Quote:
Originally Posted by Andybaby
there is the problem, in this its closer to Were no?
its a word that doesnt exist, and yet has multiple meanings. I used it as an example because im reading the Barsoom Series, and every time ere is used, It can be exchanged for Before. In every instance.
|
No, the word "ere" does exist, and it does have multiple nuances in its meaning, although they all deal with a passage of time.
It can mean "before", it can also mean "rather than", it can also mean "unless". It's a very context specific sort of word.
Which would make writing a macro to change it just a bit difficult, because the macro would need to be able to understand the proper context in order to make the proper translation.
Intercourse is another good example. It can mean something as simple as speaking to someone. That is a type of "intercourse." Any type of interaction between people could be properly defined as "intercourse." The only reason the word has been knocked off its track (so to speak) is because it has been so firmly associated with "sexual intercourse."
I remember back in high school, I had to read and report on Lazarillo de Tormes. That would be in the Old Spanish not Modern Spanish. We also read Chaucer in Old English, and had to memorize the Canterbury Tales (all of it, mind you) in the original OE.
I'll take my reading materials untranslated, thanks all the same. Now, footnotes can be very helpful, because other than a smattering, some of my language skills really suck (or perhaps they blow .... again it's all in the context).