New full post. Prefix Multi- need clarifiation

Question

Can anyone help please? Sorry it is so long but this is very important as I have to use it in a conciliation meeting whereby hundreds of people will be affected by the outcome. In the company guidelines for” accommodation complexes” the heading reads:-

"Multi accommodation complexes".
There is only one sentence to explain this "Tenants are responsible for........... .-in multi accommodation complexes".

Now my interpretation is that they are talking about more than one or many accommodation complexes. In this case they are talking about only some complexes when they mean all and therefore need to name each complex.

What the guidelines should have said, for example, is that "Tenants in all multi-unit residential complexes are responsible for...." Unit is accepted as being all types of flats, apartments. etc. But the keywords are accommodation complexes. It doesn't matter if they are free standing units, duplex or multi storey apartment buildings.

In the development of the company's housing development guidelines they head up the paper as “Multi unit housing guide." So this is an indication of the correct wording.

Does anyone agree with my interpretation? Is it questionable and can I make an argument?

If so I need to explain why this is wrong. The prefix Multi cannot stand alone but can Multi accommodation be used? The word of course is used more often to mean multiple. I research some words and multi is followed by a noun.
Storey is a noun but multi-storey is an adjective
Bedroom is a noun but multibedroom is an adjective

Accommodation is a noun but no results in the thesaurus for multiaccommodation or multi-accommodation.
I would really appreciate your help on this one.

GPY · Accepted Answer

Irene1"Multi accommodation complexes". There is only one sentence to explain this "Tenants are responsible for........... .-in multi accommodation complexes".Now my interpretation is that they are talking about more than one or many accommodation complexes

Personally I don't think this interpretation is viable.

This is just my personal opinion. Do not rely on it as the basis of important decisions.

Irene1 · Answer

GPYPersonally I don't think this interpretation is viable.

Thanks GPY. Are you able to tell me why? It would help.
regards

GPY · Answer

The prefix or abbreviation "multi" is usually used to modify another modifier (for example "a multi-pronged attack" or "a  multi-function gadget) or in established combinations (e.g. "multi-pack" or "multimillionare"). It is not normally used in an ad hoc way as a sole modifier. For example, we do not say "I visited multi places" to mean that you went to many different places, or "multi-people were affected" to mean that many people were affected. For this reason, it is natural to interpret "multi accommodation complexes" as "[multi accommodation] complexes" rather than "multi [accommodation complexes]". I agree that the former interpretation should properly be written as "multi-accommodation complexes", but many people do not understand the proper use of hyphens.

Irene1 · Answer

GPYThe prefix or abbreviation "multi" is usually used to modify another modifier (for example "a multi-pronged attack" or "a multi-function gadget) or in established combinations (e.g. "multi-pack" or "multimillionare"). It is not normally used in an ad hoc way as a sole modifier. For example, we do not say "I visited multi places" to mean that you went to many different places, or "multi-people were affected" to mean that many people were affected. For this reason, it is natural to interpret "multi accommodation complexes" as "[multi accommodation] complexes" rather than "multi [accommodation complexes]". I agree that the former interpretation should properly be written as "multi-accommodation complexes", but many people do not understand the proper use of hyphens.

Thank you GPY for your analysis. I understand and agree if they didn't use the word accommodation which is the problem. We are talking about tenants in multi accommodation complexes. So based on this wouldn't you interpret {multi} accommodation {complexes} to mean more than one or many complexes. It would be ok if they said tenants in multi housing (or unit) complexes or tenants in multi residential complexes.
I cannot find any meaning for accommodation that fits all levels of housing you would find in a residential housing complex. It can mean factories etc. In fact only one mention of multi accommodation and this is only used by the owner of a caravan park.
I do not think it is the correct word grammatically and doesn't convey the meaning. But that is just my understanding and that is why I am seeking advice. It sounds pedantic I know. I am talking myself out of my interpretation. Thank you for your time

GPY · Answer

I think "multi-accommodation" is a kind of jargony term; when I search for it through Google I get a couple of hundred hits, most of which seem to be a similar kind of usage to yours. "accommodation" presumably refers to rooms or buildings where people live or stay, which is a standard use of the word.

Irene1So based on this wouldn't you interpret {multi} accommodation {complexes} to mean more than one or many complexes.

By the way, just to be clear, when I said before that I didn't think the "many accommodation complexes" interpretation worked, of course the phrase does mean that there is more than one complex simply by virtue of the plural "complexes". What I meant was I didn't think "multi" could be interpreted as meaning "many complexes", which I believe is the question you are concerned with.

Irene1 · Answer

Ok thanks very much. Multi-Yes it is. I haven't got a case on this point then. It shows how they altered the site in a hurry when they changed policies and didn't advise tenants. Still haven't after 10 months. I am now concentrating on 23 years precedent in providing these services and question some other points. I am told this will probably be accepted as a reason for conciliation. At last it will annoy them having to attend conciliation!.
Kind regards
Irene

New full post. Prefix Multi- need clarifiation

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