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Endeavour: Difference between revisions
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{{a|plainenglish|}}{{quote| | |||
“Give me credit,” I said, “I ''am'' trying”. <br> | |||
“Well”, she replied, “I’ll give you that. You ''are'' trying.” | |||
I smiled, flushing with unexpected compliment endorphins.<br> | |||
“''Very'' trying.”}} | |||
“[[Endeavour]]” neatly illustrates the practical problem with plain English. It is a silly word: long; archaic; it conjures images of Captain Spaulding, in a pith helmet, slashing through jungle in the Congo on the hunt for Dr. Livingstone. Its alternative — “[[try]]” — is better in every way that a plain speaker cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, plainer, less fussy. | “[[Endeavour]]” neatly illustrates the practical problem with plain English. It is a silly word: long; archaic; it conjures images of Captain Spaulding, in a pith helmet, slashing through jungle in the Congo on the hunt for Dr. Livingstone. Its alternative — “[[try]]” — is better in every way that a plain speaker cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, plainer, less fussy. | ||
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But the plain English alternative reveals how thin that old hogget really is: | But the plain English alternative reveals how thin that old hogget really is: | ||
:''“The vendor must [[try]] to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”'' | :''“The vendor must [[try]] to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”'' | ||
{{sa}} | |||
*[[BAU]] | |||
{{ | |||