Hi, Reference: > From: David Chisnall <theraven_at_freebsd.org> > Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:52:43 +0000 David Chisnall wrote: > On 6 Feb 2014, at 18:34, Julian H. Stacey <jhs_at_berklix.com> wrote: > > > Best avoid the obscure word `Deprecated' in manuals: > > It's not common/ plain English. Maybe a geek import, or USA > > dialect ? It's not easily internationaly understood English. > > Best make manuals easier for non native English speakers (& native > > English too ;-). I am British born & bred, whether in English > > speaking circles in UK or Germany I never hear or read 'deprecated' > > unless its in BSD context. Few native English speakers I know will be > > immediately sure of the meaning, it's too obscure. > > I'd strongly disagree with this. Deprecated is, perhaps, only in common use as jargon, but it's very widespread within the tech field. I don't think I've ever read an API reference that doesn't include the word, for example, and it's even a keyword in many code documentation tools. For example, JavaDoc supports _at_deprecated and gcc / clang include an __attribute__((deprecated)) that generates a compile-time warning whenever anyone tries to call a deprecated function. > > I've not come across the word outside of tech uses, but I've also not come across the term network interface outside of tech circles. Deprecated, in this use, may be jargon, but it's very widespread jargon, and requesting it not be used sounds like asking for words like driver or processor also be avoided. > > David > (Also a native English speaker, although familiar with the unofficial fork from Leftpondia) Uh Huh ;-) http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Leftpondia American 1620 fork of English deduced. 1620: When a Mayflower butter maid Deprecated a milk maid giving 20 ounces to a pint, & confused USA liquids down to 16 ounces. (Beware man units). Amerian is not always best international English. It's a big early variant of English, but other native English speakers round the globe well outnumber American I believe. (Start with a map of the Commonwealth), & many 2nd language people too will help define international English, (as José Manuel Barroso, EU commission president, said), not just natives, eg British or Americans etc, will get to shape international English. Americans often seem to find it harder to grasp what's internationaly portable English, as opposed to American, perhaps because a large country makes a higher percentage of language experience internal national usage. FreeBSD's manual writers, especially non native English manual writers, should not copy Americanisms &/or bad nomenclature from one manual to another, but ask themselves if they know better words, to make it easier also for other non native English to read. eg Deprecated is not common English. PS Light relief: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140206-can-drones-be-hacked Cheers, Julian -- Julian Stacey, BSD Unix Linux C Sys Eng Consultant, Munich http://berklix.com Interleave replies below like a play script. Indent old text with "> ". Send plain text, not quoted-printable, HTML, base64, or multipart/alternative.Received on Fri Feb 07 2014 - 02:19:11 UTC
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