Re(2): uneditable [OT]
Re(2): uneditable [OT]
- Subject: Re(2): uneditable [OT]
- From: JF <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 02 May 2013 09:42:43 +0100
Just checked my Oxford English Dictionary. "editable" is there but not "uneditable". "Unmodifiable" is there and first quote of usage is from Coleridge in 1825. "Editable" is much newer, first quote is from 1935, and the first reference to "editable" being used in computing is in 1971, and may bring back fond memories to some AppleScripters:
"1971 Science 11 June (advt.) Any program on the tape can be located in a maximum of 27 seconds‥! Editable, programmable search permits ‘chaining’ of programs which exceed 512 steps."
Unlike the French language (apparently it is uneditable?) the English language adapts and adds new words. Most of them are generated by English users, though English is happy to nick words from other languages for example "zeitgeist" (stolen around 1848).
<http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/march-2013-update/new-words-list-march-2013/>
"Bling" is already in the OED, first quote mentioned dates from 1999, as a noun and an adjective:
bling, n. and a. slang (orig. in the language of rap and hip-hop).
A noun (A piece of) ostentatious jewellery. Hence: wealth; conspicuous consumption.
B. adj. Ostentatious, flashy; designating flamboyant jewellery or dress. Also: that glorifies conspicuous consumption; materialistic.
OED also has a new "Word of the Year" <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20309441>
If "uneditable" is being used so frequently in the computing world (and elsewhere) it will be included in a later update of the OED. Why not write to the OED people and suggest it Luther, and providing samples of its usage?
Thu, 2 May 2013 10:04:19 +0200, Marion Dickten wrote:
>Hello everybody,
>
>this is now getting absolutely off-topic, but I felt I have to add my
>five cents. I'm a German and live next-door to France, so to speak, and
>somehow I'd like to explain Yvan's answer that must seem absolutely odd
>to every native to the English language. He said:
>
>> The fact that a "word", in fact a string appears in a lot of document
>doesn't prove that it's a valid word.
>>
>> One example which I reported many times to Apple :
>>
>> "app" doesn't exist in French language. The correct word is "application".
>> If you search for the string "app", you will find it in a lot of
>documents supposed to be written in French.
>>
>> I planned a letter to French officials in charge of our language
>asking them to require that Apple no longer use this wrong word in the
>localized resources.
>>
>> KOENIG Yvan (VALLAURIS, France) mercredi 1 mai 2013 23:46:08
>
>Of course if "application" is a correct French word, and "app" is an
>abbreviation that is much in use, everybody outside France would suggest
>that it is a legitimate word even in French. If that wasn't the case,
>the word "métro" should also be prohibited since it is not a French
>word. It is actually half a word, an abbreviation of the adjective
>"métropolitain" (which is a French word and originates from the Greek).
>On top of which, a métro train in French would then have to be called
>"train métropolitain" (or something like it) because "métropolitain" is
>an adjective and thus must not be used like a noun.
>I have got a pretty good working knowledge of the French language and am
>close to France, and the feeling I get is that to many French people,
>their language (and their cuisine) is absolutely sacrosanct and must not
>be "dirtied" by outside influences. (Just remember that discussion about
>the fact that hot dogs got sold as such in France and the French
>insisted on renaming this piece of nondescript sausage to "chien chaud"
>just because, believe it or not, "hot dog" is not a French phrase!)
>
>@Yvan: All this discussion is absolutely meaningless to natives of the
>English language; they feel they want to express something, never mind
>the purity of the language (if anything like that exists at all).
>The word "uneditable" is formed in conformity with English rules; it is
>new, because a new thing got invented (text fields in an (hah) app where
>text cannot be changed), and a word was needed to describe this state.
>Full stop. The fact that it is so new prevents it from being recorded in
>established dictionaries. Luther wants this to change.
>(Btw, there is no dictionary on earth that could contain all the
>(correct) words of the English language.)
>
>I'll shut up now.
>Marion
> _______________________________________________
>Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
>AppleScript-Users mailing list (email@hidden)
>Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
>@fmail.co.uk
>Archives: http://lists.apple.com/archives/applescript-users
>
>This email sent to email@hidden
_______________________________________________
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
AppleScript-Users mailing list (email@hidden)
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
Archives: http://lists.apple.com/archives/applescript-users
This email sent to email@hidden