A NEW FORCE IN LANGUAGE CHANGE
Many factors influence the development of language, as we all know. Of late a new one has come to the fore with force: the Internet with its online free translators. Willy-nilly these data banks are eroding language by supplying erroneous equivalents to phrases and idiomatic expressions. They offer sloth and greenhorn translators a quick response to their queries. Television is the means through which this change is propelled. Examples: I have heard in Spanish: "mono veo, mono hace" which I take is a translation of " Monkey see, monkey do ." For " mono the imitación " we are given: "ape" only. "Enter the rag" is what we get in English for " entrar al trapo ", instead of the correct " rise to the bait ." If a translator wishes to know the equivalent of " a hair of the dog that bit you " will get: "un pelo del perro que te mordió." For " rise to the bait " we find "muerde el anzuel...