atw: Re: FW: Re: ASTC(NSW) conference 2007
- From: "Matthew da Silva" <mdasilva@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 13:18:28 +1000
The use of Anglo Saxon-derived words is often overlooked. One of the
textbooks I'm currently reading almost exclusively uses words derived
from Latin roots. Due to the lexical sameness, comprehension is severely
curtailed. I believe that the writer uses this kind of language on
purpose, to raise the tone of the book, which is about marketing. It may
be that like many social science experts, the author wants to emphasise
the 'science' element in order to attract funding and enhance prestige.
But this is just a supposition.
Matthew
________________________________
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Christine Kent
Sent: Monday, 7 May 2007 1:02 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: FW: Re: ASTC(NSW) conference 2007
Basic rule is speak English not Latin (or Greek, or Latin via French).
English words tend to be simple single syllable words that everyone
understands; Latin and Greek have many syllables and are designed to
differentiate between the working classes (the Celts etc) and the upper
classes (the invading Romans, Normans etc. )
Another basic rule is to write subject/verb/object sentences in active
rather than passive voice.
So you have:
* a cat sitting on a mat, not a mat upon which a feline is
recumbent.
* sludge not "putrescible matter"
* house, not accommodation
* meat-eating, not carnivorous
You obviously do it naturally - I scanned the email you sent and can't
find any obvious substitutions. Maybe reading ability rather than
literacy levels.
Of course, if you learn to do it too well, everyone will think YOU are
dumb.
ck
________________________________
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
wongword@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, 6 May 2007 7:38 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: FW: Re: ASTC(NSW) conference 2007
Donald
It was late when I whipped it off last night.
I am interested in hearing about our readers and their literacy
levels and what this means to them when they come across our documents.
Does anyone have tips for us in what is particularly difficult
to understand, what can we do to reduce the risk of being misunderstood,
are their any laws that we might be breaking, is one format better than
another? What's the difference if any btwn NESB and illiterate english
speakers. So many questions
Rosie Wicket (spelling?), who ever she is wrote a lot of stuff
during the year of the illiterate a few years ago. There's also an adult
English teachers group. I forget their name but they have a website,
have conferences etc. They may have a speaker.
I think this is one of those topics where we don't know what we
don't know. Most of us have never been exposed to this issue. I just
have a feeling that some group out there may be itching to speak to
people like us to spread their message and ideas.
Irene Wong
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Burch <mailto:donburch888@xxxxxxxxx>
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 6:52 PM
Subject: atw: FW: Re: ASTC(NSW) conference 2007
Very good example "here", Irene ! Ha-ha.
But seriously, are you thinking of the literacy of the
writers, or the literacy of the readers ?
There has always been a gap between those who study
language, and the man in the street - as evidenced by the pedantic
nature of many threads in this list. Personally I feel that the average
person's grasp of English has dropped markedly over the past few decades
- though I certainly don't think of myself as any sort of expert (heck I
didn't even like English at school). But for years I've been wondering
what the premium costs to "insure that you press button A before button
B". I blame American, and the fact that they call it "English".
As if things aren't bad enough now, with the TXT
generation the gap seems to be turning into a chasm. And as the TXTers
rapidly become the main advertising demographic I expect that all forms
of writing (and not just advertising) will be dumbed down ... and in a
few years we will all be unemployable (except for documents intended for
other geriatrics).
Sorry, another one of those issues which 'gets my goat'.
So Irene, are you thinking of literacy standards for
writers ? Or of adapting the writing to the target reader ? Or have
you something else in mind ?
Cheers,
Don Burch
D & H Business Services
www.dhbusiness.com.au <http://www.dhbusiness.com.au/>
P O Box 1289, Chatswood, NSW 2057, Australia
Ph:+61-2-9410 0606 Mob:(0411) 259 278
SIP: 98883527@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
SIP:635871@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:635871@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
SKYPE:donburch888
________________________________
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
wongword@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, 5 May 2007 11:22 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: ASTC(NSW) conference 2007
I'd like to here about literacy and how it is relevant
to us.
Irene
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