A&O - orientated or oriented? - Page 3

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  1. Dec 28, '09 by
    remind me of the word 'bring'

    We brung some leftovers from the holiday feast for you...

    it is brought!! brought!!
  2. Dec 28, '09 by
    Quote from roser13
    "Also, orientate's description is "to orientate" as in orientating a new nurse NOT for alert and oriented patient..... "

    Please, no. Just use the word "orient." It is the technically correct verb.
    Looked up several reputable areas and both are actually correct, technically. If they are used properly.
    freefalr and XB9S like this.
  3. Dec 28, '09 by
    Quote from roser13
    Orientate was not an actual word until it became so widely (mis)used that it was adopted by the various powers-that-be.

    To me, it's in the same category of butchering the English language as irregardless.
    To orientate is the description & correct word when one is learning how to use a compass & is called "orientation."

    It is also used as in "sexual orientation."

    It is the problem of knowing when it is an adjective and when it is a verb.

    Similar issues with nauseous & nauseated. Both are English words, just not used appropriately in many cases.
  4. Dec 28, '09 by
    "...so when i orientate a new member of staff i am not butchering the english language at all, because where i live (in britain) that is the correct term to use, however if i oriented them here i may indeed be accused of butchering the english language."

    sharrie, i could listen to british-accented folks say anything, all day. & it's my favorite accent to try to imitate on stage...last did it for "noises off!"
    no matter what is said, if it's said in a british accent, to me it always sounds very, very correct!!     :spin:
    XB9S likes this.
  5. Dec 28, '09 by
    Quote from BluegrassRN
    I know the dictionary says either is okay, but I think that "orientated" sounds completely stupid and uneducated, like someone is making up a word in order to sound smart. I want to cringe any time I hear someone say it. My husband teaches languages and has an English degree, and he says orientated may be technically correct, but he would count it as incorrect in an essay.

    It's a little O/T, but I think this is kind of crappy. He may not "like" the word, but if it IS used correctly, how can he "count it as wrong?" That's unfair to his students, to not know how or why something would be marked "wrong" that isn't. IMO.
  6. Dec 28, '09 by
    From Common Errors in English Usage: The Book (2nd Edition, November, 2008)


    Although it is standard in British English “orientate” is widely considered an error in the US, with simple “orient” being preferred.
  7. Dec 28, '09 by
    Quote from sharrie
    As a Brit this post made me giggle a little

    As R/N writer so beautifully posted earlier in the UK and many other countries orientated is the correct word, I have never heard oriented used here and it would sound so very very wrong to me, ...

    So although it's not used in your country or region does not mean that it is incorrect.
    Oops! Duly humbled! Thanks, Sharrie, and glad you chose to giggle instead of get annoyed!
    rn/writer and XB9S like this.
  8. Dec 29, '09 by
    Quote from cherrybreeze
    It's a little O/T, but I think this is kind of crappy. He may not "like" the word, but if it IS used correctly, how can he "count it as wrong?" That's unfair to his students, to not know how or why something would be marked "wrong" that isn't. IMO.
    It's technically correct to write an essay of three-word sentences (noun-verb-adjective), with the 5 paragraph format of "tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them the info in three paragraphs, and tell them what you told them" grade school format, but stylistically it is lacking. He would not be grading on the basics of a language, but rather on style and nuance.

    However, this is moot, as it was merely conjecture. He does not teach the English language, and there will be no grading on orient vs orientate.

    Completely off-topic and irrelevant to the thread, of course. My apologies.
  9. Jul 12, '10 by
    Hi, another Brit here! We never ever use the "oriented" version (we'd get some funny looks if we did!). Always "the patient was alert and orientated", or "we orientated the patient to the ward" etc.

    Similarly, we used to get ripped to pieces by our lecturer if we dared use American English spellings such as "color", "favorite" etc. She used to boom at us "We are not in America"!!!!!!! When in Rome.....