Re: CHAT: Definite/Indefinite Article Distinction\

En réponse à John Cowan <jcowan@...>:

>
> I once read an article arguing that:
>
> 1) French businessmen are reluctant to accede to Anglo-Saxon demands
> to
>    "put things in writing", because
>
> 2) if a document is in writing, it will have to be in Standard Written
> French,,
>    but
>
> 3) your average businessman has no competence in SWF any more.
>
It's so true... Your average businessman in France doesn't even have the
competence in writing letters anymore. It's done by secretaries or they use
model letters with only some gaps to fill (and usually it's easy to see where
the gaps were, because unless it was only for a name, you usually sense a
strong change of style :))) ). Moreover, Standard Written French has a business
submodule which is even more difficult than the beast itself :)) .

My experience says that I am one of the few people of my generation who can
write something in SWF without much trouble (at least, I'm one of the rare
people of my generation who can conjugate a verb in the simple past without
having to look in the Bescherelle - THE reference when you have to find the
right form of a verb -). But then, I've always been a linguavore so it's hardly
surprising :))) .

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.