Microspeak: The plate

re: Microspeak: The plate

Maurits [MSFT] — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:34:48 GMT

> Perhaps the plate should be tabled.

Winner. Time to stick a fork in this thread.

re: Microspeak: The plate

CmraLvr222 — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:17:18 GMT

This microspeak this time was so-so. The update and comments are amusing. Perhaps the plate should be tabled.

re: Microspeak: The plate

Maurits [MSFT] — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:56:26 GMT

The 1984 reference was indeed to Newspeak, but only the sense of a compound noun ${foo}speak.

If the ${foo}speak meme predates 1984, I withdraw the reference.

re: Microspeak: The plate

Joe Chung — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:54:56 GMT

The clarification was fine. The insincere apology at the end though...

re: Microspeak: The plate

Ens — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:24:41 GMT

@Maurits:

Maybe if you read more than the first sentence of the update, you'll understand how Microsoft is still related to Microspeak without it being unique to Microsoft. In the same way that a word in American English can also be in UK English, but nevertheless used more or differently.

The 1984 reference blows me away. Newspeak was about two things:

1. Absolute precision in communication.

2. Removing the ability to communicate certain ideas unfriendly to the Party.

Which is basically the opposite of what happens here.

And if you're just non-sequitor referencing the "we have always been at war with Eastasia" theme, well, I'd say that attacking the word Microspeak based on selectively ignoring the text which explains it is a prime example of doublethink.

re: Microspeak: The plate

Maurits [MSFT] — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:00:33 GMT

> Apparently there are some people who believe that Microspeak should restrict itself to jargon used at Microsoft and nowhere else.

Indeed - we could even characterize "some people" more precisely as "people who noticed that 'Microspeak' and 'Microsoft' share a root word."

Even if they haven't read 1984.

re: Microspeak: The plate

ulric — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:18:39 GMT

@Jolyon Smith

'having a full plate' and 'stepping up to the plate' have two different roots. dinner plates vs baseball

re: Microspeak: The plate

dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:02:10 GMT

Chris> I'm a native English speaker and have been working in the UK for a long time. I have heard people, include myself, use this idiom before.

re: Microspeak: The plate

Chris — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:46:42 GMT

Gene> Well you're completly wrong.

I'm not a native ebglish speaker but I've been working for quite some time now in the UK, and I had never heard anyone saying that before.

Everyone who says stuff like that are just taking for granted something that is not.

Thanks Raymond

re: Microspeak: The plate

Simon Cooke — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:49:34 GMT

You can blame the spread of the phrase "The Dogs Bollocks" to New Zealand on Viz magazine. (And Your Sinclair magazine, IIRC).