Re: Grammar, language change, & phobia

["<Pam Owen>" <powen -at- MAIL2 -dot- LMI -dot- ORG>]

     I agree totally with Margaret when she says that using jargon in
     technical documentation can only further confuse and frighten phobic
     computer users (or user wannabes) - or the rest of us, for that
     matter. Inventing new words, for whatever reason, is tricky enough. I
     think the fact that *American* English is the fastest-growing language
     (in terms of size and users) reflects that the U.S. is a country that
     is known for innovation, in terms of both culture and products.
     However, we users of the language have to be careful not to render it
     incomprehensible in the process of making it express new ideas.

     Taking words that already have an accepted, widely known meaning and
     using them to mean something else is, I find, especially loathsome in
     most cases. After awhile, as with the word "comprise," we can get so
     confused that we're afraid to use the word at all for fear that we
     will be misunderstood.

     I also agree with Margaret's comment that saying something is
     "really very simple" to learn increases the learner's fear of
     failure. In most cases, when I'm teaching, I'm more likely to say
     something like, "This is a bit tricky," or "I had trouble getting
     this right the first time." With seemingly everyone having a
     computer and being at least a little bit knowledgeable about how
     they work, it's getting harder and harder to fight the assumption
     among users that everyone knows what they know and can "talk the
     talk" intelligently. I'm still trying to learn enough emoticons
     (smileys) and acronyms to slog through a conversation online.


     Pam Owen
     Nighthawk Communications
     Reston, VA
     Nighthawk1 -at- aol -dot- com