At another place, one poster condemned my writing as being Victorian and 'gay', which has me wondering. OK, this is not a fishing expedition. I am not expecting, or soliciting, posts telling me how wonderful my penmanship is - so relax! Just tell it like it is. As best I can, I am attempting to use the language as interestingly as I am able, and to make my meaning clear. I generally avoid too much colloquialism, as that is something which varies in meaning from region to region. But if my prose style sounds too flowery, or too stilted and formal, I would appreciate people letting me know - politely.
This reminds me of a line from the movie Idiocracy: "Unaware of what year it was, Joe wandered the streets, desperate for help. But the English language had deteriorated into a hybrid of hillbilly, valley girl, inner-city slang and various grunts. Joe was able to understand them but when he spoke in an ordinary voice he sounded pompous and faggy to them."
You're English, they have never been the straight-forward types like the Germans. You're a regular Shakespeare.
Leo, In all honesty, I had to look up "tedious". And -- well, sorry sometimes your posts are a bit tedious because you are so nice, friendly, kind and everything in between! However, overall I really enjoy your posts and don't let you tell otherwise! Although, a small piece of advice, look out in real-life that you don't come across as pompous by using to much enriched language. I used to be that way. Nowadays, there is nothing more that I detest than come across people in the café, or some other social setting, who get all in my face with fancy words. I have no problem understanding them, so I go along in the conversation but then I sometimes drop a bomb in the form of "volkse taal" (or "folksy language") using proverbs, adages, standing expressions, fixed espressions, etc. -- which play a very large and important role in the Dutch language). But this is an entire different debate since Dutch is a standardized language enriched by countless of dialects. Anyways, to continue -- a lot of people, especially we youngsters -- don't understand the meaning of many proverbs or adages anymore so then they go like: "Oh, crap -- what is he saying?!". Then I tell them I'm going to order a red wine and I ask them if they need anything and I laugh my socks of quitely when ordering... So, Leo -- don't get that criticism get to you, it simply isn't true.
I looked at a few of your posts, and I can see how a bigotted cretin might conclude that your style is 'gay'. But that says far more about the person making the comment than it does about you. Your writing is a reflection of who you are. Don't ever change it (or yourself) because of what some lummox says on an internet forum. You're better than that.
I like your style, Leo....rarely the message .... but, very articulate, coherent and an attractive 'tempo'
One of the reasons I enjoy reading your postings is because of the way you express yourself. It is very classy.
...No doubt. Anyway, Leo, I think you write perfectly well. I'm not sure why you would be bothered by the criticism that you sound "Victorian and gay." That snippet tells you all you need to know about the individual delivering it, and how poorly positioned he is to be leveling insightful critiques.
To my last knowledge, Leo is cloistered away in a UK boarding school.... perhaps, when he graduates and sets sail in the nitty gritty world of scratching out a living.... and paying alms to the queen... I suspect he'll find his port list a bit less attractive.... and his eloquently articulated message will begin to resemble mine.
LOL, no I'm using a hand sharpened quill, on good quality parchment, but it's a bugger feeding it into the USB drive (but easier than with wax-coated clay tablets), and there are quite a few local birds who are listing a bit to the left in flight. I know penmanship refers to handwriting, but typemanship sounded altogether too clumsy.
I have always loved your writings, Leo. You write so well, I imagine you speak as well as you write. I can usually understand exactly what you are talking about, although sometimes you do use rather complicated words that I don't know the meaning of. Hard to accept that an eighteen year old boy knows more of the English language than someone ten years older.
Nope - your posts are almost invariably well articulated, clearly expressed and genuinely thoughtful.
With all due respect, Viv, that seems like a rather silly mindset. Ostensibly -- as far as I am able to discern, anyway -- by your definition if someone is articulate, they have a "British" style. If they are inarticulate, they have an "American" style. For my part, good language usage is simply good language usage. I find it difficult to pin "styles" to authors by their nationality. Themes and tones and so forth can be attributed to what passport someone holds to a degree, but "style" is almost entirely dependent upon ones diction, which is a very personal matter of taste.
Not at all, the most articulate and gifted writers I have appreciated on forums were a Russian and a US teenager. The Russian not being a native English speaker erred in grammar and spelling but still managed to convey the message skillfully. You may advise this is just an ancient Russian folk tale he translated into English, still it communicates more IMHO: It's not about grammar or competence, but communication for me. UK people can superfluously over egg the pudding, though not all do. Isn't it odd how the quoted post bears metaphors with what is happening currently.
