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RE: Need Your Opinions re Simplified English (Can I quote you?)
Subject:RE: Need Your Opinions re Simplified English (Can I quote you?) From:jgarison -at- ide -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 31 May 2002 14:58:34 -0400
About the Language ...
A favorite little ditty I have on my office wall - no doubt cribbed long ago
from someone's sig - is best kept in mind in times like these:
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them
unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
-- James D. Nicholl
For my own self, I too will use that which my readers know and understand.
And sometimes, they use language in ways that totally mystify and baffle,
possibly on purpose.
My 2¢,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: John Posada [mailto:jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2002 2:47 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Need Your Opinions re Simplified English (Can I quote you?)
Sorry, Gary...but I agree with Eric. I write for my audience. I don't
write for Mr. Webster and language will survive regardless of how I
write in my tiny part of the documentation universe. I'm not paid to
be "protector of the word". If I write contrary to what my uers
understand or contrary to how they are comfortable, who am I
benefiting besides those few anal writers who care if I use who or
whom? They are not the ones paying me for my service.
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