GDSG topic - grammar terms.

[Pat Costello <Patrick Costello Sun COM>]

All, 

There was some discussion recently about the use of technical grammar terms in 
the GNOME Documentation Style Guide (GDSG). As I contributed those parts of the 
GDSG that contain the grammar terms in question, then I'd better give my 
thoughts on this subject. 

Upfront, I'd like to say that I have a thorough understanding of the grammar 
terms specifically mentioned, namely "gerund" and "Saxon genitive". I am 
completely comfortable with these terms, which perhaps leads me to overlook that 
other people might not be so familiar with the terms. Nevertheless, I do 
recommend we use correct terminology wherever possible in the GDSG, rather than 
avoid unfamiliar concepts for fear that some contributors might not understand. 
My preference would always be to use real grammar terms, backed up by examples 
to help those contributors not familiar with the terms. 

I do concede, however, that less experienced writers might need additional 
explanations for some grammar terms, so I suggest that we include a short 
glossary of such terms in the GDSG. There shouldn't be many terms in the grammar 
glossary, so this section would not be a big overhead. The explanations can be 
in layman's (Sax. gen.) language, such as the nice piece that Tom Musgrove found 
about the Saxon genitive. A simple hyperlink to the glossary term would allow 
the writer to quickly look up the term, without interfering (gerund) with the 
flow of the main text. 

This approach requires a certain amount of work on the part of the aspiring 
writer to learn the tools of the trade. In the long run, however, the approach  
leads to a better understanding of the craft of technical writing, which can 
only be beneficial for future GNOME documentation. More experienced writers 
should not need to access the grammar glossary, but surely a simple hyperlink 
would not disturb the flow of their understanding in text. 

If there are any other unfamiliar grammar terms in the GDSG, other than the two 
points mentioned in the mail string, then let me know. I'll be most pleased to 
put together easy-to-understand explanations for the proposed grammar glossary 
in the GDSG. 

Pat