Well here we are then
30 January 2007, 02:21 PM
#1
Well here we are then
It seems I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century and asked to "blog". Or "do a blog". I never know whether it's a verb or a noun, or indeed if anyone still cares about the way our language is mangled. "Web log" is bad enough but shortening that to "blog" seems very ambiguous to me.
What if I wanted to keep a record of ale-houses I've been to (logically a "pub log") and then it fell prey to the same missing first syllable? Or perhaps a young lady might want to keep notes on young men she has known - might that also be shortened by dropping "kno"? She and her friends might think very differently of me if they heard I too had a blog. They'd want to ask my opinion about shoes. Eeyuw.
The biggest problem I ever encounter with technical stuff is that there either aren't enough words to cover it, or else people shorten and abbreviate and end up talking at crossed purposes. If someone ever says "every schoolboy knows..." it's a sure sign that there are several different things going on and many people are not taking the time to be clear about which effect is which. You might say "Why should I care?" but it can be important. Honest.
To give an example, anyone who knows me will know I quite like motorcycles. They do several interesting things, two of which are "weave" and "flutter".
What if I wanted to keep a record of ale-houses I've been to (logically a "pub log") and then it fell prey to the same missing first syllable? Or perhaps a young lady might want to keep notes on young men she has known - might that also be shortened by dropping "kno"? She and her friends might think very differently of me if they heard I too had a blog. They'd want to ask my opinion about shoes. Eeyuw.
The biggest problem I ever encounter with technical stuff is that there either aren't enough words to cover it, or else people shorten and abbreviate and end up talking at crossed purposes. If someone ever says "every schoolboy knows..." it's a sure sign that there are several different things going on and many people are not taking the time to be clear about which effect is which. You might say "Why should I care?" but it can be important. Honest.
To give an example, anyone who knows me will know I quite like motorcycles. They do several interesting things, two of which are "weave" and "flutter".
30 January 2007, 02:23 PM
#2
Many people roll them up into one overall thing they call a "tankslapper". (Is it just me or does that generate a momentary image of a lady of easy virtue astride an armoured fighting vehicle?) Anyway, it may be a time-saving simplification but, when the steering damper is tightened, weave gets worse and flutter gets better. If you've ever experienced a weave getting worse, you'll know why you should care.
So, next time someone in the pub says to fit a steering damper to cure tankslappers, I will say "well, actually you need to be sure it's not a weave problem; may I take a moment to enquire of the circumstances so as to better diagnose it?"
I'll be able to tell if that person has read this, by watching what they do next. If they pour my beer over my head and stand on my spectacles like they normally do, I'll be having words with Simon about getting this cursed loggerel thing more widely read.
Anyway, howcome James T Kirk didn't anticipate this linguistic lapse and just call it a 'Pslog'?
Speak soon..
Damian
So, next time someone in the pub says to fit a steering damper to cure tankslappers, I will say "well, actually you need to be sure it's not a weave problem; may I take a moment to enquire of the circumstances so as to better diagnose it?"
I'll be able to tell if that person has read this, by watching what they do next. If they pour my beer over my head and stand on my spectacles like they normally do, I'll be having words with Simon about getting this cursed loggerel thing more widely read.
Anyway, howcome James T Kirk didn't anticipate this linguistic lapse and just call it a 'Pslog'?
Speak soon..
Damian
Last edited by ex-webby; 30 January 2007 at 04:10 PM.
