Re: COPYLEFT SIGN

From: John Cowan (jcowan@reutershealth.com)
Date: Mon May 15 2000 - 13:42:23 EDT


Michael Everson wrote:

> >It ["copyleft"] is a common name that is not meant to be
> >translated
>
> You cannot stipulate this. "Copyright" is commonly translated.

The GNU page http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html uses the term,
and the page http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html defines it.

The Spanish, French, Norwegian, Turkish, and Russian versions of these
pages use "copyleft" -- in the Russian page, using Latin script to boot.
The Japanese version says "¡Ö¥³¥Ô¡¼¥ì¥Õ¥È¡×", which I cannot interpret,
but appears to be katakana, thus probably a borrowing as well.

Only the Italian version uses the phrase "software libero senza
permesso d'autore", with a translator's footnote:

        Si tratta di un gioco di parole, che qui viene
        reso con "permesso di autore": copyright
        (diritto di autore) è formato dalle parola "copy" (copia)
        e "right" (diritto, ma anche destra), opposto di "left"
        (sinistra, ma anche lasciato).

So I think "copyleft" is established as a multilingual word among the
community of interest.

-- 

Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis um dies! || John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com> Schliesst euer Aug vor heiliger Schau, || http://www.reutershealth.com Denn er genoss vom Honig-Tau, || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan Und trank die Milch vom Paradies. -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)



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