Forum >> The Comic >> Contractions

CharybdisContractions
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Contractions in Link and Friends dialogue: Good or bad? Which way do you prefer? Debate!
Disclaimer: The sensicalness of the above statement is not guaranteed.
This message was posted by Charybdis on Thu Aug 7 04:06:20 2003.
This message was moved by Wolfenhex on Mon Jan 26 08:30:04 2004.
MadLuigire: Contractions
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Good. It makes the dialogue seem more real.
You guys reply fast.
This message was posted by MadLuigi on Thu Aug 7 05:05:30 2003.
Sabinre: Contractions
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Good: Dialogue is more real and easy to read, and takes up less space.

Bad: Apostrpohes put large gaps in words, and can sometimes cause confusion if they are misused or used in an unusual fashion.

My vote: Contractions are good to use, but keep in mind that not everyone may read it the same way as you wrote it.
Death to Goombas! Save the Koopas!
This message was posted by Sabin on Thu Aug 7 06:18:12 2003.
Catre: Contractions
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Well, to reply to what Wolfenhex'd said in another post, it confuses non-native English speakers. That's why he's tried to phase 'em out.

Personally, I think if you're going to the trouble of learning any English at all, you *need* to learn contractions. I don't know anyone who doesn't use them. They can think of it all as practice.

So yes, they're good. Make it seem more realistic.
The Cat says: Mrowr.
This message was posted by Cat on Thu Aug 7 17:21:39 2003.
MadLuigire: Contractions
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That's a good point. The easiest way to learn a language is to talk to people who know it. Couple that with an education and you got it. We can't move our language around people who don't speak it. As long as the apostrophes are used correctly, there shouldn't be much concern.
You guys reply fast.
This message was posted by MadLuigi on Thu Aug 7 21:32:20 2003.
Sabinre: Contractions
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I agree completely. One thing that really irritates me is when other languages impede on my life. Some companies won't even hire people that can't speak at least two languages fluently.

I'm not saying that this comic should be internationally unfriendly, but the reality is that it is written in English, and should therefore be targeted to English-speakers.

If you want to attract the attention of Spanish-speaking (or other language) visitors, draw a version of the comic in that language.

Just my 2˘...

On a somewhat related topic, I think that there should only be one space after periods. In a fixed-width font (like the one you use), that is a LOT of space to put between sentences. I'll even provide two sides of the argument...

For 2 Spaces: It is technically proper English grammar, and is used when typing a college essay or résumé.

For 1 Space: It looks cleaner and not so far apart. W3C supports the one-space side; you can tell because in HTML, any spaces beyond the first in succession are ignored (unless you use   or a CSS override), because they are useless whitespace.

Okay, I'm done.
Death to Goombas! Save the Koopas!
This message was posted by Sabin on Tue Aug 12 21:46:45 2003.
This message was edited by Sabin on Wed Feb 11 07:17:31 2004.
MadLuigire: Contractions
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I didn't know it was proper punctuation to put to spaces between sentences. Ooh two spaces. Ah... Oh..!
You guys reply fast.
This message was posted by MadLuigi on Wed Aug 13 07:20:07 2003.