Chinese web site (was: French vs. English as World/Global Languages)

Mark A. Mandel Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM
Wed Oct 4 18:32:17 UTC 2000


Paul Frank <paulfrank at WANADOO.FR> writes:

>>>>>
Speaking of world languages, the Chinese Xinhua news agency has just
announced that the main Chinese-government website is now available in eight
languages. You may find it interesting that the English spelling they've
opted for is American rather than British. I find it interesting that
Esperanto is one of the eight languages:
<<<<<

The English page still has some kinks in it. Note the three items between
double angle brackets:

>>>>>
First Desert Park Planned
China plans to build its first desert-based ecological park which covers an area
of 54 square kilometers in the Turpan Basin in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region. The park is <<index.htmct>> to be not only a tourist attraction,
but also a method of fighting against sand storms caused by desertification and
a way of improving the ecological environment.

<<  Few Hope>> Left for Miners

The death toll in the explosion in a coal mine in Southwest China's Guizhou
Province has reached 100 and rescue workers are continuing the endeavor to
rescue those still trapped under the ground. However, <<index.htmrts>> fear that
since the mine was filled with poisonous gas from the explosion, those still
stranded are unlikely to have survived.
<<<<<

The Esperanto page is something of a dummy: it has headlines and topics but
none of them are linked. The only active element on the page is the search
box, labeled "Serchi" (the page uses the common convention of "h" for a
circumflex on the preceding consonant), which lets you search either the
web page or the website. Rather, it says it does, but no matter what you
choose it just bounces you back to the same page. It should be labeled
"Sherci" (joke).

   Mark A. Mandel : Dragon Systems, a Lernout & Hauspie company
          Mark_Mandel at dragonsys.com : Senior Linguist
 320 Nevada St., Newton, MA 02460, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com



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