Double Dutch Thread poster: Williamson
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Williamson United Kingdom Local time: 07:59 Flemish to English + ...
or Dutch perceived by a student of the language. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4631362.stm Unlike in German, where the neue Rechtschreibung was introducted and nothing much changed (?) eversince,in Dutch,the "Taalunie" (association of professors and professionals of Dutch) finds it necessary to change the sp... See more or Dutch perceived by a student of the language. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4631362.stm Unlike in German, where the neue Rechtschreibung was introducted and nothing much changed (?) eversince,in Dutch,the "Taalunie" (association of professors and professionals of Dutch) finds it necessary to change the spelling every 5 years. Difficult to keep up. By the time, you assimilated the changes of the previous five years, you can start all over again.
[Edited at 2006-01-22 10:06] ▲ Collapse | | |
RHELLER United States Local time: 01:59 French to English + ... why eliminate hyphens? | Jan 22, 2006 |
It does sound difficult, especially if they make a lot of changes. I wonder why they eliminated hyphens? In English, they make complicated sentences much easier to understand. | | |
Gerard de Noord France Local time: 08:59 Member (2003) English to Dutch + ... Short long-distance runner | Jan 22, 2006 |
Rita Heller wrote: It does sound difficult, especially if they make a lot of changes. I wonder why they eliminated hyphens? In English, they make complicated sentences much easier to understand. Many native English speakers aren't sure whether they should spell e.g. proof-read, proofread or proof read. In the Dutch speaking countries we have the same problem. The general rule is: compound nouns are written as one word, with the following exceptions... In principle this makes our lives easier, because there are far less exceptions now and we now have better rules to incorporate barbarisms (mostly Americanisms). In practice: since three weeks we have to spell 'humanresourcesmanagement' en 'freelancevertaler'... Regards, Gerard | | |
RHELLER United States Local time: 01:59 French to English + ... I don't really see your point | Jan 22, 2006 |
As you know, many forms of English exist. Each of us chooses a standard to follow (UK or U.S.). The hyphenated proof-read is more often found in the UK, and when used in the U.S., usually indicates the writer is a Brit or was educated abroad. (10% immigrants in the U.S.) proof-read • verb - read (printer’s proofs or other material) and mark any errors. �... See more As you know, many forms of English exist. Each of us chooses a standard to follow (UK or U.S.). The hyphenated proof-read is more often found in the UK, and when used in the U.S., usually indicates the writer is a Brit or was educated abroad. (10% immigrants in the U.S.) proof-read • verb - read (printer’s proofs or other material) and mark any errors. — DERIVATIVES proof-reader noun. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/proofread?view=uk -------------------------- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. proofread TRANSITIVE VERB: To read (copy or proof) in order to find errors and mark corrections. INTRANSITIVE VERB: To read copy or proof for purposes of error detection and correction. ----------------------------------------------- proof ADJECTIVE: 3. Used in proving or making corrections. VERB: Inflected forms: proofed, proof·ing, proofs http://www.bartleby.com/61/65/P0596500.html re: barbarisms humanresourcesmanagement was that a joke?
[Edited at 2006-01-22 17:39] ▲ Collapse | |
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avantix Netherlands Local time: 08:59 German to Dutch + ... In memoriam Time will tell | Jan 22, 2006 |
Rita Heller wrote: re: barbarisms humanresourcesmanagement was that a joke?
[Edited at 2006-01-22 17:39] Unfortunately, Rita, this was not a joke!! However, there is quite some resistance against the latest rules. Leading language professionals (e.g. newspaper/magazine punblishers) have already announced that they are not going to implement these. Obviously those "language experts" a) do either not have any "common sense feeling" with regard to the function of language or b) want to see the Dutch language die a.s.a.p. to be replaced by English. Well, that's only a personal opinion, of course. To be honest, the Dutch language has quite some illogical rules. What to think about the sentence: A number of people IS walking in the street (opposite to: Ten people ARE walking...). Just because some GREAT THINKER once found out that the subject in this sentence is NUMBER and not PEOPLE and number is not a plural word. As a consequence, these days many people (even the tv-news readers) say: Half a million Dutch HAS (because they consider 'half' to be the subject!!) but 499.000 Dutch HAVE, etc. etc. But do not despair: I will certainly write human resources management in future, as I do today. And to Williamson: You're wrong! The official rules don't change every 5 years. It's only every 10 years. Herman de Kruyff | | |
Csaba Ban Hungary Local time: 08:59 Member (2002) English to Hungarian + ... A Hungarian example | Jan 23, 2006 |
You may wonder why this would be relevant to this topic. Hungarian too has a very large number of compound words, most of them mirror translations from German. In Hungary, it's the Academy of Sciences that determines spelling, by issuing an official list of correctly spelled words as well as a set of clearly defined rules. These do not change very often. The famous "11th edition" came out around 1980 and was in power until very recently. The most recent edition includes several neol... See more You may wonder why this would be relevant to this topic. Hungarian too has a very large number of compound words, most of them mirror translations from German. In Hungary, it's the Academy of Sciences that determines spelling, by issuing an official list of correctly spelled words as well as a set of clearly defined rules. These do not change very often. The famous "11th edition" came out around 1980 and was in power until very recently. The most recent edition includes several neologism, but the underlying principles remain unchanged. As for the spelling of long compound words, we have the so-called 6/2 rule. A compound word should be written without any hyphens as long as it does not exceed 6 syllables or 2 elementary words. Anything longer than 6 syllables or consisting of at least three elementary words should be spelled with a hyphen to facilitate reading and understanding. Now, the application of these (and other spelling) rules is a different thing. As a mass producer and reader of texts, I am shocked to see that in the past 10 years or so, there is an ever-increasing number of cases of poor and illogical spelling, even in respected printed and online media. Csaba ▲ Collapse | | |