Top 10 TechComm Influencers 2011
I've been listed by MindTouch as one of the Top 10 TechComm Influencers of 2011
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David Farbey, Technical Writer
Technical Communication and Information Design
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Most Influential Tech Comm Bloggers 2010
I've been listed by MindTouch as one of the top 25 Most Influential Tech Comm Bloggers for 2010!
Tag Archives: language
A custard cream? That’s neet!
The latest edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was published this week, and there have been a spate of articles about some of the new words that are in the dictionary for the first time, including custard cream … Continue reading
Tagged English, language, OED, pedantry
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Reading by numbers
I am indebted to Karen Schriver, author of Dynamics in Document Design, for posting a note to the Info-Design Cafe mailing list about a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about readability formulas. In his article “Can you read … Continue reading
Tagged language, readability, reading, usabilty
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Apostrophe overload
I am currently revising some user-facing documentation for a new client. The existing documents were prepared by a member of staff, no longer working for the company concerned, who had never had any training in technical writing skills. There’s a … Continue reading
Tagged apostrophe, grammar, language, technical writing
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Why "correctness" matters
Native speakers of English – or any other language – seem to know how to use their own language, and what is correct in language use, even without formal study of the rules of grammar. People just seem to know … Continue reading
Tagged English, grammar, language, usage
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Worse than hieroglyphics
An article by Sam Dunn in today’s Independent on Sunday compares the user information that accompanies financial products to Egyptian hieroglyphics, and unsurprisingly, the hieroglyphics come off best. For some unscrupulous companies, jargon and obscure language can help to sell … Continue reading
Tagged jargon, language, plain English
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Difficult decisions and hard choices
Tony’s Blair’s announcement of his departure from No. 10 Downing Street has naturally dominated the headlines today. There has been much written about his “legacy”. I want to draw attention to one less discussed aspect of that legacy – his … Continue reading
Tagged Blair, euphemism, language
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Invented English: "smokefree"
In order to create publicity material to accompany the implementation of a law making it illegal to smoke in enclosed places, the UK Department of Health (DoH) have invented a new word: “smokefree”. In fact they have an entire campaign … Continue reading
Tagged grammar, language, plain English, usage
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Learning from Jane
I have always enjoyed citing Jane Austen’s use of “their” with a singular antecedent in rebuttal of the pedants who claim it must only be used with the plural (see the reference on Henry Churchyard’s Linguistics page, and many other … Continue reading
Tagged etymology, films, jane Austen, language, OED, pedantry
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