DescentBB

This literary masterpiece is looking a little battle-scarred. "Sing, goddess, of the accursed anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought uncounted anguish on the Achaeans," Homer may have written in The Iliad. However Microsoft, the computer giant, prefers something less lyrical. "Wot hapnd when Agamemnon n Achilles had a barny?" it asks in a new version of The Iliad produced to appeal to the text message generation.

Its version has been criticised for trivialising one of the great works of European literature.

The "translation" of the first five of the 24 Iliad books condenses 37,000 words to 32 lines of mobile telephone text message language, with sad and smiley faces and love hearts.

In book three, a duel between Paris and Menelaus to determine possession of Helen, is reduced to: "Paris went 2 fight Menelaus. But he was wiv fright. Hector told im 2 b a man. Shame on him! Helen went 2 watch from da walls."

Book five, where mortals fight the gods in a Homeric narrative rich with visual detail and poetic invention, is compressed to: "Aeneas da Trojan hero woz hit by Diomedes n Aphrodite went 2 help im. Da Gods withdrew. Ares helped da Trojans but Athena helped Diomedes 2 spear im."

The Microsoft version was designed to explain the plot of the film Troy to the 6 million people who use the MSN Messenger instant messaging service, where it can be found. Trim Troy, the introduction says, allows youngsters to brush up on the classics.

Some teachers and traditionalists disagree, however, and have condemned the language as "appalling", "simplistic" and an "insult to young people's intelligence".

Andrew Cunningham, an English teacher at Charterhouse school in Surrey, said: "The whole point of studying great works of literature from any language or culture - whether it is The Iliad, Beowulf or the King James Bible - is to feel the words resonate over the centuries.

"This rendering of The Iliad into a blunt text message style will inspire no one. 'Muse, wot hapnd wiv Achilles?' is a fair example of just how bland the style is."

Some teachers argue, however, that text message language is a fact of life and makes The Iliad, thought to have been composed in the eighth century BC, more accessible to young people.

Geoffrey Fallows, the president of the Joint Association of Classical Teachers, said: "The Iliad is a complicated story that has difficult and unfamiliar names, so if you know a bit of it through the film or other versions, it will make so much more sense. The present generation communicates all day and all night in this peculiar speak and that is a fact of the modern world."

Spelling bee protesters: "Enuf is enuf!"
By Carl Weiser, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON â?? Protesters delivered a message Wednesday to the national spelling bee: Enuf is enuf!
Seven members of the American Literacy Society picketed the 77th annual spelling bee, which is sponsored every year by Cincinnati-based Scripps Howard.

The protesters' complaint: English spelling is illogical. And the national spelling bee only reinforces the crazy spellings that lead to dyslexia, high illiteracy, and harder lives for immigrants.

"We advocate the modernization of English spelling," said Pete Boardman, 58, of Groton, N.Y. The Cornell University bus driver admitted to being a terrible speller.

Protester Elizabeth Kuizenga, 56, is such a good speller she teaches English as a second language in San Francisco. She said she got involved in the protest after seeing how much time was wasted teaching spelling in her class.

Bee spokesman Mark Kroeger said good spelling comes from knowing the story behind a word â?? what language it comes from, what it means.

"For these kids who understand the root words, who understand the etymology, it's totally logical," he said.

The protesters contend that the illogical spelling of English words makes dyslexia more difficult to overcome and helps explain why one in five Americans are functionally illiterate.

"If these people were able to read and write with a simplified spelling system, they would be able to fill out a job application, stay employed, and stay out of prison," said Sanford Silverman, 86. The retired accountant from Cleveland was handing out copies of his book, "Spelling for the 21st Century: The case for spelling reform."

Carrying signs reading "I'm thru with through," "Spelling shuud be lojical," and "Spell different difrent," the protesters â?? who first protested two years ago, but skipped last year â?? drew chuckles from bee contestants.

"I can't believe people are picketing against something this ridiculous," said Steven Maheshwary, 14, of Houston, who successfully spelled "Zoroastrian" in the bee.

Or as 13-year-old contestant (tautologous) Rachel Karas of Flint, Mich., put it: "It's just spelling. You gotta learn it."

Testiculese wrote:My cumulative lack of respect for humanity just went up a notch.

Krom wrote:And if the smart people moved to other countries what would they find, a whole boatload of MORE STUPID PEOPLE! They are everywhere, there is no escape. Just in America everyone has more of a voice so you can hear more from stupid people.

Wolf on Air wrote: And on the subject of mobile phone messaging; I write complete sentences with punctuation even there; T9 predictive typing goes a long way towards making this feasible even on a 12-keyed -board, though I guess most people are too lazy to figure out how it works...

Testiculese wrote:

Testiculese wrote:My cumulative lack of respect for humanity just went up a notch.

text message language ... makes The Iliad ... more accessible to young people

Plebeian wrote:I like how the arguments are based on Americans.

Tetrad wrote:

Plebeian wrote:I like how the arguments are based on Americans.

The first article is based in England. The SMS crowd is much larger over there it seems than over here. Americans would much rather just call somebody than type out SMS messages.