atw: Re: Query: Deliberate misspellings

Might want to have a look at your dependants before fixing others' misspellings.
Brian.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steve Hudson 
  To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 8:32 PM
  Subject: atw: Query: Deliberate misspellings

  Not, not Tori (Miss Spelling). Let me elucidate, with the emphasis on loose
  of course.

  I have a long-term small client who is a mechanic. Quite frankly, this guy
  is the best damn mechanic / service / repair / performance dude that Sydney
  has ever seen, so he is an absolute pleasure to work for. Have you EVER
  walked into a "we look after cars" joint and it has been spotless all over?
  Etc.

  We have a running argument with the words "dynatune" and to a lesser degree
  "dynamometer". Not that it is required for this question, but a dynamometer
  is an instrument that connects with your wheels (old tech is huge ground
  rollers the car gets strapped onto, new tech is hub-based as per my client)
  and measures the power and torque of your engine and transmission system to
  measure "power at the wheels." The new system also measures torque more
  accurately than the old system with its variable resistance.

  Here is the problem. The audience is (excuse tech writer extreme use casing
  here) a bunch of uneducated lebbos and red-necked yobbos who misspell these
  words as "dynotune" as in "Ya need a dyno mate, you'll go sick!" and
  "dynometer" respectively.

  My client keeps changing my correct spellings to the incorrect spellings.
  Now, where-as for street-side I don't mind too much, in formal marketing
  material I can see no purpose in demonstrating a marked lack of education.

  My personal opinion is based on the following surmise: "Do the lebs and yobs
  understand what a dynanometer or dynatune is?" "Yes, it phonetically
  represents terms they are familiar with and they have no problems with
  that."

  I am all ears. I am torn between "EDUCATE THE DUMB LITTLE SMUCKS" and "But
  the audience..."

  Dependant on the feedback from here, I may run a survey on existing
  customers for a month to ascertain the answer part of my surmise.

  Spanish Aunts!  

  Steve Hudson

  Word Heretic, Sydney, Australia 
  Tricky stuff with Word or words for you.
  www.wordheretic.com
  ABN: 86 453 419 554   
  "Qualified Good Tech Writer Dude"
  Free Association of Words
  Without prejudice

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