Different to what? Each other

Is this really good English? It's fine. See 2 below.

different
adjective
1. Not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality: you can play this game in different ways the car’s different from anything else on the market

1.1. informal Novel and unusual: try something deliciously different

2. Distinct; separate: on two different occasions

This was a variation on the theme which kept the different aspects of money separate.
I think we have to be a bit careful in not separating out two quite different things.
To start with, it is common to distinguish between two different kinds of validity.

Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/...

FWIW, I tend to correct this usage to varied, diverse, several kinds of etc. when I come across it.

I am not convinced that distinct is the intended meaning here.

I would understand the OT to mean sth like:

OK, so I've published my stuff online. What do I need to do to get it published in a national newspaper?

I see no problem. 'different' means both 'unterschiedlich' (as here, I think) and 'andere' (which might possibly be meant here). In case of doubt leave options open.

Maybe codero is thinking of "different" often being redundant, as in "I visited five different countries on my trip to Europe."

While it happens all the time, I consider that people are being lazy when "different" is used as a one-size-fits-all adjective, but it does depend on what is actually meant.

As I read the OP (and as Josi7 idicates), the most straightforward interpretation of the OP is that the sense is getting articles published in media other than they are currently being published in.

I believe that what is actually meant is "various." At other times, "differing" works quite well to overcome this laziness.

I take issue with hbberlin. While I think it means 'various', I see nothing wrong with using 'different' to mean that. And just in case it means 'different from something we've already mentioned/implied' that possibility is covered too. This may be an unfortunate inexactitude, but it is simply so.

@#6: If you think it means various, why not use various? As I wrote, the constant use of "different" is a sign of lazy writing in my book (and that's not a stance that I usually see from you here). The various words have differing shades of meaning.

NB: I do get the sense that BE speakers (including the BBC, which is dreadful) are more lax in this regard than AE speakers, but the situation is bad enough among AE speakers

From M-W:

different, diverse, divergent, disparate, various mean unlike in kind or character. different may imply little more than separateness but it may also imply contrast or contrariness . diverse implies both distinctness and marked contrast . divergent implies movement away from each other and unlikelihood of ultimate meeting or reconciliation . disparate emphasizes incongruity or incompatibility . various stresses the number of sorts or kinds .

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dif...

I usually translate unterschiedliche as various; I try to avoid using different in this context.

Perhaps it is a BE thing, or perhaps we just don't all have hbberlin's standards :-). However, I, too, do not have a problem with the OP's phrase.

It appears that I'm not the only one who has an issue with the ubiquitous "different."

I don't have any problems with the original phrase either. Seems like an idiosyncratic style quibble to me. Perfectly okay to dislike this particular use of "different", but there isn't anything inherently bad or lazy about it.

It is being a little fussy of course, but as media (plural) is referred to, one could say the point about different being redundant (#4) applies, so I would also say various is just that little bit better.

What does Josi7 have to do with this? Did it come up in another thread?

My bad. I had previously replied to one of Josi7's questions and got distracted while answering this one. I meant AnnaUK, of course.

I'm one of the ones whom 'different' doesn't really bother unduly. 'Diverse' is rather formal and not much used, and 'various' isn't really the right meaning; it sounds like you mean several of the ones you've been discussing or considering. I might just say different kinds/types of media, or in different media formats, more than one medium, other media besides / in addition to print, something like that.

I don't see anything wrong with "different" here.

Synonyms do not have exactly the same meaning (or range of meanings), and "various" is used like a determiner with a meaning closer to "several" than "different" (i.e. it usually implies a relatively small, indeterminate number)

It is always a good idea to think about use of "different" to see if something more precise expresses the intended meaning better; in a promotional text, however, "various" does not sufficiently emphasize possible differences, so it implies a small number of selected media types; this may be factually true, but it is probably not what the writer wants to express.

OT #10 It appears that I'm not the only one who has an issue with the ubiquitous "different."
But, as you may remember, I have a problem with the ubiquitous "issue". SCNR!

On topic: in #1 covelite could have highlighted a different bit of the oxforddictionaries entry that he/she cites:
1. Not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality: you can play this game in different ways 
- that's "different" meaning various. So there would appear to be nothing wrong with it.

Though as we all know, dictionaries are usually descriptive rather than prescriptive -- if enough people say it, they'll list it. Still, I'm prescriptive about a lot of things, but this doesn't rise very high on my list. It's not a huge iss-, er, problem for me.

In #15 above I think I failed to mention the difference between 'divers' and 'diverse,' and now that it's occurred to me, I probably can't explain it at this hour, except that I think the former means 'various' and the latter means ... 'different.'

Possibly another point in favor of just being content with 'different.'

the difference between 'divers' and 'diverse,'

Is divers really still used much these days? When I see this word, I think of snorkels and flippers.

But, as you may remember, I have a problem with the ubiquitous "issue".

I thought of that as I intentionally used the word. I wouldn't classify this as a "problem." Not every use of "issue" is an issue. ;-)

Back to the OP: I'd still say that "different" is only the best choice here if the intention is to say that the article should be published in media that differ from what it's already being published in. If it's not yet been published, but the intention is to say that it should be published in multiple media types, then "different" is not the best choice here because it is unclear. (That's the one-size-fits-all use of "different" that I object to and see so often.)

I agree with hbberlin

that it should be published in multiple media types,  
If that is the case "a range of media" e.g. "Different" means possessing differing characteristics; things in a range are different, otherwise it wouldn't be a range, therefore different is redundant/wrong - IMO.

#20 Well, we can agree to differ on "issue" :-)


I think the use of "different" to mean "various" is long-established and seems to be acceptable in principle to trustworthy British contributors here. Obviously, where there is a danger of ambiguity (as there may be in the OP's sentence, though we lack further context), a careful writer would probably choose a more precise word or phrase.