The most popular online dictionary site for learners of English in the world:
> https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ > <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/> From site or your browser--dictionary lookup and other features. The dictionaries that you can search together as English on this Cambridge Dictionary website are: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th Edition Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary Cambridge Business English Dictionary other related websites for grammar and translation etc. Donna Y [email protected] > On Oct 19, 2018, at 4:58 PM, Roger Hui <[email protected]> wrote: > >> "Do what you like but it doesn't do to do it all the time." > > Fluent English speakers are not usually aware of it, but "do" is one of the > more difficult English words. (For example, why do you say "What does XXY > mean?" instead of "What means XXY?") I was told this by my high school > German teacher. The above sentence has no less than four occurrences of > this difficult word. > >> Can anyone recommend a widely-used standard of technical English >> that would gladden his heart to read? > > The following are not necessarily standards of technical English, being > either not standard or not technical. But they are either suggestions on > how to write clearly, or are examples of clear writing. If you can only > read one I recommend the first. > > • Orwell, *Politics and the English Language > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Language>*, 1946. > • Falkoff and Iverson, *The Design of APL > <https://www.jsoftware.com/papers/APLDesign.htm>*, 1973. > • Falkoff and Iverson, *The Evolution of APL > <https://www.jsoftware.com/papers/APLEvol.htm>*, 1978. > • Strunk and White, *Elements of Style > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style>*, 1959. (First > published in 1919.) > > > > On Fri, Oct 19, 2018 at 10:39 AM Ian Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > >> 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
