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March 2005 |
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Welcome to the March issue of Word Power - and hello to this month's new subscribers.
You may have noticed that the e-zine skipped a month in February.
The main reason for this was that we took some 
time off to search for a little
winter sunshine in Tunisia. Actually we experienced a whole range of weather
on this trip - and some of it was sunshine! You might like to bookmark a great
little hotel that we found called Dhar
Diafa on the island of Djerba. Here's
a pic. It's decorated in traditional Berber style - but with lots of modern
comforts. Highly recommended as a retreat from busy work routines ...
But
now we're relaxed and ready to face the rigours of the UK spring. As well as
ongoing work with Walkgrove Ltd on a large Scottish Executive project, demand
continues
to be high for speed reading, mind mapping and effective writing courses. In
between grappling with the complexities of Japanese typesetting and the impending
Customs/Inland Revenue merger, Nick's been working on the redesign of our website.
The new clear, minimal look should be up and running by next week - more details
in next month's Word Power.
Word Smiths is a small, independent partnership specialising in the creation and delivery of learning materials and training packages. We are also copywriters/editors, publishers and typesetters/designers. For more information, visit our website www.word-smiths.co.uk.
In this issue:
- Renew your faith in politicians' intellectual capacity with this true story from the Plain English Campaign
- Larpers and Shroomers: Roy Williams' review of the new edition of Susie Dent's popular book on the changing use of language
- Nick's Grammar Slammer - Part 5: conjunctions and relative pronouns
- Speed Reading for Success - great reviews and top of Amazon's speed reading list
- Updates on future Word Smiths publications.
Who says politicians are stupid?
The Plain English Campaign has picked up a Reuters story featuring Ontario's Education Minister, Gerard Kennedy, talking about a potential teachers' strike.
"I think strike is a bit of a five-letter word in education and that gets
people nervous", Kennedy said on Wednesday, according to media reports.
After it was pointed out that the word strike has six letters, Kennedy, a member of the Liberal Party, said that he meant to say something else all together.
"Pardon me, I was going to say four, but it really is a tough word in education. Thank you - show off!"
Critics were quick to call the gaffe a 'Dan Quayle moment', in reference to the former US vice-president, who famously made a schoolboy add an unnecessary 'e' to the end of the boy's correctly spelled 'potato'.
"But then, at least no one put Dan Quayle in charge of educating over a million schoolchildren", said legislator John Baird, of Canada's opposition Conservative Party.
Support
the drive for clearer English by visiting the Plain
English Campaign website.
Larpers and Shroomers
The very latest new words, slang, cyberspeak, idioms, street talk, and euphemisms
Susie Dent had a hit last year with the language report which brought us smack up to date with the latest language being coined on the street, in the media, and on the Internet. When her latest book appeared, I assumed it was a second edition, with a few minor updates. But no - it's a whole new collection of terms which have (largely) emerged during the last twelve months. That's how fast language develops.
Basically it's a report from the sharp end of language change. Some of these terms may make it into the dictionaries, others won't. For instance I see no reason why phishing shouldn't make it (luring people to fake websites to get their credit card details) because the term is already widely used. But somehow I can't see chugger (a person who mugs you for a charitable cause) succeeding, for essentially the same reason: I have never heard or seen anybody using it.
However, the world of computing generates a rich crop of neologisms which are likely to endure. The blog (weblog) the wiki (editable website) and the whitelist (safe or genuine email addresses) are now permanent fixtures of the e-world. And I predict that leetspeak (coded and abbreviated language) might be the next big thing, supported by its similarity to txt msgs.
This is a spirited attempt to keep up with the rapid state of language change. I found it difficult to put the book down, and I hope it becomes an annual publication - but next time we could do with an index.
© Roy Johnson 2005
A longer version of this item previously appeared on Roy's Mantex website - a great source of software, books and services for education and business. Click here to sign up for the Mantex newsletter. Larpers and Shroomers is available from Amazon.
Nick's Grammar Slammer
Part 5: Conjunctions and relative pronouns
In this issue of Word Power I'm looking at conjunctions and relative pronouns. If you want to read previous grammar slammers, click here for links to earlier editions of Word Power. Each feature deals with an area of grammar or punctuation which can cause difficulties and undermine our business communications.
Conjunctions - linking
Conjunctions (like, and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) simply connect words or groups of words.
"As Miss America, my goal is to bring peace to the entire world and get my own apartment."
Jay Leno
"Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form
of misery."
Spike Milligan
Some conjunctions are always used in pairs. They connect two words or two groups of words that are used in the same way — that is, they are the same part of speech or they are grammatically alike. They include:
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"I hope that posterity will judge me kindly, not
only as to the things which I have explained, but also to those which I have intentionally
omitted so as
to leave to others the pleasure of discovery."
Rene Descartes
"Whether you think you can or whether you think you
can't, you're right."
Henry Ford
Conjunctions - contrasting
The conjunctions while, whilst, whereas, though and although indicate a contrast between two idea or items of information. They are best placed at the beginning of a sentence.
"While almost everyone has had a career goal at some time, most people grow out of the habit after the age of 21."
Jane Smith
'Though' sounds better than 'although' in the middle of a sentence when you want to introduce an exception to a fact or a rule that you have just stated.
"It
seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept
better, though the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours
much more."
Woody Allen
Starting with a conjunction
A popular belief is that you can't start sentences with the conjunctions because, and, but and since. However, there is no grammar rule that stops you doing this: indeed it can be quite powerful and dramatic if not overused.
"Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly
everything, money is handy."
Groucho Marx
Relative pronouns - 'which' and 'that'
Some people (and many best-avoided grammar checkers) have a distinct preference for using either 'that' or 'which' in any situation requiring this type of relative pronoun. But there is in fact a clear difference between the two words. Briefly, 'that' is an identifier, whereas 'which' adds descriptive detail.
- 'I am wearing a suit that I bought in Bristol' (identifies the suit).
- 'I am wearing a suit which I bought in Bristol' (adding more detail about the suit).
Unfortunately, there are many instances when it is hard to decide which kind of clause you are writing, and many writers either don't understand or ignore this distinction. The fact that grammar checkers will almost always encourage you to substitute 'that' for 'which' says a lot about their general reliability and usefulness.
In the next Word Power, Nick's Grammar Slammer Part 6: the rules of plain English.
Unlock the secrets of successful reading
Are
you drowning in a mass of e-mails, letters, books, reports and journals? If
so Jane Smith's audio book Speed Reading for Success will help you learn how
to be a truly effective reader. This month our CD has had three great reviews
"A little bit of genius that will help you learn speed reading with ease ... an excellent idea and I wish we had thought of it first."
New Archaeology (USA)
"An excellent product. The methods taught work extremely well, and you should be able to see enormous improvements to your reading and comprehension ... an ideal way to learn how to cope with the torrent of information we have access to these days."
Gerry Keegan Psychology (UK web magazine)
"I would recommend this resource to anyone who needs to get through lots of material quickly and efficiently."
Training Journal (UK)
It's fantastic value at just £14.85 - buy it from our website www.word-smiths.co.uk and we'll send you a free copy of e-book Decision Making for Success.
Alternatively, you can order it from Amazon at £10.39.
Word Smiths publications in the pipeline
- Coaching for Success - supporting NVQs in the workplace
- Memory Techniques for Success - how to acquire, retain and retrieve vital information
If any colleagues or friends would like to subscribe
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