Re: Yahoo has no staff tech writers

[Brad Jensen <brad -at- elstore -dot- com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Byfield" <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Cc: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 9:31 PM
Subject: Re: Yahoo has no staff tech writers


>
> Bonnie Granat wrote:
>
> > Because grammar exists only to support the communication of intended
> > meaning,

That's quite an assertion.

There are some other arguments.

1. Grammer exists to help the speaker remember what he is saying as he says
it.

2. Grammer maps the inner process of construction of a verablized thought.

3. Grammer is euphonious - it is sound that determines grammer, rather than
the other way around.

4. Grammer is the way that the old lady says it. In other words, grammer is
ritualistic and
indicates the orthodoxy and conformance to societal norms of the speaker.

I just made these arguments up, but I'll bet most of themhave been debated
int he literature.

>  I can't conceive of something being "technically accurate" and
> ungrammatical.

Saddam is about to get his butt blowed off.

> That's not to say that error-free copy isn't the best way to
> communicate.If nothing else, you don't want to alienate readers by
> making them But a passage can have a large number of grammatical
> mistakes and still be comprehensible; any instructor who has survived
> marking first year university papers can vouch for that claim.

Thgere's also extensive research to show that teaching English or Rhetoric
to
first year college students has no effect on their ability to write
grammatically.

> I think of grammatical errors as static on a radio. While a clear signal
> is desirable, meaning can still survive a good deal of static.

I wonder how much useful brainpower is consumed following the rules of
grammer?

I've also wondered if a large part of the success of the English-speaking
world
(over the course of centuries) compared to speakers of other languages,
is due to the simplified structure and reduced number of variations of
English verbs compared to many other languages.

Brad Jensen


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