RE: Pet Peeves

["Dubin, David" <David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com>]

Chris is correct, but I would like to take it one step further. Not only
should we not use colloquialisms, we should be very careful about our
metaphors as well. During my tenure with PriceWaterhouse in the '90s, I
reviewed a white paper that was being delivered to our colleagues in
India. It was replete with sports metaphors such as "getting on base,"
"hitting a home run," and "curveball." I pointed out to the writer that
the Indians would have no concept of the meaning of these phrases as
cricket and soccer were their sports of choice, rather than baseball. 


David B. Dubin
Senior Curriculum Developer 
Sage Software 
727-579-1111 x 3356
david -dot- dubin -at- sage -dot- com
Your business in mind.

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+david -dot- dubin=sage -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+david -dot- dubin=sage -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Chris Borokowski
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 11:31 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Pet Peeves


Please, no politics on the list. It polarizes workplaces into paranoia
and makes people afraid to speak.

I would suggest that people use fewer colloquialisms in general, as they
are not accessible to any reader who hasn't encountered them before. The
term "whole enchilada" might make sense to someone from Texas, for
example, but could baffle a New Yorker.

Whenever I find myself using colloquialisms in documentation, I have to
stop and ask whether or not I'm explicitly describing a process or using
a convenient phrase to gloss over lack of knowledge.

--- "Flood, Donna" <DFlood -at- eoriginal -dot- com> wrote:

> Everybody who makes their living using language really should take it 
> upon themselves to become informed about sexist and racist language, 
> and delete it from their vocabulary.





 
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