Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!gbs
From: gbs@utgpu.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: can.franglais
Message-ID: <1987Jun26.025227.21426@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Date: Fri, 26-Jun-87 02:52:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: gpu.1987Jun26.025227.21426
Posted: Fri Jun 26 02:52:27 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jun-87 05:58:26 EDT
Distribution: can
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services
Lines: 35
Keywords: IF you use it, its a word
Checksum: 60060


Well, personally (speaking as an anglo) I have more trouble with the
chopped up words than I do missing the accents. What, for example,
becomes of "c'est" and other such words with apostrophies? If we
want to use a character as itself do we precede it with a backslash now? :-)
c\'est tres confusing.

moving along...

If there exists a good word or a viable translation then of course it
deserves to be used over the borrowed phrase. There exist translations
for many standard things (computer,disk, computer science,etc)
but some things just refuse translation (or don\'t take kindly to it).

Yes, I heard a while ago that France was trying to pull a 101, that
doesn\'t mean it\'s a smart thing to do. How do you really expect to
legislate a language ? You can legislate the dictionary, but can you
really get the people to follow along? Who REALLY decides what is and is
not part of a language, what is language - is it not a convention for
communication? "Chair" is meaningless by itself, we agree that when I say
chair I mean a certain type of object. So if the majority of a language's
speakers decide to use a certain word to mean a certain thing then that
word is a part of the language. It may not be "official" until it makes it
into a dictionary, but who really cares about what is or is not official?
(aside from academics and politicians)
Sounds a lot like a book I once read called 1984 ...
a certain sense of what we call in English - "Deja vu"


-- 
Gideon Sheps   (or Cheops, as my Egyptian relatives spell it)
I am not a number ...                             ...I am a free variable !
gbs@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu                                          ///
gbs@utorgpu.bitnet/EARN/NetNorth                              \\\///
disclaimer: My Amiga has been known to postnews without asking \\\/