Advertising insights and language tidbits
From Et_wiki
Contents
Globish
- The English that everyone can understand - the English used around the world as means to communicate. Major proponents: Madhukar Gogate and Jean-Paul Nerrière.
- Nerrière's Globish website. Mainly in French but does include links and examples for English readers. Highlights include parallel articles written in native speaker English and Globish (guess which one is bland). The glossary is pretty handy, too.
- Observer. An article about the Globish revolution...what's this English-lite all about?
On writing
- The Elements of Style by E.B. White and William Strunk, Jr.
- The bible of straightforward, crisp American prose. Read it. Memorize it. Emulate it.
A note on grammar
- Where's the best place to put the fullstop in English? Or the comma? It can all be very subjective and often depends what you're trying to say or how you want to say it.
- Try putting the punctuation in this paragraph...
dear jack i want a man who knows what love is all about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you have ruined me for other men i yearn for you i have no feelings whatsoever when we‘re apart i can be forever happy will you let me be yours jill (Check the bottom of this page for some solutions)
Online articles
- The You Decade
- Available at [[1]. Slate takes a fresh look at how the field of communications has re-appropriated the word ‘you’. A great counterpoint to the attitudes of the Me generation, too.
- Your Voice [2]
- A hip BBC examines how English is spoken across the British Isles today. Features
- debates on how people speak
- multilingual nation
- stop talking rubbish
- language change
- classroom talk
- language ecology
- the linguistics of 'bad language'
- language and place - untangle the links between language and geography
- Received Pronunciation and BBC English
- language and time - trace the history of the languages of the British Isles
- accents and radio drama
- politeness
- language and age
- when languages collide
- why study language?
- talking proper - is there such a thing as 'ungrammatical'?
- the art of conversation
- A hip BBC examines how English is spoken across the British Isles today. Features
Plain English
- Center for Plain Language [[3]
- The Center's mission is to increase the usefulness and efficiency of government, legal, and business documents, so that the people who use those documents can quickly and easily find what they need, understand what they find, and act on that understanding. Includes principles, benefits, and resources.
- The Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) [4]
- A volunteer nonprofit organization of plain-language advocates, professionals, and organizations committed to plain language. Includes legal language, langage samples and resources, language in the news, conferences, literary resources, other organizations, and government initiatives.
- The Plain English Campaign
- A UK based organisation championing clear, concise writing styles. The Plain English Campaign website[5] is full of useful references, jargon busting phrases, a ‘Hall of Shame’ for terrible examples of jargon filled copy and explains how companies can gain the Plain English Campaign’s seal of approval, the Crystal Mark, for their written materials.
Refreshingly good, best practice
Call a spade a spade. Say it as it is: a wonderful "hey buddy, look at this" American website, a far cry from German OTT technospeak. Give the author a prize: Pro-Tools
Podcasts
- A Way with Words [6]
- Authors and language experts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett tackle listeners’ questions about all aspects of language -- word origins, grammar, slang, regional dialects, pronunciation, good writing, and much more. Based in San Diego, California.
- The Advertising Show [7]
- The Advertising Show is America’s only globally distributed weekly program focusing on advertising, media, marketing, sales and customer relations. The Advertising Show, co-hosted by Ray Schilens and Brad Forsythe, discusses advertising issues, marketing trends and strategies, and features weekly interviews with prominent industry experts. Listeners benefit from the weekly talk show features and practical marketing advice from experienced professionals and interviews featuring national industry leaders who share their wisdom through their own problem solving experiences. Also includes glossaries, archives, industry links, book series, and much more. Caustically witty!
- Writing for the Web [8]
- Writing for the Web: Is it Really So Different from Writing for Print? A 15-minute crash course for editors and writers making the switch from print to online. Now that the Web has had a decade to evolve, we know a lot about what works online, what doesn't, and how users interact with Web sites. This is all crucial in understanding how to write online. In this Crash Course, journalist Manoush Zomorodi presents our exploration of how writing online varies from traditional writing in the print world. 1 video, 15 minutes, $15.
Websites & blogs
Advertising
- ihaveanidea.org
- One of the world's largest online advertising communities. Thousands of advertising professionals from around the world read its famously candid interviews with the world's top creative minds, watch and share their two cents on the latest ads, converse with others in its informal forum, and even drop Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk (co-CCOs at Ogilvy & Mather Toronto) a question or two in the popular "Ask Jancy" column. Includes comprehensive listings of creatives, articles, blogs, resources, sponsors, etc.
- coloribus.com
- Think you've got an original idea? Visit this website to find out and discover an amazing collection of identical ads.
- adsoftheworld.com
- Showcase of ads impressing even the ad experts.
Branding
- brandchannel.com
- Brandchannel.com is committed to providing a global perspective on brands. It challenges us to think further about the important issues that are affecting brands now and in the future. To further enhance our brand awareness, brandchannel.com offers a cadre of tools and information including global listings for conferences, courses and careers, and a streamlined version of The Brand Glossary as well as links to other valuable industry resources.
- Brand Republic
- Brand Republic[9] is the place to go to find out all about the UK marketing, media and communications industries. A product of Haymarket Publishing whose magazines include industry bibles ‘Marketing’, ‘Campaign’ and ‘Media Week’, it covers a range of things including: industry news, research, communities, an archive, events and careers.**
Denglish
- Transblawg: http://www.margaret-marks.com/Transblawg
- Margaret Marks: Weblog on German-English legal translation from Fürth. A completely random collection of Denglish nuggest, English legal terms, and assorted cultural observations.
USA/UK insights
- The Americans, from a German perspective
- Britspeak from a US angle
Grammar solutions
- Here are just two ways you can interpret the piece of text in the 'A note on grammar' section.
- Dear Jack, I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we‘re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours? Jill
- Dear Jack, I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we‘re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be. Yours, Jill
