Writing and Zinsser's four principles

Here is the podcast

Many people who learn English also need to write English. This may be for business, or academic purposes. I recently read a book and listened to a CD by William Zinsser, former professor of writing at Yale University. The book is called "On Writing Well" and here are some excerpts. I was particularly struck by Zinsser's four most important principles: Clarity: Simplicity: Brevity: and Humanity. Here I talk about them.

I have always felt the same way. Keep it simple, especially when writing in a foreign language. This means avoiding slang and colloquialisms on the one hand, and avoiding stilted pretentious language on the other hand. That is why I always try to practise a neutral form of any language that I speak. I essentially think that I am writing and speaking the same way. It sure makes it easier to write.

Comments

[Tony]

Steve,

Is it the time to change the title from "... in learning to speak 9 languages ..." to 10 languages? A 2-digit number sounds way more exciting than 1-digit one.

[Steve Kaufmann]

Tony,

I am not yet at the stage where I can claim proficiency in Russian. I do expect to achieve it, though, as well as for Korean and Portuguese. I have varying degrees of proficiency in those languages but I want to wait.