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Subject:Data, vice versa, et al From:Daniel Strychalski <dski -at- CAMEONET -dot- CAMEO -dot- COM -dot- TW> Date:Fri, 24 Mar 1995 19:49:07 +0800
"Vice versa" can be found in any pocket dictionary. More importantly, it is
extremely common in English conversation. I say use it. Its origin is
irrelevant. You would have a hard time writing more than a few English
sentences without loan words.
"Data" is plural. Treating it as such won't bother the comic-book crowd, and
will make your writing more acceptable to literate people. If we want respect,
we must work to earn it.
When translating computerese into English for non-technical readers, you can
often change "data" to "material," "information," or something specific, such
as "code," "command(s)," "message(s)," "text," "numbers," or "image(s)." "File"
is OK if that's what the material is, was, or is becoming (NOT if it is unsaved
data scooting through wires or sitting in RAM). Lord, do I hate "document."
"Multi-media," according to the rules of English, should be "multi-medium." Oh,
well, you can't win 'em all.
Let us strive to make our writing comprehensible to eighth-graders -- and
acceptable to those eighth-graders' English teachers.
Dan Strychalski dski -at- cameonet -dot- cameo -dot- com -dot- tw
