Subject: Re: PART TWO: winning industrial-use of lisp:  Re: Norvig's latest paper on Lisp
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 20:26:13 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3233679973026336@naggum.net>

* anonymized
| Since you're examples of old literature

  This is another curious thing about native English speakers, which I seldom
  see in people who have had the luxury of studying the language.  It is one
  thing for people to write "Why has Gene Wolfe never one a Hugo award?" but
  another when they confuse "its" and "it's", "your" and "you're", "their" and
  "they're", etc.  One way to get rid of this sign of illiteracy is to avoid
  contractions in writing.  It makes for a more formal appearance, but it also
  encourages a better flow and sentence structure -- some things work only when
  contracted and sound silly when not, and sometimes vice versa.  Historically,
  the turn "have got" became useful because "I've" was insufficient alone, and
  it is therefore sufficient to write "I have" while you would say "I've got".

[ Native speakers who only "feel" their way around their own language sloppily
  will probably object very strongly to any comment I can possibly make about
  the English language.  Consider it pre-objected and pre-ignored.  OK?  ]
-- 
  Guide to non-spammers: If you want to send me a business proposal, please be
  specific and do not put "business proposal" in the Subject header.  If it is
  urgent, do not use the word "urgent".  If you need an immediate answer, give
  me a reason, do not shout "for your immediate attention".  Thank you.