#65550
04/15/2002 8:52 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Another accidental site, possibly occasionally of use to a few forgetful types like me. http://englishplus.com/grammar/contents.htm
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#65551
04/15/2002 9:32 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
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#65552
04/15/2002 9:56 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
Seems a pretty good site - no bells and whistles - that's how we like'em. I checked up sentence fragments (since I had "I'm just saying." on my mind) and it offers this exception:
Sometimes in conversation only sentence fragments make sense.
OK, if you are recording a conversation, otherwise incorrect:
She asked, "Why did you watch that baseball game?"
"Because we are baseball fans."
I think there are probably at least a handful of other uses which, although tarred with the brush of fragmentization, I'd 'okay' [supporting my age bracket -e].
Purists may withe and shudder at such non-sentences, but if verbally they're quicker and just as understandable, then why not. What say the AWAD-Boarders?
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#65553
04/15/2002 10:23 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear belligerentyouth: For a few years my boss was a native German speaker, who had become relatively fluent in English. I drove him crazy with elliptical sentence fragments.
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#65554
04/15/2002 11:23 PM
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 184
member
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member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 184 |
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#65555
04/16/2002 6:45 AM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Dear by,
It seems to me that language is all about communication, and provided the short cuts don't breed unintended ambiguity, then the shorter the wording the more efficient the communication.
Have you noticed that in multi-lingual instructions, for cameras, toasters etc., the English section is always the shortest. That seems to imply that English is either a more efficient communication tool than other languages or it is less precise and leaves more to be interpreted from context. Any views?
dxb.
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#65556
04/16/2002 11:48 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> English is either a more efficient communication tool than other languages or it is less precise and leaves more to be interpreted from context.
Well certainly not the former! I can't speak for languages per se, but German is IMHO almost always more concise and precise - confirming the latter. To believe that English is our 'lingua-franca' because of any ways in which English is superior to other languages would be very arrogant, I think. The fact that English is seen as 'less precise' should be seen directly in the context of its wide spread use and abuse throughout the world today.
aside: what's in the name?
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#65557
04/16/2002 1:53 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,302 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,302 Likes: 2 |
Word automatically changes SLT to sit!
Give him a birthday present (or equivalent occasion) (or no occasion at all if that's the kind of family you are) and tell him that the spelling- and grammar-correcting functions of Word are under the user's control and can be turned on or off as desired !
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