A "widely-used standard of technical English" is probably not what he is after, if I may disagree. And even more probable, he will nowhere have better guidance in his language learning than at Harvard. English is a second language for me as well and even at my age (which has the same binary length as yours) I consult the internet to assist me. And if I write a paper to be published, I pay for proofreading.
My 2 cents. R.E. Boss -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: Chat <[email protected]> Namens Ian Clark Verzonden: vrijdag 19 oktober 2018 19:40 Aan: [email protected] Onderwerp: [Jchat] Standardized technical English For Dr XXY, English is a second language. One of many. His first language has never been studied, let alone learnt, by an outsider: it is spoken by hardly anyone outside his village, but they've all saved up to send him to Harvard. Dr XXY is on the point of reconciling Quantum Theory with General Relativity. His English is now good enough to read a road-sign and to buy food without pointing – and to use the internet. Especially to read the pearls of technical wisdom that fall from my pen. Not for pleasure, I might add: he wants to know more about J. I want to be helpful, so I adopt a chatty tone. Yesterday I wrote: "Do what you like but it doesn't do to do it all the time." It took Dr XXY an evening of intense investigation on ويكيبيديا to discover what I was actually saying. He did so on the off-chance it might turn out to be crucial. A lifetime of deep study has taught him the importance of attending to detail. Now Dr XXY is no dunce. I am. (I used not to be, but as I get older it's getting worse.) Dr XXY is not smart: he is super-smart. He holds the destiny of the world in his fingertips. I don't. He is not grateful to me for wasting his time. It mortifies me to know that I do. I'd have done better to write: "You are free to adopt your own strategy, but it's not good to employ this idiom in every situation." He'd have sussed that out in less than minute, using nothing but his well-thumbed Websters. Because the words I used, although they were big ones, were unambiguous. When I write technical stuff, Dr XXY is very much in my mind. Can anyone recommend a widely-used standard of technical English that would gladden his heart to read? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
