Kelvin Eldridge wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Harold Fuchs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 12:38 PM > Subject: Re: [users] Aussie slang for Australian English spell check > dictionary > > >> On Friday, January 19, 2007 1:25 AM [GMT+1=CET], >> Kelvin Eldridge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >>> G'day, >>> >>> Some people on the Firefox/Thunderbird lists have expressed an >>> interest in more Aussie slang being included in the Australian >>> English dictionary. >>> >>> To get things started I have set up the following article. >>> >>> http://justlocal.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/aussie-slang-dictionary-bonzer-idea/ >>> >>> If you would like to contribute Aussie slang words please feel free >>> to add a comment with the words. >>> >>> If there is sufficient interest I will create a second version of >>> the Australian English dictionary for Firefox/Thunderbird users >>> which includes the contribute Aussie slang. (For OpenOffice.org >>> users a secondary dictionary will be created.) >>> >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Kelvin Eldridge >> >> You might want to look at >> http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/language/a/strinea.htm >> http://www.abc.net.au/civics/globalcitizens/ozstrine.htm >> http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/aust-eng.html >> >> and more ... >> >> Or, as we pommie b******s say, am I teaching my grandmother to suck >> eggs? Harold Fuchs >> London, England > > Hi Harold, > > Very reasonable comment. > > However (from my weak legal understanding) in Australia, if a person > creates a database of information by sweat of brow, that database is > considered copyright. > > The people who create those sites put in consider work which I would > like to respect. > > I try to avoid copyright issues and the best way to do that is with > appropriate source material. > > The sites generally contain a few hundred words at best. Creating > original material without simply lifting the material should not be > too hard and that means the new work can be licensed LGPL for the > benefit of everyone. (The sites of course can be used to cross check > words being submitted. The same as one would use a dictionary to > check a word.) > By the way I use the expression "to suck eggs", but interestingly > I've not used it in conjunction with my grandmother;-) > > Hopefully this explains why I resort to doing things in such an > absurd way. > Thanks for your feedback and listing the sites. The site information > should prove useful. > > Kelvin Eldridge > OpenOffice.org Australian English dictionary creator/maintainer. > Also Australian English dictionary files for Firefox, Thunderbird and > SeaMonkey. > www.JustLocal.com.au (Links to dictionary file pages located at the > bottom of the page.)
Kevin, I agree completely with your views about the copyright issue you raise. On the other hand, you could ask the site owners for permission to include [some of] their words in your list; some of the site owners might be proud to be part of the open source movement albeit in a small way. You might even be able to credit them somwhow. As regards sucking eggs, it seems there are two different meanings. I don't know which one you were taught. I know it (and use it) in connection with grandmothers as meaning tellling an expert something on page one of the primer - offering needless assistance. What I don't know is when/where/why sucking eggs was regarded as being something in which anyone old enough to be a grandmother would be an expert. The other (mainly American as far as I can tell) has to do with farm dogs or other animals sucking the farm's hens' eggs; it means undesirable, mean spirited, avaricious and leads to "go suck an egg" meaning "please go away and leave me in peace" or words to that effect ;-) Regards, Harold PS I know, I know; off topic again. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
