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Subject:Re: Lingua Franca Today From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 16 Jan 2002 19:00:58 -0800 (PST)
> Andrew,
> I don't understand something. What's the difference? 'Geek speek'
> won't affect the reader's attention adversely but 'flowery language'
> will? I see some similarity here in the argument. You appearto me to
> be defending both sides of the argument. What has changed in that
> time?
People read technical documents (even highly-friendly ones) to get
information. Geek-speak (aka jargon) has the potential to help the reader
understand the environment of the technical information. Jargon is a
natural part of all technical fields and therefore an aspect of educating
readers.
Flowery language does nothing but distract the reader. Its pretentious and
unnecessary. The whole idea behind technical documentation is to make the
language as simple and clear as possible. This isn't some "Andrew
obsession" its the whole reason the technical writing profession exists.
"Serious" technical documents should not use inaccessible language solely
for the purpose of sounding more "intelligent." There is no reason to use
flowery terms like "lingua franca." when perfectly good, boring terms like
"common language" work just as well and are far more accessible to
readers.
Andrew Plato
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