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‘Euro English – English for all … except for native speakers’ (on termcoord.eu blog)
Thread poster: Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:12
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Feb 13, 2014

Interesting new post on the termcoord.eu blog (the new website of the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament):

http://termcoord.eu/2014/02/euro-english-english-except-native-speakers/

Michael
 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:12
Russian to English
+ ...
You may enertain the possibility Feb 13, 2014

that they may be "native' (whatever that means) speakers of Euro-English, just not of English-English, or Scottish English, or Irish-English, because even British English might be too broad a term. English is an unofficial lingua franca of the world.
 
Kirsten Bodart
Kirsten Bodart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:12
Dutch to English
+ ...
This kind of 'pollution' happens to natives too though Feb 13, 2014

In Flanders, for example, people working in offices speak a special kind of 'office Flemish' based on French in which they talk of 'supprimeren' (say 'supprimate') instead of 'delete(n)'. I used to speak it too after two years in an office. It just happens.

In terms of 'actor' the blogger is wrong, though, because the dictionary gives exactly the way it is used there as a second meaning. BUT I grant them that 'unless they are connected to powerful actors in the city' sounds weird. O... See more
In Flanders, for example, people working in offices speak a special kind of 'office Flemish' based on French in which they talk of 'supprimeren' (say 'supprimate') instead of 'delete(n)'. I used to speak it too after two years in an office. It just happens.

In terms of 'actor' the blogger is wrong, though, because the dictionary gives exactly the way it is used there as a second meaning. BUT I grant them that 'unless they are connected to powerful actors in the city' sounds weird. Of course, if you are connected to say a Leonardo DiCaprio, there's going to be a hitman to protect you. You would rather use 'parties'/'factions' or something.

For mission you would use the word 'post' surely? I can't imagine why anyone would even consider 'mission'.

For the remainder, some of those sentences referenced there, to me, are prime examples of people who don't read their work after they've done it and checked it for accuracy. Even in a legal text, if you cannot read and understand the sentence at the first attempt, there's something wrong. It may need re-organising, re-phrasing or more commas. ▲ Collapse
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 02:12
Spanish to English
+ ...
Caveat emptor Feb 13, 2014

Yes, it's something we need to be aware of. Unfortunately, some horrendous translations end up being acknowledged as "official" in the EU, which can be quite dispiriting when you've put time and effort into finding better terms.
 


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‘Euro English – English for all … except for native speakers’ (on termcoord.eu blog)






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