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Kumabjorn · 06-21-2012, 02:09 AM

Every language has idioms that are used for emphasis. "Woaw you've got tons of books", or "I found a ton of photos in the attic". In reality there may have been a 100 or 200 kg of books, not a 1,000. For photos, maybe 10 kg or so.

These expressions are obviously completely out of place in relation to those same items in their digital manifestation. You wouldn't say "I have a ton of photos in MyPicture folder". You might on the other hand say "I have 5 GB worth of photos in MyPicture folder", but that is likely to be more of a correct statement and it doesn't really describe that there are lots and lots of photos. You can have a few 100 very high resolution photos in RAW format , or you can have tens of thousand in JPEG.

If I were to say that I have a ton of photos in my computer, most of you would realize that I'm using that expression as an idiom to exaggerate the fact that i have lots and lots of photos. Generations growing up now probably won't, having only seen photos on iPads and Smartphones, that reference simply doesn't make sense when they have never seen boxes of old photos.

How do you think these idioms will evolve, and what are some other kind of idioms that will need to adapt to our digital reality?

06-21-2012, 02:09 AM	#1
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	Digital vocabulary Every language has idioms that are used for emphasis. "Woaw you've got tons of books", or "I found a ton of photos in the attic". In reality there may have been a 100 or 200 kg of books, not a 1,000. For photos, maybe 10 kg or so. These expressions are obviously completely out of place in relation to those same items in their digital manifestation. You wouldn't say "I have a ton of photos in MyPicture folder". You might on the other hand say "I have 5 GB worth of photos in MyPicture folder", but that is likely to be more of a correct statement and it doesn't really describe that there are lots and lots of photos. You can have a few 100 very high resolution photos in RAW format , or you can have tens of thousand in JPEG. If I were to say that I have a ton of photos in my computer, most of you would realize that I'm using that expression as an idiom to exaggerate the fact that i have lots and lots of photos. Generations growing up now probably won't, having only seen photos on iPads and Smartphones, that reference simply doesn't make sense when they have never seen boxes of old photos. How do you think these idioms will evolve, and what are some other kind of idioms that will need to adapt to our digital reality?