08-21-2010, 11:27 PM | #1 |
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Spelling contractions
For so many years I've noted that in most books there's very little spelling contractions.
It's always - "it is", or "I have", or "we will", or "they are", etc. I know, or think that I know, that authors don't get paid for the simple words like - and, he, I, it, etc. Does anyone have a explanation for the lack of spelling contractions in books? My problem is that while speaking I use contractions. But If I'm writing, I have to think about typing it with contractions. |
08-21-2010, 11:45 PM | #2 |
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08-22-2010, 02:58 AM | #3 |
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08-22-2010, 05:11 AM | #4 |
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One thing I don't like are (don't know what they're called ), but abbreviation of things... I know BYO means 'bring your own'..
I recently read a book, which had lots of these, and I just had to leave them to my own imagination... |
08-22-2010, 05:14 AM | #5 |
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Well, I discovered, whilst taking a linguistics class, that BYO is *not* an acronym, although many people will call it that. Acronyms must actually make a new word that you can pronounce, and not just initials. Like NEA is just initials (you say N-E-A) and NASP can be an acronym, as you pronounce it "nasp" (like asp with an N in front).
or something like that? |
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08-22-2010, 05:59 AM | #6 |
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SameOldStory,
Have you read any of Damon Runyan's stories? He was famous for never using contractions, even in dialouge. It adds a very distinctive flavour to his work. He also stubbornly refused to use the past tense. They're very entertaining stories. |
08-22-2010, 06:12 AM | #7 | |
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08-22-2010, 09:13 AM | #8 | |
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08-22-2010, 10:00 AM | #9 |
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Very interesting. And, except for the past tense part, the lack of contractions is totally in keeping with the series I'm reading now writen between 1928 and 1946.
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08-22-2010, 10:06 AM | #10 | |
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08-22-2010, 10:26 AM | #11 | |
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08-22-2010, 10:32 AM | #12 | |
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I've even heard people say "ooofoh" when they are talking about U-F-Os. |
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08-22-2010, 10:33 AM | #13 |
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I'm still looking for an explanation as to why contractions are so little used in books.
Any takers? |
08-22-2010, 10:38 AM | #14 |
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Contractions are primarily a feature of the spoken language - it's basically a form of elision, in which words are "slurred together"; it's generally not considered good writing style to use them in written English, unless you're writing dialogue. Of course, it depends how formal your writing style is and what the intended audience is. I use many more contractions when I'm writing here on MR than I would if I were writing a formal report at work.
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08-22-2010, 12:34 PM | #15 | |
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I hadn't thought about it before, but SameOldStory raises an interesting question - unfortunately I dunno the answer. |
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