Plain Language
Punctuation (Part 2): The elegant yet often-overlooked semi colon
Caryn Gootkin continues her series on punctuation by demystifying the semi-colon, which has been called the scariest punctuation mark. Semi-colons...
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Punctuation (Part 1): the real story behind the dots and dashes
My seven-year-old has starting learning Hebrew at school. This is the moment I have been waiting for; I have neglected...
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Plain language: The tricky aspects of gender-neutral language
Caryn Gootkin suggests alternatives to gender-specific pronouns that will make your writing more accurate, less offensive and plainer. The principles...
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‘With all due respect’ and other unplain language
In Caryn Gootkin’s humble opinion, we should write in plain language and talk in plain speech. Much of the discussion...
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The schmendrik’s* guide to recognising (and avoiding) email scams
Caryn Gootkin’s alter ego, the Pedantic Player, advises the greedy and gullible to watch out for email scammers with their...
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Was Fikile Mbalula ‘mockering’ the ‘crown jewel’ of (our) nation?
When the editor sent Caryn Gootkin a copy of the sports minister’s 25 January statement about Bafana Bafana, a plain...
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