I still use that technique. When I'm writing some new stuff in a
manual, I often imagine I'm explaining the product to another
person. Effectively, I'm reading the text 'aloud' in my head. That
way I work out where the natural pauses are.
I think I am turning into a dinosaur. I hear American pronunciation
and emphasis creeping into our local TV and radio, and it irks me!
Cheers
Dave
Christine Kent wrote, on 6/04/2011 7:58 p.m.:
I
have just made another observation regarding the problem of
whether “our grammar” is defunct.
I
was listening to a very young newsreader and finding her
uncomfortable to listen to and difficult to understand, so I
paid attention. Something was “wrong” with the “rhythm” of
what she was saying. It is something I have wondered about
with younger people – why I can find some of them really
difficult to follow, but I have never really paid attention
before now.
I
had a teacher in year 12 who, instead of teaching us
grammar, told us to put commas where we wanted the reader to
take a short breath and a full stop where we wanted them to
take a longer breath. In effect our punctuation told the
reader when to breathe. It’s an excellent system, even if
it is technically incorrect at times.
This
newsreader was putting all her pauses in the wrong place.
She would run-on at the end of sentences with no pause at
all, and put short or long pauses in the middle of clauses.
I
struggled to follow what she was saying. Did she follow it
herself? Was she reading for meaning or just reading words?
Is there some internal logic comprehended by other young
people? Or does no-one care anymore whether we/they
understand what is said or not?
Someone
must be researching this.
Christine
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