From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,d677b755d2818e93 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Robert I. Eachus" Subject: Re: Calculatrice Date: 2000/05/17 Message-ID: <392320F4.9D90FA00@earthlink.net>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 624741345 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <8f919q$n6g$1@wanadoo.fr> <391823EE.A126BE5A@bton.ac.uk> X-Accept-Language: en,pdf Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net 958603425 63.24.60.10 (Wed, 17 May 2000 15:43:45 PDT) Organization: The MITRE Corporation MIME-Version: 1.0 NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 15:43:45 PDT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 2000-05-17T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: John English wrote: > Killjoy... :-) > A thread where each post was in a different language would be quite > fun IMHO! I just have to share this... At one ARG meeting, there was an issue where there were two possible interpretations of the Ada 83 RM. However, there was no particular reason to choose either interpretation. Jean Ichbiah suggested that as this was an ISO group, and the French and English versions of the standard hadco-equal standing, we should resolve in favor of the Fench wording. He whipped out his version of the French standard and turned to the appropriate section and began to read. Oops! He then turned to Mike Woodger, who had done the French translation of this section and complemented him, saying that he (Jean) had been sure that Mike would have chosen one of the two obvious alternatives, but he had translated the ambiguity into French perfectly! Now out came the new German standard, a Danish translation, and I think the Swedish, Italian, and Japanese translations. With half-a-dozen versions being compared in the appropriate languages, the table was a modern day Tower of Babel. At this point John Goodenough interrupted Jean Ichbiah and asked him to switch back to English. Jean appologized and said that he hadn't realized he was still using French. He offered to repeat what he had just said in English. John Goodenough said he didn't think that would be necessary and looked around the table getting nods of agreement. John Goodenough said he just needed Jean to switch back to English because John was taking the official minutes, and couldn't possibly keep up when Jean was speaking French! (For those who have never met Jean, he spoke English with a relaxed, mid-Atlantic accent, but his French was the machine-gun style you often hear in Paris. Even in English, Jean speaks quite rapidly, in French you get quite out of breath just listening. ;-) As for the actual issue at hand, all those various translations were no real help, and we ended up making an almost arbitrary choice. (Which is exactly what the ARG is supposed to do--resolve ambiguities. It is much more important that all involved agree on a meaning than which of several equally good choices is made in some obscure--by definition!--corner of the language.)