- From: Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>
- Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2004 03:44:58 -0400 (EDT)
- To: Joe Clark <joeclark@joeclark.org>
- Cc: WAI-GL <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
It isn't helpful to pick the most impressive-sounding way of saying something if your goal is to get the idea across. If your goal is simply to make us think you are smart, it might help. But in this group it seems to me that how well you explain your idea is a good measure of how good you are. I often read things I wrote and wish I had taken the time to be clearer. "le mot juste" is french for "the right word". It has a sense of having exactly the right word, rather than just any old thing that means what you want to say. For example, in poems, it is a challenge to find the word that fits, has the right sound, meaning, mood, and so on. Speaking french is often used to seem even more smart, and make what you say seem extra clever. As a french speaker, it seems more suited to a french list. There are a few french phrases like "je ne sais quoi", "le mot juste", "savoir faire", and so on that were common in english, and useful to show that you have a good education (since they were only taught in fancy schools, or learned by people who wanted to seem posh). There are simple ways to say the same thing in english. As a language scholar, it seems to me a shame that people don't learn more about languages - especially if they only speak one. It makes it hard for them to appreciate great artistic literature. But that shouldn't stop them from working in other fields, like accessibility. In writing with style and flair, as Joe does in his book [1], it makes sense to use interesting language. In trying to communicate basic technical concepts effectively to an international audience, such as this working group, it seems better to stick to simple expression. Art isn't always accessible, but technical communication should be if we want to get it right. [1] Joe can give you a reference. In my personal opinion it is a bit above average in technical terms (great at some things, ordinary at others). But it is far and away the most enjoyable accessibility book to read because of the style. I reviewed it along with a handful of others somewhere, and said as much. I've read about a dozen books on the topic, in english, spanish, italian and portuguese, and Joe's writing has more style than any two others. just my 2 cents worth... cheers Chaals On Fri, 30 Jul 2004, Joe Clark wrote: > >> I don't have a PhD as many people don't. > >Like, I dunno, me. > >> So, people stop using big words to show off your large >> vocabulary and start following the guidelines. > >I merely used le mot juste. > >-- > > Joe Clark | joeclark@joeclark.org > Accessibility <http://joeclark.org/access/> > Expect criticism if you top-post > Charles McCathieNevile http://www.w3.org/People/Charles tel: +61 409 134 136 SWAD-E http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/Europe fax(france): +33 4 92 38 78 22 Post: 21 Mitchell street, FOOTSCRAY Vic 3011, Australia or W3C, 2004 Route des Lucioles, 06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France
Received on Saturday, 31 July 2004 03:45:06 UTC