RE: "Addy and other slang" (was If you don't want people to know your age...)

["Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>]

Most American writers speak two English languages (informal and formal),
write at least six:

	personal correspondence to friends & family
	personal correspondence to acquaintances (church, clubs, etc. -- more
formal)
	business correspondence to colleagues
	business correspondence to management and unknown receivers
	technical material intended for technical readers ("tenth grade reading
level")
	technical material intended for non-technical readers (good old "sixth
grade")

I would not hesitate to use "addy" in the first two, would never use it in
the other four.  Would use it without hesitation in fiction dialogue, but
not in descriptive prose (egad, there we go with two more categories).  I
don't think I would use it in poetry where readers are going to be guessing
at hidden meanings long after I'm dead (and don't care) anyway.  Unless of
course it's a perfect fit.

Come to think of it, throughout my English degree I don't think I ever saw a
course about the advantages of being able to recognize and choose all the
different versions of language.  In my too-brief introductions to other
languages we never got into this area, so I don't know if it's common to all
languages or a specific advantage of English.

Just my farthing and a half.

Dori Green
Technical Writer, QMS Project
Associated Brands, Inc.



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