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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

#51

Post by josephg »

cubefox wrote: post #44
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…

A lot of those points also apply to other European countries. Though regarding the quotation marks, that seems to be more the fault of the local keyboard layouts. I don't understand why German keyboards don't have the keys to write „ord“. MS Word relies on a software solution to automatically convert "ord" into the German format, but most software (like browsers) understandably don't bother with implementing such rep…

> among Western countries, the US seems special with their aversion to nudity. Excluding Australia perhaps.

Australian here. Culturally we seem less comfortable with nudity than a lot of parts of Europe, but we’re not as bad as the US. It boils my blood how much online spaces (like Facebook) are moderated according to American standards.

Most software I use also can’t handle the fact that I mix American and Australian English spelling. (Programming always uses American spelling but I’ll use Australian spelling in other contexts.) All of my devices either complain about “color” or “colour”, and I’m constantly being told off or autocorrected for using my own language in a nuanced way.

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

#52

Post by NeoTar »

jon-wood wrote: post #37
Jenk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think that's generally a sensible idea. Anything which required a schedule for humans to read - theatre performances, trains, planes, etc - are better off being scheduled for 23:55, 23:59, 00:01 or 00:05 than exactly at midnight because lots of people don't understand or get confused whether 00:00 on a date means the start or the end of the day.

I do enjoy though where systems have to deal with 'weird' days. I believe in the UK the rail ticketing system works on essentially a 26h day - that is to say if you buy a ticket at on 5th November, it will be valid until 04:00 on 6th November, so in some sense the hours 00:00-04:00 belong to both days.

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

#53

Post by bigger_inside »

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…

I've encountered software that just assumes everyone MUST have a middle name. I'm German, I have no middle name. Some software (well, online forms) make this a "hard" assumption, so you have to put an "X" or something in the middle name field; it'll scream otherwise

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

#54

Post by bigger_inside »

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 have no idea, I can never remember, it makes no logical sense - no, 12 noon is NOT post-meridian, it IS meridian. I usually go 11:59 or 12:01, and then I'm still not sure if it doesn't put the entire hour in some interdimensional hole where this doesn't make sense.

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

#55

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

mailund wrote: post #38
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 tho…

Until the internet breaks its dependency on advertising income (a significant portion of which are either American or global, meaning they want to be inoffensive to Americans) and the internet breaks its dependency on allowing advertising to be channeled through an American company, moderating to prudish American moral standards is here to stay.

It would be a net positive if Google's advertising business was broken up along regional lines for anti-competitive practices and also being anti-cultural. Anybody want to suggest it to the EU?

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

#56

Post by bigger_inside »

playingalong wrote: post #41
ginko wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another example I recently ran into is Google translate stripping gender from words even when translating between languages with grammatical gender. (German) die Banditin -> (Spanish) el bandido (Spanish) la bandida -> (German) der Bandit So it always turns a female bandit into a male one.

Because it goes via English? I am not sure but I think I heard Google Translate always goes via English.

That explains SO much.

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

#57

Post by Digit-Al »

crabmusket wrote: post #46
ginko wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Maybe because 12:00 being consistent with 12:01 was more important than it being consistent with 11? I personally enjoy using 24-hour clocks on all devices I can.

Speaking of 24 hour clocks: my oven clock shows midnight as 24:00, and then changes to 00:01 at 1 minute past midnight. I've never seen any other clock show that; very strange.

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

#58

Post by demondemidi »

MSWord is the ultimate benchmark. It’s been around since the Pc revolution started.

Ironically it hasn’t gotten much better in those 30 years since I first started using it. The new features have broken core features, and performance has gone backwards.

It is the perfect example of feature creep and over engineering that ultimately worsens usability. If I had enough vintage pcs I would do a 40 year analysis to answer why it’s gotten so much worse.

Ive been using word since 1991. I recently started a new job, got a fancy HP laptop, and I swear word ran faster on my 386SX than it does on this i9. Turn on “all markup” after a few people have edited it, and there’s a 2 second delay between keystrokes.

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

#59

Post by stg22 »

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…

Depending on the political situation in your country, your parents probably got the same knowledge of American life from TV series and films. America's monopoly of popular culture is weaker today than it was when they were growing up.

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

#60

Post by heisenbit »

yakubin wrote: post #13
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.

I raise your one day off by switching places for month and days.
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