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Re: describing the minority as literate is a circular argument?
Subject:Re: describing the minority as literate is a circular argument? From:"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:47:45 -0700
IMO, there is a difference between not knowing proper grammar and
making a deliberate decision to use improper grammar for effect. Many
of the blurbs we write for procedural steps, bubble help, etc., are in fact
"bad grammar," but they serve a purpose (compact size and getting
critical info across fast). And then, of course, there's the infamous
"Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" (bad grammar, but aligned
to the speech patterns of the target audience/market). If using correct
grammar may have the effect of causing the targeted reader to regard the
material as stuffy or pompous, better to go along with the common usage
even if you know it's bad grammar and you'll have to grit your teeth every
time you read it.
> Several people have written to me assuming that I was slamming literary
> magazines for their style and their pretension. However, if you look
closely, I
> wasn't. I was saying that the writing in them isn't notably better than
the
> writing you can find elsewhere. My point was that, if command of grammar
was
> directly connected to the quality of writing, you would expect to find
better
> writing in literary magazines than anywhere else, yet you don't.
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