What do you think of the name "liseuse?"

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Those figures do seem to indicate that there are a number of terms that are being widely used though and thus no need to borrow a word that the french haven't even fully adopted themselves.

Yes, it is like arguing that some people say "electronic mail" (well, they used to), some shorten it to "e-mail", and some dump the hyphen, therefore let's call it "gingleblah."

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

"C+++", AKA, D-!

Derek

Actually, Derek, in teacher lingo that would be a B+ (or an A-).

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by Crowl

In french it has some (not overwhelming) legitimacy as it has supposedly seen limited use outside of this site, however in english the word has zero legitimacy and thus is no better than any other random name that somebody might choose to use.

Most words that were borrowed for use in the English language from other languages had "zero legitimacy" (not a phrase I would use) before they became assimilated into common usage. Your argument for the legitimacy of a word within the confines of the English language is illogical. There is NO purity to the English language, particularly as it can vary greatly from one English speaking country to another. A truck is a lorry. Try using the word lorry here in the US and people will think you are talking about a girl (Laurie). English is fluid and growing, just as it should be.

[jinlo]

My biggest concern involving the use of the term “liseuse” would be the unintended consequences of alienating newcomers to both this forum and to the world of eBooks. The first time I came into this forum, before I even saw the term “liseuse”, I was overwhelmed by the number of file formats, applications and devices. My first response was something like, “Holy Kripes! What are these people talking about?” (I like using “Kripes” that way. It emphasizes my bewilderment.) If you throw another potentially puzzling term into the mix, is it not possible that many will simply leave this forum out of confusion? (Of course, they probably won’t understand 90% of the stuff that’s flying around in the lounge, so perhaps that question is irrelevant.) Still, I would simply be very careful about undercutting the very purpose of this forum, which I believe is to enhance the eBook experience. It’s wonderful to be original and creative, but let us be careful about creating a vocabulary that only “insiders” understand.

Example: I imagine a Star Trek convention might be a fun and interesting event, but if they all start speaking Klingon, I might as well go to Antartica and try to speak Penguin.

Now if two friends meet at said Star Trek convention and start speaking to each other in Klingon, more power to them. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for the guy at the podium or the information booth to be saying… “Hab SoSlI' Quch!”

[yekim54]

Hmm, I entered "elivre de lecteur" into Google Translate (French to English), and it returned "Ebook Reader":

http://translate.google.com/translat...e%20lecteur%0A

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by kazbates

Actually, Derek, in teacher lingo that would be a B+ (or an A-).

True - if you're talking about grades. However, 'D' comes after 'C' when talking basic alphabetic sequencing. And at least one 'D' programming language was developed, and someone made a 'lesser' version called 'D-', which was supposed to be 'the next step' after 'C++'.

Derek

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

True - if you're talking about grades. However, 'D' comes after 'C' when talking basic alphabetic sequencing. And at least one 'D' programming language was developed, and someone made a 'lesser' version called 'D-', which was supposed to be 'the next step' after 'C++'.

Derek

Ahhhh, now I understand! It has been WAY too long since I left the Computer Science field and switched to teaching elementary school.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by jinlo

My biggest concern involving the use of the term “liseuse” would be the unintended consequences of alienating newcomers to both this forum and to the world of eBooks. The first time I came into this forum, before I even saw the term “liseuse”, I was overwhelmed by the number of file formats, applications and devices. My first response was something like, “Holy Kripes! What are these people talking about?” (I like using “Kripes” that way. It emphasizes my bewilderment.) If you throw another potentially puzzling term into the mix, is it not possible that many will simply leave this forum out of confusion? (Of course, they probably won’t understand 90% of the stuff that’s flying around in the lounge, so perhaps that question is irrelevant.) Still, I would simply be very careful about undercutting the very purpose of this forum, which I believe is to enhance the eBook experience. It’s wonderful to be original and creative, but let us be careful about creating a vocabulary that only “insiders” understand.

Example: I imagine a Star Trek convention might be a fun and interesting event, but if they all start speaking Klingon, I might as well go to Antartica and try to speak Penguin.

Now if two friends meet at said Star Trek convention and start speaking to each other in Klingon, more power to them. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for the guy at the podium or the information booth to be saying… “Hab SoSlI' Quch!”

Although I understand your point and agree to some extend, I tend to think that the people who join this forum are more intellegent than the mainstream. The fact that this is a form dedicating to reading and technology seems to support this assumption. Therefore, I believe they would quickly pick-up on the meaning (or look it up as I do when I encounter an unknown word) once they've been here for any length of time. I thank goodness on a daily basis for things like the Urban Dictionary and Google. Without them, I would be hopelessly out of touch!!

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

If the agreed upon term is ebook reader, then why are e-reader and ereader still in use?

Some people are lazy and just drop the "book" out of "ebook reader" to make "ereader"

[Mr. Dalliard]

First of all, I am an unashamed francophile.
However, I am having a hard time understanding the rationale for the push for the usage of word "liseuse" in English for the following raisons:

1. We already have a perfectly good, descriptive, word in English, namely "ebook reader".
2. "liseuse" has no cognate in English making it difficult to remember, and meaningless to the uninitiated.
3. The lis, sorry, ebook reader is not a French invention.
4. Do you really want to see, or rather hear, another French word get mangled by Americans? The people who turned Notre Dame into "Noter Dayme"

By all means campaign for its adoption into Le français, just don't forget to ask L’Académie nicely.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dalliard

First of all, I am an unashamed francophile.
However, I am having a hard time understanding the rationale for the push for the usage of word "liseuse" in English for the following raisons:

1. We already have a perfectly good, descriptive, word in English, namely "ebook reader".
2. "liseuse" has no cognate in English making it difficult to remember, and meaningless to the uninitiated.
3. The lis, sorry, ebook reader is not a French invention.
4. Do you really want to see, or rather hear, another French word get mangled by Americans? The people who turned Notre Dame into "Noter Dayme"

By all means campaign for its adoption into Le français, just don't forget to ask L’Académie nicely.

