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For all the influence computers, electronic gadgetry and the visual
images of television have on contemporary society, language remains
the main means by which the world communicates. We rely on verbal imagery
to convey our thoughts. By imagery I mean expressing thoughts and ideas
by painting word pictures. We convert abstract thought into verbal
images by the use of metaphor and simile, which are among the basic
tools of the written and spoken word.
To write of 'basic tools' of the written and spoken word is to use
a metaphor. That is, to write of tools, which are real and objective,
is to use a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech applied to an
idea or thought to which it does not apply in a literal sense, but
in some way suggests a resemblance.
In contrast, a simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened
unto another as in, for example, 'Her lips are like a red red rose.'
The use of metaphor and simile are as important to non-fiction as to
fiction writing. The best writers use these two important figures of
speech constantly. The effect is to stimulate, inspire and motivate
the reader. Use of the same imagery is difficult if not impossible
with the use of abstract language employing weighty words that crush
the intellect and hinder the reader's understanding. Consider the following
statements taken from technical reports ask yourself what images they
evoke:
There is neither metaphor nor simile in any of these statements. The
writing is flat and uninteresting; it lacks freshness and originality.
The word cliché describes that type of stereotyped language,
anything that is hackneyed and stale from overuse: right as rain, black
as coal, hard as nails, dry as dust. Conversely, the member of a committee
who might perhaps say, 'We limp from crisis to crisis on the crutches
of hope' would be sure to arrest the attention of the committee. The
limp does not exist in reality, nor can one literally support hope
with crutches. The speaker's meaning however is vivid and unmistakable.
Ernest Hemingway the novelist (For Whom the Bell Tolls) was a master
of simple and expressive language. This explains why experts on language
use Hemingway's writing as a yardstick to measure the strength of writing.
Compare the average technical report with the language James Gleick
uses to explain the new science of chaos:
In a Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking writes:
Words and the way we use them, as earlier noted, are the bricks of language (an example of the use of metaphor). Short, monosyllabic words are strong. Long, polysyllabic words are weak. Short sentences are strong. Long sentences lack strength. Short words and short sentences are compact and give language the strength of dense wood having short fibres.
The cuckoo lays its egg in the nests of other birds. When the chick
hatches it kicks the other birds out of the nest to hog the attention
of its foster parents. In the same way, words and phrases of language
are often brutally ousted from their rightful places by what are best
described as bandit words and phrases, which result from word inflation.
This is the practice of making ridiculously large words out of respectable
small ones, which is, increasingly, a feature of technical writing
that emerges from the applied sciences. POLYSYLLABIC INFLATION By tacking 'izing', 'ization', 'ability' and like extensions on to
simple words, the confusion puts rational thought beyond the understanding
of the reader. For example, a system becomes 'systematized'; a function
is 'functionalized' or 'functionalization' can be said to have occurred
to become possible. We could also allude to the 'functionalizationability'
of a system. In more rational language, this would be the degree to
which a system can be divided into functions. In many corporate documents
that have come to us for comment and editing such phrases as 'the auditization
function' are common. By 'auditization' the writer simply means 'audit',
but cannot bring himself or herself to rely on so short a word. It
has to be pumped up and inflated to lend the document gravitas in the
writer's search for high seriousness.
By treating words in this fashion they are crushed under the weight
of suffixes and prefixes until they become so abstract as to lose their
roots in reality. Options are 'optimized' and priorities 'prioritized'
out of existence by thoughtless writers who are more concerned with
impression than expression. The same writers like to 'initiate initiatives',
'prioritize priorities' and 'impact around their areas of concern'.
Impact is a choice cuckoo word that has kicked the word effect out
of the nest. If one thinks about it, impact is what happens when a
ball hammer smashes into a building and sends plaster, bricks and concrete
flying in all directions. As used in 'The impact of his fist striking
the winder pane was shattering', impact is a powerful word. One can
hear and see the glass splintering under the force of the blow. By
the same reasoning, 'negative impact' conveys no image whatsoever.
If one considers what is meant when a politician describes something
as having 'a negative impact on the economy' - as reported of a speaker
in the news media - word imagery is absent. 'A negative effect on the
economy' would be more accurate. This is not a sophistic, hair-splitting
objection. It is a more precise use of language, which is most powerful
when used to convey striking images in the mind of the reader or, in
oral delivery, the listener.
To this end, 'find out' is better than 'ascertain'; 'start' is a stronger
word than 'initiate'; 'about' is better than 'approximately'; 'try'
is sturdier than 'endeavour'; and 'stop' is superior to 'discontinue'.
There are numerous examples from which to choose. There is no claim
that the words here discarded have no place in the language; they do,
but the discriminate writer will chose with care where they are most
effective to use. The main difference between the word pair examples
given here is a preference for the simple Anglo-Saxon over its Romance
equivalent.
Nor is the preference to suggest that 'ascertain', 'initiate', 'approximately',
'endeavour' and 'discontinue' should not be used. Each has its place
in the language. Most technical subjects however are dense enough to
warrant use of the simplest language at the writer's command.
