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RE: Examples of good English.
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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 RE: Examples of good English. (in reply to BarkellWH)
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Writing well requires discipline, economy, and precision. Over the years I have found that the best guides to writing well are the tried and true: "Elements of Style," by Strunk and White and "On Writing Well," by William Zinsser. Together, they represent the best guide to writing in English with style, elegance, and precision.
And speaking of precision, while I am not a member of the "Grammar Police," I do believe in the importance of precision in writing, and that requires punctuation. Today, one often hears that punctuation doesn't matter as long as one gets one's point across. I beg to defer. Correct punctuation matters a great deal. As an example, I offer the following.
The following sentence appears grammatically correct and the meaning clear, with no ambiguity, wouldn't you say?
"Woman without her man is nothing."
But wait, let's add a couple of punctuation marks and see if the meaning was as clear as we thought it was.
"Woman: without her, man is nothing."
This evening I will raise a copita of jerez to Strunk, White, and Zinsser. They are as relevant today as they were decades ago.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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Date May 30 2013 17:26:13
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: Examples of good English. (in reply to guitarbuddha)
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quote:
Am I the only person on this thread who still enjoys fiction.
I have in my library (yes, actual bound books, not a Kindle or a Nook) all of Graham Greene's novels and short story collection. Additionally, I have always enjoyed and keep Lawrence Durrell's novels, particularly "The Alexandria Quartet." Good espionage novels by John LeCarre, Alan Furst, and Eric Ambler. The short stories of Somerset Maugham, particularly those set in Malaya and the Far East.
For entertaining and thought-provoking reading, however, nothing beats the short stories of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. His stories, which center on appearance vs. reality, the doppelganger, mirrors, labyrinths, infinite libraries, alephs, as well as gauchos and knifefighters, are a real treat. I re-read them about every six or seven years and enjoy them as much as I did the first time, many years ago. If I had one book to take with me alone on a desert island, it would be the collected stories of Jorge Luis Borges.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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Date May 30 2013 18:39:58
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Escribano
Posts: 6415
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
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RE: Examples of good English. (in reply to BarkellWH)
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I adored "A Handful of Dust" and other stories by Evelyn Waugh. Stephen King was a master in his prime e.g. The Stand and The Shining.
Sadly, I had to study this kind of stuff at school:
quote:
This Chaunteclere stood highe upon his toes,
Strecching his necke, and held his eyen close,
And gan to crowe lowde for the nonce;
And Dan Russél the fox stert up at once,
And by the throte caughte Chaunteclere,
And on his bak toward the woode him bere.
For yit was there no man that him espied.
O desteny, that maist not be defied!
Allas, that Chaunteclere flew fro the beames!
Allas, his wif that rekkèd not of dremis!
And on a Friday fel al this meschaunce.
O Venus, that art goddesse of pleasaúnce,
Since that thy servant was this Chaunteclere,
And in thy service ever did his powere,
More for delit, than the world to multiplie,
Why woldst thou suffre him on thy day to dye?
O Gaufred, dere mayster soverayn,
That, when the worthy king Richard was slayn
With shot, compleynedist of his deth so sore,
Why had I nought thy cunning and thy lore,
The Friday for to chiden, as did ye?
(For on a Friday sothly slayn was he.)
- Chaucer
quote:
In the diminishing daylight they went along the level roadway through the meads, which stretched away into gray miles, and were backed in the extreme edge of distance by the swarthy and abrupt slopes of Egdon Heath. On its summit stood clumps and stretches of fir-trees, whose notched tips appeared like battlemented towers crowning black-fronted castles of enchantment.
They were so absorbed in the sense of being close to each other that they did not begin talking for a long while, the silence being broken only by the clucking of the milk in the tall cans behind them. The lane they followed was so solitary that the hazel nuts had remained on the boughs till they slipped from their shells, and the blackberries hung in heavy clusters. Every now and then Angel would fling the lash of his whip round one of these, pluck it off, and give it to his companion.
- Thomas Hardy
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Foro Flamenco founder and Admin
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Date May 30 2013 21:33:04
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: Examples of good English. (in reply to BarkellWH)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWHl
Writing well requires discipline, economy, and precision.
Samuel Johnson, the single handed author of the first comprehensive English dictionary, was a stickler for precision in speech as well as writing. He was also known for his slovenly personal habits.
Riding through the countryside in a coach, a genteel lady was so offended that she spoke up.
"Sir," she said to Johnson, "you smell."
"No, madam, you smell," replied Johnson. "I stink."
RNJ
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Date May 31 2013 0:03:07
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