Straight talking on the net
It is a pleasure to welcome you to my website: untwisted-lingo.net. This website is dedicated to topics dealing with aspects of the English language which usually get short shrift on the internet and in other publications. I hope you will enjoy reading this website and would appreciate your sending me any comments, suggestions or material you think would be useful for inclusion in this website. More topics for this website are in the pipeline. The next due for publication include: “Denglish for English people”, a riotous summary of bang up-to-date “German English” and “The Advantages of Machine Translations”.
Computer-aided Exploration of Literary Style – An Attempt at Refuting this Claim
More than two decades ago, Philosopher Daniel C. Bennett of Tuft University (U.S.) published an enthusiastic article about the future use of computers in many areas, claiming that they could also be utilised in the analysis of literary style. He speculated that the subtle, subliminal effects of rhythm and other stylistic devices – often beneath the conscious threshold of their authors – could perhaps be magnified and rendered visible or audible with the help of a computer. The features the computer would heighten could be abstract patterns, biases of connotations or intangible meaning.
In my passionate criticism which follows, I set out to refute his overly optimistic view in some detail. After almost 25 years, I have taken stock of the current state of affairs in the final summary, and my conclusion is that computer-aided textual content analysis is still wishful thinking and successful practical applications are nowhere to be found.Continue reading...
Please, please Mr. Postal Worker
This satire is about sexist language – the most radical form of “Political Correctness”. The “genetically engineered” words and terms to be used instead of “sexist” terms are quite novel, often ridiculous and mostly impractical when put to the test by anyone who uses this feature of MS Word.Originally, the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements in the 1960s and 1970s sparked censorship of educational materials on a large scale. Their primary goals were to eradicate prejudicial and unfavourable phrases, to offset the imbalance of women’s under-representation in all kinds of publications and to adapt textbooks accordingly. In the meantime, this movement has become a mighty, yet invisible minority, which wields so much power that it is a threat to any educational system. The most striking aspect of the demand for politically correct terms is the inconsistency in its application and the apparent lack of logic behind it all.
Article coming up soon. Keep checking
Denglish for English People
Does Denglish represent a linguistic evolutionary step or is it just a passing folly; a pseudo-proficiency in English or just a means of showing off one’s language competence?
Denglish is a strange mixture of English and German words or phrases. This sort of Continental neo-pidgin English is ubiquitous and most striking when put bravely into print. English words are adapted in keeping with the rules of German grammar and mixed freely and haphazardly with German, often lending a hilarious touch to the resulting muddle. However, it is when new English words coined by Germans or misapplications of otherwise correct English are thrown in that the effect becomes utterly uproarious. And to top it all, when Germans start to invent new applications for English words or even entirely new English-sounding words which no native speaker would understand, English people are in dire need of guidance through the Continental version of their mother tongue.
Article coming up soon. Keep checking
The Advantages of Machine Translations
Each language is a multilevel and ambiguous construction, which is embedded in different social, economic, political and cultural systems. Up until now, all attempts to use machines to translate any language into another at an acceptable standard and with necessary precision have failed. Indisputably, machines have two advantages no human translator can beat them at: they are quick and they are cheap.
Yet, there are occasions, for instance in cases of emergencies, when an online translation offered by a search engine may be helpful to get an overall idea of what is said. If you are thinking of buying a personal translator, will you get your money’s worth? And if you use a personal translator in your job, does the amount of editing necessary to make the translation at least readable warrant the effort or would it be better to have a natural-sounding, error-free and faithful human translation done right from the start?