E-Prime
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 15:31, 3 September 2008 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | The most common constrained forms of writing are strict restrictions in [[vocabulary]], e.g. [[Basic English]], [[E-Prime]], [[defining vocabulary]] for dictionaries, and other limited vocabularies for teaching [[English as an additional language|English as a Second Language]] or to children. This is not generally what is meant by “[[constrained writing]]” in the literary sense, which is motivated by more [[aesthetics|aesthetic]] concerns. | + | '''E-Prime''', short for '''English-Prime''', is a modified [[English language|English]] [[syntax]] and vocabulary lacking all forms of the verb ''[[to be]]'': be, is, am, are, was, were, been and being, and also their contractions. Sentences composed in E-Prime seldom contain the [[English passive voice|passive voice]], which in turn may force the writer or speaker to think differently. By eliminating most uses of the passive voice, E-Prime compels the writer to explicitly acknowledge the [[Agent (grammar)|agent]] of a sentence, possibly making the written text easier to read and understand. |
| + | |||
| + | Some regard E-Prime as a variant of the English language, while others consider it a mental discipline to filter their own speech and translate the speech of others. For example, the sentence "the movie was good" can become "I liked the movie" using the rules of E-Prime, which communicates the subjective nature of the speaker's experience rather than directly imparting a quality to the movie. Using E-Prime makes it harder for a writer or reader to confuse statements of opinion with statements of fact. According the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, "Requiring students to avoid the verb to be on every assignment would deter students from developing other fundamental skills of fluent writing." | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
E-Prime, short for English-Prime, is a modified English syntax and vocabulary lacking all forms of the verb to be: be, is, am, are, was, were, been and being, and also their contractions. Sentences composed in E-Prime seldom contain the passive voice, which in turn may force the writer or speaker to think differently. By eliminating most uses of the passive voice, E-Prime compels the writer to explicitly acknowledge the agent of a sentence, possibly making the written text easier to read and understand.
Some regard E-Prime as a variant of the English language, while others consider it a mental discipline to filter their own speech and translate the speech of others. For example, the sentence "the movie was good" can become "I liked the movie" using the rules of E-Prime, which communicates the subjective nature of the speaker's experience rather than directly imparting a quality to the movie. Using E-Prime makes it harder for a writer or reader to confuse statements of opinion with statements of fact. According the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, "Requiring students to avoid the verb to be on every assignment would deter students from developing other fundamental skills of fluent writing."
