Melinda Shore <melinda.sh...@gmail.com> wrote: >On 8/31/13 10:15 PM, Scott Kitterman wrote: >> That does seem better, but don't all parties have an obligation to >attempt to >> communicate clearly? > >Yes, but ... > >I think it's particularly incumbent on native English speakers to >avoid highly idiomatic or stylized language - English that is not >taught to non-native speakers. It may be better to say something >along those lines, although I don't think you can go too wrong >in remind people to communicate clearly. (This is not entirely >unrelated to the seeking consensus issue)
That's true, but the emphasis is in the wrong place. I think the behavior standard is "try to communicate clearly". What you describe for native speakers is an example of things that help do that. Scott K
