They've got their canes out again!

[Wind In My Hair]

Without taking sides in this good old-fashioned brawl, let me clarify some facts.

LKY actually imported corporeal punishment to SG from the British system;

What does corporeal mean? Is it Singlish?

No lah. Most Singaporeans have probably never heard of the word. It's old (Middle) English, from the Latin corpus which means 'of the body'.

Corporeal refers to the whole physical structure or nature, of the body; as, corporeal substance or frame. Corporal, as now used, refers more to punishment or some infliction; as, corporal punishment. To speak of corporeal punishment is an error. Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Therefore you are both wrong

it being a practice he had admired as an effective deterrent for repeating crimes.

There was no corporal punishment in the UK, by the time the Lee dynasty took over Singapore.

Corporal punishment was abolished in the UK in 1948, which indeed was before LKY became prime minister in 1959. However LKY was schooled in the British system, first in Raffles Institution and College in Singapore from 1936 to 1942, then in Cambridge University in the UK from 1947-1949 and therefore familiar with the practice of corporal punishment in the UK and openly admired it.

Therefore you are both correct

[QRM]

WIMH, your Yoda like harmonic brilliance shine through yet again.

[anneteoh]

Without taking sides in this good old-fashioned brawl, let me clarify some facts.

LKY actually imported corporeal punishment to SG from the British system;

What does corporeal mean? Is it Singlish?

No lah. Most Singaporeans have probably never heard of the word. It's old (Middle) English, from the Latin corpus which means 'of the body'.

Corporeal refers to the whole physical structure or nature, of the body; as, corporeal substance or frame. Corporal, as now used, refers more to punishment or some infliction; as, corporal punishment. To speak of corporeal punishment is an error. Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Therefore you are both wrong

Thanks WIMH. You caught me there - ah, should've referred to the good old Concise Oxford for the ME change in spelling. Very diplomatic of you.

[JR8]

Oh yes, we all just updated from speaking Middle-English didn't we?

[Wind In My Hair]

QRM, too kind you are

Anne, you're welcome. I often make mistakes myself and so have developed the habit of checking dictionaries when I'm unsure.

JR8, I should clarify that 'corporeal' is still in use today though it originates from the 15th century, so it is definitely not Singlish and cannot be blamed on the Lee dynasty

[x9200]

To speak of corporeal punishment is an error.

Hmmm. Isn't the capital punishment made by lethal injection a corporeal punishment?

[durain]

for real as ali g would say...

[JR8]

And Ali Batty would give a whole spiel, none of which made any sense.

[Wind In My Hair]

Hmmm. Isn't the capital punishment made by lethal injection a corporeal punishment?

Hmmm, I believe this is a technical impossibility. Lethal injection frees the soul from its corporeal existence, and technically you cannot punish what no longer exists

[x9200]

Hmmm. Isn't the capital punishment made by lethal injection a corporeal punishment?

Hmmm, I believe this is a technical impossibility. Lethal injection frees the soul from its corporeal existence, and technically you cannot punish what no longer exists

But corporeal is not only used in a philosophical context but also on a purely technical ground. Extracorporeal circulation for example So semantically, a corporeal punishment should refer to a punishment where the body is internally affected by some kind of not really pleasant process Ergo, the phrase should be technically correct

[Wind In My Hair]

But corporeal is not only used in a philosophical context but also on a purely technical ground. Extracorporeal circulation for example So semantically, a corporeal punishment should refer to a punishment where the body is internally affected by some kind of not really pleasant process Ergo, the phrase should be technically correct

It's like 'runny nose' and 'running nose'. In both cases the meaning is clear and technically not wrong. Just that to someone familiar with the language, one sounds right and the other sounds weird.

In the context that God were arguing with Satan whether hell should consist of corporeal or spiritual punishment, 'corporeal' seems the appropriate term. Here on earth where all is corporeal anyway, its use is almost a tautology.

Then again, what do I know. I'm a native Singlish speaker and have to refer to dictionaries when it comes to proper English

[x9200]

Yeah, I guess you are right and I am not even a native speaker of any sort of English.

[anneteoh]

Hmmm. Isn't the capital punishment made by lethal injection a corporeal punishment?

Hmmm, I believe this is a technical impossibility. Lethal injection frees the soul from its corporeal existence, and technically you cannot punish what no longer exists

But corporeal is not only used in a philosophical context but also on a purely technical ground. Extracorporeal circulation for example So semantically, a corporeal punishment should refer to a punishment where the body is internally affected by some kind of not really pleasant process Ergo, the phrase should be technically correct

Good for you x9200. At least you're not just resorting to the lowly stuff of name calling prone to those yobs and street lads. The words corporal and corporeal are similar semantically and in pronunciation, but such pursuit of genuine knowledge is above the capacity of the name -calling lout.
Basically, all the vowel shifts and the consequent changes in spelling came about as English borrowed from other languages e.g. the Latin corpus for body but as the original borrowed words adapted to local usage, they change phonetically and semantically. However, there's always a new coinage which once published becomes acceptable as the norm. They don't always work, e.g. the Duchess of York's 'bestest friend' but some do, like the BBC's 'chav and bling' - drawn from local slangs really.

[anneteoh]

But corporeal is not only used in a philosophical context but also on a purely technical ground. Extracorporeal circulation for example So semantically, a corporeal punishment should refer to a punishment where the body is internally affected by some kind of not really pleasant process Ergo, the phrase should be technically correct

It's like 'runny nose' and 'running nose'. In both cases the meaning is clear and technically not wrong. Just that to someone familiar with the language, one sounds right and the other sounds weird.

I don't think they are similar cases in any way close to the above comparison given above for these reasons : -
a. there's a semantic difference in the morphological structure
runny = adjective,
running - continuous tense verb with adjectival overlap
b. corporal and corporeal - semantically and phonetically interchangeable.
I would still use corporeal punishment!
In the context that God were arguing with Satan whether hell should consist of corporeal or spiritual punishment, 'corporeal' seems the appropriate term. Here on earth where all is corporeal anyway, its use is almost a tautology.

Then again, what do I know. I'm a native Singlish speaker and have to refer to dictionaries when it comes to proper English

WIMH, you're an English speaker; and what's his name Q.. will agree, I'm sure. Accents don't describe language speakers but grammar and etymology do - this if my POV as usual. You write perfectly good English, better than some less linguistically proficient native English speakers.
Singlish speakers are mainly those who who stress heavily on their lahs, leis and lohs while skipping the grammatical well-formedness e.g. "Where got lah?"

[anneteoh]

And Ali Batty would give a whole spiel, none of which made any sense.

One last reply from me. I'm sick to death of your gutter behaviour in this forum. You were exiled here when your obvious name calling was recognised by the previous forums whatever they were.
I intend to report you for name calling which I think you agreed to accept as one of the terms for membership in this, or any forum.

PS I apologise for commenting on your wrong spelling in 'corporal' but you've not won any points in making any civil refutations. No points whatsoever for any good discussions throughout except in slander and name calling.