Armstrong´s quote

[Jairo]

Silly question:

I supose the "small step..." quote wasn´t improvised, but planned. It was an important event, after all.

But is it officially known it was planned?

[skinbath]

Hi jairo,

Yes,I think you`re correct.I did once read that quite a lot of thought went into what was going to be said.I don`t recall now who actually decided on the final version.I`m sure someone will come up with it though.

Believe it or not,there is also an argument as to whether Armstrong said "man" or "a man" !, or whether he was supposed to say "a man" but messed it up.

There`s a humorous story that relates to some words Armstrong is reputed to have said afterwards:- You can find it at www.angelfire.com/al/Gal/story2.html

[PhantomWolf]

There's not really an argument about whether or not he intended to say "a man" he did, the debte is whether the "a" was lost in transmission. It doesn't seem to have been and so it's more likely that Neil forgot to say it. He did plan the line ahead of time and even rehersed it, but I'm pretty sure that Buzz said he didn't know what Neil was going to say, so it's possible that no-one else did either.

One small step for (a) man

The "Mr Gorsky" line is not true at all, merely a humourous urban legend.

Mr Gorsky

[Enterprise]

jairo said:

Silly question:

I supose the "small step..." quote wasn´t improvised, but planned. It was an important event, after all.

But is it officially known it was planned?

I believe Neil Armstrong's wife(Jan?) thought up the famous quote.

[golfhobo]

There's not really an argument about whether or not he intended to say "a man" he did, the debate is whether the "a" was lost in transmission.

Well, I went to the Snopes link, so I can't debate the fact that Neil 'intended' to say (a) man. But, I sure am glad he messed it up!

I'm somewhat of a linguist by trade or training, and I feel strongly that 1) it sounds much better without the "a," and 2) it IS grammatically and linguistically correct without it.

The problem comes with the general public's lack of command of the English language, and/or understanding of other languages. The French version of this exemplifies my point:

"Un petit pas pour l'homme, une grand saut pour l'humanite."

Although "humanite" is actually a colloquial form meaning humanity as opposed to the more formal "humaine" which is humankind or mankind, it shows that this would be a statement by an average man under the circumstances.

In French, to say (a) man would be 'un homme' with 'un' being the masculine article. But, a detective would not say that "he got his (a) man," he would say, "he got his man."

The Snopes article says that Man and Mankind have essentially the same meaning in English (or at least in America,) but this is just not necessarily true. Although it can and does have the same meaning at times, it is also used quite differently at others.

Man is just a word for the male of the species, as opposed to woman. In French that would be L'homme. (The man) One would not say "un L'homme" for A 'certain' man, just un homme. Likewise, one would not say un homme when he just means 'man.' And although this is inclusive, it is not the same as saying 'all mankind.'

As evidenced in the above French translation of Armstrong's quote, there are different words in almost all languages to distinguish between (the) man, as distinguished from other lifeforms, and ALL men (or mankind.)

I believe Armstrong was/is a very intelligent man and perhaps subconciously was choosing at the last moment what his mind knew to be the correct usage. Unfortunately after the fact, he was shamed into accepting what he thought everyone else would have expected him to say.

Either way... the better form is, in fact, "That's one small step for Man, one giant leap for Mankind."

Notice how the articles agree, but are cumbersome, if one says in French, "Un petit pas pour Un homme, une grand saut pour un humain." In fact, you would never use 'un' with humain (a humankind.) You would use LE (contracted) for L'humain or L'humanite, and therefore laws of article agreement and good writing style dictate that you would also use L'homme instead of Un homme.

The correct translation into English then would be:

Un petit pas pour l'homme (One small step for Man,)
Une grand saut pour l'humanite (One giant leap for Mankind.)

Armstrong may have been misquoted, thank God. But, if not, then he was wrong about being wrong. The way he said it (or it was heard) was correct.

[Al Johnston]

Sorry Hobo, but I have to agree with those who believe that your "correct" version is tautological and that the indefinite article should definitely be included.

One of the virtues of a relatively non-inflexive language like English is that articles can be omitted, but doing so conveys a shift in meaning. Reference to an individual human always includes the article: a man or a human. Removing the article either generalises the noun or converts it to an adjective.

[golfhobo]

No problem, Al. It's a free country. Um... I think YOURS is, too!

I believe that the suffix "kind" is the modifier that shows the difference in intention between Man and Mankind. Furthermore, it is MY contention that the real comparison was between the 'step' and the 'leap.'

Therefore, it could be assumed that Armstrong was not so much wanting to take all the credit for being the first Man to make the step, and instead was pointing out that this ONE step by man, represented a giant LEAP for ALL men (mankind.)

It becomes a matter of aesthetics at this point, and I believe there is no more aesthetic language than French.

I concede the truth to the matter that even Armstrong may have intended otherwise, but if "I" were king.....

[Al Johnston]

So far ;D

I agree that the contrast between the step and the leap is the key to the quote: the "a" emphasises that it's one small man making the small step.

Mais vive la différence

[golfhobo]

it's one small man making the small step.

Wow! Be careful who you say THAT to.... you saw what Buzz did to Bart! Them NASA boys are tuff! ;D

[PhantomWolf]

Short though. There was a height limit of 6' so they'd fit in the capsules.

[Obviousman]

I have no doubt that he forgot the 'a', and that it was not lost in transmission. IMO, it's in the voice.

He says "That's one small step for man.."

(pause)

"One..." (small pause) "..giant leap for mankind."

If you listen to him when he says "one giant leap for mankind" you can (IMO) hear in his voice the realisation he's muffed it, and the "regret".

Have a listen and see (hear?) if you agree with me.

[gwiz]

He definitely meant to say "a man", because after the flight he tried to get the transcript altered, claiming the "a" got lost in transmission.

[Count Zero]

Legend has it that he had to be talked-out of saying "I claim this land for Texas." ;D

(Attributed to Fritz Bronner)

[Kiwi]

I've always considered that the "a" was in there and just not clearly pronounced, mainly on account of our lazy Kiwi diction. We often say "for a" similarly to Armstrong, something like a quickly-pronounced "firrer," and JayUtah has said something about him coming from an area where "f'ra" is an accepted word.

Listen to how he says it. His "for" is clearly not pronounced as "four" or "fore," and there is a slight lift at the end, more like "firrer" or "f'ra."

[JayUtah]

Armstrong to this day maintains he did say it. The wrench I typically throw into these works is the notion that Midwesterners typically elide "for a" as "f'ra". This tends to contradict those whose opinion comes from their interpretation of his cadence in the recording. I grew up in the Midwest, and I have no problem hearing "for a" as a single syllable.

The article does make a difference.

"A man" would be properly self-referential; Armstrong is "a" man taking a step on behalf of all mankind. The singular "man" without an article always refers to the species, including both sexes -- at least I am at a loss to devise any sentence in this pattern that doesn't interpret primarily that way. The quote is clearly intended to express a prototypical comparison: Armstrong is "the" man representing all of mankind, and "the" single step onto the lunar surface represents a major extension of humanity's presence and influence. Man is to mankind as step is to giant leap. The article must appear in order to emphasize "a man" as miniscule and to draw the appropriate parallel.