to bench, anomalous, "Namaste," philander, out of wedlock, Lowly Text Message, groper, anomaly, highest-rated host

Lou Dobbs, by far the highest-rated host on the Fox Business Network, has just been benched by the network

Breaking: Fox canceled the nightly show of Lou Dobbs, a fierce ally of Donald Trump. The longtime financial correspondent had alleged on his show that fraud cost Trump the presidential race, culminating in his being named in a $2.7 billion lawsuit filed Thursday against the network.

China's ability to borrow from the World Bank strikes some Americans as anomalous, even scandalous

Along the way, he fathered two children out of wedlock. In 2013, an Appeal Court castigated him for the “reckless” conduct of his “philandering.”

這期間，他還養育了兩個婚外子女。2013年，一家上訴法庭痛斥他「無所顧忌」地「玩弄女性」。

How the Lowly Text Message May Save Languages That Could Otherwise FadeBy WILLIAM M. BULKELEY

Can a language stay relevant if it isn't used to send text messages on a cellphone?
Language advocates worry that the answer is no, and they are pushing to make more written languages available on cellphones.

Texting is the cheapest and most popular mode of cellphone communication in most of the world, and last year text messages topped voice calls even in the U.S. The world's three billion cellphones far surpass the Internet as a universal communications medium, and they are vital to business development in less-developed economies.
But companies that develop predictive text say they have created cellphone software for fewer than 80 of the world's 6,912 languages cataloged by SIL International, a Dallas organization that works to preserve languages.
One key to using the languages is the availability of a technology called predictive text, which reduces the number of key taps necessary to create a word when using a limited keypad. Market research shows that text messaging soars after predictive text becomes available.
"The idea of having your cultural identity represented in this technology is increasingly important," says Laura Welcher, director of the Rosetta Project of San Francisco's Long Now Foundation. Ms. Welcher, who says linguists fear half the world's languages will disappear in the near future, thinks at least 200 languages have enough speakers to justify development of cellphone text systems. "Technology empowers the poorest people," she adds.
Putting text on cellphones involves more than just printing letters on the number keys. Texting is cumbersome on a 12-key handset, requiring multiple taps on keys to select some letters. It is even harder in languages with more than the 26 letters of English. In Hindi, a language with 11 vowels and 34 consonants that is spoken by 40% of the Indian population, texting "Namaste," which means "hello," can take 21 key presses.
The solution for most users is predictive text. A phone with predictive text guesses what word a person is trying to type on the 12-key cellphone keypad, requiring far fewer keystrokes.
Typing "Namaste" with predictive text takes just six key presses. Nuance Corp. of Burlington, Mass., which dominates the predictive-text market, says that in 2006 cellphone users in India with predictive text in their handsets averaged 70 messages a week; those without it averaged 18.
The majority of users activate predictive text capability on their phones because, according to calculations by Nuance unit Tegic Corp., it is 30% faster than using the traditional method of hitting the "2" key once for "a", twice for "b" or three times for "c" with a Roman alphabet.
Michael Cahill, linguistics coordinator for SIL International, says, "There are cases where texting is helping to preserve languages" by encouraging young people to write in their native tongue.
Native-language boosters in Ireland and Britain have successfully pushed for development of Gaelic and Welsh languages on cellphones for texting so they remain relevant for young people.
Breandan Mac Craith, marketing director for Dublin-based Foras na Gaeilge, which promotes Gaelic, says, "It's extremely important that language isn't something that's only in books." In 2006, Foras began working to develop texting software for the Irish language with market leader Tegic. He says "texting way surpasses voice calls," but "trying to find the accent marks that we put on some of our vowels is very time consuming. So texts got written in English."
Once the software was available, Foras started pushing carriers and handset makers to install it on their phones. Last year, Samsung Corp., trying to steal a march on market leader Nokia Corp., added an Irish-language handset to its line. "They're fabulous tools for us," says Mr. Mac Craith. "It facilitates the Irish language as a communications tool for every day -- not just in the classroom."
In other parts of the world, text capability on cellphones can be vital to economic development and helping people who don't speak or read English buy and sell goods. Indian carriers offer at least 12 of that nation's 22 official languages, and Tegic says it is working to add Kashmeri to the list.
Says Christy Wyatt, vice president of software at cellphone maker Motorola Corp.: "Predictive text is one of the technologies that has opened up the handset." Motorola writes its own software for predictive text, but most other handset makers buy Tegic's T9 software from Nuance, with a growing number using EziText from Zi Corp., a Calgary, Alberta, firm with a big market in China.
Predictive text in Western languages has been available for more than a decade, and today it is on virtually every 12-key cellphone, although carriers don't always activate it.
Michael Wehrs, Nuance's vice president of industry affairs, says allowing texting in native languages makes it easier for people who don't speak English to conduct business. "The population needs to be able to use the device," he says. "To require them to use English is futile."
Write to William M. Bulkeley at bill.bulkeley@wsj.com



