Re: Terminology: app, window, workspace, part of the window, file, folder

[Phil Bull <philbull gmail com>]

Hi guys,

On Mon, 2010-12-27 at 11:22 +0100, Christian Rose wrote:
> 2010/12/27 Mario Blättermann <mariobl gnome org>:
> > Am Sonntag, den 26.12.2010, 18:29 -0600 schrieb Paul Cutler:
> >> One quick thought - I don't really like the term "app" as it's not a
> >> real word.  I don't think application is overly technical and I'd
> >> prefer us to use real words and not slang.  Just my opinion.
> >
> > +1 from me. The whole world speaks about "apps", but we shouldn't apply
> > this slang. "Application" is a well-known term for a long time. We
> > should keep it anyway.
> 
> +1 from a localization POV. Finding translations for terminology based
> on proper words may be difficult enough sometimes. Attempting to
> translate slang is even more difficult, and sometimes even impossible.

I disagree; "app" is an abbreviation of a real word, so it's not
completely invented. I don't think it approaches the informality of a
slang word, and it's entered common usage, so on that basis I think it
would be a fine candidate. I am struggling to think of occasions when
I've heard a user talk about "applications", however. If it's an issue
for translation though, then that's enough to kill this recommendation.

I'd like to point out the importance of choosing words that people
*understand* rather than words that are *traditional* or *correct*.
Often, the three will coincide, but in my opinion the first property is
the most desirable.

Thanks,

Phil

-- 
Phil Bull
https://launchpad.net/~philbull
Book - http://nostarch.com/ubuntu4.htm