I love editing, but I hate the word sometimes. It is impossible to say "I edited it" without tripping on your tongue, sounding like you have something in your mouth, or reminding people of a clunky robot.
Go ahead, try saying it out loud a few times. Can you find a way to not make it sound goofy? If so, can you say it quickly enough to sound like normal speech and not like you're trying really hard?
In my experiences, the answers are no.
But notice that reading the phrase isn't a problem. It doesn't offend the eyes, just the ears. Whether you should tell somebody "I edited it" depends on the medium you are using. This is a great example of a concrete difference between writing and speech. The rules for being effective in writing and speech are very similar in many respects. To some degree, communication is communication. But when you look closely, you will find examples like these where you really have to be aware of how effectiveness can depend on how you share your words, rather than the words you use.
About Me
- Kevin Bahler
- I am a writer. A writer is one who writes. By the same logic, I am also a thinker, an observer, and a puzzle solver. I am a graduate from the State University of New York at Cortland with a degree in Professional Writing. The idea of the program is that one studies all three aspects of writing as a whole: Creative Writing, Technical Writing, and Rhetoric. The knowledge I have gained in those subjects is put to use in every aspect of my life. The worst thing a person can be is boring. I am most interested in people who can pique my interests. An example is people who can correctly use the word 'pique'.
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