Re: Revenge
of the purists.
Posted by TheFallen on March
27, 2003 In Reply to: A dissenting vote on
"hideous" posted by bob on March 27, 2003
: : : : Does any
one know the meaning of the word "telestrate"? I think it might be some kind of
portmanteau.
: : : : Thanks in advance for any information.
: : : It's a hideous
word, isn't it? I only know it as a verb and have heard it used by those masters
of word mutilation at Microsoft, amongst others. It's a recent coinage to do with
overlaying graphics onto video, usually in the course of a presentation, or maybe,
if you have interactive TV, if you call up facts about the programme that you
are currently watching which then overlay the screen. The provenance is fairly
depressingly clear - tele as in "television" (a leap of faith from the original
Gr**k "distant") and strate as in L*tin "layer".
: : I've never come across
this word in verb form before. I'm familiar with the form "telestrator", which
is an electronic pen used by commentators during sporting events to draw lines
on a freeze-frame on the screen, to clarify some point they're making about the
action. Currently the device is seeing heavy use on maps of Iraq.
: : I was
somewhat surprised that "Telestrator" doesn't seem to be a trade mark or brand
name.
: :
: It's a useful gadget. The sports analyst circles the player-to-pay-attention-to
on the replay, and you learn a little something. Television + demonstrate. But
my immediate concern is ... why is this a "hideous" word? Given that this device
exists, and seems clearly educational, it's here to stay. I'd suggest the verb
that flows from it seems to be useful, too, on the grounds of efficiency: "telestrate"
is a single word that sums up "point out the important things to notice in this
televised image, " an 11-word pile of baggage. It's not a euphonious word, but
not all that clanky, either. Why fight it?
Admittedly I'm slightly calmed by
the realisation that you're right, and it's formed from tele(vision) and (demon)strate,
rather than my initial assumption that it was dealing with video layers and overlays
- strata. If one is being a fanatical purist (not that I am - well not unless
I'm caffeine-deprived at the time), the coinage commits a few irredeemable sins,
namely:
Although it splits the Gr**k prefix correctly, the resultant "tele"
just means distant, and so is not relevant.
It splits the L*tin suffix unnaturally.
The natural word faultline is de-monstrate, rather than demon-strate. This I think
explains my confusion re strata.
It mixes Gr**k and L*tin word roots. I remember
when quadraphonic was the latest buzz technology in audio equipment, and its launch
engendered several snotty letters from fusty academics to various learned journals
pointing out that it should either be quadrasonic or tetraphonic. I imagine that
the same dusty professors, if still alive, would be having conniptions if they
came across telestrate.
I know, I know. I just think about these things too
much.
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