Query: German Alternative Naming Of TW Might Be Germane

[TiddlyTweeter]

Though I can't speak German I recognize its superb ability to recombine words into new concepts.

Describing TiddlyWiki is not easy. Germans are common here and could likely provide neat one-word-concepts of ...

-- "a-program-that-changes-itself" (in German, one word?)

-- "a-self-filtering-webpage" (in German, one word?)

-- "a-20-year-wiki" (in German, one word?)

   and others ...

IMO it would be useful.

I use a lot the French word "Bricolage" (DIY activity plus serendipity) to describe use of TW in practice.

It is pretty accurate.

But German linguistic precision would be interesting to see too.

Best wishes

TT

[PMario]

On Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 2:07:24 PM UTC+1 TiddlyTweeter wrote:

Though I can't speak German I recognize its superb ability to recombine words into new concepts.

Describing TiddlyWiki is not easy. Germans are common here and could likely provide neat one-word-concepts of ...

-- "a-program-that-changes-itself" (in German, one word?)

The closest I could come up with is: "sich selbst-veränderndes Programm"

ATM there is a movement going on, which is named: "Einfache Sprache" ... "simple language", which tries hard to avoid those combined words. The goal is, to be understandable for everyone which reads German texts. Eg: Every "News Portal" should provide information using "Einfache Sprache"

There is "Leichte Sprache" ... "easy language", which should be even "simpler" to understand and read. The goal is to make German texts (especially government texts) understandable for people with "reading" disabilities.

So while it's nice, that German language allows us to combine words and give them a "slightly" different meaning, it also makes it more complicated for "non native" readers.

-mario

[TiddlyTweeter]

Very interesting!

MY biggest engagement with German has been in philosophy, where the COMBINATIONAL power of German is still much valued for deriving new concepts easily.

There is a reason German is good for philosophy. It can be VERY precise in forming complex concepts.

It is a shame that Heidegger cast a shadow over that.

On recent: I have seen the movements towards "simpler German". I don't really understand them. 

Best wishes

TT

[TiddlyTweeter]

TiddlyTweeter asked:

Describing TiddlyWiki is not easy. Germans are common here and could likely provide neat one-word-concepts of ...

-- "a-program-that-changes-itself" (in German, one word?)

 

PMario replied ...

 

The closest I could come up with is: "sich selbst-veränderndes Programm"

Looking useful! It translates well too.

Best wishes

TT 

[Thomas Elmiger]

TT, as a translator I would have to ask: Are you sure? Does that make sense in English? – Let me suggest adaptations instead of translations.

-- "a-program-that-changes-itself" (in German, one word?)

ein selbst-anpassbares Programm (a program you can adapt yourself – as a program it should not do anything that was not programmed into it)

-- "a-self-filtering-webpage" (in German, one word?)

eine Webseite mit Inhalts-Filterfunktionen (it is content you might want to filter instead of the page)

-- "a-20-year-wiki" (in German, one word?)

ein Wiki mit Langzeit-Funktionsgarantie (20 years is a long time after all)

See what I mean?

Cheers,

Thomas

[Werner]

Eierlegende Wollmilchsau?

https://as1.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/36/38/70/500_F_36387075_1AdkFSD4FdbLTV8r4JDEeOSo1vjJTVqL.jpg

Nails it pretty much, IMO, but somewhat hard to write for non-German speakers...

[TiddlyTweeter]

Werner wrote:

Eierlegende Wollmilchsau?

https://as1.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/36/38/70/500_F_36387075_1AdkFSD4FdbLTV8r4JDEeOSo1vjJTVqL.jpg

Nails it pretty much, IMO, but somewhat hard to write for non-German speakers...

Lol! It works in Norwegian too.

TT 

[TiddlyTweeter]

thomas....@gmail.com wrote:

TT, as a translator I would have to ask: Are you sure? Does that make sense in English? – Let me suggest adaptations instead of translations.

 

Ciao Thomas

I think your "phrase words" in German are very good!

For me its a "first step" in a possible process. Your simple examples illustrate what I was getting at.

The "compound concepts" are very neat.

There would need to be further iterations to  see if the idea gets anywhere that could be universally readable.

But it looks like a promising idea.

Best wishes

TT

[Werner]

Just out of curiosity: how would it be spelled in Norwegian? BTW, there's actually a song in Norwegian on heavy rotation at our regional public radio station: Mopedbart by the HubbaBubba Club