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On Sunday 11 October 2009 17:50:37 Mick wrote: |
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> On Sunday 11 October 2009, Alan McKinnon wrote: |
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> > On Sunday 11 October 2009 13:22:48 Albert Hopkins wrote: |
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> > > On Sun, 2009-10-11 at 13:18 +0200, Justin wrote: |
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> > > > I would say it is about just to many germans who are translating |
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> > > > german |
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> > > > words literally into english and as the the german word for package |
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> > > > is "Paket" they come up with packet. |
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> > > |
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> > > Oh wow I did not know that. See I knew it had to have some reasonable |
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> > > explanation. Thanks for the education. |
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> > |
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> > Well, at least now we know that English contains at least one word that |
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> > is less ambiguous than the German equivalent. |
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> > |
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> > I would not have thought it could be done. |
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> |
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> Packet in English is almost always correctly used to denote a format of |
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> network transmitted data (in the context of a conversation about IT and |
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> computers) which is routable: |
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> |
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> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_(information_technology) |
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> |
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> The word packet also has other meanings like: a 'small amount of', a |
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> 'package of' and can be used in the context of money (one's salary or |
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> earnings), crisps, condoms, chewing-gums, etc. |
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> |
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> Therefore the word packet can be ambiguous in English too, if the context |
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> in which it is mentioned is not known. |
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Yes, I know all that. You missed the in-joke :-) |
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-- |
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alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com |