[etni] Computer Yiddish by Chaim Bermant


Dear Everybody,

Every day the E mail brings me dozens of items to delete.  There are classic 
pages of jokes and funny clips

that bounce back and forth for years, and sometimes there is even somthing new, 
exciting and worth a peek.

Sometimes eager eyed, but very 'out of it ' types send me something they're 
sure I'll like, and it hurts to tell them that 

it was old when Windows was still for workgroups and the internet took 5 minuts 
to connnect, making a noise like "a duck

choking to death on a Kazoo. "(Dave Barry).

But here is one funny column that I have never seen before.  I picked it up 
while googling to see who Chaim Bermant ( the Jewish/ British humourist in 
whose name a prize for writing is being offered) was.
In this piece, he develops an idea I've toyed with but never carried it full 
length:  how the Spell Checker creates it's own meaning:  
After all, it wrylychanges 'Diaspora" to "Disappear,  "  and plays hell with 
the names of local politicians.  Bermant's piece rises to brilliance here and 
there, and I only wish I had written it first.  For some reason, Bermant's fans 
did not care to post his pieces on the Etni list or fling them hither and yawn 
into hyperspace, so here goes:  Enjoy.

Barry
http://www.bermant.com/chaim/articles/computeryiddish.php

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