tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post263742720497020591..comments2023-10-08T05:00:23.559-04:00Comments on Clarissa's Blog: Bringing Back BombastClarissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-91799521028468662342010-11-15T14:43:24.455-05:002010-11-15T14:43:24.455-05:00These are really good points, Clarissa. Even thoug...These are really good points, Clarissa. Even though English is my native language (well, as much as someone whose thoughts aren't made of words at all can *have* a native language), I've had to make a similar change from long, meandering sentences full of colorful metaphors and expressions to a shorter, clearer type of sentence.<br /><br />I know that on my blog, I am always trying to pare away whatever excess complexity I find I can dispense with --- especially in my technical posts about biology, physiology, neuroscience or autism research.<br /><br />That's more a deliberate choice I made than an artifact of training, though (though I have *definitely* experienced that, too --- having my professors cross out all sorts of clauses that I thought were necessary to make a sentence hang together!): since my readership includes a lot of people with various developmental or cognitive disabilities, and since the stuff I choose to write about can be hard even for very intelligent laypeople to understand, I try to write as simply and as clearly as I can, and to use as few generally-unfamiliar technical terms as I think I can get away with without sacrificing meaning. <br /><br />(In comments sections, though, I still embrace the long, rambly, one-sentence paragraph! --- see Exhibit A above)Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-80345627967004550552010-11-15T13:15:46.306-05:002010-11-15T13:15:46.306-05:00Thank you, David!
I just bought Jitterbug Perfume...Thank you, David!<br /><br />I just bought Jitterbug Perfume on Kindle and I'll publish a review as soon as I finish it.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-29629182392849509472010-11-15T12:03:45.903-05:002010-11-15T12:03:45.903-05:00By the way, I will be very eager to hear what you ...By the way, I will be very eager to hear what you have to say about Tom Robbins' novels if you have the time and inclination to read some of them. He writes in this sort of style, I think, and I love his novels, especially the two I mentioned before.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-39054059395360004182010-11-15T11:56:32.527-05:002010-11-15T11:56:32.527-05:00Ummm. Make that 'Thanks.' I really need to...Ummm. Make that 'Thanks.' I really need to synchronize my left and right fingers!Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-29745985381692976412010-11-14T17:22:13.730-05:002010-11-14T17:22:13.730-05:00:-)
Thank you!!
The rules in the last paragraph ...:-)<br /><br />Thank you!!<br /><br />The rules in the last paragraph are uncomfortably close in complexity to the rules for writing a sestina, something with which I never intend to offend.<br /><br />But I admit, I do enjoy reading this sort of prose.<br /><br />Tahnks again.<br /><br />DavidPagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-90219152788334860532010-11-14T15:51:25.464-05:002010-11-14T15:51:25.464-05:00I'd say that Russian is somewhere between Engl...I'd say that Russian is somewhere between English and Spanish in that respect.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-85164550092473970952010-11-14T15:31:35.462-05:002010-11-14T15:31:35.462-05:00Have I understood correctly and this post is an ex...Have I understood correctly and this post is an example of normal writing in Spanish? If so, where is Russian between those 2 extremes (Spanish bombcast vs English brevity)?elnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-34026146947493334482010-11-14T15:26:53.531-05:002010-11-14T15:26:53.531-05:00I would defend complex sentence structure. The wri...I would defend complex sentence structure. The writers of the Federalist Papers did not avoid a complex sentence when it was needed to express to express a complex thought. Yet the papers as a whole are very clear compositions. This is because Hamilton, Madison and Jay used unambiguous and unpretentious English in composing their respective essays. As a result their sentences may be long and complex, but they are also straight forward with clear meanings. There is nothing wrong with using complex sentences as long as such usage does not reflect muddled and unclear thinking. The lost art of sentence diagramming demonstrates that a complex sentence full of subordinate clauses may be the clearest way to express an idea.Richardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-22667999947476655042010-11-14T14:09:29.351-05:002010-11-14T14:09:29.351-05:00Thank you, friend! I have had this kind of writing...Thank you, friend! I have had this kind of writing beaten out of me in grad school. Now, I'm so terrified of writing a long sentence that I will surely have nightmares after writing this post. :-)Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-37773228230635264472010-11-14T13:59:36.902-05:002010-11-14T13:59:36.902-05:00I have only recently started reading your blog, an...I have only recently started reading your blog, and I see I have been missing out. Thank you, Pagan Topologist! Incidentally, there are those that would argue that the types of rules you reference (in English anyway, I can't speak for Spanish) are bogus now that writing in English is no longer the preserve of monolingual English speakers with fastidious styles, but rather expanding in glorious ways for global use. Personally, I think this post is perfectly clear, rather than convoluted. It's your blog, so you can write as you like!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com