TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Chuck Martin writes:
[snip]
That doesn't mean anything that sounds "right" is good
grammar. But good grammar generally does have good
"ear," while "correct" grammar sometimes does not. (An
excellent book that espouses considering "ear" when
considering grammitical issues is Lyn Dupre's "Bugs in
Writing."
[snip]
Most grammar books don't take "ear" into account, and
are often prescriptive at the cost of stilted or
verbose language. We as technical communicators have
as one responsiblity to make sure that the message
isn't being muddied by the allegedly nflexible rules
of composing that mesage.
-----------------------
For many, it may be dangerous to rely on "ear". Many
people are raised in circumstances where they learned
a nonstandard flavor of English, and it's very
difficult to retune one's "ear" in later life. I've
edited several papers written in slightly mangled
English. In many cases, the author explains the choice
as being "what sounds right".
Of course, each of us should be able to recognize how
much our "ear" differs from the standard and
compensate appropriately.
-- Meg
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online! http://photos.yahoo.com/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17) http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.
Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001
Conference East, June 4-5, Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. http://www.pdfconference.com or toll-free 877/278-2131.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
