Re: profanity, translation, etc (Was: Dictionary)

[Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>]

Andrea,

Disclaimers: 1. I did not read the article. 2. I've never heard of 
"mat." 3. My exposure to linguistics consists of taking an introductory 
course in 1968 and reading a few books recently.

That said, to give you a partial answer to your question, linguists use 
the term _diction_ to mean the selection of vocabulary and syntax 
appropriate to a given situation. For example, in English (presumably in 
other languages also) we have slang, standard diction, and formal 
diction, among others. Yes, words migrate from street slang into 
standard diction, but they generally do so slowly, with an intervening 
stage or two. This isn't just a matter of "dirty words." "It is I" used 
to be standard usage, with "It's me" confined to the lower classes. Now 
we consider "It is I" to be stilted, appropriate only where formal 
diction is called for; and "It's me" is generally accepted as standard. 
I'm sure you can think of many other examples.

So translators, who, after all, ought to have a pretty good ear for 
subtleties of diction in their native tongues, should have no trouble 
translating technical material within the constraints of the chosen 
diction. Not to worry, in other words.

Dick

Andrea Brundt wrote: