Poll: Do you use 'prepone' for the opposite of 'postpone'?
Do you use 'prepone' for the opposite of 'postpone'?
Poll Stats
This Poll:
- Votes: 5,044
- Comments: 96
- Added: December 2006
Comments:
Most Americans don't use "Advance" either and wouldn't know what you meant. The American usage is most commonly "move up".
rubbish - prepone thats just stupid
I find prepone rather silly; however, if one wants some word to use, I think antepone is more appropriate.
The word is common in Indian English, and is becoming more well known in recent years in AE and BE. It is now found in major dictionaries such as Oxford and the latest edition of the Random House Unabridged. You may not like all neologisms, but it's not useful to call them wrong or rubbish or silly on the basis of a lack of familiarity.
Not that I wasn't aware of, but prepone is considered to be proper english word back in India, but was amazed when MS-Word failed to give me a equivalent for "prepone" !!!
The word is 'Advance'
What? Is it supposed to mean the opposite of delay or setback? As in prepone=hurry up or move up? I have never heard that.
Bring forward is what i would use, but prepone seems like a logical opposite of postpone.
Cheers
I believe if "postpone" is not "silly, rubbish, stupid etc." then there is no harm in using *prepone* as a word instead of thinking it as an Indian word.
India gave world number system and numbers without which we -the world- would have been a big zero; and not even zero because zero came from India too. (and so did yoga, dharma, karma etc. ) I have respect for India for sure.
A language is a living being. By adding new words and redefining a few, we are actually enriching the language. It is not as if English has not evolved over the years. On the contrary, English draws its vitality from the many hues of ideas that the language supports in so many ways. Prepone is a very logical antonym of postpone and the only thing I find silly is the condescension.
Yes, the word "Prepone" is used by indians and is added to recent dictionaries but other coutries find it difficult to understand this word.
so my suggestion is to use the appropriate word for appropriate people
India - "Prepone"
British - "Bring Forward"
Portuguese - "Antepone"
US - "Reschedule"
and so on.
well this is what i have come up with. correct me if i am wrong
thank you
Prepone is wrong
@irfon
thanks, that was handy. do you have an idea what would be a suitable usage in Australia ? cheers,Sudi
Language can never be confined, else simple words of today like google, computor etc would not exist.
I've been using the word since 1985, its only today that outlook told me it was not a word.
do visit http://www.languagehat.com/archives/
000645.php for another interesting discussion on the same :)
the opposite word for postpone is advanced but not prepone
i live in england for a decade and i have never heard this word prepone, but when i was in india i have been and seen people using this word
Just a correction for the portuguese word. Yes there actually is a word for it: "antecipar"
When I thought about it, I was astonished to find out there isn't a word in English that describes the opposite of postpone. Why is that?
advance or some other word can mean some thing else in some other context but prepone which is logical straight means opposite of postpone. Words were not coined by God its us who if find them suitable introduce them.If for the sake of opposing we are opposing, it kills our creativity and stagnates a language
hey I just came across a word Right what is its opposite
1 .wrong
2 .left
but how a word can have two antonyms which are not related. Thank god this is not a problem with prepone.We need to coin different word for one of them for sentence like " it is right". Now it seems right itself is not right enough to use.I think removing redundancy is key to a good language.
I have encountered this issue several times during the last year as I'm working in an English spoken IT environment where planning of deployments is core business. therefore both postpone and "the other word" come across quite often. Colleagues from both India and the UK are having difficulty defining the opposite of postpone. Maybe because the latter happens more often ;-).
Today in a converence call I heard prepone for the first time, and I tend to agree with the people who are in fovor of prepone, although my language sence has difficulty with the word as it feels somewhat artifical. To advance sounds quite nice, it rings closer to home. but prepone can only be used in its' own particular context, making it absolutely clear what is meant by it.
As somebody born in America who has struggled all his life to figure out how to say a "meeting has been moved up" in a less wordy way, I say preponed should be added to the dictionary. It is a fine word. Thank you India.
