Post by DinaCan anyone explain the usage about "Please come to order"?
How can "Please" be interpreted? Is it the same as in "Please, be more
careful."?
And can you give some examples with the same usage of "will" in the
sentence,"The meeting will please come to order."?
As is normal in English, meaning and function are
governed by context: so we need to understand the
context.
Formal and written "Rules of Order" govern formal meetings.
For example, these rules prohibit two people's speaking
simultaneously and require, before any action is agreed, its
approval by at least two people (proposer and seconder of a
motion.) These provisions do not apply to everyday informal
association between people: i.e. in any group people sometimes
speak simultaneously and groups may agree to do what one
person proposes (i.e. do not require a proposer and seconder.)
Thus "Come to order" gives formal notice to participants that
from this moment the Rules of Order should govern behavior
They assert the chairman's authority and command silence
(because under the Rules of Order no one may speak unless
"recognised" by the chairman.) This function establishes the
context in which we understand whatever is first said.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)