短信拯救逐漸流失的語言﹖
2009年01月09日14:53

Lou Dobbs, by far the highest-rated host on the Fox Business Network, has just been benched by the network

如

果一種語言不被用來發送手機短信﹐它還能保留下來嗎？

回答恐怕是否定的﹐而這正是提倡語言發展人士的擔心﹐因此他們正在努力讓更多的書面語言應用在手機上。

在世界大多數地方﹐短信是最便宜、也是最受歡迎的手機通信方式。去年﹐即便是在美國﹐短信發送的數量也超過了直接通話。目前﹐全球手機數量已經高達30億部﹐遠遠超過互聯網而成為最普遍的通信工具﹐而它們對欠發達經濟體的商業發展更是至關重要。

不過﹐開發智慧文本輸入法(predictive text)的企業表示﹐它們開發出來的手機軟體只能支援SIL International收錄的70餘種語言﹐而這家旨在保護世界上各種語言、總部位於達拉斯的組織所收錄的語言共有6,912種。

使用這些語言的一個關鍵﹐在於一種被稱為智慧文本輸入(predictive text)的技術。有了這種技術﹐用戶在使用有限空間的鍵盤來創建一個單詞時﹐可以減少所需的按鍵次數。市場研究顯示﹐在智慧文本輸入法出現後﹐短信發送量大幅增加。

三藩市Long Now Foundation羅塞塔專案(Rosetta Project)主任蘿拉•韋爾奇(Laura Welcher)表示﹐“讓你的文化特徵在手機智能文本輸入技術中體現出來﹐這樣做變得越來越重要。”韋爾奇說﹐語言學家擔心﹐在不遠的將來﹐全世界有一半的語言將會消失。她認為﹐至少有200種語言擁有足夠的受眾﹐值得我們為之專門開發手機文本系統。她補充說﹐“科技賦予最貧窮的人群以力量。”

在手機上輸入文本不只是簡單地使用數位鍵列印出字母。文本輸入在只有12個按鍵的手機上是一件很麻煩的事情﹐需要用戶多次按鍵才能輸入某些字母。對於那些不象英語那樣只有26個字母的語言﹐輸入就更麻煩了。比如說﹐印地語有11個母音和34個輔音﹐而40%的印度人都說印地語。如果他們要輸入'Namaste'即“你好”這個詞﹐可能需要按鍵21次之多。

對於大多數用戶來說﹐解決方法就是智慧文本。配置智慧文本輸入法的手機可以猜測用戶試圖鍵入的單詞﹐這樣他們所需的按鍵次數就要少得多。

如果使用智慧文本輸入法﹐輸入'Namaste'這個詞﹐只需按鍵6次。麻薩諸塞州柏林頓（Burlington）的Nuance Corp.是智慧文本市場的主要企業。該公司表示﹐2006年﹐配置智慧文本輸入法的印度手機用戶平均每週發送短信70條, 而那些沒有配置此輸入法的手機用戶平均每週只發送18條。

根據Nuance子公司Tegic Corp.的測算﹐絕大多數手機用戶都會啟動其手機上的智慧文本輸入功能﹐因為相比傳統方法﹐這樣輸入速度可以提高30%。如果採用傳統方法﹐用戶需要按鍵'2'一次選擇'a'﹐兩次選擇'b'﹐或三次選擇'c'。

SIL International的語言學協調員邁克爾•卡希爾(Michael Cahill)表示﹐在某些情況下﹐鼓勵年輕人使用他們的母語書寫、發送短信實際上是在保護他們的語言。

愛爾蘭和英國的本地語言宣導者已經成功推動開發在手機上使用蓋爾語(Gaelic)和威爾士語(Welsh)的文本輸入法﹐以便年輕人可以使用這兩門語言發送手機短信﹐避免這兩種語言與年輕人脫節。

總部設在都柏林、致力於推廣蓋爾語的Foras na Gaeilge的市場行銷總監Breandan Mac Craith表示﹐語言不僅是只能在書本上出現的東西﹐這一點極為重要。早在2006年﹐Foras即開始與Tegic合作開發愛爾蘭語的文本輸入軟體。他說﹐“短信數量遠遠超過了直接通話﹐”但是“要找到我們某些母音上的重音符﹐非常費時。因此文本都是以英語輸入的。”

