Posted on 03/23/2007 11:44:31 AM PDT by Eleutheria5
That is different than fiction writing (which is what I am discussing). If there is a good reason for the passive voice to be used...then by all means... it should be used.
If the author embeds science writing in his novel it should sound grammatically authentic. It’s not just a rule, it’s a maxim.
okay.
I use the technique in nearly every novel I write because it seems I’m now doomed to write novels which work off of science themes. The occasional scene for transition works well in passive voice, also.
It’s one technique that needs to be mastered in modern novel writing if the author is to be authoritative in the modern technological society. The machinery is brought under control (passive!) and humanity is reasserted (passive!).
A non-fiction book available on the Net was my way of offering the more technical materials found during my research, for readers interested in those topics. [ http://weneedtalk.blogspot.com is a link to the links in PDF or html, if anyone is interested in reading the thing now after these years it has been being downloaded for free ]
Yes, that is very flat. There are no details; no smell, touch, etc. Boring. Besides, a ‘jumble’ and a ‘blur’ are not at all the same thing.
Well I looked through some of the Psalms and found no passive voice as far as I could tell so I suppose the translators shifted to active. Although how that would work I don’t know. Do you have any examples?
Passive voice certainly has its uses, As I mentioned earlier, is shortens things.
Carton you must be about ready for bed there.
As soon as I prove the Ottomans are not Europe’s sick old man.
God should always be written about in the active voice IMHO.
“God written about in the active voice”
And it certainly seems to be in my reading. ‘He who made heaven and earth’ is a repeated phrase.
Ah, Turkey, ‘the sick man of Europe’! And you have to prove otherwise? Your studies are indeed demanding.
But the Ottoman Empire was at least had gorgeous palaces, at least in the writings of Dorothy Dunnett.
And under 6,000 words too - which is the hard part. I am trying to lose 3,000 words. Editing is my friend.
I also managed to rewrite 25 pages of my novel using all the tricks I have learned here. What a difference! And I translated some Arabic as well. I have been busy.
It is bedtime here in Tel Aviv...
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Sleep well.
As for the 2000 words -— it’s just a paper, you can tell yourself.
So far, nobody’s left any. But the book’s been out there only two months.
“Let’s talk verb tenses. It is interesting that I am learning Hebrew and Arabic as part of my post-graduate degree, and I have been told by my profs that the passive voice (especially in Hebrew ((nefal verbs)) is writing at the highest level. This runs counter to everything I have been told when writing English. In fact, Word Perfect, as part of its spell/grammer check would alert you to how many sentences you constructed in the passive voice so you could correct them. “
Knowing Hebrew (rabbinical & Biblical) fluently, and being familiar with, but rusty at Arabic, I don’t know what your professors are talking about. English has a problem with the passive voice because it involves extra, unnecessary verbiage. For example, “I have been told by my profs,” rather than “My profs have told me.” Of course, that problem is not as acute in Hebrew and Arabic, because they don’t have those gosh-darned auxiliary verbs that English has. You’d say “hugadti,” or “Qoola lii” rather than “I have been told.” But the other source of extra verbiage would still be there, to wit, the conversion of the subject into the object of a prepositional phrase, to wit: “hugadti al ydei profesorai” and “Qoola lii min ustaathai” for “by my professors.” If you have a hidden subject, that is not a problem in any of the three languages, but the extra auxiliary verbs still persist in English. “I have been told” for “hugadti” and Qoola lii”.
“I am learning modern Hebrew, which, the professor assures the class, is not the same language as ancient Hebrew.
I know students who can read ancient Hebrew but must start all over again to learn Modern Hebrew.”
I started with the ancient language, but didn’t find the jump into modern all that difficult, except that Israelis talk too fast for me to follow, and there are some new terms like “mechona” (car) and “masreda” (office) that I had to get used to.
I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout ‘em Middle Eastern ways ‘a talkin’.
:-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.