Severally or several times

hhg...@gmail.com

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Dec 17, 2010, 11:37:18 AM12/17/10

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Hi native speakers.

I'm proofreading a translation into English and found this sentence

...may be reappointed severally for a period of no longer than five
(5) years of each occasion.

I think the correct English would be

...may be reappointed several times for a period of no longer than
five (5) years of each occasion.

Or is the first one also good?

Cheryl

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Dec 17, 2010, 11:41:47 AM12/17/10

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It depends on what the first one means. You've left out 'severally',
which probably means 'separately'. This could be an important
distinction if, for example, the text is about a group of people in some
position. Then 'severally' would mean that they don't have to be all
reappointed at the same time; individuals can be reappointed separately
from the group as a whole. This meaning isn't in the second sentence.

--
Cheryl

Marius Hancu

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Dec 17, 2010, 11:55:07 AM12/17/10

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Not the same thing:
----
sev·er·al·ly

Function: adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from several + -ly

1 : one at a time : each by itself : SEPARATELY <people would point
to ... herself and Henry, severally, as the perfect wife and husband
-- Victoria Sackville-West> <premises which are severally clear,
distinct, and certain -- A.N.Whitehead> <the strips or lands were not
severally enclosed -- G.M.Trevelyan> <the beneficiary to be identified
by any of us four jointly or severally -- Geoffrey Household>

2 : apart from others : INDEPENDENTLY <when they were hung severally,
they came out ... smooth and unwrinkled -- R.K.Johnson>

3 : RESPECTIVELY

4 obsolete : VARIOUSLY

" Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.
----

Marius Hancu

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Dec 17, 2010, 12:00:13 PM12/17/10

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See Garner here on "joint and several":
http://tinyurl.com/25zmxeu

Marius Hancu

John O'Flaherty

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Dec 17, 2010, 12:20:22 PM12/17/10

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You should post the whole sentence. As the other responders said,
either meaning is possible. "Five years OF each occasion" isn't right.
Is it a typo for "on", or a usage mistake?

--
John

Mark Brader

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Dec 17, 2010, 12:31:16 PM12/17/10

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We are told:

>> I'm proofreading a translation into English and found this sentence
>>
>> ...may be reappointed severally for a period of no longer than five
>> (5) years of each occasion.

John O'Flaherty:

> You should post the whole sentence. As the other responders said,
> either meaning is possible.

Agreed. But "severally" is a legal jargon word, not much used in
everyday English, and this looks like legal writing. In that context
the meaning of "severally" is like "individually" or "separately",
so that's the interpretation I expect is correct.

> "Five years OF each occasion" isn't right. Is it a typo for "on",
> or a usage mistake?

Agreed.
--
Mark Brader "'Taxpayer' includes any person
Toronto whether or not liable to pay tax."
m...@vex.net -- Income Tax Act of Canada, s.248(1)

My text in this article is in the public domain.

franzi

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Dec 17, 2010, 3:19:57 PM12/17/10

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Mark Brader <m...@vex.net> wrote

>We are told:
>>> I'm proofreading a translation into English and found this sentence
>>>
>>> ...may be reappointed severally for a period of no longer than five
>>> (5) years of each occasion.
>
>John O'Flaherty:
>> You should post the whole sentence. As the other responders said,
>> either meaning is possible.
>
>Agreed. But "severally" is a legal jargon word, not much used in
>everyday English, and this looks like legal writing. In that context
>the meaning of "severally" is like "individually" or "separately",
>so that's the interpretation I expect is correct.
>

Undoubtedly.
--
franzi

hhg...@gmail.com

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Dec 18, 2010, 4:35:30 AM12/18/10

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Thanks for all the comments. There is a bit of misunderstanding here.
As it is a translation that has to be proofread, I know (i.e. from the
source language) that in the original sentence it says "several times"

I only asked whether "severally " can be used as a synonim for
"several times" which I doubted.

Jonathan Morton

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Dec 18, 2010, 7:11:11 AM12/18/10

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<hhg...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1c5d4d75-5079-42b7...@e20g2000vbn.googlegroups.com...

> Thanks for all the comments. There is a bit of misunderstanding here.
> As it is a translation that has to be proofread, I know (i.e. from the
> source language) that in the original sentence it says "several times"
>

> I only asked whether "severally " can be used as a synonym for

> "several times" which I doubted.

In that case you were quite right to query it, because "severally" does not
mean "several times".

It sounds as though what is meant is that there is no theoretical limit to
the number of times that an individual may be re-elected [1], but that no
such election may be for a term exceeding five years.

[1] Such a restriction is, of course, quite common. The presidency of the
United States springs to mind as an example at once.

Regards

Jonathan

Cheryl

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Dec 18, 2010, 7:26:14 AM12/18/10

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"Severally" and "several times" are not synonyms, so you were right to
doubt the translation.

--
Cheryl