Messages

1

Badly Written, Badly Spoken / Re: So many serious grammar errors in six local textbooks teaching English!

« on: October 18, 2009, 05:56:47 PM »

This is ridiculous. The sentences sounds slang...don't fuss for a Grade Six student? Inappropriate.

Nurses going around the hospital injecting the patients! A grade 3 student reading this will only reinforce their fear of nurses. HEY I am a nurse...

"Nurses visit their client for a scheduled medication." sounds more appropriate and neutral.

"The rain and storm are needed to snuff out the heat in the air." SNUFF OUT? Very slang for a Grade six. The rain and storm are not actually needed to remove heat from air! Air conditioning units are actually needed but not a storm! Better way to say it is: The rain has the ability to dissipate heat from the surroundings.

"Reading a road map is a proof that you are a good reader" Citation please...

"Strong winds blow the rain inside the clouds. Bits of water break up causing electricity and lightning." I understand English teachers are not Science majors but the concept of rain and lightning is very basic. This is a so-so...Just like the balloon that they blew and blew...

Can anyone say DOCSiShQACNMN?

The best way to create a standard English book is to commission a panel of English experts here in the Philippines and abroad.

2

Badly Written, Badly Spoken / Re: Not really bad English, but…

« on: October 18, 2009, 05:36:59 PM »

HIKERS and BIKERS
Move to the center of the road when a crocodile approaches...

3

Your Thoughts Exactly / Re: “I want to create a style of my own”

« on: October 18, 2009, 05:33:46 PM »

My training as a nurse led me to accept that the person's thought process is reflected through language and verbal communication. As a personal modification of this idea, I believe that the person's verbal communication is a reflection of the person's knowledge/education + thought processes.

I said this idea because I can see how the two journalist in the letter differ from each other - they differ in though process rather than education. To cite, "My senior editor is someone who writes to get the “intellectual sympathy” of readers, but I want to write to win the “emotional sympathy” of my readers."

Francois can actually tailor her articles to her boss' liking as what she said in the letter:
"One time I took pains to write an article with great simplicity. This was the only time that I remember him not making any major correction."

But when she does that, anxiety ensues as exemplified by:
"every 'improvement' he makes in my work is a cut on my ego..."

My common suggestion to this scenario is to talk with the boss to resolve issues. But I understand that it will be very hard to even comment about a topic especially in front of the face of a highly acclaimed person. A simple segway might mean total opposition to the boss.

My next suggestion is if she really want to express herself the way she likes it, why not transfer to other columns or transfer to another media firm. Find her own nest where she feels at home.

Another point: Articles sounds unnatural if you will always think of the best words. If you value communication with your readers, I feel that the best way to write is as if you are just talking to them OR narrating something to them. A clear statement sounds professional but a highfalutin statement is pseudo-cryptology.

Still another point: You write to inform not to impress. When the readers are informed, they will be impressed by your skills.

As a final statement, every person has their own writing style. Francois does not need to create her writing syle. She already have it. It's just that she can't use it to the fullest because of her boss.

4

Education and Teaching / Re: Avoiding Wikipedia

« on: October 18, 2009, 04:51:52 PM »

I think Wikipedia is reliable enough for you to know something about a topic. But if you will use Wikipedia for formal research, thesis, and dissertations, caution must be applied.

Wikipedia is poorly peer-reviewed. The contents of Wikipedia are co-edited by different people all over the world but that does not mean it is peer reviewed by experts in the respective fields.

I for sometime edited some contents in the Wikipedia particularly the part about "Eternal Flame song" I like that song very much and for some time I researched other versions of that song and posted it on Wikipedia. NO ONE objected to the validity of my posts. I am not a musician and I am not in any way affiliated with the Bangles and its management. So the things that I post, no matter how truthful, is still doubtful.

Still at the end of the day, personal discretion is advised when citing Wikipedia in any material.

P.S. Does the quotation you post the same as the one in the book you are saying? I think authors should cite materials using a standard style like the APA style. It only shows that the authors are a little unconcerned about the style and references of their book.

5

My Media English Watch / Re: Is it correct to use "too" to start a sentence?

« on: October 18, 2009, 04:35:21 PM »

Just a comment, I always read research papers and journals from the health care field and I have never encountered the "Too, sentence" pattern. The most common pattern is the "Also, sentence..."

Actually it's my first time to see that there are people using "Too" in front of the sentences...

6

My Media English Watch / Re: Highly politicized physics and faulty news reporting

« on: October 18, 2009, 04:26:16 PM »

No wonder why these things happen in our country. I believe that the tragic flooding in many parts of the Philippines are caused by wrong human judgments - a simple miscalculation.

The dam authorities and engineers should use smart computer systems like Bayesian decision models or Markov models to compute and decide on when and how much water to release.

Maybe and probably they just look up in the sky and if it is very hazy and dark it means massive rainfall and if not then just a normal rainfall. Then someone who thinks he knows how to predict act like Madame Auring and tells "Hey I think we should release" OR "Hey it's not yet time dude..."

One newspaper headline sensationalized the point of view of the Dam authorities as "Dam if they do, Dam if they don't"

I think it is really "Dam if they don't think correctly"

Disclaimer: It's my first time to post in this forum. Please forgive me if I have some errors in grammar.