grandparent article translations

Published April 10, 2009 by Nancy

I just received another request to translate the grandparents article.

A member from one of Norway’s Asperger and Autism societies has asked to translate it.

I think there is already a Norwegian translation out there. Most European languages have already been covered.

Thanks to Barb Kirby of OASIS for passing on that request.

the sorting hat

Published January 21, 2009 by Nancy

If life on earth depends on biodiversity, maybe human life depends on <a href=”http://www.nancymucklow.com/2008/making-a-world-of-difference/” target=”_blank”>neurodiversity</a>.

Yet media and experts use a very different language for autism spectrum issues: <em>disability, disorder, problem, abnormality, flaw, error</em>.

Even <em>epidemic</em>. As if autism is somehow contagious.

This is not the language of neurodiversity. It’s the language of <em>ew</em>.

These ideas frame how society treats autistic people. Imagine facing that every day!

<strong>But the language reflects the reality of autism fundraising.
</strong>

Movements don’t get money for helping variants of the norm. They get money for solving big scary problems.

So if you want people and foundations to open their purses, then you’d better scare ‘em good.

Funding appeals for autism issues have a hint of the freak show in them. The worse, the better. The more fear, loathing, and pity you can stir up, the more you can keep your issue front and centre.

Nobody seems to consider that autistic people are watching.

<strong>How a society frames an issue of difference determines how people will be treated. </strong>

I don’t want to whitewash the issue of autism funding or romanticize away the challenges. But the conflict between <em>neurodiversity </em>and  <em>disorder/abnormality</em> raises two important problems:

<strong>On the one hand: </strong>

Raising heaps of money is good because families with autistic children are desperate for help. Without special interventions, the kids may not do well in life. Without assistance, the families may not survive.

So the bitter reality is that the freak show appeals are important for getting money.

<strong>On the other hand</strong>:

Funding gets allotted. To whom? To families, services, or specialized (and expensive) training programs?

Hardly.

It goes to medical researchers working on genetics and drug therapies.

In other words, it goes to <em>abnormality/disorder</em>. It doesn’t go to <em>neurodiversity.</em>

<strong>The lesson here is that you reap what you sow. </strong>

The meaning of a warranty

Published January 1, 2009 by Nancy

In March I bought a $1000 frontload Kenmore washer from Sears. Two weeks later, I called service because it was loud and walked across our basement floor. They told me there was a problem with the balance of the drum and replaced it.

The replacement was quieter. But by late fall, it was getting louder and more active. I called service at the beginning of December. Three sets of technicians came out, each with a different conclusion about what was wrong with the machine.

My family spent Christmas without a washer.

The latest technician said they should just replace the drum. So Sears has triumphantly told me they are coming over soon to replace the drum.

Sounds good? Think again.

The 12-month warranty runs out in another 5 months. If the washer is falling apart after just 7 months of normal use, then there is something wrong.

And it’s not just a drum.

I have demanded a replacement.

And was told that Sears does not do replacements on any appliance after the first 90 days.

And the one-year warranty?

It’s just for repairs.

Just for repairs? Yes, correct. It’s not a guarantee. It’s just a one-year service contract.

Needless to say, I am in battle royal with Sears.

Here’s what the store manager told me:

1. Appliances can be replaced only during the first 90 days. If an appliance falls apart completely on day 91, Sears will just do repairs, unless a technician says it cannot be repaired or rebuilt.

2. The technician has to be a full-time Sears technician. You can’t get an independent assessment from an unbiased technician. Of course, it is in Sears’ interest to employ technicians who prevent replacements and tinker with appliances to get them to work.

3. Repairs during the one-year warranty period are not guaranteed. You have up to four service calls during the warranty period. After that, you pay. If the repairs fall apart after the one year is up, it is your problem.

4. The store manager then said that I should have bought the extended warranty. Then she added that now I was going to need one. She added (helpfully) that there was still time to buy one.

I’ve reported this all to the Better Business Bureau, and we’ll see where that goes.

But let’s look at the meaning and subtext of the conversation I had with the store manager.

“You should have bought the extended warranty… and now you’re going to need one.”

We could look at this cynically and say that salespeople never miss an opportunity to pitch their extended warranties. We could also look at is as bullying or blackmail.

But the meaning of this sentence goes further. In effect, the manager said that Sears was not being irresponsible for selling me a washer that was defective — I was irresponsible for having failed to buy the extended warranty.

She switched the responsibility issue around completely. The customer is responsible for the purchase of a defective appliance, not the store.

What is a one-year warranty anyway?

It is supposed to be the customer’s guarantee of a fully working product at the time of purchase. If an appliance has a manufacturing defect, that defect will show up within the first year. So a one-year warranty is usually enough to ensure that the product was in good order when sold.

But Sears warranty is apparently not that.

