Re: Performant - is it a word

["Brierley, Sean" <Brierley -at- QUODATA -dot- COM>]

>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: Joe Schrengohst [mailto:jschreng -at- CISCO -dot- COM]
>>>Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 1999 1:48 PM
>>>To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>>>Subject: Re: Performant - is it a word
>>>
>>>
>>>My position has always been that if you can write it and attach
>>>a definition to it, then it's a word. This activity is a freedom that
>>>is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of
>>>the United States of America.

The First Amendment has nothing to do with this. The First Amendment has
traditionally been upheld by the courts as applying to political speech.
Thus, burning a flag is protected but yelling "fire" in a crowded movie
theatre and lying under oath are not.

I think it bizarre to apply the First Amendment as leverage to declare
sounds you make as bonafide words. I could declare that the sound my cat
makes when coughing-up a furball is a word but the First Amendment would
neither support nor denounce that assertion.

Anyway, I saw an earlier post that said "performant" is Canadian-French. I
have yet to see a definition for this word. Does anyone have a definition
for it?

From a professional standpoint, I find the English language very interesting
for the plethora of new words, some of which come and go with fashion. As a
technical writer, I try to use the clearest and most concise terms that my
audience would understand. For example, I would not use "deuce-and-a-half"
to describe the size of fire hose to those outside the US fire-fighting
industry. Outside the medical industry, I would not use "TIA" to describe a
temporary stroke condition. (You get the idea ;?) If I were using a term
such as "performant," and the term was particularly common only amongst
French Canadians, then I would only use it if French Canadians were my sole
audience (if the French Canadians were a majority of my audience, I could be
persuaded to use the term with an accompanying glossary entry if nothing
better came along).

Stay safe,

Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com

Curiously yours,

Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com

P.S.

>>>The beauty and the mystery of language is that it is dynamic, not
>>>static as most anal-retentive types would have it be.

I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment!!!!

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