Displayport Grammar

When talking about Displayport, would you say:

  • My computer has a displayport.

    Votes: 7 87.5%

  • My computer has a displayport port.

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Total voters
    8
GotNoRice

GotNoRice

[H]F Junkie
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I've had an ongoing debate about this for a while, and i'd like to hear your opinions.

Let's say that you were talking about your computer. Would you say:

"My computer has a displayport"
or
"My computer has a displayport port"

The first example rolls off the tongue nicely, but that is primarily a result of "displayport" being pronounced the same as "display port", except that in reality "displayport" is only one word, and it's a name. From a logical perspective, I think it makes more sense to say port afterward, the same way you would if you exchanged the name of the port for any other port. As an example, you wouldn't say "My computer has a VGA", you would say "My computer has a VGA port". Of course, it sounds strange to say "port" twice in the case of displayport. You could probably avoid the issue by saying something like "My computer has a displayport output", but given the two options in the poll, what would you choose?
 
My credit card card has a sticker on it.

Dick's dick had a wart on it.
 
I needed a card with 2 DP's on it so I told my friend I need one with 2 Display Port's.
 
Zepher said:
I needed a card with 2 DP's on it so I told my friend I need one with 2 Display Port's.
Click to expand...

The thing is, "display port" and "Displayport" aren't the same thing. "display port" could be used to describe any port that hooks up to a display. "Displayport" is a name.
 
What about "DisplayPort output?"

My favorite is "ATM machine," or automated teller machine machine.
 
GotNoRice said:
The thing is, "display port" and "Displayport" aren't the same thing. "display port" could be used to describe any port that hooks up to a display. "Displayport" is a name.
Click to expand...

OTOH tons of idiots at B&M retailers don't even know what DP is. I needed a DP cable for an emergency a year ago, kid bothered me to help....conversation went something like this:

SalesIdiot: Hi can I help you?
Skripka: I need a 2m, preferably 3m, Displayport cable
SalesIdiot: You need a display port cable? You need HDMI or DVI or VGA?
Skripka: I said "Displayport", one word, and I meant it (*hint*)
SalesIdiot: There are lots of display ports, sir...I need to know which one to help you.
Skripka: (sighs). (Walks away).
 
DP port or Display port. Because English is not the native language around here, there is no confusion about what port it actually is. Most of the time I use this though: Displayport connection.
 
Skripka said:
OTOH tons of idiots at B&M retailers don't even know what DP is. I needed a DP cable for an emergency a year ago, kid bothered me to help....conversation went something like this:

SalesIdiot: Hi can I help you?
Skripka: I need a 2m, preferably 3m, Displayport cable
SalesIdiot: You need a display port cable? You need HDMI or DVI or VGA?
Skripka: I said "Displayport", one word, and I meant it (*hint*)
SalesIdiot: There are lots of display ports, sir...I need to know which one to help you.
Skripka: (sighs). (Walks away).
Click to expand...

It's not just stores, in my last job, when they were "training" us on the new laptops, the IT guy kept referring to the port as "squared off HDMI", and kept saying (because some guy wanted to use it on his home TV) it was HDMI, but the connector was different and you had to use a square to trapezoidal HDMI adapter. I used my own computer and left the laptop in my desk drawer, I never trusted those guys after the lead networking tech couldn't tell me if our wireless was g or n because he didn't know what that meant (among other fun ineptitudes).

On topic: I say "my computer/GPU has DisplayPort". The "a" makes it sound weird.
 
Grebuloner said:
It's not just stores, in my last job, when they were "training" us on the new laptops, the IT guy kept referring to the port as "squared off HDMI", and kept saying (because some guy wanted to use it on his home TV) it was HDMI, but the connector was different and you had to use a square to trapezoidal HDMI adapter. I used my own computer and left the laptop in my desk drawer, I never trusted those guys after the lead networking tech couldn't tell me if our wireless was g or n because he didn't know what that meant (among other fun ineptitudes).

On topic: I say "my computer/GPU has DisplayPort". The "a" makes it sound weird.
Click to expand...

See when I have coworkers like that who are dumber than a bag of hammers, I send them on an errand for something like a "NEMA 5-15R to Cat 6 adapter", a "50 mega-ohm framistat", then maybe a "left handed monkey wrench"
 
I am inclined to believe that "DisplayPort port" would be the strictly grammatical correct version.

We use DisplayPort for everything that are not the port themselves (EG DP cable, DP spec, etc), so DisplayPort itself should be a brandname, not noun. In Chinese we use DP ports, but that could also be down to the fact that most people don't know the 'Port' part of the name is the same as the noun.

Since the name already has a "port" in it, it's understandable that people omit the noun, especially considering that you can't have a DisplayPort GPU/Monitor without having a DisplayPort port.

if, however, we use the acronym instead of the full name, then DP port would be more common, just like the redudant "ATM machine", except less redundancy.
 
Diversified Products Port. DP used to be a sports products manufacturer. Maybe still are, no clue.
 
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