remark vs comment

Question

0Qin Gang, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Stone "should do more to promote understanding and friendship between nations." French fashion house Christian Dior said it would drop Stone from its advertisements in China after her May 22 01b00remarks02b00.02br02br00Is remark slightly more formal than comment? Is that the only major difference?02br02br00Thanks in advance.0-

Delmobile · Accepted Answer

0I would like to hear from others, but to my ear "comment" has just a slightly negative connotation as compared to the neutral "remark." 02br
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01i00Her short hemline caused quite a lot of comment at the church social.02i02br
01i00I wanted to say something about his behavior, but I thought it was best to refrain from comment. 02i02br
00And yes, I also think "remark" is a little more formal. "The president will make a few remarks following the presentation" means he's going to make a speech, probably one prepared in advance; "the president will make a few comments" sounds like he will be speaking for a much shorter time and possibly off-the-cuff. 0-

Avangi · Answer

0I don't take it as any more formal, and there's certainly no 01u00major02u00 difference here.02br
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00"Remarks" is meant here as a pejorative, but I hear "comments" and "remarks" as equally useful in both pejorative and non pejorative applications. "Remarks" might be a bit more biting, and more effective here as a stand-alone (without pejorative modifiers), but the difference is slight, to my ear.02br
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00 - A.02br
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00Edit. I agree with Del that "a few remarks" would be the preferred choice for the President's prepared statement, although it could depend on the President. I perhaps misinterpreted N2g's use of "formal" as applying to the venue in which the 01i01u00report02u02i00 is delivered, as opposed to the venue in which the remarks/comments were made.02br
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00"That remark was uncalled for." "Keep your comments to yourself." Here, the two may be exchanged, one for the other.0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
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00The two words are certainly interchangeable in many contexts. However, here are a couple of general comments.02br
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01b00remark -02b00 an often casual statement.02br
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01b00comment - 02b00suggests to me that it is related to some indicated or prevously raised topic.02br
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00eg You walk into a room and say 'Hi, Clive. 01i01u00It's cold outside'02u02i00. I'd call that a remark, but I wouldn't call it a comment. I might, however, call it 'a comment on the weather', thus indicating in my words the subject that you are speaking about..02br
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00Best wishes, Clive0-

New2grammar · Answer

0Clive, you have a good point. However, your last sentence lost me02br
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00thus indicating in my words the subject that you are speaking about..0-

Avangi · Answer

0Perhaps the first person and the second person became temporarily short-circuited.02br
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00A remark can be off the wall, but a comment is usually 01u00about02u00 something being discussed.02br
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00If you've just entered the conversation, you don't know what's being discussed, so anything you say is likely to be a remark.02br
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00But, that remark may be self-explanatory, and qualify as a comment, because the words of the "remark/comment" 01b01i01u00tell02u02i02b00 what it's 01u00about02u00.0-

New2grammar · Answer

0A remark can be off the wall, but a comment is usually 01u00about02u00 something being discussed.02br
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00Thanks Avangi. I agree with Clive and You about the above.0-

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