Nick Kearney (nickkearney@mx3.redestb.es)
Tue, 04 May 1999 23:24:52 +0200
Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 23:24:52 +0200 From: Nick Kearney <nickkearney@mx3.redestb.es> Subject: Re: Another point in etiquette: proof-read yourself!
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At 15:45 4/05/99 EDT, you wrote:
>List address to send message to everyone: ifets-discuss@LISTSERV.READADP.COM
>Details of current discussion: http://ifets.gmd.de/discuss.html
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>
>S. Ellison makes an effective point, as far as it goes, that is, on the
>surface, but I want to know the following: Is it really possible over time
>to divide oneself into two people in one's written expressions?
Yes, of course it is, though to describe it as two people is perhaps a
little extreme. In all our forms of expression we shift our discourse to
fit the discourse community we are addressing. What is clear is that within
this particular discourse community a certain percentage of participants
(it is hard to say what percentage due to the unknown quantity of lurkers)
feel that the barbarians are at the gate !! ( I won't use a smiley here
since it might be construed as a red rag to a bull!) Maybe the rest of us
should bear their feelings in mind.
However, this question really has very little to do with e-mail. People
have been complaining about the deterioration of language since they
started talking about language, and there are always those who feel that
certain qualities are being lost irretrievably, wherever you look. If you
add to this the fact that new discourse communities usually encounter a
certain resistance, this discussion can be seen as a natural "growing pain"!
I think one of the great advantages of this medium is that it is a
leveller. The visual factors that lead us to make snap judgements in other
fora do not exist here, it would be a pity if we were to invent other
discriminations, such as the idea that someone whose spelling is less than
faithful to the norms prescribed by a particular grammar, dictionary or
spell-checker is less likely to be capable of participating in the
conversation.
Nick Kearney
Florida Centre de Formació
Valencia, Spain
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