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“Responsible” communication in Globish

A lot of people who use Globish have gotten some English already, in many ways. So it is not good to make too many rules, but rather to show Best Practices. Best Practices in computers, for instance, help us use programs in the greatest number of different machines. One clear area in Globish is with clauses and phrases.

Globish supports correct English in any sentence, but long clauses and phrases can cause many problems. These can even be difficult even for average English speakers. Try not to use too many modifying or reflexive clauses like: I do not trust a man who shakes his stick at a friendly dog. Or: We do not know where the keys to the back door were hidden. Better in Globish: I do not trust that man. He shakes his stick at a friendly dog. Or: We cannot find the keys to the back door. They are hidden somewhere.

Even more difficult, of course, are clauses which may need the words such as that or whom. The native English speaker leaves out those key words about 50% of the time. For him or her, that word is known and expected to exist, but is left silent. Therefore a non-native speaker hears: He’s the man I sold the house to. And yet something is missing. In the most-correct English that should be: He’s the man to whom I sold the house. And even in common English it would be: He’s the man who I sold the house to. Better in Globish: I sold the house to that man. Or, “See that person? I sold the house to him.”

Perhaps the most often left-out word in these clauses is that. “There are many reasons the government cannot reduce your taxes” is, of course, missing the word “that.” Oftenthe Globish speaker depends on hearing the word that. He or she knows a clause is coming which will have its own subject and verb.The native speaker of English thinks nothing of leaving out the word that. But the beginning speaker may be lost. Better in Globish: Always use the word that. Best in Globish:Remake the sentence (s) to say: The government cannot reduce your taxes. Of course, there are many reasons. So,English speakers should always use the words that or who in modifying clauses or phrases they say to Globish speakers. And often, with a little thought, they can make those longer sentences into shorter ones that work as well or better.

Punctuation

In writing, there are several punctuation tricks that will really make the writing easier for the Globish person to understand. These can be used more than the English speaker will use them, because there is more need for clear understanding in a new language. You can use dashes (–) to separate an extra set of thoughts – like we do here – and that can be very helpful. Also ellipses (…) will show a stop in the thought, or make other kinds of separations in ideas such as including words which should be there. Most computers will allow easy use of bold, italics, or underlining make certain parts of a sentence more clear. Globish speakers should use these “punctuation tricks” at any time it makes their written communication easier to understand.

Sentence Fragments

Many English teachers who teach formal English want students to write complete thoughts, and tell them “Never start a sentence with “And” or “But.” But for Globish, it is the other way. And starting with “But” helps it to be a shorter sentence, an easier thought to understand. Or “and”. (Or “or”...:) So the Globish speaker should look instead to the many writers who write for periodicals and newspapers.

Numbers

Some words for the lesser numbers – like one and two – may be spelled out in Globish. The method of just using the number itself should be acceptable to all in Globish. Larger numbers have some cultural differences. For instance, America uses 1,500 for the number of words in the Globish vocabulary. Europe uses 1’500, or 1.500, or 1 500. No one is correct! So it would seem that the common sense way is to leave the number as 1500. With very large numbers like $1 million and 1 billion people, these international words help to avoid counting zeroes (0).

Technical words

Reflexive

a grammar word for words that "go back" to a subject or object. "The man who came to dinner."

Modify

changes or adds to. Adjectives modify nouns.

Assume

thinking that something exists, or is true.

Punctuation

marks that show things about words or sentences.

Dashes

punctuation marks that show extra thoughts in sentences.

Ellipses

... Marks used too end a thought softly, or insert a word.

Bold

makes a word or words darker than the words around.

Italics

makes a word or words more angled than words around.

Fragments

a part cut from the whole. "Sentence Fragments" are not whole sentences. (But sometimes they work OK.)

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