Comments on: From sophistication to obfuscation: a story from a migrant https://writegroup.io/from-sophistication-to-obfuscation-a-story-from-a-migrant/ Better business outcomes with clear, effective writing. Thu, 21 Nov 2024 01:04:50 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 By: elbee https://writegroup.io/from-sophistication-to-obfuscation-a-story-from-a-migrant/#comment-5929 Thu, 04 Apr 2019 02:13:02 +0000 http://writeclearlyblog.com/?p=982#comment-5929 Those noun strings are still very prevalent, and much beloved by subject matter experts. Our business writing style in NZ has a long, long way to go before we can claim it to be different from the archaic, long-winded, pseudo-academic obfuscation you describe. I can picture the bullshit bingo working beautifully where I work!
Sadly, I think this means that readers are far less inclined to actually read anything at all, unless they really, really have to. I have tested this when getting document signoffs, by leaving in a sentence that says “I know this makes no sense, but there you have it.” Not picked up by any of my reviewers…

]]> By: Poolo https://writegroup.io/from-sophistication-to-obfuscation-a-story-from-a-migrant/#comment-297 Tue, 28 Apr 2015 23:45:27 +0000 http://writeclearlyblog.com/?p=982#comment-297 Lovely; anyone who has had a sniff of an academic journal would attest to this. Interestingly enough I came across a piece about how academics chose to embellish their writing around the 15th and 16th centuries as more and more people became literate. For the same reasons you wrote about in your article, and because longwinded embellished sentences were harder to discredit.

I myself see academic writing in the same sphere as skateboarding. Young skaters love to show off with a new trick or two, maybe ‘young’ academics like to show off with the latest ‘cool’ term at a journal ‘park’. I guess it creates a bit of ‘yeah I am an insider’!

Still depends on your game, literally. Communication or point scoring? Maybe people need a sphere where they can show off their linguistic airs to each other.

Hmm maybe I have been a bit judgemental, it is hard to swim against a tide centuries in the making…

Thanks for the article

Paul C

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