Finally, it is worth discussing as a reminder of their importance two
classes of words that stand head and shoulders about other classes.
These are the 'noun' and the 'verb'. THE NOUN
Every language has names for persons, places and things. We call this
class of words nouns. In English, proper names take upper case initial
letters; all other nouns are written in lower case unless used to begin
a sentence. Those who write any form of technical literature - reports,
manuals, specifications, industry standards - should always be aware
of the difference between proper nouns and all other nouns.
Some writers render management positions with initial upper case letters
as though to confer prestige and dignity to the word. This is a mistake.
Such words as director, manager, superintendent and supervisor take
lower case initial letters, barring those that begin a sentence, unless
reference is being made to a particular person or position such as,
for example, Director of Manufacturing Operations.
Words that stand in place of nouns are called pronouns: 'she', 'he',
'him', 'her' etc. The class of word that describes a noun is the adjective. THE VERB
A verb describes or signifies action: stand, sit, go, sleep. Words
that add information to verbs are adverbs - all very simple and straightforward.
Verbs give action to the language. They make it live because they are
the muscles, the tendons, that ligaments of language. (Are those metaphors
or similes?). Verbs make the nouns and modifiers move. They get the
meaning across and pull you out of the morass that compound nouns and
Latin derivatives pull you into. Properly used, they break up long,
involved paragraphs.
Regard the verb as your lifetime. It's a marvellously versatile tool.
It can get you out of all kinds of trouble. If you're bogged down in
an explanation, go for shorter sentences. Shorter sentences mean more
verbs that help you avoid awkward nounal constructions.
What is a 'nounal construction'? It is a word that does service as
a noun. 'Come to a determination' is a nounal phrase in which 'determination'
is the noun, which stands for a person, place or thing, remember. That
is, one will come to a person, place or thing called determination.
(Anyone familiar with Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress will recall Mr.
Standfast, Christian and other worthy souls whose determining characteristics
became their names.) This is a nounal construction that stands in place
of 'determine' or, more simply, the verb 'to decide'. The phrase 'management
decided' is more direct, active and lively than 'Management came to
a determination'.
Similarly, and for variation, to speak and write of 'the decision-making
process' again ignores the essential verb 'decide'. In this case, process
(meaning manner, rule, procedure) is the noun and 'decision-making'
an adjectival phrase. As a result, 'the decision-making process' is
stillborn and, with no verb to give it the breath of life, it will
remain lifeless.
You can say what you mean with verbs. You cannot say what you mean
without them. One of the best examples is in the use of definitions.
Try defining something without using a verb. You will often point to
something to show what you mean. For example, how would you define
red? The easiest way is to tell your questioner to look at traffic
lights when next at an intersection. When alight, the uppermost light
is red.
What is a mother? A mother is a female parent, you say, but that is
not a clear definition. It invites another question. What is a parent?
To define mother as a female parent you use a nounal construction:
'parent' (noun), 'female' (adjective), meaning the kind of parent to
which one refers. Better to use verbs to define the word. 'The male
and female of the species procreate to have children. The female gives
birth to the baby and is the mother.' Verbs define the mother, not
nouns.
Using verbal constructs is one of the most important things any writer
can put in her or his bag of tricks. You cannot write anything with
definitions of some kind. Do not offer other constructions to do so;
describe the operation. If you do you cannot avoid writing in the active
voice. To write actively means that action must occur; make someone
do something. Remember The (definite article) cat (subject) sat (verb)
on the mat.
The physicist P. W. Bridgeman said, 'We mean by any concept nothing
more than a set of operations.' In the context of defining mother,
what she is (the definition) is synonymous with what she does (the
corresponding set of operations).
You might think that this approach to writing will make what you write
more involved and difficult. It won't. It will make it simpler, even
shorter. Why do we so often head for the nouns first and, when we start
thinking about something, leave the verbs out? It is because we think
in concepts, which we seem to think must be expressed in condensed
captions. 'Assessment report', 'Decision analysis summary', 'Client-server
approach', etc. It does not matter why we express ourselves and think
in concepts this way. Recorgnize that when we do, we erect barriers to
understanding.
Go for the action, the verbs. People who work in the applied sciences
should know this better than anyone else. They should study newspaper
headlines, which almost always have someone doing something or give a
clear indication of action. Action is where the heat is, for where there
is action there is energy and, where energy is being generated, expended
or exchanged there is heat. Give your language action too. Verbs can
demystify language as efficiently as the electronic calculator demystified
mathematics for those who found the slide rule too hard to use.
This has a strong bearing on what you write. People who read what you
write, trust you to tell them what you have to say with an economy
of language. They expect you to inform them, explain, draw conclusions
they can follow, and recommend what action be taken. Get to the heart
of the matter with short, active statements using verbs. Write declarative
statements: 'The annunicator panel shows you when conditions are not
as they should be', 'The EMERGENCY STOP pushbutton is a protective
device', 'A design review is a condition of obtaining a medical accelerator
licence.'
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