TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: iff vs. if in documents From:Lisamarie Babik <lmbabik -at- winspc -dot- com> To:"'SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM'" <SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM>, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 21 Jan 2000 13:48:52 -0500
I don't consider "iff" to be jargon. Heck, I even found it in my dictionary:
iff (somtimes read with a prolonged f): (1955) if and only if <two figures are
congruent ~ one can be placed over the other so that they coincide>
Then again, as a friend of mine likes to point out, Dictionary companies are in
the business of selling dictionaries, not preserving the language in any sort
of pure form...
Howerver, I disagree that its use will "weaken" your writing. I think you need
to consider your audience. If you are writing for a programmer, for example,
iff will mean nothing other than "if and only if". However, a programmer will
find repetitive use of the phrase "if and only if" not only cumbersome to read,
but damned annoying as well.
Again, I think this comes down to a more basic argument that's had on this list
about 400 times a year: do we write to our audience or are we bound by some
unspoken moral code to preserve the language from corruption?
*plink*plink* <----- my two cents
--
Lisamarie Babik
lmbabik -at- winspc -dot- com
Documentation Specialist
DataNet Quality Systems
24567 Northwestern Highway
Fourth Floor
Southfield, MI 48075
(248)357-2200
-----Original Message-----
From: SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM [SMTP:SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM]
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2000 4:18 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: iff vs. if in documents
The word "iff," meaning "if and only if," is pure jargon, arising from
Boolean logic. It is not an English word. I consider it a brother of the
construction "unless and until," and a more obscure nephew of the common
constructions "and/or." We routinely edit out "and/or;" no one's tried to
slip by "iff" at our company.
I would respectfully disagree with the statement that "if" and "iff" are
different, or even ambiguous, *in the English language.* The common meaning
of "if" is the same. You only have to remove all possibly avenues for
ambiguity, using "if and only if," if you are questioning Bill Clinton 8^)
Once you open the door to terms like this, your prose will become much
weaker.
-- Steve
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sponsored by Weisner Associates Inc., Online Information Services
Training & consulting for RoboHELP, Dreamweaver, HTML, and HTML-Based Help.
More info at http://www.weisner.com/train/ or mailto:training -at- weisner -dot- com -dot-
Sponsored by Rose Hill, Your Business and Career Coach.
"Assume Success! Live Your Passion!" Get the gist at
www.coachrose.com then call 503.629.4804 for details!
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: lmbabik -at- winspc -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-18234A -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
