Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 13:07:30 -0400
From: Beverly Flanigan
Subject: Re: "incent"

For me, substituting the test phrase "give X an incentive to...," only
"incent a person" would be grammatical; but maybe I'm too restrictive in my
use of 'incentive'.


At 12:44 PM 6/25/98 -0400, you wrote:
>On Thu, 25 Jun 1998, Peter McGraw wrote:
>
>> Gosh, I'm surprised at so many linguists (well, roughly two so far)
>> rejecting "incent." C'mon, Bethany and Mark, are you sure you're not
>> rationalizing (linguistifying? Or should I say "linguing"?) the secret
>> prescriptivist impulses we probably all harbor?
>
>Well, all I can tell you is that I do not perceive that to be the case.
>And I try to stay on close terms with the Miss Fidditch that lives within
>me.
>
>I don't even know whether we incent persons or things or processes. Do
>you? I. e., which of the ff Ss are grammatical?
>
>Let's incent the workers to stay on the job.
>
>Let's incent higher production.
>
>Let's incent winning basketball.
>
>Bethany
>