Elia Murru
Grammar question: INTERNATIONALNESS Hello again! A passage of an article says: "One of the other really great things about NYC is the internationalness of the race where you're running and you see people from all countries" Now, no dictionaries recognize this noun. How would you say? Would this noun sound unfamiliar to you? Thanks for answering. Elia
Dec 1, 2015 10:09 PM
Answers · 7
3
I would say "internationalness" is not a word. However, I would say that in U.S. English it is considered acceptable to build new words on the spot, out of recognized prefixes, roots, and suffixes, particularly if there is no existing word that will do the job. I can't think of a good word or a shorter way to say it than "internationalness." Checking your source, I see, too, that it is not only spoken English, but it reads as a verbatim transcript from someone who is speaking casual, colloquial English. It contains many small departures from perfect written English: "they’re speaking like another language.... I mean, when do you do that in one day, in four hours? – ‘cause that’s my goal is four hours, I always run around a four-hour marathon – so in four hours, how many different languages and nationalities and people are you able to run and come into contact with? It’s really, really amazing. It’s so international." If I were writing or speaking carefully, with time to think, I might say "One of the other really great things about New York City is how international the race is."
December 1, 2015
2
"Internationalness" is mentioned in Wiktionary. But I think "internationality" is the "real" word.
December 2, 2015
2
I would understand the meaning of the phrase due to context. Perhaps diverseness or diversity would be a better word.
December 1, 2015
It's fine. It means that the (runners?) are very international - they come from lots of different countries and races. It's quite natural to extend words when the meaning is clear and obvious.
December 1, 2015
I think that is written to describe "cultural diversity" gathered in the same place. Although the word doesn't exist in itself.
December 7, 2015
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!