Quote:
Originally Posted by kindlekitten
has it occurred to anyone that she is not a native speaker of English? I know many posters on these forums do an overwhelming job of handling English as a 2nd, 3rd, 4th.... language, but every error I have seen thus far certainly seems to be that of a non-native speaker.
of course this then opens up the whole... did you have an editor? issue...
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I agree that the errors are those of a nonnative English speaker. And I also agree that this raises the question of whether or not she had a
professional editor. The difficulties in dealing with a nonnative speaker's communications skills really do require professional assistance rather than the assistance of the dabbler.
But . . . I also do think many (far from all) the criticisms of the author are valid. After all, she is trying to sell her book. I know I would be angry, and on far too many occasions have been angry, that I had paid for a very poorly written book.
What I find interesting -- generally, not in this particular instance -- is how many people either are not bothered by poor writing or do not recognize poor writing. I have met and know authors who are unable (or unwilling) to make the leap from the grammar and spelling of Tweeter to that of literature; they transfer their Tweeter language to their literary endeavors. The decline in grammar education in American public schools is worrisome but the cause is obvious. Those who should be demanding higher writing standards are unable to climb that mountain themselves. Consequently, they accept as the benchmark anything that rises close to what they misperceive as their own extraordinary skill level. Ultimately, all of society suffers.