Cleaning up the site's English Thread poster: MedTrans&More
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Has anyone else noticed there are a lot of linguistic blunders on this site as far as English is concerned. Now I'm no 'St. Dictionary', but I think us native English speakers should be allowed/encouraged to improve the English on this site.
I had seen that there's a proofreading function for other, newly-incorporated languages on this site, but the part for English is closed.
Here's just one of the numerous oddities I have seen:
"Proz.com Trainings"
... See more Has anyone else noticed there are a lot of linguistic blunders on this site as far as English is concerned. Now I'm no 'St. Dictionary', but I think us native English speakers should be allowed/encouraged to improve the English on this site.
I had seen that there's a proofreading function for other, newly-incorporated languages on this site, but the part for English is closed.
Here's just one of the numerous oddities I have seen:
"Proz.com Trainings"
What do you think?
Christopher ▲ Collapse
| | | | | | Russell Jones 
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Italian to English
| Agree but ... | Mar 30, 2011 |
This is certainly needed and I'm sure a dedicated reporting function would be possible. I have to say, though, that i have used the Support system to report a few of these errors and they have been dealt with properly.
We do need to recognise that English is no longer a single language and, much as words like "trainings" might grate on British ears, this is standard American English.
| | | | Oliver Walter
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
German to English
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MedTrans&More wrote:
Now I'm no 'St. Dictionary', but I think us native English speakers should be allowed/encouraged to improve the English on this site.
That surely must include our own use of English.
"...us native English speakers should be allowed..." ?!
Oliver
[Edited at 2011-03-30 22:18 GMT]
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MedTrans&More
United Kingdom
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER
Using some informal dialectal expressions is fine when you're writing on an internet forum.
The difference is that I'm not trying to run a website on that basis. Surely in that case standard English ought to be adopted.
| | | | MedTrans&More
United Kingdom
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I saw the link from the post before yours and was gobsmacked by the examples, "trainings" sounds more Spanglish than anything to me. Then again, the lovely American dialect has provided a few laughs over the years for me... burglarized... fanny-pack... and many many more.
| | | | Signe Golly
Denmark
Local time: 02:27
English to Danish
+ ...
| complain till you're blue in the face - there's no stopping the evolution of language | Mar 31, 2011 |
MedTrans&More wrote:
I saw the link from the post before yours and was gobsmacked by the examples, "trainings" sounds more Spanglish than anything to me. Then again, the lovely American dialect has provided a few laughs over the years for me... burglarized... fanny-pack... and many many more.
And so it turns into another bashing of American English as compared to "proper" English. What is it with all these prescriptive linguists? Language is fluid and organic and the way it is utilized and shaped by its native speakers IS that language. Sure, there are rules that should be taken into account if you want to be taken seriously in more formal settings (written or spoken) - and certainly if you aspire to make a living working with the language in question. However, language evolves and is "owned" by its native speakers and if you're a hippie-dippy functionalist linguist like me, that's OK!
BTW, I'm certainly lacking in knowledge of the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese, but I wonder if you feel as strongly that one is superior and more correct in this pairing as well??
Edited for typo
[Edited at 2011-03-31 03:36 GMT]
| | | | Signe Golly
Denmark
Local time: 02:27
English to Danish
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| whose standard? | Mar 31, 2011 |
MedTrans&More wrote:
Surely in that case standard English ought to be adopted.
Majority rules or...?
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| The utility of the hypothetical proofreading functions | Mar 31, 2011 |
MedTrans&More wrote:
I had seen that there's a proofreading function for other, newly-incorporated languages on this site, but the part for English is closed.
I find this slightly amusing. Not because I find this site’s English perfect (it’s not), but because the alleged “proofreading function for other languages” does not actually seem to exist.
With respect to the English on the site, there is at least one error much less controversial than the “trainings” example. That one-character typo, I have reported more than a month ago but is yet to be fixed =P
[Edited at 2011-03-31 04:12 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Muphry's Law | Mar 31, 2011 |
MedTrans&More wrote:
.....I'm no 'St. Dictionary', but I think us native English speakers should be allowed/.......
Uh... that should be "we" native English speakers.
If linguistic corrections are made to the site, I hope the non-existent noun, "an agree" can be removed, and that the misspelling of "Kudos" can be corrected.
But apart from that, I have huge praise for the Proz.com website. I just wish the colours were less browny/greeny......
[Edited at 2011-03-31 07:03 GMT]
| | | | | Please feel free to report errors through the support system | Mar 31, 2011 |
Hello all,
As Russell indicates, the best way to report any errors you may come across in the site's English texts is through the support system at the moment. For the most part these are dealt with promptly.
Ambrose, I see that the error you reported (in the instructions for your profile's localization interface) was recorded and is queued up. Unfortunately, the number of reports or requests which require some kind of development, even simple ones like this, is not a ... See more Hello all,
As Russell indicates, the best way to report any errors you may come across in the site's English texts is through the support system at the moment. For the most part these are dealt with promptly.
Ambrose, I see that the error you reported (in the instructions for your profile's localization interface) was recorded and is queued up. Unfortunately, the number of reports or requests which require some kind of development, even simple ones like this, is not a small number, and priority is generally given to issues which are impeding a member from using a site feature, for example. In the case of language errors, priority would be given to an "outward-facing" error over an "inward-facing" one. Either way, these reports are appreciated, and they do get addressed.
Jared ▲ Collapse
| | | | Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 20:27
Russian to English
+ ...
| small note: "trainings" not American English | Jul 2, 2011 |
Russell Jones wrote:
We do need to recognise that English is no longer a single language and, much as words like "trainings" might grate on British ears, this is standard American English.
"Trainings" sounds dreadful to this American ear. I never heard of it until I got to Proz, and sent in a support request on it a few years ago, I believe. Never mind what you find on Google: you can find anything on Google.
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| British ears and American ears are not as different as people would like to believe | Jul 2, 2011 |
Susan Welsh wrote: Russell Jones wrote:
We do need to recognise that English is no longer a single language and, much as words like "trainings" might grate on British ears, this is standard American English.
"Trainings" sounds dreadful to this American ear. I never heard of it until I got to Proz, and sent in a support request on it a few years ago, I believe. Never mind what you find on Google: you can find anything on Google.
Couldn't agree more Susan. The English on the site often reminds me of EU English.
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Susan Welsh wrote:
"Trainings" sounds dreadful to this American ear. I never heard of it until I got to Proz, and sent in a support request on it a few years ago, I believe. Never mind what you find on Google: you can find anything on Google.
Agreed. I am always changing my customers' "trainings" to "training sessions" or the like.
[Edited at 2011-07-02 12:42 GMT]
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Tom in London wrote: MedTrans&More wrote:
.....I'm no 'St. Dictionary', but I think us native English speakers should be allowed/....... Uh... that should be "we" native English speakers. If linguistic corrections are made to the site, I hope the non-existent noun, "an agree" can be removed, and that the misspelling of "Kudos" can be corrected. But apart from that, I have huge praise for the Proz.com website. I just wish the colours were less browny/greeny...... [Edited at 2011-03-31 07:03 GMT]
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