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From: bifrost@reed.UUCP (Alan Schmidt)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Poor English (here too)
Message-ID: <1058@reed.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 7-Mar-85 17:15:15 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.1058
Posted: Thu Mar  7 17:15:15 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Mar-85 07:23:03 EST
References: <4800002@umn-cs.UUCP> <390@abnji.UUCP>
Reply-To: bifrost@reed.UUCP (Alan Schmidt)
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 46
Summary: 

> >   Why is it that the "word" ORIENTATE seems so popular in
> >computer circles?  The verb is ORIENT!!
> 
> orient (phonetics) the verb forms all fall into the catagory 
> of "to place in a > particular relation to the points of a compass"
> 
> orientate is listed as "to orient"

Uh, hate to burst your balloon, but "orient" is correct.  Orientate is
also correct, however.  I prefer the former merely because it's shorter,
but if it makes your socks go up and down to use long words, that's fine
with me.

> >  It strikes me as singularly appropriate that computer jocks
> >are incapable of using human languages with any facility.
> >They can not write; neither can they spell.  Any analyses?
> 
> Thanks alot.

"A lot" is two words.  I usually dislike generalizations
like the above.  Prejudices are ugly.  However, the shoe seems to
fit in this case.... (Hmm, I feel that I'm being subliminally affected
by net.singles, but I don't know how)

> >  Anyhow, considering that persons acquiring degrees in
> >computer related fields will probably spend at least as
> >much time writing ENGLISH as computer programs, I find it
> >disheartening to find so little emphasis on communications
> >skills in CS departments.
> 
> Ever try to write a thesis?

Aw, come on.  Theses aren't proof of facility with a language unless
they're theses on English Comp.  And GOOD theses at that.  YOU may have
a great literary mind.  I've seen spelling and grammatical errors on
the net that I haven't seen since the sixth grade, though, and it
embarasses me to find that my fellow programmers write so horribly.

You may not be a member of these troubled masses.  No one said you were.
But don't try to deny that they exist.

Heimdal (Alan Schmidt)
..tektronix!reed!bifrost

"When you are going to die, a wombat is better than no company at all."
						-- R. Zelazny