Re: Lingua Franca Today
There's a very good definition of the term in The Oxford Companion to the
English Language. The intended meaning in your example is "common language." Since more people understand "common language" than "lingua franca," I would choose the former, unless there is some overriding reason to use the latter.
Jo
I guess I should have recognized that folks wouldn't realize that while some of us do technical writing, we all don't do _just_ technical writing. Our firm for instance, does journalism, writes on cyber ethics for children/families, social science writing, science writing, and technical education, security awareness training in particular. So, to address some questions I've had offlist, I'll just send this on publicly by way of explanation.
It's an excursion and completely useless to most folks. However, given that the replies are treating the query as a tecnical writing dunce query, I thought it helpful to explain.
Most folks were concerned that I was needlessly using a 25cent word when something else would do. You're right. It's actually a didactic approach that, when used judiciously, is pedagogically sound.
Writing to inform is a technique, writing to illuminate an art. Or, as my step father puts it, "Information isn't training."
On why I'll "waste" space on an historical and etymological excursion:
When used judiciously, such excursions are a sound pedagogical tool. People learn in different ways. Some folks are good at absorbing very straightforward material. Excursions can be distracting, for them. Some folks are sponges, who learn easily by rote memorization. Others are very logical and appreciate flow lines. Others are visual and need illustrations. Still others learn best by making associations.
For the non-techie, it's very helpful to make connections with something else they already know or can easily grasp. Pedagogically, it's important to give them a 'quilting point'--a hook--that provides an entry point into the material.
An excursion--reference to Shakespeare, a side note on the origins of the phrase hacker, an aside about the commercial origins of 'lingua franca', an associative link made with pop culture--brings the non-techie into the experience of learning about technology and related issues because it provides them with something familiar, something comfortable, something more geared to their world.
For someone with a humanities background, for instance, the term will help them make sense of a technical topic they might otherwise resist. For someone who is business oriented, but not technical, it is to something they're familiar with: lingua franca was a practical common language designed for commercial relations.
Finally, and this isn't especially intuitive, but has been demonstrated often enough in educational research for adult learners, less so among children: in order to learn, most people need stopping points.
Didactic writing uses techniques designed to make the reader stop and think. An unfamiliar word--expanded upon--is a way to force them to stop and think. We don't want them to simply read it straightforwardly, passively taking in information. We want them to work at it, to become more active learners when they're reading. That means that they have to stop and think about what they're reading. That means we don't write McInformation. However, we don't write Chez Panisse, either. We're shooting for something in between.
Excursion :): Think of it like this. Fast food restaurants have designed the seating, lighting, noise level, uniforms, color schemes so that you don't want to stay and linger over your burger. They want you in and out, so they make it uncomfortable. When I worked at a gourmet jazz club, however, dining was an experience that they paid for. People expected and were expected to spend a couple of hours or more over dinner with all the courses and wine to be had before, during, and after dinner. We're shooting for the Olive Garden. Chairs are comfortable. Tables spacious. High ceilings. The din is reasonable, but after about an 1-1.5 hours you start to get irritated. The colors are warm, the lighting soft.
There's a reason for those differences. Of course, they're typical differences and not every restaurant employs them successfully. Sometimes, despite knowing all the research, they do something different. For instance, I once worked for a startup chain specializing on BBQ ribs, chicken, beef. The owners knew that the best colors to use --to encourage people to feel hungry and order more, but also leave in about 45 min--were brown and yellow. But, eeeeiiiuuuu what a combo uniform wise. :)
Yes, there's a lot to accomplish and limited time and space to do so. Comes with the territory. Yes, people want McInformation and we're trying to give them something different, mainly because, pedagogically, it works and that's what we get paid for! :)
Thanks,
kelley
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Lingua Franca Today: From: kelley
Re: Lingua Franca Today: From: Jo Baer
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