Re: Revenge
of the purists.
Posted by masakim
on March 28, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Revenge
of the purists. posted by TheFallen 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.
How about the word
"television"? It mixes Gr**k and L*tin word roots, too.
- Re:
"television" R. Berg 03/29/03 (0)
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