Quote:
Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8
All of the above points have been thought-provoking, enlightening, and interesting.
The statements about regional differences have a ring of truth about them. I'm not so certain that that explains all of it, however. For one thing, I grew up (4th grade through high school) in the Midwest. I scrolled up to see, without finding it, where I mentioned that one of Merriam-Webster's (of _American_ English) definitions of the noun "scheme" can have at least a somewhat negative connotation, as it gave one definition (without noting that it was a regional use) of something to the effect of "a plan or program, _especially one which does not follow the usual rules_" (emphasis mine, G)).
I owe this thought to a comment of someone, above . . . . I think that I may have projected the connotations of, for example, the verbs "scheme," the adjective "scheming," and the noun "schemer" upon the noun that we're discussing, "scheme." Don't the first three of those words have a negative connotation to "everyone" in the U.S.? If projection was what I did, it was a definite no-no.
I have long thought that one of the greatest challenges, to a teacher of a very advanced level of a foreign language, would be imparting the myriad and enormous number of _subtilties_ (sp?) of that language!
Gotta go.
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I agree that a scheme implies an unusual Plan, but I've never seen it as automatically negative, but then again, I always seem to zig when everyone else zags.