English speakers of the fedi.
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc
I'm influenced by translations to my native language, which use the infinitive -
English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc Uma subquestão: imperativo pra quem? Pro usuário ou pro sistema?
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Iff English is your second language, how are these verbs tusually translated to *your* language in software interfaces?
@eltonfc That's the neat part! They don't.
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@aarbrk in that case, X would be a verb in the infinitive.
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Iff English is your second language, how are these verbs tusually translated to *your* language in software interfaces?
@eltonfc I mean, if by infinitive you mean it has to have "to" on front of the verb ("to save" etc.), then mechanically, the English version is "imperative," while my interpretation is "infinitive" because in French it's translated as such.
If not, then it's infinitive for both.
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc Native, imperative. I tell the computer what to do, it does it, else there is a problem.
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc I may be biased, because in French imperative and infinitive are different, and menu entries use infinitive
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc I read it kind of both. Interesting.
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@eltonfc I'm having trouble answering this question. I think my interpretation is more like a statement of intention (I seek to X).
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc
before GUI we had a "command line interface" where you quite literally gave the computer "commands". How could they be anything other than imperative? -
@eltonfc
before GUI we had a "command line interface" where you quite literally gave the computer "commands". How could they be anything other than imperative? -
English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc
"Format" looks like an outlier. I read it as a noun
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc I'm not sure I really read them as either, though infinitive has to be closer I guess. The edit button is The Edit Button, it probably opens the Edit Menu, and so by using it I am not in my brain expressing any view or command about whether I want to edit or am commanding an edit, I am just trying to access or perhaps ascertain that particular software feature which may or may not be tied to what I'd think of as editing.
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc Depends to some degree - if the menu is hierarchical then non-leaf options or those leading to dialogues (usually marked with an ellipsis) are infinitive and leaf options without an ellipsis are imperative, to me.
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@eltonfc I may be biased, because in French imperative and infinitive are different, and menu entries use infinitive
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc
Interesting that I'm (so far) in the minority with Native+Imperative. But when learning (badly, in school) French the main thing that never entirely clicked for me was the whole "To Do", "To Read" thing as an actual word form so maybe I just don't get something fundamental here
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Iff English is your second language, how are these verbs tusually translated to *your* language in software interfaces?
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@eltonfc also, it's more and more likely to have a machine translation, in which case the answer is "poorly".
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@eltonfc
Interesting that I'm (so far) in the minority with Native+Imperative. But when learning (badly, in school) French the main thing that never entirely clicked for me was the whole "To Do", "To Read" thing as an actual word form so maybe I just don't get something fundamental here@eltonfc
To me, the menu item is moooostly a command to do the thing or open the dialog. There is an element of "I click this to do the thing" but it doesn't feel like a separate thing to me, it doesn't really feel like different grammar at all. And the menu options don't say "To Format" so it doesn't mean "To Format".As you might guess, I never really "got" grammar at school even in English classes
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English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?
Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?
#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui
@eltonfc I don't know if I speak English at all, because I have no idea what imperative or infinitive should mean in that context
️ infinitive 
