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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

#31

Post by sshine »

didntcheck wrote: post #22
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…

The one that always gets me is how Google's image captcha assumes everyone knows what American school buses, fire hydrants, crosswalks, and various other street features look like. As a youngish EU citizen I do know those from cartoons and the internet, but I doubt my parents do > Or how things are moderated to an US standard It's just comical how adults on Youtube talking about adult topics are pressured into censor…

It’s similarly comical how video-recorded board meetings will have grown-up people hold woke signs while others recite from library books with controversial wording, everyone starts shouting, and they get escorted off property for reading aloud the book (available to kids).

It feels like the US is overstretching its own diversity.

Maybe it’s just as bad some places in Europe, and it just doesn’t get televised.

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

#32

Post by thaumasiotes »

Jenk wrote: post #25
Lukas_Skywalker wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noon and midnight are especially difficult for people used to the 24 hour system. Noon is neither ante nor post meridiem. And midnight is both.

I don't follow - Noon is 12pm, midnight is 12am.

The word "meridiem" means "noon", the middle of the day. Noon itself is neither before nor after noon.

You're right that by convention noon is assigned a pm tag and midnight is assigned an am tag. But midnight, when the calendar date changes, is confusing enough to people that e.g. airplane departures will be scheduled for 11:59 pm rather than 12:00 am, because there's no ambiguity about when 11:59 pm will happen on Wednesday, whereas it isn't clear when midnight will happen on Wednesday -- technically, if it's Wednesday, midnight already happened on Tuesday night.

It is far more common for people to end their personal day after midnight than it is to begin it before midnight, so the convention directly contradicts the way pretty much everyone views "the day".

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

#33

Post by mschuster91 »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #28
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 fully agree with you. Another gripe to add to the list is the Anglocentric expectation made by American software [0] that any full personal name with three words must necessarily mean (given_name) (middle_name) (surname) , to be displayed as "Givenname M. Surname" and initialised as "GS" (skipping the ostensible "middle" name). Nevermind the diversity of conventions across cultures [1], every name must obviously fo…

Time for a timeless classic piece of writing: Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names [1].

[1] https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-...

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

#34

Post by ginko »

Jenk wrote: post #25
Lukas_Skywalker wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noon and midnight are especially difficult for people used to the 24 hour system. Noon is neither ante nor post meridiem. And midnight is both.

I don't follow - Noon is 12pm, midnight is 12am.

Which is very confusing. Why does 12pm follow 11am and 12am follow 11pm?

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

#35

Post by gardenhedge »

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…

MS teams quick prompts are heavily americanised imo and sound unnatural in my culture

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

#36

Post by mschuster91 »

didntcheck wrote: post #22
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…

The one that always gets me is how Google's image captcha assumes everyone knows what American school buses, fire hydrants, crosswalks, and various other street features look like. As a youngish EU citizen I do know those from cartoons and the internet, but I doubt my parents do > Or how things are moderated to an US standard It's just comical how adults on Youtube talking about adult topics are pressured into censor…

> It's just comical how adults on Youtube talking about adult topics are pressured into censoring even mild profanity

That's mostly due to TikTok which is even worse than Youtube in its opacity and complete unaccountability to anyone.

IMHO this app is controlled by the Chinese government to a degree that it is intentional that kids can't talk about stuff like sexuality (which has to be censor-named to "seggsual") or suicide ("unaliving") using proper words - sort of like 1984.

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

#37

Post by jon-wood »

Jenk wrote: post #25
Lukas_Skywalker wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noon and midnight are especially difficult for people used to the 24 hour system. Noon is neither ante nor post meridiem. And midnight is both.

I don't follow - Noon is 12pm, midnight is 12am.

I grew up in the UK and still couldn’t tell you this off the top of my head. Most people can’t - when setting up systems with a cutoff date/time I’ve regularly been asked to have them expire at 11:59pm, because it avoids any ambiguity here.

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

#38

Post by mailund »

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…

Oh my god, as a Scandinavian, the whole American thing about boobs is so annoying! It seems like the internet really want to force me to be shocked about seeing a chest, it's so weird. Most of the time, it is completely outside of a sexual context, but videos get 18+ because you apparently take psychological damage of you see a pair of tits before you're allowed to vote.

Actually didn't know about the quote thing though, even though I've loved here my whole life

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

#39

Post by VeninVidiaVicii »

vasdae wrote: post #7
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…

>ChatGPT can output in my language, but the language is stiff and feels off. I'm Spanish and I'm tired of American companies pretending only Mexican Spanish exists.

Same with European Portuguese, I can’t actually use Siri or any voice controlled software because I refuse to speak in Brazilian Portuguese. It is so unnatural (frankly I don’t know how), I would just prefer to speak English.

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

#40

Post by loloquwowndueo »

vasdae wrote: post #7
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…

>ChatGPT can output in my language, but the language is stiff and feels off. I'm Spanish and I'm tired of American companies pretending only Mexican Spanish exists.

I’m Mexican and I’m tired of the entire world pretending all Hispanic countries are perfectly happy with peninsular Spanish :)
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