You make some very good points. However, I *thought* it was 'nother dame.

Derek

[Mycropht]

I believe that much sooner than all of us presently on this forum turn to dust there will be only one major way to read and that will be the "e" way. The kids who will read their first book on a e-book reader will probaby call it a "reader" or a "lecteur" without any letters in front.

Lets face it, the paper book is still alive and kickin' but most of the text read today is read off a screen - as YOU my fellow MR member is doing right now.

Liseuse is nouse to me.

[orwell2k]

Just some trivial comments as I haven't followed the thread for some days:

Originally Posted by Crowl

I think you are slightly mistaken here, nobody is objecting to its usage in french, its not the only term, but there does actually seem to be some use of the word outside of mr.

The usage that more and more people seem to be objecting to (judging by the votes anyway) is the ongoing attempt by a small number of people to push its use as an english term as well despite the fact that it needlessly confuses matters just as terms like ebook, ereader etc are finally starting to gain a bit of mainstream recognition.

I'm not sure the initial trigger was much more than merely asking if one liked the word or not - the discussion seemed to add issues like enforcing the word in English (although I still don't see that but others did). Whatever word is adopted by a large number of French users (or German users, Russian users, etc.), it will no doubt flow over into English language forums a little and become somewhat recognisable as "the French (or German, Russian, etc.) word for eBook Reader" or something like that.

Originally Posted by delphidb96

There is no ambiguity to the meaning of the word "ebook".

Even the most innocuous words or terms seem to provide scope for ambiguity. I think of an eBook as an electronic book with text and/or graphics. But my thinking could be incomplete as most booksellers seem to include audio books as eBooks when searching for titles. I think audio books are audio books, but I guess their electronic nature makes them a candidate as an eBook (electronic book). I don't like it, but it seems to be the current situation.

Originally Posted by Nate the great

If the agreed upon term is ebook reader, then why are e-reader and ereader still in use?

I think as a generic term it would probably be understood that an eBook Reader is an eReader or e-Reader, even though there is a specific eReader format for books - the context of the usage would probably be clear. And the similarity of eReader to eMail indicates to many that e = electronic and they can figure out the rest. I'm guessing we English speakers would also easily understand eBook device, eInk device, eInk Reader, and so on.

Funnily enough, this "generic" term of eBook Reader does not seem to be used by what could be considered the two top selling device manufacturers at the moment:

- The Kindle is a "Wireless Reading Device" or "Reading Device" on the Amazon page.

- The Sony is a somewhat inelegant "Reader Digital Books" on their page (I guess they're still reminiscing about the good ol' Sony Libre days).

Perhaps this is just part of the act of marketing - the need to identify your product as unique. Of course, third-party sellers and users tend to just use eBook Reader, eReader, or Reader (or of course, Sony or Kindle).

Which reminds me, I was using my BeBook on a plane just as it started to taxi. The flight attendant asked me if it was a Kindle, and I naturally started to explain that a Kindle was a device from Amazon, whilst this was another eBook Reader, and so on. It took me a minute to realise her point was that it was an electronic device that should be switched off, and she was clarifying with me that it was such an electronic reader, not a Kindle specifically. So I guess the terms in English are still somewhat fluid as well.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by orwell2k

....

Which reminds me, I was using my BeBook on a plane just as it started to taxi. The flight attendant asked me if it was a Kindle, and I naturally started to explain that a Kindle was a device from Amazon, whilst this was another eBook Reader, and so on. It took me a minute to realise her point was that it was an electronic device that should be switched off, and she was clarifying with me that it was such an electronic reader, not a Kindle specifically. So I guess the terms in English are still somewhat fluid as well.

So I guess the conclusion is that Kindle (like Coke) will become generic and that then will be the ONCE-AND-FOR-ALL-SINGLE-WORD-NAME-FOR-EBOOK-READER-DEVICE

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dalliard

First of all, I am an unashamed francophile.
However, I am having a hard time understanding the rationale for the push for the usage of word "liseuse" in English for the following raisons:

1. We already have a perfectly good, descriptive, word in English, namely "ebook reader".
2. "liseuse" has no cognate in English making it difficult to remember, and meaningless to the uninitiated.
3. The lis, sorry, ebook reader is not a French invention.
4. Do you really want to see, or rather hear, another French word get mangled by Americans? The people who turned Notre Dame into "Noter Dayme"

By all means campaign for its adoption into Le français, just don't forget to ask L’Académie nicely.

Oh, come on!! Now you're picking on Americans?!?! As if no other country's citizens ever adopted a word or phrase and tweeked it a little! I for one, however, pronounce Notre Dame correctly much to the annoyance of my sainted Irish Catholic mother and football obsessed father! Please, let's not stereotype.

Seriously, though, even here in the US pronounceations can vary drastically. I'm originally from the Chicago area. When I first moved to the East coast, people in my office continually commented on my "accent". I had no idea I even had one!!