Re: It's All About Using The English Right

how about things like ->

1) every bike has brakes and not BREAKS.

2) you dont DRIVE a bike, you ride it.

just my 2 cents.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

May be very late to mention, but as they say better late than never:

Most posts in this thread are addressing one side of the coin.

On the flip side I've seen many people even very senior xbhp members put very tuff English language/words (may be to showcase their English knowledge). Although one may understand the jist, but I bet 80% of readers have to refer dictionary to understand exact meaning.

I urge/appeal to all 'please use very simple English language and words'. Xbhp is surely not the right place to showcase such literature or language knowledge.

Another point is short forms/acronyms, like 'OT' (very often used in this thread) and many more that readers may not understand at very first place. Its always a good practice either you mention full form first, followed by short form/acronym in brackets. Then one can use acronym to repeat the same term/phrase.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

Acronyms like OT, AFAIK, IIRC, WYSIWYG, ATGATT etc have been in existence for quite a long time. Also, these technical jargon are a part of everyday forum usage (automotive/computers etc). One can't expect the poster to put the full form every time he posts. It's up to the reader to look it up if he's interested.

But yes, simple lucid English would be preferred by most of us!

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

No Offense though, There are n number of people joining this forum across the country and around the world too. You cant expect a person to give the abbreviation for the terms every time he/she uses it. May be, there could be a discussion where you can put your abbreviations in it as a referral for any newbie. But, would that maintain its decorum...People will start using all sorts of words there. BS, FA (if you know what I mean here).

Yes, you can add the abbreviations, But cant do it every time for everybody. There are certain abbreviations which people are very much aware of.

Going OT (Off Topic) a little here.

AFAIK - As far as I know
PITA - Pain in the Arse
RVM - Rear view Mirror
I-4 - Inline 4

These are some I could think of and I use them. There are more, Or may be Mods can add a (?) to the underlined abbreviation (Refer AFAIK for an example in the above mentioned abbreviations), which actually shows what that really means when in expanded form.This will actually help everybody and may be mods can make note of this.

Just my thought.

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Cant put the expectation on the readers here DS bhai. I myself dont know what is IIRC, When you move your mouse pointer over AFAIK, you see that ? and it expands and tells what that abbreviation is. Why cant this happen for the rest. Newbie, who has no idea about biking, Cant go to google and see what it means. Then why land himself in a forum when Mr.Google is there to help.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

AFAIK is recognized as an acronym by the web (browser).
For the technical crowd out there (IT/CS folk), inspecting the page would show that AFAIK is compiled as <acronym title="As far as I know">AFAIK</acronym>

Since the other short forms aren't recognized by the web(browser) as acronyms, you don't get self help.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

If I had to speak for myself, I understood that the language we use must be simple and to the point, since it is all about communication .

English is an easy Language to understand ..even when it is misspelled or used wrongly in context...Most of us have come to terms with such usages and feel only technical abbreviations needs to be explained to those in the dark about it.

Still getting to understand the finer nuances of a language and it's use , gives us a much better command and we stand much better chance of getting our views across..

I try my best to keep abbreviations aside as much as possible..

I do hope my Language wherever I post is Simple and easily understandable ....if not I would like to stand corrected.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

[MENTION=64547]TheArcher84[/MENTION]: No offense bhaiji. Not at all. I understand, we are sharing our thoughts & opinions and we all are here to share with each other.

Abbreviation (acronym) I pointed out is second in my advice. We can used most frequently used and mostly accepted acronyms, which 90% of readers can understand. 'OT' I just took as an example as it was available immediately.

But my first point is something which can be treated as a concern. Though xbhp has an international base, simple English still works. Except England & diplomats of all countries, rest everywhere people prefer simple & plain English. It is always good to learn vocabulary, but better use simpler vocabs. It is also in the DOs & DON'Ts thread. But still I've seen many people showcase their English talent including very very senior xbhpians.

With that I rest. However, most important is "Happy & safe riding" .

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

Hey I guess this is a little late to ask but going through all this I still see a lot of the Dont's being used in every corner of the forum, now I just don't understand how that happened. Let's just say that even though a lot has been said it still goes on and I really wish there was a way to stop that, also I am not putting down the hard work put in by yourself and many others on this amazing forum, I just wish there was a way I could help too. Great job MODS, just IMHO.

RIDE HARD RIDE SAFE.
TURBOSPHERE

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

Please report posts you feel that fall in the "Don't" category. We shall take appropriate action. That way, we can collectively keep the forum healthy. Of course, your support would be needed.

P.S - It's a triangle icon at the bottom of the post, that should be used to report.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

Rest assured I will do my best to keep this forum at its best. Let's all work forward together. Just another question in regards to the forum wars that we have regarding bikes being better than other and hurt egos being avenged?

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

We're going off topic!
But in short, one must love his choice and respect others'. With age, people mature and I'm sure our beloved keyboard warriors would; as well.

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

[QUOTE=Divya Sharan;1180947]We're going off topic!
But in short, one must


Sorry about the OT
Besides give respect and take the same. Great Job once again mods

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

English is symbol of slavery so in that case my friend the mobile / pc you are using, please throw them off first

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

Well, Sir William Shakespeare once famously said - "What's there in a name after-all?".
Let me tell what's in a name. It is an identity. It's not an option to write and pronounce the incorrect name, it was never an option in the first place. I'm sure if I start calling you Rikishi instead of your true name, you won't be able to or like to respond to me.

In the same way, English is a mode of communication. Not only is writing and speaking it important in today's world (since English is a global language understood by most), speaking and writing correctly is just as important. Because with erroneous writing/speaking; you won't effectively communicate whatever you want to. Maybe the recipient might even interpret your communication in a way that was not intended.

And I think India is already as close to it's roots in this day and age as it can be!

Re: It's All About Using The English Right

"go back to our root"....

There's the problem. India, as you know has many "roots" so we collectively adopted a common platform - English. For a country like China/Japan and many more this was not an issue as the whole nation spoke the same language.