Penis phobia?

[yesthattom]

I’m working on the second edition of TPOSANA. A few weeks ago we handed in the manuscript. Now we’ve received it back with red ink on every page with tons of copyediting corrections. (They do good work.)

One thing I’ve noticed is that every time we say that a task is ‘hard’ or a process is ‘harder’ than something else, the copyeditor has diligently changed it to “difficult” or “more difficult”. What is she trying to say?

Comments

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Well, one easy test is to send it back with all her "difficult" and "more difficult" changes reworded to "stiff" and "stiffer."

As in, "Yes, sector by sector data analysis is a stiff task, but magnetic resonance imaging is stiffer still."

[sweh.livejournal.com]

That she doesn't understand sysadmins? To me there's a subjective "gut feel" difference between "hard" and "difficult". Not sure I can explain it, though!

[babbage.livejournal.com]

Well, why not just ask? I'm sure that understanding where the copy editor is somong (ha, just testing, coming) from will save a lot of time correcting and redrafting.

I'd guess that "hard" might be seen as implying "Don't do this, you're too dumb to achieve it" while "difficult" might be seen as implying "read this section of the book carefully".

But hey, at least you're not being pressurised into putting a breakout in the text with a picture of a monkey scratching its head at the complexities of rm -i.

[babbage.livejournal.com]

Or you could drop in a reference to a suitable technical term and see what happens:

The travelling salesman problem is a well known example of an NP-somewhat-tricky problem...

[burritob.livejournal.com]

I'd be guessing that "hard" is more likely to suffer translation errors than "difficult" - assuming there are plans to translate the book to other languages...

[airshipjones.livejournal.com]

Say, what is the estimated time until the new release is available? I have a friend I promised to buy it for.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

June.

[n5red.livejournal.com]

You should send me a review copy. Just because.

[subwayfaire.livejournal.com]

Your editor is probably trying to say, "Dude, think of the translators." She probably less than threes idioms as much as the next ed., but wants to save translator time and billing spent discussing which sense of "hard" applies to sysadmin life. "Difficult" is simply more cost-effective. (Ain't it always.)

[subwayfaire.livejournal.com]

ps woohoo June release date! go you.

[tgeller.livejournal.com]

I suspect it's an eccentricity of the editor. It's funny how some words just sound "wrong" to individuals. I'm seeing someone who can't stand to hear the words "moist" or "creamy". No joke -- she has a strong visceral reaction of discomfort. *shrug*

You could either ask her or just change it. I'd probably go for the former, if just out of curiosity.

[gulfie.livejournal.com]

Is this in regards to the Hogan book? I love that book and am so happy your getting to work on the second edition!


With regard to 'difficult' vs 'hard' vs semantics...

There are an innumerable number of people turned off, or broken simply by the names of some things. Iceland for example, irrational or complex numbers, etc. Much like target fixation, they get hung up on the initial fear and never arrive at the happy place where everything is just a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense.

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

The guesses about concerns in translation are good ones. But there is another reason - technically speaking, it is more grammatically correct to describe a task as "difficult" than as "hard". Your editor is right. Hard is colloquial, difficult is formal.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

Um, says who?

Seriously, this notion that "hard" is colloquial and "difficult" is formal is as classic of an example as you will find of making unfounded usage claims for what is a personal preference. Do any sort of search of formal documents, and you will find ample evidence of "hard". You will also find that "hard" and "difficult" are considered synonyms, and are certainly used as such in formal documents. Making one verboten will dull the resulting prose.

Consider this sentence:

A family of two may find it hard to live comfortably on a standard disability wage, especially in regions where it is difficult to find an apartment for less than $900 a month.

Are you really claiming that the first half of that sentence is colloquial while the second half is formal? That would be idiosyncratic. Or turn the first half into a sentence of it's own, replacing the comma with a period. A claim that the resulting sentence is "colloquial" makes no sense to me -- and, in fact, it would weaken the sentence's impact (to my ears) to replace "hard" with "difficult". In any case, what would you do with the entire sentence, if you wanted to follow the copy editor's dictum?

A family of two may find it difficult to live comfortably on a standard disability wage, especially in regions where it is difficult to find an apartment for less than $900 a month.

Ok, that's not right either. So now you've got to completely recast both sentences. To what end? I don't see the problem with the original sentence in the first place.

Tom: I find your sense of tone to be one of the strongest features of your technical writing. Please don't discard it for the unfounded whims of a copy editor.

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

I wasn't suggesting Tom agree to the changes, only offering a possible explanation as to why she might have suggested them. And by "colloquial" I only mean that his use of the word "hard" in place of the word "difficult" is something that has become accepted through common usage, even if it isn't technically grammatically correct.

The rule that I learned about these two words is:

HARD vs. DIFFICULT - Hardness can be measured on Moh’s scale, but if you can’t do it easily, then it’s difficult.

So your question further down about how she would feel about "hard drive" is that she shouldn't have a problem with it, as this is the correct usage of the word "hard" - the material used to make the drives is very durable.

I have found both sources that agree with my understanding of the rule, and sources that say that using hard as a synonym for difficult has become accepted practice. I don't feel strongly about it one way or the other, and I certainly use hard as a synonym for difficult in my own writing. Again, I was only saying why it was that the editor might have said this, not saying that she was right or wrong, or that Tom should change his language.

Again, if Tom wants to use the word "hard", he should tell the editor that, and give his reasons. It may lead to some difficulties should the book get translated into other languages. (They may replace the word "hard" with something meaning "durable" instead of something meaning "difficult".) But if that risk is worth it to him, then more power to him.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

I wasn't suggesting Tom agree to the changes, only offering a possible explanation as to why she might have suggested them.

Oh, I know -- and I absolutely should have been much much clearer about the fact that I didn't mean this to be a direct response to you but to the rule you cite, which is a different thing.

(The "hard drive" thing on my part was meant to be a joke, related to Tom's penis reference.]

I do find Tom's prose style in his published work to be delightfully direct, to the extent that I would encourage him to trust his instincts in situations where he finds himself at odds with a copy editor (which he isn't really saying he is in this case).

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

and I absolutely should have been much much clearer about the fact that I didn't mean this to be a direct response to you but to the rule you cite

Boy, to say that I was unclear about this distinction is an understatement, looking at how I chose to phrase and direct my sentences.

In any case, beware a copy editor who insists there is always a difference between "that" and "which". And if you read Language Log (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/) regularly you might find yourself joining the campaign to toss Strunk and White out the window.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Tech writer vs. Film Director.... who will survive!?!?

[dannyman.livejournal.com]

Your copyeditor sounds like a stiff.

[lilbjorn.livejournal.com]

What is she trying to say?

Being president is 'hard'. Being a sysadmin is 'difficult'.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

Perhaps she should be set loose on Stephen Foster, so that we can all join together in snging the lovely classic "Difficult Times Come Again No More".

What does she say about hard drives?