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There is currently this proposed edit:

an edit

The comment for the edit is “fixed grammar”. However I think the grammar in the original is fine and is written in quite a good style of English. On the other hand you could argue that the second one is easier to understand for non-native speakers.

Should we try to edit the English language used in the posts in order to simplify them, considering that there is probably a large percentage of users on the site who don't have English as their native language?

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    Actually, The Vikipedio article on the Olympics has them occur is not grammatically correct.
    – avpaderno Mod
    Commented Aug 26, 2016 at 20:10
  • I think we always should, since it helps more people to have access to information.
    – Vanege
    Commented Aug 27, 2016 at 12:25
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    has them occur is actually grammatically correct, but it's a weird expression for L2 speakers of english.
    – LaPingvino
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 10:39
  • @LaPingvino I should have said it is not the correct phrase in that context. You cannot say an article has them occur, since that would mean an article makes them occur, to report what an article says.
    – avpaderno Mod
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 11:11
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    English is weird ;) it often makes things actors that are actually completely passive, as happens here :).
    – LaPingvino
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 22:12

3 Answers 3

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If something is correct, we shouldn't simplify it. As far as I understood it, StackExchange is also about attracting experts. There will be simple and complicated posts, just as there are more and less technical questions. Should we also simplify the Esperanto in order to make it more attractive to beginners? Each question can exist on its own merits and on its own level. The most important thing for the questioner is that the intended answerers understand it.

In an answer one could add a sentence where the question is simplified "I understood that x..." in the first sentence.

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I think we should try to make the post clearer, when possible. This doesn't mean necessarily simplify the post, and surely not over-simplify it.
The first aim should be making the post grammatically correct, avoiding slang words as much as possible, with the correct punctuation and formatting.

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Maybe a strange thought, but I actually quite enjoy the idea of finding something new about other languages (be it English or other languages the posters give examples and analogies in) while learning Esperanto. After all, most people learn Esperanto because they like understanding languages in general. And since questions and answers in Esperanto, in English, and in side-by-side translations are equally allowed here, I think neither should be artificially restricted.

In this example, I think the formulation is quite understandable from the context and it's not pivotal to understanding what the author wanted to say. But it's certainly a case by case thing; if I asked about a grammatical feature, perhaps, and got it described using 6-syllabical English words that would mean nothing to me and would be beyond the range of a standard dictionary, I guess I wouldn't learn much from such answer.

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