LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

I have been a fan of Trunk and White 's The Elements of Style ever since my daughter Lorraine presented me with a copy in 2000. I keep it handy and I peruse it often. The wise recommendations in this short book can be applied to any language. "Writing good standard English is no cinch" we are told. Writing good standard Spanish is no cinch. Hastiness and laziness are the devils we must fight off. "... since writing is communication, clarity can only be a virtue." What is clear to the writer may not be clear to the reader. "Clarity, clarity, clarity" Strunk and White shout at us now, just as Thoreau wrote "Simplify, simplify" a hundred years before. This post is to remind you, and me, to reread and consult The Elements of Style often . It will stand us in good stead when we write English and Spanish.          

  “The primary – indeed the first – and most abiding precept for all writing is clarity, to be clear, understood and intelligible.” Steven Pinker. Something needs to be fixed when we have to go back and reread a sentence because it is unclear to us. The writer should do his job well so as not to force the reader to go back, again and again, to understand what he has written. I think that is bad manners on the part of the author.  

  Absolutely necessary – “Do it. It is necessary.” Advance reservations – “You must make reservations to attend the meeting.” And etc. – “She is young, pretty, intelligent, etc.” Basic necessities, needs – “This money will cover my needs.” Brief summary – “I wrote a summary of the novel.” Brief moment – “We met for a moment.” Closed fist – “He hit me with his fist.” Circle around – “We circled the block.” Collaborate together – “We collaborated in the project.” Descend down – “She descended the stairs slowly.” First of all – “First you must clean the house.” Foreign imports – “Our imports come from ten countries.” General public – “The public will understand.” Drop down – “She dropped a threat.” Each and every – “I want to thank each of you.”

  I know you know we all know, but just in case, I am venturing to write that we should never begin a sentence with: And, For, Or, However... just as we should never do the same in Spanish with: Y, Por, Para, O, Sin embargo... for obvious and grammatical reasons.  And this is the long and the short of it!

May I suggest you apply minimalistic language when writing in English? Short sentences will minimalize errors. Mistakes in syntax will be easily avoided. Employing long sentences can get us lost in a maze of words. A simple, cut to the chase e-mail will be understood faster. Remember: clarity before beauty. And do not copy native speakers (businessmen, lawyers, bosses, communicators...) who tend to do the opposite. You will never regret it if you follow my suggestion. Thank you for reading.   

Escribir no es como hablar y las reglas son diferentes, como todos sabemos. La simplificación es esencial y debemos ir al grano y extirpar todo tipo de frases que no tienen sentido y que, encima, son ofensivas. " Hoping to hear from you" implica que tienes esa esperanza, pero que no crees que se convierta en realidad. Si el destinatario es normal, claro que responderá. No contestar a un correo es una falta de urbanidad muy grave. "Thanking you in advance" es lo mismo. No podemos dar las gracias por algo que no hemos conseguido. Thanking you in advance for not replying to my e-mail? Para dar las gracias siempre estamos a tiempo. Otra frasecita que no debemos escribir es: ASAP (as soon as possible) con la que metemos prisa al receptor. Otra falta de cortesía. Otra frase estúpida en un correo electrónico de negocios es "Hello, how are you?" y muchas otras que ya comentaremos. 

Most companies that advertise jobs in LinkedIn are leaders in their field, are at the forefront of research, have branches worldwide, answers and solutions for their clients, are at the cutting edge of technology, the best in innovation... or so they say. T hey try to sell themselves with hype (hoopla) using language that betrays them. La crème de la crème in their industry do not bother to use acceptable English, and often slip into blunders that belie their presentations. Do not be deceived. Youngsters who usually are half baked culturally and linguistically, are appointed to positions where they show their true colors with a lack of respect for the basic tool: language, the English language in ou r case. There are many examples to pick from, but I have chosen Macmillan Education which is shopping around for new employees. "You will be a native speaker level of English (native preferred)..." I guess they mean that the "native speaker" must be born in the U...

Cuando escribamos en inglés emplearemos este truco de mi ESCRIBIR Y COMUNICAR EN INGLÉS (Oberón/Anaya, 2016.) "Leer nuestro escrito en voz alta, aunque sea en un tono bajo, nos ayudará a detectar cómo fluye el lenguaje que hemos empleado en nuestra redacción, carta, nota o poema. Así es como se detecta el empleo repetitivo de palabras, la sintaxis defectuosa e   incluso la puntuación equivocada. Hemingway dijo en Playboy (enero 1963) “I do most of my work in my head. I never begin to write until my ideas are in order. Frequently I recite passages of dialogue as it is being written; the ear is a good censor.” Es saludable adquirir el hábito de escuchar nuestra voz, pausada y lenta, al leer nuestros escritos antes de considerarlos terminados. Camilo José Cela siempre leía en voz alta lo que había compuesto a lo largo de su día de trabajo, y hacía los cambios necesarios según su oido detectaba inconsistencias, repeticiones o errores. Con la lectura en voz alta empleamos...

Al escribir en inglés… Nunca… Never…. … traduzcas del castellano – … translate from Spanish … te fíes de los traductores automáticos - … trust automatic   translators … mandes un correo inmediatamente – … send an e-mail right away … te fíes de la ortografía inglesa – … trust English spelling … mezcles negocios y asuntos personales – … mix business with personal matters … te vayas por las ramas- … beat around the bush