Stop Combining Words in RPGs! - Let English prevail

[LightPhoenix]

Myunderstanding is that this actually has precedent in that Germanic languages often make compoundwords. Ithink it's a holdover from the Germanic roots of the Englishlanguage.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Myunderstanding is that this actually has precedent in that Germanic languages often make compoundwords. Ithink it's a holdover from the Germanic roots of the Englishlanguage.

It is true that this is possible to do in German.

Polizeidienststelle

DonauDampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft.

Eisenbahnschrankenwärterhäuschen

Not exactly common words, though, but just to point to extremes. And I am sure there are longer words possible.

I think it makes sense to combine words that always appear together - especially if used as a name for locations like the Shadowfell. Whether that is correct English or not.

 

[Sigurd]

Um, dude, it's not good to make grammatical errors when chiding others on language use. Just sayin'.

Corrected. I put in a missing apostrophe. Thank you.

I know I've set an easy target for people to take pot shots at, you are welcome by the way , but that doesn't make me wrong. Better language in the various rpgs should be a good thing. Correcting a PDF should not be more difficult than correcting my first post.

 

[Henrix]

I'd say it's badwrongfun, really.

 

[RangerWickett]

Corrected. I put in a missing apostrophe. Thank you.

I know I've set an easy target for people to take pot shots at, you are welcome by the way , but that doesn't make me wrong. Better language in the various rpgs should be a good thing. Correcting a PDF should not be more difficult than correcting my first post.

You also missed the comma before 'but' when you were making the compound sentence.

The English language is malleable. I think this counts as 'fair use.'

 

[Umbran]

Better language in the various rpgs should be a good thing.

Well, more correct language and better language are not the same thing. Correctness can be measured with respect to a set of rules, but being better or worse is a subjective measure.

For example, Dr. Seuss is filled with incorrect language. Most of it is not words in English, or any other established language. I daresay that making his language more correct would have ruined his creative work, and ability to get his point across. Thus, more correct language would not have been better language.

In fiction, making stuff up is okay, at least in moderation. In non-fiction, it is much less okay (though you need to sometimes use jargon, which is made up). A goodly part of an RPG is fiction. Owlbears are just fine. They don't need to be owl bears, or owl-bears.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Bill Bryson points out that addiing compound words to the english language is a particularly American trait.

 

[Mark]

DonauDampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft.

Gesundheit.

 

[Sigurd]

You also missed the comma before 'but' when you were making the compound sentence.

The English language is malleable. I think this counts as 'fair use.'

Its there after the smiley, mister malleable.

I'm talking about a broad weakness in publishing. (I would guess by your pickyness that this bothers you more than me.) Its a petty annoyance but things improve with attention.

sigurd

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Spellfire.

Dragonlance.

Ravenloft.

Also:

Greyhawk.

Darksun.

Birthright.

Spelljammer.

Waterdeep.

Shadowdale.

Etc.