----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BETTER WRITING SKILLS NEWSLETTER, December 2009 By Tim North of Scribe Consulting www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the final Better Writing Skills newsletter for 2009. IN THIS ISSUE 1. "Sounds like" or "sounds as if"? 2. Disoriented or disorientated? 3. "Different from", "different to" or "different than"? 4. Just for fun Your comments and questions are always welcome. Just send e-mail to: info@scribe.com.au Cheers, Tim North (Perth, Western Australia) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. "Sounds like" or "sounds as if"? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My first correspondent this month, Harold, wrote in to ask me about my choice of words. On my web site I'd written: "Hour" sounds like it starts with a vowel sound. Harold wrote: Having read a tirade earlier today about "like" used as a conjunction ... I feel obliged as a conscientious researcher to ask you about it. Harold is suggesting here (quite rightly) that many people would object to the way I've phrased my sentence. They would prefer me to write: "Hour" sounds AS IF it starts with a vowel sound. He continues: [Your] usage is well-established -- and for good reason; but, as you know, it's routinely cited -- in the U.S., at least -- as an egregious error. I'm aware that many people dislike this usage, but it seems rather natural to me. As Harold noted above, it's also very well established in common usage. For example, a quick bit of comparative Googling reveals: "they look LIKE they" 22 million pages "they look AS IF they" 5 million pages This pattern remained even when I limited my searches to ".com", ".uk" and ".au". This supports the notion that the usage is widespread in the informal writing of the online world. I'd accept that it may be wise to avoid using "like" as a conjunction in very formal writing, though, as it may raise the ire of some readers. Hope this helps. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Disoriented or disorientated? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My second correspondent this month, Pete, asked if he should prefer "disoriented" or "disorientated". Well, the shorter spelling seems to be most commonly found in US English. Users of British and Australian English seem to be using both in roughly equal measure these days. Pete wrote: This one really, really winds me up! ... What are your views? It's fairly common for new words to be formed by shortening an older word. I think that's what we're seeing here: "disorientated" has been simplified to "disoriented" by the omission of a single syllable. I'd try not to be put out by it. Language changes, and that's both natural and desirable. Have a quick look at any of Shakespeare's plays to see clear evidence of how much it can change. Hope this helps. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. "Different from", "different to" or "different than"? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My next correspondent, Murray, wrote in asking if we should prefer "different from" over "different to": It was drummed into me as a primary school pupil (when teachers themselves had a good grasp of English grammar) that the correct usage in this situation would be "different from" rather than "different to". The logic for this arises from the fact that one thing _differs from_ another. The opposite situation is that one thing is _similar to_ another. I understand what you're saying, Murray. While all three forms are in use, the sources that I consulted all agreed with you that "different from" was the most common usage and was thus always acceptable. Incidentally, in view of this, I've updated the wording of two of my past newsletters. Thanks for your feedback! Sources differed, though, in their attitudes to "different to" and "different than". Some considered these to be quite acceptable alternatives. Others railed against them. They all agreed, though, that no one would object to "different from", so that is clearly the safest usage. If you'd like to read more on this, here are a few interesting commentaries: http://tinyurl.com/yh5aw65 http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxdiffer.html http://tinyurl.com/yd9rrvw Hope this helps. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you know someone who'd like this newsletter? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a friend or colleague who'd find the Better Writing Skills newsletter interesting? If so, please feel free to send a copy of this issue to them. Alternatively, please tell them they can browse back issues here: http://www.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html Thanks for helping to make this newsletter so successful! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Just for fun ----------------------------------------------------------------- Well Christmas is almost upon us. If you're looking for a new book for yourself or for a friend with a passion for English, here's a good one. Grab a copy of Professor Jack Lynch's new work "The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of 'Proper' English, from Shakespeare to South Park". I smiled when I read this quote: Friends who can discuss politics, religion and sex with perfect civility are often reduced to red-faced rage when the topic of conversation is the serial comma or an expression like "more unique." Isn't that so true? :-) You can read more about "The Lexicographer's Dilemma" on Amazon.com here: http://tinyurl.com/yjedzj8 As always, I'll be taking a publishing break in January and will send out the next newsletter in early February. See you all then. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like more help with your writing? ----------------------------------------------------------------- On my web site, you'll find my range of jargon-free, downloadable e-books that will help you to become a better writer. These e-books will help you with business proposals, report writing, term papers, technical writing, grant writing, creative writing and more: http://www.scribe.com.au/ebooks.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- REPRODUCING THIS MATERIAL You're welcome to reproduce the articles from this newsletter that are copyrighted by Tim North, but please don't modify or sell them. 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