Text 4174, 66 rader
Skriven 2010-01-31 15:48:38 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
   Kommentar till text 4126 av Dale Shipp (1:261/1466.0)
Ärende: Perception
==================
Hello Dale,

On Sunday January 31 2010 00:09, you wrote to me:

 DS> There are many dictionaries, and all of the ones I have consulted do
 DS> not limit government to the executive body, but give it a much wider
 DS> scope.

Hmm,. we may have another misunderstanding here. I have two types of
dictionaries. Type I is a one language dictionary that explain what a word
means. For English I have "The shorter Oxford"and for Dutch I have "van Dale".

Type II is the type that gives the equivalent of a word in another language. It
does not explain the meaning of words, it just lists one or more equivalents in
the other language. I have them for half a dozen couple of languages. Most to
and from Dutch, but I also have to and from English for some more obscure
languages.

I have two dictionaries that translate words from Dutch to English and they
both translate "regering" into "government". And so does Babelfish.

 DS> I'm having difficulty with the statement that your dictionary gave
 DS> only a one word definition as if "regering" and "government" were
 DS> synonymous.

Nevertheless that is what my type II dictionaries tell me.

Of course when I compose a text in English, it is the type II dictionaries that
I first consult.

 DS>  As Robert could tell you, it often very inaccurate to rely
 DS> on one for one word replacements when translating from one human
 DS> language to another.  Just take a look at the mess that Bable does
 DS> with translating web pages.

Yes, translating is a tricky business, I am well aware of that.

Having said that, it is unreasonable to expect me to do a full research on
every word before I use it.  Communication would be impossible if that were
required.

So one must accept that occasional misunderstandings arise because a word is
used in a way that does not match the other's expectation of it.

Throwing a "you should consult a dictionary more often" at me is unfair, as
that is exactly what I do when in doubt. But I do not do an in debt research
for every stroke at the keyboard. I looked up "regering" and what I got was
"government".

 DS> But I shall one more time come back to the fact that you were talking
 DS> about my POV when you referred to my government as being a winner take
 DS> all with respect to the Presidental election.  Even when you were
 DS> informed that your use of the term was inaccurate, you keep insisting
 DS> that you are right.

I am not insisting that I am right. I accept that I used the word "government"
in a way that led to confusion. I accept that "government is not a proper
translation of "regering", despite the fact hat my dictionary says so.

I stand corrected on that.


Cheers, Michiel

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