Their one-year warranty is just a service contract. It has nothing to do with guaranteeing a fully working product at the time of purchase. If they have to use duct tape and bandaids to get the appliance to work, they can do that. All they have to do is stretch the working life of the defective machine past the 12-month mark, and then they have no further responsibility for it.

Sears’ warranty sounds like a guarantee of a good product, but it is not.

Sears has dumbed-down the concept without changing the name.

A subtle change. But the meaning behind it  is deep.

Sears built its reputation on its warranties. You used to be able to count on a Sears warranty. Someone says “Sears,” you think “warranty.”

But Wal-mart has had a powerful impact on all retailers. Sears has had to change. It’s been trying to find ways to keep their prices lower, pleading with customers not to make returns.

For example, there are new handling fees when you place a catalogue order. Catalogues are supposed to have low prices because of low inventory and staffing costs. But big-box stores with low-wage staff have pushed prices even lower than catalogues.

So Sears is quietly adding fees to keep prices lower. The irony seems to be lost on them.

In effect, Sears has become another Wal-mart.

Sure, it has more selection and some higher-end products. But in the end, the value of the Sears name is only the consumer’s memory of its past.

And that will not last long.

what your Grade 3 teacher taught you that you can stop doing now

Published December 30, 2008 by Nancy

1. “Never split infinitives.”

Split ‘em. This rule was made up in the 1600s by the first grammarians, who thought that English should match Latin. In Latin, infinitives are one word, so they can’t be split. In English, they are two words: to go. So there is no reason why we can’t slip an adverb in between them.

As an editor, I looked for infinitives that the author had noticeably tiptoed around to the point that it sounded silly. And changed them to a more relaxed sound.

2. “Never start a sentence with because.”

Of course you can start a sentence with because. Just finish it! Because links two sentences, so make sure you are using it to combine two sentences. There will be a comma between them.

The problem with Because results from teachers asking test questions that start with Why. Why did the War of 1812 start on a Monday? It’s natural to quickly link [split infinitive] the answer to the question with Because: Because Tuesday was a holiday. Alas, that’s a fragment.

All the teachers had to do was put something between the Why question and the answer to curb the temptation to write a fragment. Why did the War of 1812 start on a Monday? Explain your answer. You would naturally write The war started on a Monday because Tuesday was a holiday and carry on.

3. “Never start a sentence with And or But.“

I don’t know where this idea came from. I worked with one author who insisted it was an ungodly act to do either.

No. This is goofy. Of course you can start a sentence with And or But. Just make sure it’s a complete sentence.

4. “Never use fragments.”

Good authors and copywriters use fragments all the time. They’re very effective.

But they don’t belong in a formal report or essay.

5. “Use shall with we.”

Not since the 1940s. Or if you are British. Otherwise, shall is extinct.

6. “Never end a sentence with a preposition.”

As one famous author said, Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.

English prepositions are not always prepositions. The word off is a preposition in He ran off the road. Where did he run? Off the road. It’s starting an adverb phrase of location.

Yet in the sentence I ran off four copies on the copier, the word off is not a preposition. Where did I run? Off four copies. No, that doesn’t make sense. In fact, off is part of the verb: to run off.

English has many of these two-word (or three-word) verbs: to clean up, to finish off, to do up, to turn over, to put up with, etc. The second word attaches to the verb, not to the phrase that follows. So these are not true prepositions, and they can go wherever they sound best.

3 pronouns and evolution

Published November 30, 2008 by Nancy

I took Middle English at university. Did you know there were extra letters in the alphabet?

Then there was something called The Great Vowel Shift in the 1200s that changed English pronunciation and left the plural of mouse as mice but not house as hice.

Evolution is like that. It sweeps in big changes and leaves many casualties. Left to their own devices, the misfits die out. that is, unless they are being kept alive artificially. Language changes by the day, faster than the dictionaries and grammar books. Unfortunately, in today’s English, pronouns are a major casualty.

He/She/They

English lacks a non-gendered singular pronoun. We’re stuck saying he or she or switching everything to the plural and using they, or sometimes even you. A hundred years ago, folks could get away with using he, but don’t try it today unless you don’t value your teeth.

There are no good solutions this problem. In time, they is going to be considered a singular as well as plural pronoun. So a sentence like When the candidate comes in, they should leave their coat in the closet would be correct. Today, it isn’t.

However, using they and you to get around the he/she problem will create even more problems. We will have to squint to decide if they is referring to a group or just one person, or if you is referring to YOU or to anybody.

Everyone/Everybody

Some pronouns that are singular in grammar are plural in idea. So it’s only natural to say Everyone should bring their reports on Monday instead of Everyone should bring his or her report on Monday. We could simply declare these pronouns to be plural. But then we’d have the challenge of getting used to saying Everyone have left.

Who/Whom

I know people still try to use who/whom correctly. But it’s so difficult to get it right, and a misused whom is so much worse than a misused who that we should really just give up.