We make use of language to communicate and make life easy. Prepone gives the meaning and everyone understand. There is nothing wrong or stupid or rubbish in using. I donno from where did AMERICANS or INDIANs come in now. Its just matter of usage.
Prepone is absolutely right.Since most of us are all aware of this word and there is a absolute meaning to it.why not implement it?
On a lighter side,even a lie told a hundred times becomes the truth!!
lot os words dont make sense, but we still use them....
like americans say "same difference" and britishers say " i phoned him" ... its just the matter of getting used to
When put in the sentence.
The football game has been postponed.
You can not say .........
The football game has been advanced, it has a totally different context.
Nor moved up!
Prepone is absolutely wrong. "Bring forward" is more apt. "Advance" is also acceptable. One should understand that the word "postpone" is a single word and is not a hyphenated compound word with the prefix "post", and so pre-pone is incorrect.
Prepone is absolutely logical. Language is a medium of communication and has always been evolving . Prepone would mean nothing but to reschedule to an earlier date. It can mean nothing else which makes it a perfect word. Its rediculous to term it as incorrect just because it has come from India.
Prior to 1998, the word "Prepone" was not in existence. Indians have habit to simplify everything! They now have a tool called "Indian English" like AE and BE! Indians were using the word and finally in 1998, the word "poped-up" in Oxford Dictionary. The word is real useful, logical and after all, its your choice - use it or don't!
"I have PREPONED my lunch and I need to go! That's all for now!" :)
'Antedate' is the appropriate word for opposite of 'postpone'. antepone is also a good one to use.
What is the big deal anyway? I see so many people saying I haven't heard of the word before, it doesn't make any sense etc.
Now I ask you, just because you haven't heard of the word before does it mean it does not exist?
When I was in school, I had a particularly strict English professor who reprimanded me every time I used the word prepone.
But I feel that the only way a language can grow is to accept the changes that happens within it.
20 years down the line, I am sure that prepone will be used extensively.
The opposite of postpone is prepone because of following reasons:
- Because language always grows and is never stagnant.
-secondly simply because elsewhere some other word is being used, usage of that single word cannot be thrusted upon everywhere.
- thrdly a word which is simple and easily conveys the correct meaning logically and is acceptable largly automattically gets its authenticity.
- If the antonym of any word includes the sylable of that word and easily understood that should always be preferred for acceptability. Hence by all means prepone is thoroughly correct antonym of postpone.
- Lastly contibution to the growth of a language can come from anywhere in the world and not necessarily from the place of its origin.
Appreciate the innovation and enrich the language by adding new, meaningful word for easy communication. Nothing wrong in using Prepone as opponent of postpone
PREPONE IS NOT RECOMMENDED IN US CULTURE OR MNC'S I prefer to use other words like Advance or Reschedule
Ther is no word called as "Prepone" it is "Advanced"
Prepone is actually wrong word..
One day i recieved SMS stating your flight has been preponed to 3:00am instead 4:45am
Is not correct preponed is opposite of postponed? I like the wording Prepone opposite word for postpone. Do you?
prepone is used widely in india.i have also noticed that most commenters are indian here.i am too.i feel it would be best to use prepone in an indian workplace and rescheduled in other work environments for better communication.
How about Timepass versus pastime ?
When it comes to language classes Indian kids favourite pastime (timepass) is to make fun of English pronunciation.
timepass does not mean pastime in india. it means procrastination.
I feel that a language is mainly used for communication and i think prepone can be used as an antonym for postpone. Well if you are not habituated with this word get o it now as this word is being used in a nation that has the largest english dailies and weeklies than america and britain.
BE has evolved over years and has may Latin and French words. Victorian English was very different and Britisher are not using same now. I read a case of year 1860 on piracy was baffled to know what type /kind of English was used in those days. I am sure no one is speaking that English any more. Why?They can only tell. I am open minded and forward looking person and not averse to new usage. If some one thinks English is what English men speaks then let him or her know world has changed and now English is what is commonly spoken and written world over. After all language is only a medium and not end itself and certainly is not reflection of one intelligence.
