restricted to
restricted to
(OP)
What's the rule regarding the use of "restricted to." I keep hearing the Coast Guard report on the radio saying the local bar is "restricted to recreational vessels", usually accompanied by size limits like "40 feet and under. It makes sense since the restriction only applies to the smaller boats. Larger boats and commercial vessels remain unrestricted and may cross the rough bar. But this usage somehow sounds backward to my ear. I'm not alone either, since a quick google on the phrase turned up "restricted to adults only" and "restricted to customers only." I don't think they meant that only kids or the non-customers are allowed. Who is restricted and who isn't?





RE: restricted to
"Recreational vessels are restricted from..."
or even better
"Recreational vessels are prohibited from..."
RE: restricted to
In the very strictest sense, the Coastguard could argue that what they say is a perfectly correct way of expressing the thing they mean - particularly if "small" is unstressed when they say it.
In anything other than the very strictest sense, I reckon the Coastguard is mad to use a phrase which is so obviously and dangerously ambiguous.
Mint's second suggestion is great if there is statutory force behind the statement. In this part of the world, I'd expect to see it voiced in terms like "Vessels under 13m in length are advised to avoid...."
A.
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"Restricted to adults only" would be better replaced by only allowed to adults above the age of 18.
"Restricted to customers only" would be better replaced by only costumers are allowed.
Cheers
Luis
RE: restricted to
"Restricted" means "limited", by just about every dictionary I can find. There is NOTHING wrong with "restricted to customers only". The use of "restricted" to mean "barred" (as in, "You're restricted! You can't come in!") is a newer evolution that some would consider to be incorrect.
I think I see here a parsing problem.
"The area is restricted to authorized personnel" means "The area is limited to authorized personnel," where "to" is a kind of verbal particle.
But stevenal et al are misreading it as something that could be rephrased as, "To authorized personnel, the area is restricted," with "to" meaning something like "from the viewpoint of".
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: restricted to
But the English as a second language folk seeing the sign "The area is restricted/limited to authorized personnel" might assume that unauthorized people remain unrestricted/unlimited in their access. Especially if they've heard the other kind of usage.
An example of the CG usage may be found on page 19 http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2005/MAR0502.pdf. For the landlubbers out there, the bars are restricted (meaning closed) to recreational boats first, since the skippers are assumed to have less experience and their livelihood is unaffected.
Yes they have the authority to enforce the restriction.
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The example you cite is a misuse of "restricted". Except in an "English is as she is spoke" sense (which usually this forum doesn't like to buy as a justification), that usage is just plain wrong. "Restricted to X" means "only X", not "not X". The fact that they're misusing it here does not in ANY way make the correct use (almost exactly synonymous with "limited") incorrect.
Just like the increased use of "comprise" to mean "compose" instead of "include" doesn't make the proper use of "comprise" now improper--but that's a whole nother story...
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
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In the version of English I have been using all my life this sentence means that they have never requested that only commercial vessels be allowed to cross Tillamook Bar.
But from the context of the report they mean that they have never requested that commercial vessels be not allowed to cross Tillamook Bar.
I think the coast Guard is using dangerously confusing terminology.
Jeff
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the local bar's usage is "restricted to recreational vessels"
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I agree just saying "the local bar is restricted to recreational vessels" implies that only recreational vessels may use it which is the opposite of the intended meaning.
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OK it has been a while since I took any grammar lessons and I am not going to argue the point because it is obviously confusing otherwise we wouldn’t be debating it but that is the way I understood it. Maybe because I am used to listening to the CG on the VHF .
You have to remember that the Coast Guard is very much aware of ambiguity on the radio and they have evolved their methods with great care knowing that it is often a matter of life or death if they are misunderstood. Most sailors would know that the restriction refers to the bar and the type of craft the CG mentions after that would be the ones that are restricted from going there.
Very rarely would they mention the type of craft that are allowed to do something.
E.g. you would never hear “there is a small craft advisory in the gulf stream today but craft over 25 feet are allowed”.
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Clear and direct.
Phitsanulok
Thailand
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It’s the coastguard that writes the book on this subject and we have to understand what they broadcast. I don’t think we can tell the coastguard they are doing something wrong anymore than we would go to a foreign country and tell them you can’t understand their language so speak English.
By the way I do NOT work for the coastguard.
(Not that there is anything wrong with that!!)
RE: restricted to
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: restricted to
******************
'Plain talk' policies push simple English over jargon
By Rachel La Corte
Associated Press
December 17, 2006
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The average person may find it tough to understand state government, but Washington state officials want to deploy changes to alleviate state personnel's employment of acronyms, jargon and legalese that routinely pervade interfaces with constituents.
Or in plain speak: Talk to the public as you would talk to any other person--simply, and in plain language.
In the 18 months since Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered all state agencies to adopt "plain talk" principles, more than 2,000 state employees have attended classes on writing letters, announcements and documents in everyday language.
So words like "abeyance," "cease" and "utilize" are out, replaced by "suspension," "stop" and "use."
"If people are able to apply for an environmental permit and get it right the first time because they were able to understand it, that's success," said Larisa Benson, director of the Government Management Accountability and Performance system.
When citizens know what the government is asking of them, there's a better chance they'll comply, officials have found.
"Plain talk isn't only rewriting," said Janet Shimabukuro, manager of the department's taxpayer services program. "It's rethinking your approach and really personalizing your message to the audience and to the reader."
Gregoire says it's "a long-overdue initiative, but it's bearing fruit."
Though other states have done some similar work, Washington state is believed to be the first to have a full-scale effort, said Thom Haller, executive director of the non-profit Center for Plain Language in Washington, D.C.
- - -
A simplified form
Old and new versions of a form from Washington state's Department of Licensing:
BEFORE: If you do not wish to purchase 12 month gross weight at the time of renewal, please contact your license agent to determine the fees due for the number of months you wish to purchase. If you are not sure that purchasing 12 months is a good choice for you, please discuss the options with your license agent before purchasing your tabs.
AFTER: To license for less than 12 months, contact a vehicle licensing office to determine the amount due.
--Associated Press
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
RE: restricted to
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Or something.
Robert
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Does the word "all" make a difference in anyone's understanding?
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That is, if "bar" refers to a piece of geography and not to a restriction.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
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If you do then go ahead and party at the bar, it's called Davy Jones Locker.
'Restricted to dead people only!!'
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If you use "restricted", and follow it with a list (even a list of one thing), it means that ONLY THE THINGS IN THE LIST ARE ALLOWED.
If you want to list things that are not allowed, use the word "prohibited".
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So why did the the CG escort the small recreational boat back to port in the PR I linked above?
This is precisely the misunderstanding I am concerned about. It is true that not all bar crossings are maintained for deep draft vessels, but depth only changes significantly with tide level, not the weather. Larger boats and more experienced commercial skippers are more likely to cross a rough bar without incident.
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Although once you've read the full reports, the NTSB and USCG documents linked above clearly intended the phrase to prohibit small boat traffic, here is an experienced user who can understand the instruction to mean the exact opposite, and adduce enough supporting evidence to get his assumption through a sanity check.
The whole point of radio language (Plaindress, Prowords and all that) is to try to get as much traffic as possible sent using a limited vocabulary which has been chosen beforehand, tested against a varied audience, and found to be unambiguous both when heard by a mixed audience, and also when misheard.
I can't imagine "restricted to" passing that test, and I don't remember ever having heard it used on this side of the pond in any R/T context; aviation, marine, civil or military.
A.
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