Languages and the Computing Profession
The URLs given below are mostly those which happened to cross my line of vision
at about the time I was writing this essay.
They include most of those cited in the essay.
Steven J Vaughan-Nichols, Statistical Language Approach Translates into Success, Computer, 2003 November, pp.14-16
The Chinese writing system
Omniglot
Hao (on Unicode)
VicNet
CJVLang
Wikipedia
Jerry Norman, Tradition and Transformation in the Chinese Writing System (PDF)
Mark Twain's German
The essay
(with extra links,
another copy,
and another)
Miscellaneous
Alfred Hermida, Asia plays with hi-tech visions, BBC, 2003 October 10 (people in Asia are adapting mobiles and other technology to suit their cultural priorities)
Nigel Williams, Death to the otiose comma, The Observer, 2003 November 9 (proper punctuation is paramount in Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots and Leaves)
Jack Schofield, Top of the pops, The Guardian, 2003 November 27 (which countries are taking the best advantage of the digital revolution?; English and the internet)
John Mullen, Queen of pedants, The Guardian, 2003 December 2 (commas, hyphens and the importance of correct colon usage - how has Lynne Truss's book on punctuation become a bestseller?)
Celebrating punctuation, The Economist, 2003 December 3 (birth of the Apostrophe Liberation Society; more on Eats, Shoots and Leaves)
Clint Witchalls, Save your wrists, The Guardian, 2003 December 18 (following claims that voice recognition software has improved, an RSI sufferer was keen to try it again)
Mobile phone use grows in Africa, BBC, 2003 December 23 (at least 30 African countries now have more mobile phones than landlines)
Mobiles "narrow information gap", BBC, 2003 December 23 (mobile phones are helping to bridge the communications divide between the world's rich and poor)
Linguistic difference and thought, The Economist, 2004 Jamuary 8 (languages may be more different from each other than is currently supposed; that may affect the way people think)
Geoff Adams-Spink, Web opens up for learning disabled, BBC, 2004 January 11 (symbols software make sense of the internet for people with learning problems)
Microsoft to aid developing countries, The Age, 2004 January 24 (Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has announced a partnership with the United Nations to bring computer technology and literacy to developing countries)
Sam varghese, Taking the stuffing out of Microsoft, The Age, 2004 January 22 (to the world at large, the word Microsoft means one thing - computer software; in Australia, the trademark Microsoft is also used, legally, by a company which manufactures pillows and quilts)
Ruaridh Nicoll, Listen to the words, The Observer, 2004 January 25 (Scots is a language too rich and precious for us to allow it to disappear)
Mark Abley, Three cheers for Boro, The Guardian, 2004 February 7 (Chris Lavers wants to call a halt to the relentless march of English around the globe in Spoken Here)
Tom Pittman, Meaning-Based Machine Translation of the Bible (a relevant paper by a reader)