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I thought only those of us who worked overseas had these moments...
I suppose it does not answer your question, but I've even had moments
(kid you not) when I looked at the screen and KNEW I was reading English
- but you could have fooled me as to what was there... All I
comprehended was groupings of words that mean absolutely nothing to
me... Shook my head, got up, came back, and it was all very clear... Not
that your experience was the same as mine in any way, shape or form, but
for some reason, reading it made me remember....
Your test Engineer learned more than he set out to learn... He'll
survive <grin>
Deborah
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+dhemstreet=kaydon -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+dhemstreet=kaydon -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of McLauchlan, Kevin
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 1:30 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Working "with"; working "on"
When you hear or read " .. working on <object>...", do you infer a
statement or question about something for which the worker has some
ownership and responsibility?
EXAMPLE: I'm working "on" some images; I am either creating them or
editing them. If somebody needs them, they get them from me when I've
done my thing.
When you hear or read " ... working with <object>...", do you infer a
statement or question about something that is merely available to the
worker, but their ownership or responsibility is for something else?
EXAMPLE: I'm working "with" some images; I am using pre-existing images
available to me to create something else, but I didn't necessarily
create the images, and anybody who needs them isn't expecting me to have
made or edited them (somebody else had that responsibility - I'm just a
beneficiary, in passing).
A Test Engineer asked me a question using the "working on" construction,
and I had a brief "forgot to study for the big test" moment, until I
asked some clarifying questions and reminded myself about something I'd
done two weeks ago. If he'd used the "working with" construction, I
would not have had the same feeling of "have I dropped a ball?", and I
would probably have gotten to what he wanted to know more directly.
Since it was obvious I'd gone off on a tangent as I scrambled to orient
myself to his original question, he asked me if he should have worded it
differently. I began to explain, but then wondered if I'd be giving him
a personal distinction but not a generally held one.
What say ye, O expert ones?
- Kevin (who can't be bothered rejoining Copyeditors-l for
this one question)
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authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial. http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
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documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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