure): "And when you land on the... See more
... despite - or perhaps because of - the intense rehearsing that must have preceded the actual historic event. But no big deal. He just boldly left out an article where no one had left one out before.

However, I'm sure this would have never happened had the Russians been the first to land on the Moon. These words of some KGB apparatchik may well have been uttered in a parallel universe (imagine them spoken in a very thick Russian accent for good measure): "And when you land on the Moon, comrade Raskolnikov, and disembark Rasputin 7, do not forget the indefinite article. Repeat, do NOT forget the indefinite article." ▲ Collapse
 
Ty Kendall
Ty Kendall  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:44
Hebrew to English
Unless.... Aug 27, 2012

....the conspiracy theorists are right and there never was a real moon landing, in which case it all becomes rather moot.

[Edited at 2012-08-27 12:21 GMT]
 
neilmac
neilmac
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Storm in a teacup Aug 27, 2012

I'm pretty sure Mr Potter has genuinely asked himself about this apparent ellipsis, and intended no slight to my namesake's illustrious memory when using the vernacular term "screw up". So I won't take up arms on his definition of synonymy, at least not this time!

I still think it's one of the great quotes of all time!
 
Edward Potter
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Another vernacular styled post Aug 27, 2012

neilmac wrote:

I still think it's one of the great quotes of all time!


It really is a cool quote. But dang, I really wish he had said the "a". Shoot, I'd trade places with him though, living with the slightly botched quote.

But hey, he really didn't think that one up himself, did he?
 
Jaroslaw Michalak
Jaroslaw Michalak  Identity Verified
Poland
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No one will ever know... Aug 27, 2012

Edward Potter wrote:
But hey, he really didn't think that one up himself, did he?


Well, the sources, as usual, vary on that:


A retired engineer from Berkshire, Gary Peach, says that it was he who came up with the line, "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil Armstrong is on record as saying that he "thought about it after landing" on the Moon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherhowse/5880418/Moon-landings-Thats-one-small-quotation-for-a-man.-.-..html# (the article is quite entertaining in itself...)

But then we have:


But he knew what he said. "There must be an 'a', " Mr. Armstrong says of the event in the 1986 book Chariots for Apollo. "I rehearsed it that way. I meant it that way. And I'm sure I said it that way."


Unless he meant he rehearsed it just before saying it...

This discussion is also interesting:

I've done a fair amount of reading on the Apollo project, and I've met Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. Although I don't have a cite at hand (and I'm too tired at the moment to go through a couple of books that might discuss the quesion), I can say with certainty that I've never heard anything to suggest that Armstrong didn't come up with the statement himself. And I feel fairly certain that if there had been such an allegation, I would have heard about it and remembered it.

I may not be a terribly authoritative source, but I am quite confident that Armstrong is the author. Furthermore I seem to recall that he didn't even tell anyone at NASA what he was going to say in advance.
...
Oh, yeah, just remembered this: Pete Conrad got in a debate with a reporter over whether or not Neil got to pick his first words or not. To prove to the reporter that Neil did, in fact, get to say what he wanted to, Pete wrote down exactly what he was going to say when he landed on the Moon, passed it to the reporter and made a bet that he'd be able to say it. The reporter took the bet, and when Pete landed he said: That may have been a small step for Neil, but it's a long one for me!

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278884
 
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Lost word in Neil Armstrong's ‘mankind' quote?






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