21–28 of 28 posts
As a German learning to write in English I had to constantly remind myself to keep my sentences short :)
Not to mention your words. English doesn't have nearly as ... robust a mechanism for generating compound words as German.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Use punchy verbs to liven things up as occasion allows Neither Zinsser, nor Orwell (who wrote the famous essay with similar advice) say the use of such words is to be 'punchy'. I don't know where you and the angry commenter I replied to get that from. It's not advice meant to be make your prose 'punchy' but clearer and better. 'Punchy' is, frankly, dismissive. Latin words are, of course, unavoidable and necessary in…
As I recall, the warning about overuse of Latin derives from Fowler and goes through Strunk and White (might be mistaken about the latter), where I think the contrast is drawn with words that are described as being more "vivid." I stand corrected on having used "punchy" in a way that appears dismissive. I am in complete agreement with the rest of your analysis as well, including with your admiration of Mr. Zinsser. B…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Orwell's and Shakespeare's style are both to be emulated, in the appropriate contexts.
Orwell's, more likely than Shakespeare's. The context 'Iambic pentameter blank verse play in Early Modern English' simply doesn't come up that often. Although there is the rare exception - http://www.runleiarun.com/lebowski/
I share his stylistic preferences, but Zinsser is a prick. (How's that for simple and forceful?) He's a prick suffering from a bad case of déformation professionnelle. (Ha! That isn't even English!) To further express my disdain for his advice, I have made my response extremely long. Consider his first example: “Dear member: The board of governors has spent the past year considering proactive efforts that will contin…
The idea is that a fishes mouth opens and closes all the time, but all that comes out is air-bubbles.
I'm with master George Carlin on this one, "simple, direct language" is appropriate everywhere there isn't a justified need for domain-specific terminology to be used.
I share his stylistic preferences, but Zinsser is a prick. (How's that for simple and forceful?) He's a prick suffering from a bad case of déformation professionnelle. (Ha! That isn't even English!) To further express my disdain for his advice, I have made my response extremely long. Consider his first example: “Dear member: The board of governors has spent the past year considering proactive efforts that will contin…
The russian language has a special term set aside for this kind of round-about linguistic constructionism – "fish language". It's like the English "legalese", but with no relation to lawyers specifically. The idea is that a fishes mouth opens and closes all the time, but all that comes out is air-bubbles. I'm with master George Carlin on this one, "simple, direct language" is appropriate everywhere there isn't a just…
You talking about "Канцелярит" (kantceliaryt?). "Канцелярия" means "office". Suffix "ит" here means language or disease. So "канцелярит" means "official language/disease". See http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B5%... http://zhivoeslovo.ru/content/view/85/143/
"Fish" (рыба) - is template or form: you need just to fill gaps between prewritten sentences. It looks like "fish bones".
As a German learning to write in English I had to constantly remind myself to keep my sentences short :)
Not to mention your words. English doesn't have nearly as ... robust a mechanism for generating compound words as German.
""" Here’s a typical sentence: “Prior to the implementation of the financial enhancement.” That means “Before we fixed our money problems.” """
"fixed", "money" and "problems" are -- afaik -- what she calls latin words...
oooops!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The russian language has a special term set aside for this kind of round-about linguistic constructionism – "fish language". It's like the English "legalese", but with no relation to lawyers specifically. The idea is that a fishes mouth opens and closes all the time, but all that comes out is air-bubbles. I'm with master George Carlin on this one, "simple, direct language" is appropriate everywhere there isn't a just…
> The russian language has a special term set aside for this kind of round-about linguistic constructionism – "fish language". It's like the English "legalese", but with no relation to lawyers specifically. You talking about "Канцелярит" (kantceliaryt?). "Канцелярия" means "office". Suffix "ит" here means language or disease. So "канцелярит" means "official language/disease". See http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D…
(No.)