82,891
edits
Nominalisation: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| (2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{ | {{a|drafting|}}{{tag|Nominalisation}} — itself, a nominalisation of the verb to “nominalise”<ref>[[Goedel]] would be pleased.</ref> — is the act, as adored by [[mediocre lawyer|solicitors]] as it is loathed by anyone who cares for the English language, of gutting a precise {{tag|verb}}, by converting it into a {{tag|noun}} and jamming a general {{tag|verb}} in front of it. | ||
Or should I say: | Or should I say: | ||
:''[[Nominalisation]] is the act, which induces adoration in [[mediocre lawyer|solicitors]] as much as it effects a sensation of loathing in anyone having a fondness for the English language, of ensuring the evisceration of a precise {{tag|verb}} by effecting its conversion into a {{tag|noun}} (or {{tag|adjective}}) and ensuring the jammery of a general {{tag|verb}} in front of it.'' | :''[[Nominalisation]] is the act, which induces adoration in [[mediocre lawyer|solicitors]] as much as it effects a sensation of loathing in anyone having a fondness for the English language, of ensuring the evisceration of a precise {{tag|verb}} by effecting its conversion into a {{tag|noun}} (or {{tag|adjective}}) and ensuring the jammery of a general {{tag|verb}} in front of it.'' | ||
So, where one on the [[Clapham omnibus]] might say, | |||
{{quote|“Last night I shot an [[elephant]] in my pyjamas.”}} | |||
An nominaliser might say: | |||
{{quote|“Last night the shooting was carried out by me, in my pyjamas, of an [[elephant]]”}} | |||
Now we should concede at once that the nominalised version forces on us a more disciplined grammar: it is beyond doubt that it is me, and not the elephant who is wearing my pyjamas. That ruins it as a setup for Groucho Marx’s punchline, of course, and it comes at the expense of energy and elegance. In this case, too, it is punctiliousness not really needed given the ''context''. And, if you really wanted to be ''that guy'', there is always the stilted, but unambiguous, “last night, in my pyjamas, I shot an [[elephant]].” | |||
Dead give aways: | Dead give aways: | ||