When I logged into Facebook this morning I was greeted with a message asking if I spoke English and, if so, whether I would like to help with a project to translate the site into that language.
No, they were not trying to fix their grammar, or get rid of txting spellings, they wanted to translate the site from American to British, for the benefit of us poor Brits who can’t understand it when people talk foreign.
I wasn’t tempted, and that’s just as well because I have just begun reading George Mann’s jolly Victorian steampunk romp, The Affinity Bridge, and I would be sorely tempted to translate aspects of Facebook into an English that was not only correctly British in nature, but which was of an entirely polite and appropriate nature as befits interactions between Persons of Quality.
Dear Sir or Madam, I would be most delighted if you would do me the signal honour of allowing me to count you amongst my acknowledged social acquaintances…”
Yer, or Oi cud ‘ave writtun zum ov it in Mummerzet.
Hope you like it Cheryl! Thanks for picking it up.
G
You, ma’am, are an evil woman.
It’s one of your better qualities :>
Um yes. A lot of people tell me that I’m evil, or worse.
In regards to the above comments, may I offer the following:
http://www.break.com/index/rap-battle-gone-bad-translated.html
Yes — but the slow ones don’t realize that a) it’s a compliment and b) we ‘d all be better off if there were more like you :>.
Do remember which side of the silliness I’m from :>
mmm. I would love to see such a thing. And with a steampunk skin on the thing, I suspect folks would be all over it. Hmm….