Purpose of all the rules...

A brother once asked me if I was noticing too many "faults" within a translated passage because of my linguistic/translation background...

I appreciated his comment because he could be right. =) I needed the reminder and challenge whether that was indeed what I was doing - paying too much attention to the technicalities of the language that I missed the point of the whole thing!

I gave an answer to him at that time. But it is not something I will try to articulate here. =)

I will, however, quote something I have just read from a book - something that would explain my point of view on the subject much better than I did, and something that I am posting here for my future reference and benefit! =)

So, herein lies the purpose of all the rules: If the artist fails to follow them, the audience becomes distracted. Rules exist for the sake of efficiency. If your reader has to struggle to understand what you mean, he does so at the expense of your story.

(from The Writer's Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by ST Goldsberry)