Pending requests

Shawn Steele Shawn.Steele at microsoft.com
Thu Nov 26 00:44:03 CET 2015


From the Hemingway, clearly an English reader can understand the first form.

      There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they went through on the flight of steps to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the stone work in the memory of war. There were big trees and green long seats in the public garden. In the good weather there was always a painter with his support for picture. Painters liked the way the trees grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the work of art in the memory of war. It was made of metal of copper and tin and was bright in the rain. It was raining. The rain came drop by drop from the trees. Water was in small stretches of water on the small-stone path. The sea came loose in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the edge of sea to come up and loose again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the work of art in the memory of war. Across the square in the doorway of the café a waiter was looking out at the square with nobody and nothing in.

But can a FLUENT Basic English reader understand the second from with the missing vocabulary removed?  (Eg: they understand Basic English perfectly, but these just aren’t words in that language).

      There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war monument. It was made of bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees. Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war monument. Across the square in the doorway of the café a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.

Eg:

      There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they ??? on the ??? on ??? way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war ???. There were big ??? and green ??? in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an ??? with his ???.  ??? liked the way the ??? grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war ???. It was made of ??? and ??? in the rain. It was raining. The rain ??? from the ??? trees. Water ??? in ??? on the ??? paths. The sea ??? in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the ??? to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war ???. Across the square in the doorway of the café a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.

How is that supposed to read? (inserting my own words for the ??? I don’t know Basic English, so I don’t know how to write it without using vocabulary that likely isn’t permitted.)

      There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they killed on the paths on bloody? way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war ruins. There were big guns and green radars in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an solder with his rifle.  Soldiers liked the way the guns grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war ruins. It was made of blood and stank in the rain. It was raining. The rain poured from the radar trees. Water mixed in guts on the muddy paths. The sea flooded in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the tragedy to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war ruins. Across the square in the doorway of the café a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.

There are thousands of possible interpretations.  My second point “I don’t know Basic English, so I don’t know how to say my mangled ideas” further proves the point.  When my listener failed to understand me, I can try again in simpler words and hope they comprehend – pretty much exactly the same way I’d interact with a Frenchman than knew a little English.  My audience knows a little bit of my language (English), but I don’t know what their vocabulary is, so it’s trial and error.

> I don’t believe “Basic English” means anything but the variety specified but Ogden and his followers.

But that isn’t obvious to someone that is unaware of “Basic English”’s existence.  Most people on seeing the tag would assume Voice of America style simplified English.

> There are 229 items in the Library of Congress with the words “basic English” in their titles. Some of these may use the ordinary adjectival use of the word, but a great many of them are probably Ogden’s variety. A subtag could help users distinguish these.

I agree completely that these could be tagged.  However it is not at all clear to me that this is a subtag.  It seems to me that this is more like  is a separate pidgin.  Pidgin’s seem get their own language tags, not subtags.

> I have a need for it. No different from many of the subtags I’ve sponsored, like the varieties of Cornish and Cornu-English.

Again, I don’t object to the idea of tagging Basic English.  But this is way different than a German spelling reform or other variant tags we have already.  This is a different language (albeit closely related to English).

- Shawn


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