[Sigia-l] Terms & the rest of us: Findability (was: VivelaFrance! Vive Napoleon!!)

[Listera]

"Dr. Marios Pittas" wrote:

> Maybe, I don't know, but I do know that there we have put great efforts in
> the software industry to provide localised software, and that is not just
> the small projects, the big ones too (e.g. MacOS, Linux, Windows)..

I challenge any language (including French :-) to cover the entire gamut of
technology (let alone web technology) without resorting to a very healthy
doze of the current lingua franca, English.

(I am referring here to literature/discussions about professional topics, as
opposed to simple labeling.)
 
>> What's the percentage of French speakers who today would have no problems
>> understanding the word "email"? I suspect >95%.
> 
> That's because they have been "forced" (!) to learn it that way..

Correcto. You can force anyone to do anything. So if you are going to
*force* them to do something, is it better to force them to learn something
that will not keep pace with the lingua franca and that nobody outside their
language will understand or force them to learn what the rest of the world
is using? Vulgarity it may be, it also happens to be the reality as well.

> should the new generation grow with it and make it part of their language too?

You really don't have a choice. The new generation has already taken the
ball and run with it.

> Should they learn "OK"/"Yes" rather than "Oui", or in my native Greek "Nai"?
> Hmm..

Is it a toss up?

> but should the language be "changed"/"alienated" because of computer use?

Firstly, it's not really just "computer use". Today your PC *is* the gateway
to the Internet, which is the largest repository of knowledge and conduit
for communication we've ever known.

Secondly, you're not really "changing" the language. We're talking about
either neologisms or lingua franca words; in other words, stuff that's not
really in the language one way or the other.

> the question is not simple for sure.. but neither is the answer..

Right. Which is where I started. It's not as simple as your initial outrage
at my remarks.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba