IWETHEY v. 0.3.0 | TODO
1,095 registered users | 0 active users | 0 LpH | Statistics
Login | Create New User
IWETHEY Banner

Welcome to IWETHEY!

IWETHEY Home / IWETHEY Board / Politics Forum / Nit re: 'great skill with language'
Post #11,232
by drewk
Picture of drewk
10/2/01 10:07:48 AM
Reply
New Nit re: 'great skill with language'
I know those of us who believe ourselves to have a way with the language tend to see it as a prerequisite for any number of things. But when it comes to international relations, we're dealing with people who don't even speak the same language. I think in general the specific words we chose will be lost in the translation as often as not.

The big exception, of course, being the use of the word "crusade." Easy to jump on with 20/20/ hindsight, but in the heat of the moment, under the glare of spotlights and cameras, isn't it possible any one of us might have temporarily forgotten the etymology of the word?
We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists. -- [link|http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/05/opinion/BIO-FRIEDMAN.html|Thomas Friedman]
Post #11,594
by Ashton
10/3/01 6:45:35 PM
Reply
New There's a distinction.
Of the Jacob Brownowski kind.. skill within any language is at least ~ translatable, just as translations of great works manage to capture the essence. (Occasionally works with poetry even..)

Ineptness in language - is never improved except by intentional mistranslation. (I suspect that a fair amount of this 'editing' occurs re Dubya's off-the-TelePrompter remarks, anyway -- for overseas consumption).

'Crusade' was a major major gaffe - and almost certainly due to both lingual AND historical ignorance on the part of our Harvard Daddy's-son MBA C-student. I hope he learned a lot from the power of just One word ill-used, to cancel out thousands of better ones.

A.
     Admitting a mistake - (Fearless Freep) - (41) - Oct. 2, 2001, 12:17:09 AM EDT
         Re: Admitting a mistake - (wharris2) - (18) - Oct. 2, 2001, 12:59:38 AM EDT
             dunno - (boxley) - Oct. 2, 2001, 10:08:25 AM EDT
             Oh Sure. Sure. Keep telling yourself that. - (deSitter) - (16) - Oct. 3, 2001, 01:27:46 AM EDT
                 self-generated crisis? - (wharris2) - (15) - Oct. 3, 2001, 05:13:49 AM EDT
                     YOU IDIOT! PRAISING REAGAN??? - (deSitter) - (14) - Oct. 3, 2001, 11:29:50 PM EDT
                         Self generated crisis? - (bepatient) - (11) - Oct. 4, 2001, 12:08:45 AM EDT
                             Re: Self generated crisis? - (pwhysall) - Oct. 4, 2001, 01:46:09 AM EDT
                             Some sources disagree... - (Simon_Jester) - (8) - Oct. 4, 2001, 12:40:15 PM EDT
                                 Haven't seen them... - (bepatient) - (7) - Oct. 4, 2001, 12:53:31 PM EDT
                                     See if I can find it but.... - (Fearless Freep) - Oct. 4, 2001, 01:40:13 PM EDT
                                     According to the sources I read (I'm looking for them...) - (Simon_Jester) - (5) - Oct. 5, 2001, 01:58:40 PM EDT
                                         Source I was thinking of... - (Simon_Jester) - (4) - Oct. 5, 2001, 02:11:13 PM EDT
                                             Still... - (bepatient) - (3) - Oct. 5, 2001, 02:26:28 PM EDT
                                                 Here's one supporting this... - (Another Scott) - (1) - Oct. 5, 2001, 02:55:16 PM EDT
                                                     Good one... - (bepatient) - Oct. 5, 2001, 04:45:26 PM EDT
                                                 A very long time.... - (Simon_Jester) - Oct. 5, 2001, 10:22:42 PM EDT
                             Not a bad plan... - (jb4) - Oct. 5, 2001, 08:57:43 AM EDT
                         Re: YOU IDIOT! PRAISING REAGAN??? - (wharris2) - Oct. 4, 2001, 12:34:12 AM EDT
                         ? - (JayMehaffey) - Oct. 5, 2001, 09:22:52 AM EDT
         Earnest, perhaps a tad premature. - (Ashton) - (7) - Oct. 2, 2001, 07:10:14 AM EDT
             Bush's greatest asset - (jb4) - (4) - Oct. 2, 2001, 08:57:44 AM EDT
                 Thank God - (deSitter) - (3) - Oct. 3, 2001, 01:45:51 AM EDT
                     Wilson - The president who brought Segregation to - (Another Scott) - (2) - Oct. 3, 2001, 08:31:48 AM EDT
                         Idiotic Polemics. The man wanted world gov't. - (deSitter) - (1) - Oct. 3, 2001, 11:31:51 PM EDT
                             You're pretty predictable yourself.... -NT - (Another Scott) - Oct. 3, 2001, 11:33:11 PM EDT
             Nit re: 'great skill with language' - (drewk) - (1) - Oct. 2, 2001, 10:07:48 AM EDT
                 There's a distinction. - (Ashton) - Oct. 3, 2001, 06:45:35 PM EDT
         Idiocy -NT - (deSitter) - Oct. 3, 2001, 01:25:36 AM EDT
         I'm really, really, really sick of this. - (mmoffitt) - (12) - Oct. 8, 2001, 03:50:06 PM EDT
             Umm.. He didn't end the planet...yet anyway. - (hnick) - (4) - Oct. 8, 2001, 06:15:43 PM EDT
                 Just wondering... - (jb4) - Oct. 8, 2001, 06:36:32 PM EDT
                 Sad commentary is: he's given credit for Not - (Ashton) - (2) - Oct. 8, 2001, 08:31:28 PM EDT
                     You think that credit is owed to him? - (mmoffitt) - (1) - Oct. 9, 2001, 10:37:59 AM EDT
                         Our hope lies in a Fact: - (Ashton) - Oct. 9, 2001, 08:37:05 PM EDT
             And what the fuck do/did you expect him to do? - (wharris2) - (6) - Oct. 8, 2001, 10:11:54 PM EDT
                 FAA especially - (Ashton) - (2) - Oct. 9, 2001, 04:56:43 AM EDT
                     STATE DEPARTMENT - (mmoffitt) - (1) - Oct. 9, 2001, 10:48:44 AM EDT
                         Re: STATE DEPARTMENT - (wharris2) - Oct. 9, 2001, 02:30:16 PM EDT
                 My point. - (mmoffitt) - (2) - Oct. 9, 2001, 10:44:11 AM EDT
                     You don't win a war by bombing - (wharris2) - (1) - Oct. 9, 2001, 02:41:09 PM EDT
                         Firebombing Kabul - (kmself) - Oct. 9, 2001, 06:28:38 PM EDT

HOWLING WOLVES OF CALUMNIATION!
57 ms