Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Simplifying our Language

This a.m., an email came across one of my accounts with an interesting request:
A Cambodian colleague who works as a software enigneer for the Cambodian
Open Source project (http://www.khmeros.info/drupal/) and will be
releasing khmer language blogging software
(http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/2005/09/05/cambodia-khlog-clo
g/) emailed me for some pointers to articles/research on the impact of
weblogs.

So, hoping to tap into the collective expertise of this group -- can you
point me to studies, articles that have looked at these questions? I
know they are big questions ... Also, while her English language skills
are excellent, if the articles/research could be ones that are not too
technical or complex so that a non-English speaking native could
understand.

I got to thinking more and more about this problem...

There is a tendancy, at this point, for most of the conversation about the blogosphere to be conducted by those who are on the high-tech end of things. The blogosphere seems to be a world of words contingent on the understanding of technology. It's kind of ironic and oxymoronic at the same time.

When I think more about it, I understand how those of us who are word/conversation oriented get the short shrift or aren't taken all that seriously. A command of language seems to be nothing compared to a command of technology. Yet it seems to be that a command of the english language, and an ability to "translate" the world of the blogosphere into plain english, is necessary if this wonderful people's media will be adequately comprehended and easily manipulated by non-english speaking people.

Then again, it just might come down to whether or not various powers that be really want the people to understand the Secret Handshakes the exist within the Blogosphere...or if it's easier for people on the tech end of things to laugh when the rest of us say no comprende...

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