I don't think "pone" itself has any meaning of its own to add prefix or suffix to it. Usually we add prefix or suffix to a word to change its existing meaning. e.g. we ad un before "fortunate" to reverse its existing meaning.... do I make sense???
English did not born in one day or by one person or any language for that matter. There are many words that americans invent everyday like OMG, LOL, FYI, KICKOFF the meeting, SHOOTan email and many more. If indians invent one word and there are people to reject it. Then we should not be using INTERNET, COMPUTER, LAPTOP because there were no such words before inventing those. I would vote for "YES".
it is only logical to use prepone as the opposite to postpone - latin pre (before) ponere (to lay)
For a word to be correct it must be in common usage in the native country regardless of it being in any dictionary. The expression to be used is "Bring Forward" as prepone is meaningless to any English person. The word postpone is a single word, it isnt "pone" with a prefix. If others want to propose "English" words then at least ensure they are useful or dont already exist. Otherwise don't learn English, learn American English instead to get really confused.
Prepone need not be categorised as Indian English or any other English. The aim is to understand as fast as possible without any doubts; Advance is effective in certain context only and can cast a doubt in the minds of the receiver. If the aim is for effective communication prepone is preferable to advance.
no word like prepone in english .the opposite word to postpone is moveup or advance,bring forward
its a useful word,not rubbish or silly...
How can a word be wrong?? It's the way you understand the usage and perceive its meaning is wrong..and yeah why the big deal about Indian's using it more or they invented it? The pronounciation and implied meaning are very simple and straigh forward, then why not use it as a synonm of "Advanced" or "Move up"?? I remiind you, many french words are used in American legistation with interpretation in english langue..it's in human nature to adapt...how can one decide "Prepone" has incorrect usage across the globe? That's being ignorant because apparantly this word is used by millions of people - in India/U.S/ U.K.
<lols at first few posts> It's in the dictionary; I think it's a word!
oh, that's good.
i often find people using the word 'Prepone' as an opposite word to Postpone. however , on verification with dictionaries, i found there is no such word prepone. it is wrong usage. the correct one is 'Advance'.
I've just been asked about this word - it was in an email from an Indian person! It sounds wrong to me - I'd say 'bring forward' or 'advance'..
The word 'postpone' is from the Latin 'ponere', literally to 'put after'.and dates from the late 1400s.so is of some antiquity, whereas 'prepone' is quite recent. Logically I suppose 'prepone' can mean to 'put before' - but it still sounds odd to me - why didn't it evolve during the same period as 'postpone'? The existing alternatives are fine so can't see the point of introducint another word to mean exactly the same thing.
Sorry, accidental deletion - the above should read, 'postpone' is from the Latin 'post ponere'
I hesitate to use the word 'prepone' until the native speakers accept it. I better use 'bring forward, or reschedule'.
i want to know the similar meaning of prepone.
Dear friends, I second New Yorker, and appreciate Bhushan and sid for their efforts. Its all about enriching the language by adding words based regional entities and perceptions. Basis of English Greek and Latin for that matter. There is no need for any authorization to use a word when the perception of the mass is exactly same.
Stop being so pretentious. Prepone is a word with high utility and perfect etymology. It's not hard to see : prepone means moving an event forward in time; postpone means moving an event backward in time..... see what I did there ... pre/post .... are you getting this?
In the first place English is not a language of its own, and there is no reason to boast AE or BE at the same time to underestimate a word because of its Indian origin
Fisrt of all the word "POSTPONE" is wrong it has no meaning, Forget abount "PREPONE"
this is the opposite of postpone
inform me the subject
This word was going to be added to English one day but India just preponed it.
I think prepone is OK, but I would like to think about it. I was going to make a decision by next Saturday but I have decided to prepone it to Friday.
If you base the rules of composing words like "pre" & "post" as prefixes, then "pone" is the root word, I do agree that "prepone" is absolutely not a word. It should not be added in any dictionaries. It is only commonly used in India and therefore, it can be added in their Indian Dictionary. It is also an expression & it cannot be an official word, like in some countries, people used to combine their native language & English which can be used by themselves but not as an official word. Therefore "prepone" is definitely not correct. Let the Indians use this word but not by other nationalities.
Thanks to India "prepone".I love Indians for their creativity and contribution to our language .
can the meeting be brought foward instead of caan we prepone the meeting
The origin of the term "postpone" is from the Latin postponere meaning to place after. This is "post" meaning after + "ponere" meaning to place. Therefore, it logically follows that "praeponere" can be evolved into "prepone" and freely used without guilt or shame!
Isn't "postpone" what happens after someone soundly defeats you in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game?
It was used in the NYT in 1913. It is a good word. I was told it wasn't a word by my parents, and so didn't it, though I heard it all the time growing up in India. But I have since changed my mind (now that I am over 50). All arguments like "postponed" is not a hyphenated word are just so much nonsense. You might as well say one oughtn't to use Irangate, or (the current scandal)gate, because, horrors, Watergate is not hyphenated.
Americans are not native English speakers!
I do not like the word at all. It feels wrong. Fortunately English is widely spoken for me as an Englishman, but I suppose the adulteration of it by many english speaking nations is inevitable. Unfortunately other nationalities especially the Americans and Microsoft feel thay have the right to redfine the Queen's english. Well there will only be one Queen's english and other version - inglish, yanklish, etc
Every year, so many new words are added to the dictionary so as to make the use of language easier. Once i found that prepone is not a word in the dictionary, i stopped using it, but then, language is for communication, and if you are able to communicate the idea using prepone, i guess, its high time that this word be added into the dictionary. If the recent words that were added to the dictionary were to be seen, i would vote in the prepone word to the dictionary first.
The correct one is "In Advance"
Prepone is not correct, although majority of the Indians use it - how and where it started is difficult to tell. However, when millions of people start usage of a language in a different manner, the derived language becomes part of the original language :).
Someone said 'reshedule' in US - well, reschedule may not necessarily mean 'to bring forward' so the word, in itself, doesn't mean much. Thanks, Ashok
FOR ITS PRACTICALITY I WOULD USE PREPONE
Just because this is "Indian English" does not mean it has to be automatically incorrect usage. The logic of Postpone is retained in Prepone. If post (after) + pone (put) = postpone then pre (before) + pone (put) = prepone is correct.
I am not sure if there is a word "pone". Though the antonym of "post "is "pre" , don't think opposite of postpone can be prepone. The closest antonym is possible advance.
schedule, re-schedule is all you need.
prepone is not the correct word.The Exact word is ADVANCED.
Postpone is one whole word meaning to ut forward or delay some arrangement or plan. You cannot jst take " pone" to mean something and add "pre" or " post" in the way you would for eg. to "natal" which can be pre natal or postnatal say care for instance. The use of " prepone" is ridiculous and gibberish!
Why not?
Prepone is not correct. You can use Advance, Bring forward, Move forward based on the meaning of the sentence.
I am not Indian but prepone is logical and I use it. People should be happy that Indians are enriching the English language with expressive words. It is easier and shorter to say "prepone the meeting" than bring "the meeting forward". Besides it is logical.
It works for me- functional and convenient.
We should use 'anticipated' for postponed.
No, we shouldn't- they do not mean the same thing.
Antedate
Or
Reschedule
PREPONE is wrong
If enough people use something, it is not wrong. even when some don't accept it.
Prepone is coined in India I believe. nonstandard in the UK and USA. Avoid.
I thought about it more like
postpone = Moved to a LATER point in time
prepone = Moved to an EARLIER point in time
But that's seems to be due to my bad translation skills.
Sooraj
Prepone is wrong...Correct one is Advance