Since 1959, the Voice of America (VOA) has been broadcasting in a simple version of American English called Special English. Via the Internet, you can now get transcripts of these VOA broadcasts, follow along, and learn English.
Special English may be the Global English I have been seeking: a simple, international "dialect" that is easy to understand and easy to learn. Special English broadcasts are available to hear via radio and via RealPlayer and MP3 downloads. To experience Special English, go to
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/about_our_website.cfm
These Special English broadcasts and transcripts are a free way of learning American English. Now if only the Voice of America would provide software to translate business e-mails into Special English before these e-mails are sent around the world!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Dangers of Describing: the Noun Clump
When writers describe something, they often use an adjective, and adjectives precede nouns:
It is a cold day. He is buying a bigger truck.
But English does not always identify adjectives: elsewhere, "cold" could be a noun, as in "She has a cold."
Thus a noun phrase (noun plus adjectives preceding it) could grow:
Headline: Deactivated gun ban--this headline could mean a deactivated ban on guns, or a ban on deactivated guns.
"I am selling a vegetarian mother and baby book" could mean a vegetarian mother and a baby book.
A brand new brown women’s leather handbag--What is brown here?
In clarifying these noun phrases, writers have two tools: adding hyphens and/or working backward. For example, "Deactivated gun ban" could have simply become "Deactivated-gun ban" or "Ban on deactivated guns."
The book sentence would have been clearer if it had read, "I am selling a baby book for vegetarian mothers."
or possibly "a vegetarian mother-and-baby book."
As to the handbag, why not write, "a brand-new women's handbag in brown leather"? (Or is "women's" even necessary when the noun is handbag?) Note the power of the word "leather." It carries a hint for you e-Bayers: the last word in the description will get the emphasis.
It is a cold day. He is buying a bigger truck.
But English does not always identify adjectives: elsewhere, "cold" could be a noun, as in "She has a cold."
Thus a noun phrase (noun plus adjectives preceding it) could grow:
Headline: Deactivated gun ban--this headline could mean a deactivated ban on guns, or a ban on deactivated guns.
"I am selling a vegetarian mother and baby book" could mean a vegetarian mother and a baby book.
A brand new brown women’s leather handbag--What is brown here?
In clarifying these noun phrases, writers have two tools: adding hyphens and/or working backward. For example, "Deactivated gun ban" could have simply become "Deactivated-gun ban" or "Ban on deactivated guns."
The book sentence would have been clearer if it had read, "I am selling a baby book for vegetarian mothers."
or possibly "a vegetarian mother-and-baby book."
As to the handbag, why not write, "a brand-new women's handbag in brown leather"? (Or is "women's" even necessary when the noun is handbag?) Note the power of the word "leather." It carries a hint for you e-Bayers: the last word in the description will get the emphasis.
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