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Actually, there is something called "International English," with rules that writers must follow, one of which is a restricted vocabulary. I don't know much more than that. Google returns a disappointing array of sites. You're right in that it's not an actual dialect, simply a set of rules for writing, with the objective being increased clarity and less possibility of misunderstanding.
-----Original Message-----
From: Hart, Geoff [mailto:Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 6:17 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Global English?
Dharuni Garikapaty corrected my claim that "there is no such thing as Global
English": <<Please google. :) Alternativly look for World English.>>
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I didn't mean to imply that _the term_ doesn't exist;
I meant to imply that for all practical purposes, it's a meaningless term.
There is no recognized dialect called "Global English" that is taught to
(for example) diplomats and that is used to standardize communication in
English. American English is certainly the most commonly used as an
"international" flavor of English--particularly in science journals--but
it's not used everywhere. In the British Commonwealth nations, for example,
British English is more common.
Here's the bottom line: In practice, every English-speaking nation has its
own flavor of English, and the differences are often sufficiently
significant that expecting readers around the world to recognize and be
proficient in any ostensibly international dialect is unwise. It's certainly
possible for these readers to puzzle out these differences and reach the
right conclusions, but should we really be making them do this extra work?
It's not like they need another incentive to ignore our documentation. <g>
--Geoff Hart, ghart -at- [delete]videotron -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
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