Re: [OT] What does i18n mean?

From: Philippe Verdy (verdy_p@wanadoo.fr)
Date: Sat Nov 15 2003 - 16:08:11 EST

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    From: "Don Osborn" <dzo@bisharat.net>
    > Others have already thoroughly answered this, but in reading Theodore's
    > question I was reminded of my own reaction to "i18n" when I first
    > encountered it a some time back. It certainly departs from the typical
    > formula for abbreviations.
    >
    > Speaking of which, a useful resource for acronyms and abbreviations, that
    > those inclined to do so may want to check for completeness of Unicode and
    > i18n references in, is the Acronym Finder database at
    > http://www.acronymfinder.com/ (yes, it has i18n).

    This new use is certainly English-centric.

    Even if we listen all the time the new word "mondialisation" in French news,
    I've never seen this neologism written as "m12n".

    In English is it "worldization" a.k.a. w10n, or "globalization" a.k.a. g11n
    (like the other French term "globalisation" except that it is not strictly
    related to the world, but to an approach for a problem in its whole facets).

    More generally, the terms ending in "ation" are used and abused in spoken
    popular French, even when there are equivalent terms with the same radical
    and without this extra suffix. I don't think that people would accept and
    use them if they were even more tortured by such abusive acronyms.

    So, let's keep L10N and I18N where they are, and hope that such new acronyms
    won't appear too often. I really prefer acronyms that I can spell, or
    sometimes pronounce in any language that use the same alphabet.



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