[geeks] KDE "konsole" cluebat?

[velociraptor]

On 4/16/07, Charles Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com> wrote:
> der Mouse wrote:
> >>> "Looks like[sic] it was[sic] printed on paper"
> >> Pedantry without reference is so annoying.
> >
> > The "like" should be a phrase with "as", such as "as though" or "as
> > if".
>
> Only in formal communications.  The rules state that like is a better flowing
> alternative for spoken English, or written dialog like mailing lists, letters,
> and advertising.
>
> Little, Brown, 3rd edition, page 281.
>
>         :-)
>
> I keep it beside my desk for pedants, and also because I use it for formal
> writing whenever I have time.

What makes sense to your audience and what follows the "rules" of
formal written or even spoken English are often quite different
beasts.  In my experience, this is the most difficult lesson to teach
any communicator.

> > "Like" should be used when - and only when - the thing after it
> > is a noun phrase; "it was printed on paper" is a full sentence, not a
> > detached noun phrase.  "Looks like print on paper" would be an example
> > of a correct use of "like" carrying roughly the same meaning.
>
> "Proper English" is the best oxymoron I know of, and that's a classic example
> of why.
>
> English professors are like doctors: ask two of them for an opinion and you
> get three.

That's because each of them is probably approaching the writing from a
different audience viewpoint.  A couple of my students remarked that I
"obviously didn't know what I was doing" on my semester evaluation
because I told them on day one I couldn't *teach* them how to write
well, I could only coach them as to where they needed to improve.  You
can follow every rule of formal written English and still have an
atrocious piece of writing.

The main qualification of good writing, in my opinion: did the writer
communicate their idea in such a way that the audience was capable of
understanding the message as the writer intended?  Obviously, this is
an easier measure to apply for business or technical communication
than it is for fiction, poetry or other creative writing, but I still
think it applies in the latter case.

And yes, I broke a formal rule of English by using the plural
possessive, "their" instead of "he" or "he or she".  I choose the
'incorrect' usage because I believe it flows better.

I've seen some horrendous writing samples in my day...and I'm not even
considering emails and the like in that assessment.

=Nadine=