愛爾蘭語文本輸入軟體一經推出﹐Foras便開始敦促手機運營商和製造商將其安裝在它們的手機上。去年﹐三星公司(Samsung Corp.)就增加了愛爾蘭語的手機產品﹐以圖挑戰市場領頭羊諾基亞(Nokia Corp.)。Mac Craith先生說﹐“這對我們來說是極好的工具。它將促進愛爾蘭語成為日常溝通工具──而不只是課堂上的教材。”

在世界其他地方﹐手機文本輸入功能對於經濟發展以及幫助那些不懂英語的人們買賣商品都是至關重要的。印度手機運營商至少會配置該國22種官方語言中12種語言的文本輸入功能。Tegic表示﹐該公司目前正在努力將喀什米爾語(Kashmeri)也增加進來。

手機製造商摩托羅拉公司(Motorola Inc.)的軟體部副總裁克利斯蒂•懷亞特(Christy Wyatt)表示﹐智慧文本輸入法是促進手機開發的主要技術之一。摩托羅拉使用自行開發的智慧文本輸入軟體﹐但是大多數其他手機製造商都是選擇從Nuance購買Tegic開發的T9軟體﹐而越來越多的企業開始使用Zi Corp的EziText軟體。總部位於加拿大阿爾伯達省卡爾加里的Zi Corp在中國擁有很大的市場份額。

西方語言的智慧文本輸入法已有10多年的歷史。今天﹐它已被運用在幾乎所有的12鍵手機上﹐只是運營商並不總是啟動它。

Nuance負責行業事務的副總裁邁克爾o韋思(Michael Wehrs)表示﹐母語文本輸入可使那些不會英語的人士更易於開展商務。他說﹐“這群人必須能夠使用手機。硬要他們使用英語純屬徒勞。”

William M. Bulkeley

In today's literary climate, there are lots of reasons for benching Pepys -- he was a political chameleon, nasty to the servants, and a serial groper and philanderer -- but the most compelling may be that he's such an anomaly. He comes out of nowhere -- writing only for himself, in a form of his own invention -- and he doesn't lead anywhere either. By the time his work was discovered, a century later, he was a curiosity but not an ''influence.'' Yet the decline in Pepys's reputation only makes Claire Tomalin's engaging new biography all the more remarkable: she not only brings him back to vibrant life, but makes a powerful case that he's more central, more ''relevant,'' than we ever imagined.

Namaste - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

Namaste NAH-məs-tay), sometimes spoken as Namaskar, Namaskaram or Vanakkam, is a respectful form of greeting in Hindu custom, found on the Indian ...

wedlock 

Pronunciation: /ˈwɛdlɒk/ 

NOUN

[MASS NOUN]

The state of being married.

Example sentencesSynonyms

Phrases born in (or out of) wedlock

Born of married (or unmarried) parents:the story concerns a woman who conceives a child out of wedlock and is rejected by the baby’s father

More example sentences

Origin

Late Old English wedlāc 'marriage vow', from wed 'pledge' (related to wed) + the suffix -lāc(denoting action).

chameleon 

noun [C]

1 a lizard that changes its skin colour to match its surroundings so that it cannot be seen

2 a person who changes their opinions or behaviour to please other people

anomaly 

noun [C or U] FORMAL

a person or thing that is different from what is usual, or not in agreement with something else and therefore not satisfactory:

Statistical anomalies can make it difficult to compare economic data from one year to the next.

The anomaly of the social security system is that you sometimes have more money without a job.

anomalous 

adjective FORMAL

different from what is usual, or not in agreement with something else and therefore not satisfactory:

In a multicultural society is it not anomalous to have a blasphemy law that only protects one religious faith?

The experiment yielded anomalous results.

bench

(bĕnch) 

tr.v., benched, bench·ing, bench·es.

1. To furnish with benches.
2. To seat on a bench.
3. To show (dogs) in a bench show.
4. Sports. To keep out of or remove from a game: benched the goalie for fighting.
5. Sports. To bench-press.

[Middle English, from Old English benc.]

groper

n. One who gropes; one who feels his way in the dark, or searches by feeling.

philander

(fĭ-lăn'dər) 

intr.v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.

1. To carry on a sexual affair, especially an extramarital affair, with a woman one cannot or does not intend to marry. Used of a man.
2. To engage in many love affairs, especially with a frivolous or casual attitude. Used of a man.

[From philander, lover, from Philander, former literary name for a lover, from Greek philandros, loving or fond of men : phil-, philo-, philo- + anēr, andr-, man.]

philanderer phi·lan'der·er n.