Re: spoken & written usage

[Ronald Lee Stone <ston0030 -at- GOLD -dot- TC -dot- UMN -dot- EDU>]

TECHWR-L folk,

The example 'that/who' sentences might have been
intended for a description of a class assignment,
probably to be read aloud to a class.

Anyway, even someone like me, who is grammatically
flexible (except where clarity/meaning are at issue)
can stop at certain usages. It was difficult to reveal
this to the list, but I don't doubt that others have
similar experiences.

In regard to being a graduate student, I do not
believe that academia holds a monopoly on theory,
nor that industry holds a monopoly on practice.
I remain, however, interested in the relations
between theory and practice.


--- begin included text ---
Date:    Fri, 11 Nov 1994 10:17:00 EST
From:    "USA::SOM24502" <SOM24502%USA -dot- decnet -at- USAV01 -dot- GLAXO -dot- COM>
Subject: the who, the that, the forest, the trees

Hey, Y'all,

I laughed when Ronald L. Stone, graduate student
in the Department of Rhetoric at Univ. of Minn.,
wrote:

<For example, I will change

< The student _that_ writes the best essay gets
<   published in the anthology.

<to

< The student _who_ writes the best essay gets
<   published in the anthology.

It's the essay that gets published, not the
student! The "who" versus "that" controversy
is insignificant compared to this lapse in
logic. Think first, proofread second.

Sue McCullough

Sr Tech Writer
Glaxo Inc. RTP, NC
som24502 -at- Glaxo -dot- com

--- end included text ---

Until later,

Ron



Ronald L. Stone  :  ston0030 -at- gold -dot- tc -dot- umn -dot- edu  :  (612) 644-9706
 graduate student  :  Scientific & Technical Communication
   Department of Rhetoric  :  University of Minnesota, St. Paul