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Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

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Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#11

Post by panzi »

tomrod wrote: post #6
matsemann wrote: post #5

I'm a but wary in general about how US tech used around the world slowly erodes the nuances of different cultures. Often the software doesn't take into account how things work in other languages, different regions etc. I'm also not sure I'd blame the engineers in SV too much, of course they design software based on their own context. But with tech becoming global, it's a bit sad how it's not prioritized more. Example…

I appreciate your thoughts. You made me realize AM (antemeridian, before noon) and post meridian (after noon, 24 hours mod 12) aren't universal standards!

Yeah, but because if analog clocks here in Austria we have no problem to convert back and forth. Are there no analog clocks in Norway?

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#12

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

panzi wrote: post #11
tomrod wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your thoughts. You made me realize AM (antemeridian, before noon) and post meridian (after noon, 24 hours mod 12) aren't universal standards!

Yeah, but because if analog clocks here in Austria we have no problem to convert back and forth. Are there no analog clocks in Norway?

There are, but we just skip the AM/PM part most of time, because it's obvious from context which one you mean. And if it's not you'll just say "... in the morning/afternoon/evening"

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#13

Post by yakubin »

matsemann wrote: post #5

I'm a but wary in general about how US tech used around the world slowly erodes the nuances of different cultures. Often the software doesn't take into account how things work in other languages, different regions etc. I'm also not sure I'd blame the engineers in SV too much, of course they design software based on their own context. But with tech becoming global, it's a bit sad how it's not prioritized more. Example…

My personal pet peeve is American SaaS companies not comprehending that half the world starts their week on Monday. All those systems for requesting PTO, sick leave etc. are so confusing if you’re not extra careful.

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#14

Post by csydas »

otteromkram wrote: post #2

> Write a word ending in "-ise" and it will suggest changing it to "-ize" [...] Sounds like it's working fine to me. Joking aside, this is a great article with many strong points, but disabling or mitigating spellcheck is always a possibility. I usually disable it since many of the grammar suggestions Word provides are questionable. In a workplace setting when consistency is key, it seems like grammar and spellcheck…

Spellchecks are fine usually but I have not yet found one I like when it comes to auto-correcting, as I cannot seem to get the rhythm when I'm trying to type and seeing my words and writing change without my interaction is very distracting. I also don't really like the way of "teaching" new words to most auto-corrects (macOS gets it right I think, just right-click the word the OS doesn't recognise and select "Learn"), but I remember it being far more annoying on other OSes.

Similarly my frustration with Office is that depending on how you access it (web version, office 365, within Teams, etc), it's been my experience that the configuration/preferences are not carried over so it's just very annoying to know that despite Office365 being so connected, depending on how I use Office365 my preferences aren't carried over.

I would vastly prefer if spellchecks and auto-corrects were more restrained in what they tried to fix. A lot of the grammar changes are inane typically or treating stylistic choices as grammar mistakes. Probably Office just isn't for me but I think it changes the writing enough in many cases that the meaning is lost.

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#16

Post by mikepurvis »

matsemann wrote: post #5

I'm a but wary in general about how US tech used around the world slowly erodes the nuances of different cultures. Often the software doesn't take into account how things work in other languages, different regions etc. I'm also not sure I'd blame the engineers in SV too much, of course they design software based on their own context. But with tech becoming global, it's a bit sad how it's not prioritized more. Example…

Related to that is all the angst about how Sim City basically just lets you make car-centric hellscapes, not at all unlike San Jose, the city in which it was birthed.

And City Skylines inherited a lot of that legacy, that designs centered around mass transit and cycling (such as one would find in Europe or Japan) really only become fully practical with a bunch of mods installed.

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#17

Post by kzrdude »

tomrod wrote: post #6
matsemann wrote: post #5

I'm a but wary in general about how US tech used around the world slowly erodes the nuances of different cultures. Often the software doesn't take into account how things work in other languages, different regions etc. I'm also not sure I'd blame the engineers in SV too much, of course they design software based on their own context. But with tech becoming global, it's a bit sad how it's not prioritized more. Example…

I appreciate your thoughts. You made me realize AM (antemeridian, before noon) and post meridian (after noon, 24 hours mod 12) aren't universal standards!

One kind of bad localization that happens every now and then is that the time is given in 12-hour clock but the am/pm particles are translated (to some reasonable thing). While a proper localization in those cases would just display 24-hour time without any am/pm equivalents.

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#18

Post by Waterluvian »

phpnode wrote: post #15

It is upsetting to hear the phrase “turn of the century” used to describe the year 2000. I know it’s correct, but it still feels very wrong.

Almost as wrong to me as the friendly jab I got from a teenager last week about “being born in the 1900s.”

Re: Subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language

#20

Post by lozenge »

otteromkram wrote: post #2

> Write a word ending in "-ise" and it will suggest changing it to "-ize" [...] Sounds like it's working fine to me. Joking aside, this is a great article with many strong points, but disabling or mitigating spellcheck is always a possibility. I usually disable it since many of the grammar suggestions Word provides are questionable. In a workplace setting when consistency is key, it seems like grammar and spellcheck…

I would rather receive an email with a letter missing than have it autocorrected/hastily corrected before sending to a word that it shouldn't be.
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