Fairness, or not
http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/01/30/does-fairness-translate-an-economist-and-a-linguist-delve-into-the-cross-cultural-variation-of-what-we-consider-fair/
Did you know that fair is one-to-one untranslatable into any other language–that it is distinctly Anglo in origin?
All of this is related to one of my favorite topics. The French don’t have a word for “fair” but presumably they act in such a way that things are fair.
Languages are weird. When reading books that were originally in other languages, I always wonder how much changes according to translator bias.
For example:
The author of this obviously-biased-but-not-necessarily-wrong biblical translation article seems to be a translation deist. They believe that the original Hebrew and Greek were Word of God, but King James et al corrupted it. I’ve read other articles that compare translation choices of translators that don’t discuss that part, and focus more on the different meanings of Hebrew and Greek words, and how they may be misconstrued.
I linked to Wikipedia earlier, but it might be inaccessible due to a global Anglosphere blackout in response to SOPA and PIPA.
I’ve been reading a book…and the SOPA and PIPA bills are pretty much exactly what the book is entirely about. Written in 2010. It follows the changes in major communication industries (Radio is especially striking, but also the telephone and the film industry…did you know that Thomas Edison tried to rule the film industry?) from wide open for innovators and inventors to…locked down and dominated by huge companies.
Guess I’ll spend the blackout finishing up that book.
