<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2713.1100" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ok . . . it was a kind of joke, a pun if you will . . . but since no one really got it, then I guess it was a really bad one. None the less, I will explain:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Normally when someone uses the word absurd, it is the context of something being 'completely ridiculous.' However, one of the earliest uses for absurd was 'bad sounding.' That is where the Etymology comes into play: I was speaking to the origins of the word absurd, not necessarily to its modern meaning. My point was to say that I thought such a high pitch was 'bad sounding;' every time I hear a piano a 443, I cringe. Personally, I find that absurd . . . no . . . . . Personally, I find that bad sounding.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bradley M. Snook</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>Ok so lets plug that one in.... that gives us. <BR>  <BLOCKQUOTE>It is etymologically absurd, in that it is not reasonable to have a <BR>completely irrelevant set of pitch levels; ....... snip</BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Grin... and this better ???  What does linquistics or linguistic history have to do with the absurdity of one pitch over any other ? <P><B>Etymology</B> <P>1.The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest <BR>   known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its <BR>   cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible. <BR>2.The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies. <BR>  <P>From humour to confusion... :) <P>-- <BR>Richard Brekne </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>