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Subject:Re: Really caring about communication From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 30 Dec 2003 09:07:03 -0800 (PST)
"Bonnie Granat" wrote ...
> Nonstandard writing makes readers stumble, particularly when the
> content is technical. Therefore, while grammar and conventions are
> certainly dispensable in fiction or opinion pieces, in technical
> writing they are extremely important. There is no such thing as
> getting the technical details "correct" but making the reader stumble.
Cart before horse. If the technical details are incorrect, then the perfection
of the English is irrelevant.
The sentence "The sky is green." is grammatically correct, but wrong. Its
inaccuracy overshadows its grammar.
However, the inverse of this is not true. A grammatically inaccurate sentance
can still communicate a concept.
The sentence "The ramistat gorhunkinator broken. Do never test." may be
grammatically incorrect, but it still conveys its point. Although it may be
clumsy, you still understand the meaning.
Thus, you can have grammatically incorrect sentences and still communicate.
However, you cannot communicate with incorrect information.
Thus, if you REALLY care about communication, you'll focus your attention on
ensuring accuracy of the content.
Andrew Plato
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