As perhaps the only member of this list who works for a publishing company, let me explain why a "designed" language won't work.
* We, the ugly Americans, want the world to conform to our native language. We're too lazy, stubborn, and arrogant to learn another language. * A designed language with clear rules, spelling, and punctuation will throw lots of copy editors out of work. * There will always be new feelings, expressions, and physical objects that the designers of the universal language either didn't think we needed or that have come into existance after the adoption of the designed language. Languages change slowly over time. Eventually, the designed language will look like any other language. Languages change faster than editors think they do. I'll bet every one of you has said something like "I need to access the data..." Many magazine articles, that have supposedly pass through "editors," contain the use of the word "access" as a verb. Around here, I'd have to write "I need to gain access to the data" because officially, the word "access" is a noun. Each of you would know what I mean if I were to use "access" as a verb, but professional editors will get confused and insist on using the word "properly." So the bottom line is that speakers of a "designed" language will slowly change the language to where an accepted useage violates the rules anyway. * A clear language will mean that lawyers will have no choice but to write in lay terms. If the average person can understand a legal writing or a contract, then we won't hire lawyers as much as we do now. Because most politicians start out as lawyers... (you get the idea, I don't need *any* language to explain). ---------------------------- /\ | Martin Rowe | / \ | Senior Technical Editor | / \ /\ | Test & Measurement World | / \ / \ /\ ____ | voice 617-558-4426 |/ \ / \ / \/ | fax 617-928-4426 | \ / \/ | e-mail [email protected] | \ / | http://www.tmworld.com | \/ ---------------------------- ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: [email protected] Michael Garretson: [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected]
