4 ms·

I actually rather liked this. It did seem more authentically zen (not that I can say for sure) than a lot of the "zen" stuff out there. That said, the phrase "

I actually rather liked this. It did seem more authentically zen (not that I can say for sure) than a lot of the "zen" stuff out there. That said, the phrase "as good as you can" occurred five times and was quite distracting. It should be "as well as you can" to be "grammatically" correct. (I'm generally a 'descriptivist' rather than a 'prescriptivist', meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay, but it looks like this author is not one, so I figured I should point it out.)

grobmeier 15y ago
Thank you, I have updated my post with your corrections. And you are right, I am not a native speaker.
- seiwyn 15y ago
  It is better now, but amusingly - "The other guy is not as well as you, but better with bowling.", in this case it should be "The other guy is not as good as you". Great article, though.
  - grobmeier 15y ago
    Ups - thanks, fixed that too. I was definitely not focused enough. The whole feedback on this post is just overwhelming.
    - bobz 15y ago
      Cheers for taking the time to respond to feedback and learn. Also, props on how strong and well written the English is in general! And, most importantly, loved the article. :) (I thought this whole thread was a good example of how to actually do good feedback. )
      - grobmeier 15y ago
        Thank you for the kind words. It is actually very difficult to estimate if the article is well written or not if you are not using you mother tongue (at least this is how I feel about it). So I consider your comment very motivating!
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  I think the less than perfect grammar makes the piece flow better, and sound more authentic Zen
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
pavel_lishin 15y ago
> I'm generally a 'descriptivist' rather than a 'prescriptivist', meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay What about things like leet speak, and other Facebook-like lingo?
jamesbritt 15y ago
meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay, I'm pretty sure descriptivism involves some number of people sharing an agreed meaning, not that all speech by all native speakers is OK.
- mjwalshe 15y ago
  Yam saying my accent am incorrect?
nollidge 15y ago
> meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay I'm not sure what you mean here. Descriptivism is a paradigm of linguistics in which language is analyzed as it is used within a given population and point in time, rather than analyzing it according to a strict and timeless set of rules (a.k.a. prescriptivism). Rather than defining a given usage as right or wrong, it seeks to classify the usage according to what populations and registers it's used in. That's not to say descriptivism has nothing to say on what language one ought or ought not use, just that the recommendations will be dependent on who your audience is and what setting. Like: using "y'all" in Texas wouldn't raise any eyebrows, but in Wales it certainly would. And using "hoosflaw" to mean "pickles" wouldn't work anywhere. In the U.S., I'd wager that adverbial 'good' is used quite a bit informal contexts like conversation, texts, or Facebook posts. So it's up the author (native or not) what sort of feeling they want to evoke while delivering their message. Homey and conversational? Authoritative and experienced? Silly and offbeat? That said, if you're not confident in your command of the language you're using, formal is probably best, since A) it's probably mostly what you've been taught, and B) it'll be comprehensible and acceptable to everyone.
- losvedir 15y ago
  Thank you for the correction and interesting information. I was mainly trying to indicate that even though I'm generally pretty lax with "grammar rules" (e.g., "Never end a sentence with a preposition") this mistake was still jarring to me. I suppose I was playing a bit fast and loose with those terms, though, and shouldn't have. So, thanks.

grobmeier 15y ago

Thank you, I have updated my post with your corrections. And you are right, I am not a native speaker.

seiwyn 15y ago
It is better now, but amusingly - "The other guy is not as well as you, but better with bowling.", in this case it should be "The other guy is not as good as you". Great article, though.
- grobmeier 15y ago
  Ups - thanks, fixed that too. I was definitely not focused enough. The whole feedback on this post is just overwhelming.
  - bobz 15y ago
    Cheers for taking the time to respond to feedback and learn. Also, props on how strong and well written the English is in general! And, most importantly, loved the article. :) (I thought this whole thread was a good example of how to actually do good feedback. )
    - grobmeier 15y ago
      Thank you for the kind words. It is actually very difficult to estimate if the article is well written or not if you are not using you mother tongue (at least this is how I feel about it). So I consider your comment very motivating!
AznHisoka 15y ago
I think the less than perfect grammar makes the piece flow better, and sound more authentic Zen
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

pavel_lishin 15y ago

> I'm generally a 'descriptivist' rather than a 'prescriptivist', meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay What about things like leet speak, and other Facebook-like lingo?

jamesbritt 15y ago

meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay, I'm pretty sure descriptivism involves some number of people sharing an agreed meaning, not that all speech by all native speakers is OK.

mjwalshe 15y ago
Yam saying my accent am incorrect?

nollidge 15y ago

> meaning if a native English speaker says it, then it's okay I'm not sure what you mean here. Descriptivism is a paradigm of linguistics in which language is analyzed as it is used within a given population and point in time, rather than analyzing it according to a strict and timeless set of rules (a.k.a. prescriptivism). Rather than defining a given usage as right or wrong, it seeks to classify the usage according to what populations and registers it's used in. That's not to say descriptivism has nothing to say on what language one ought or ought not use, just that the recommendations will be dependent on who your audience is and what setting. Like: using "y'all" in Texas wouldn't raise any eyebrows, but in Wales it certainly would. And using "hoosflaw" to mean "pickles" wouldn't work anywhere. In the U.S., I'd wager that adverbial 'good' is used quite a bit informal contexts like conversation, texts, or Facebook posts. So it's up the author (native or not) what sort of feeling they want to evoke while delivering their message. Homey and conversational? Authoritative and experienced? Silly and offbeat? That said, if you're not confident in your command of the language you're using, formal is probably best, since A) it's probably mostly what you've been taught, and B) it'll be comprehensible and acceptable to everyone.

losvedir 15y ago
Thank you for the correction and interesting information. I was mainly trying to indicate that even though I'm generally pretty lax with "grammar rules" (e.g., "Never end a sentence with a preposition") this mistake was still jarring to me. I suppose I was playing a bit fast and loose with those terms, though, and shouldn't have. So, thanks.