Language tags and (localization) processes (Re: [Ltru] draft-davis-t-langtag-ext)

[CE Whitehead]

Hi, once more.Felix Sasaki felix.sasaki at fh-potsdam.de Tue Jul 12 09:23:36 CEST 2011> Language tags so far have described *states*: an object is in a language, a> script etc. The proposed extension extends languages to described *states*: an object is in a language, a script etc.  > The proposed extension extends languages to describe the outcome> of a *process*: objects have been transformed, with a source object as the> basis for this process. According to the paragraph above, this> transformation includes also translation.I do personally agree that it's good to discuss and then document in the draft some of the concerns you have described.  And yes, translation/transliteration is a process.
That said, I personally see the from language as part of the "state" too of the translation --it affects how things end up being translated; sometimes a translation even includes annotation of say a "pun" in the original.
The translator may translate structures, terms, greetings directly from the original language (for example translating from Arabic to English, do you translate "tahaya-t-an wa 'ihtaraama wa ba'ada" -- hope I've got my transliteration from the Arabic right here -- at the beginning of a letter?; if you opt to, you might begin your translation "Greetings and Respect, and now;" some translators may shorten this; in any case, many speakers of one language, when they create texts in another language, well elements of their first language tend to slip into it; also some of the grammar from the original language may be translated into the new language).I think this is even more true for transliteration; knowing the variety transliterated into Latin script is extremely important.So it's useful to know the language of the original that the translation was made from, in my opinion; this gives you more details about the state.
I do think this is briefly mentioned (intro, last paragraph):   "The usage of this extension is not limited to formal transformations,
   and may include other instances where the content is in some other
   way influenced by the source.  For example, this extension could be
   used to designate a request for a speech recognizer that is tailored
   specifically for 2nd-language speakers who are 1st-language speakers
   of a particular language (e.g. a recognizer for "English spoken with
   a Chinese accent")."
Maybe there could be very brief info (in the intro or where the M0 part of the extension is discussed) on the methods/mechanism used in transcription, why they are relevant to indicate, a sentence or something?
Best,--C. E. Whiteheadcewcathar at hotmail.com  





 		 	   		  
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