14 May 2008

ANZAC or Anzac?

The language is constantly evolving with a trend towards brevity. Waggon has become wagon and to-day has become today.

Some Australians cling to what they believe is English spelling for words like “programme” and anything that potentially ends in -our like “colour”.

I think they are mistaken. Researching newspapers from the 1890s for my family history a few years ago the consistent style was to spell “color” etc. Read more »

Tags: anzac, Australia, journalism, language
3 comments


11 May 2008

Ancient language goes modern

It’s rather ironic I learned about The Vatican’s web site from a blog named The Inquisitr

I’m not surprised The Vatican has a web site; it’s just I had never thought about it before and had never visited.

As The Inquisitr reveals, a Latin section was only recently added.

I’ve never studied Latin and I was born just after the Second Vatican Council, so I never experienced a Latin Mass.

I can appreciate the value of Latin. From Roman times to the Industrial Revolution it was the universal language. Read more »

Tags: Burma, Catholic, church, internet, language, religion, Technology
1 comment


19 December 2007

Poor handwriting

I’m embarrassed how poor my handwriting has become. It was never good, but it’s become worse. I struggled to write neatly in primary school; now it’s impossible.

I can print letters okay, but cursive script is atrocious.

Today I wrote Christmas messages for some key contacts. I could barely read them myself. I blame two factors:

1) Typing. I’ve typed far more than I’ve written over the past 20 years. I barely write at all now, except short notes and my signature.

2) Work. I never learned proper shorthand, but developed my own version. It gives me useful notes of conversations, meetings and interviews. Only I can read it, so it’s almost like writing in code!

So, between lack of use and “writing” an alternative script I figure that I’ve lost the art of cursive script. Whether I need to rediscover it is debatable.

Tags: language, writing
3 comments


10 December 2007

Arrogant Australians

There’s an interesting opinion piece in The Age about how Australian travellers are perceived overseas. Basically we are considered arrogant.

I travelled in 1991 and the perception was emerging then. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s worse today.

Seventeen years ago the “arrogant” tourists were Americans and Germans. Australians were considered brash but friendly.

Australians from my era (cusp of baby boomers and generation x) had a unique gift for adapting to foreign environments, a bit like the chameleon character in Woody Allen’s film Zelig. You hear that in Greg Norman’s American accent. Read more »

Tags: Australia, language, society, travel
0 comments


19 November 2007

Blog readability test

A lot of people are taking this test for their web sites. Some of them are happy or offended to be shown as pitching their content at a “genius” level.

I’m not surprised that my report has come in at “junior high school” level. Journalists are trained to use simple language.

Tags: blogs, language
7 comments


9 November 2007

Online translation error

I would never rely on an automated online translation service to communicate with someone who speaks a foreign language. I might use it for a short sentence, or with apologies in advance, but never in a formal sense.

The Israeli journalists who questioned the Dutch Foreign Minister using a web translator must be extremely embarrassed.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry isn’t too happy either. “How could this email possibly have been sent? These journalists have sparked a major, major incident,” said an Israeli official. “Sure he can’t understand many of the questions, because the English is so bad. But he is being asked about the sleeping arrangements of his mother!”

Apparently the failed translation attempt was from Hebrew to English. I wonder what they would have got from a Hebrew-Dutch service if they’d found one.

I find the web translators useful for gaining a basic understanding of web sites, especially those in German and Dutch, which I partly understand anyway. That’s all I use them for.

Tags: email, language, list, sleep
0 comments


23 June 2007

Disused Australian sayings

Something prompted me to think this morning about Australian sayings which are no longer in common usage.

He’s got Buckley’s hope

Owes its origins to convict William Buckley who landed with David Collins’ expedition to found a settlement on Westernport Bay in Victoria. Buckley escaped, the settlement was abandoned and he spent the next 32 years living with Aborigines until the founding of Melbourne.

The saying means that someone has very little hope. Their position is precarious but not totally forlorn. Read more »

Tags: Australia, culture, language
0 comments


10 August 2005

Psalm 119

Psalm 119 is a long and beautiful psalm. I read it tonight and felt inspired to write about it. Being a sneaky bloke I tried to find some text online to cut and paste. Interesting!

My hard copy reference was the Good News Bible (1976) I still have from school. The passage I’m interested in is: (v89-90):

"Your word, O Lord will last forever; it is eternal in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures through all the ages; you have set the earth in place, and it remains."

The Jewish Publication Society translation is:

"For ever, O the Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven.
"Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth."

Christian versions I saw are similar. Here’s another:

"The Lord exists forever; your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast."

Most other online quotes are in old language. Makes me grateful the Catholic system adopted the Good News Bible. I guess there was no obligation on their part to use the Protestant King James version.

It’s ironic that the Protestant cause was partly founded on making the Bible available in everyday language, but many today prefer to read it in Old English!

As for the passage … God will never abandon us. We should never abandon Him!

Tags: Catholic, faith, language, news, PR, school, society
0 comments


6 August 2005

Cloudstreet comments

My blog comments have been dominated by opinions on Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet. I’m in two minds whether to close comments on this subject or go with the flow.

I’m currently leaning towards the latter. I find most of the posts interesting and entertaining. I’ve had to edit a few for language, but most are clever and witty.

Cloudstreet, I now know, is a Year 12 text and there must be hundreds of students searching the web for references. I think most of the comments are from students and teachers.

Tags: blog, cloudstreet, language, opinion, war, winton
1 comment


26 July 2005

Artistic and cultural awareness

I don’t know if it’s a symptom of the modern age, or a peculiarly Australian phenomenon, but the average citizen isn’t very culturally aware.

I like to think that I have a broad general knowledge and a moderate IQ, somewhere between Einstein and George Bush on the scale, but I have to admit that my knowledge is lacking in many areas.

It was Juliet’s turn to visit the dentist today, and while paddling in her root canal, so to speak, he engaged in discourse on classical music. It transpires that his girlfriend plays violin for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He also spoke about a notable pianist, of whom neither of us has ever heard. Read more »

Tags: architecture, Australia, computers, education, History, language, life, Melbourne, music, PR, school, sleep, war
0 comments