BBC Web Documentary: Heroes ....

[Vangelis forthnet]

>>>> OT content follows <<<<

On Fri Nov 27 16:46:11 GMT 2015, Simon Morgan wrote:

> for a non-native English speaker, 
> your English is impeccable

 Thanks; since Modern Greek (and to a far 
greater extent Ancient Greek) is a somewhat 
more complex, diverse and rich (with regards 
to volume of words) language when compared 
to English, I never found it a difficult language 
to "master" back then when, as a youngster, 
started learning English...

 However, as you probably all know, 
a language is like a living organism, 
undergoing constant change and evolution; 
I try to keep in touch by listening to current 
English radio, reading UK newspapers (online), 
English being the de facto language of choice 
on the web really helps a lot; however, I can't be 
simply transported to the streets of an average 
UK city and mingle with pedestrians in order to 
pick up the latest colloquialisms.

 With the many web-translating services, 
it's no problem to find the meaning of a 
word you don't already know; but a single 
word may change its meaning altogether 
based on the context, the "style" of the speaker/author, 
and, in fact, what the original author tries to 
convey to his/her readers...

Again, not being a native speaker, I sometimes 
fail to read through language nuances/subtleties...
and do not be mistaken; what you see written 
is the end product of an effort that took much 
longer for me to complete than it would've for 
a native English user - my brain has to be convinced 
to stop thinking and expressing itself in Greek, 
which it has been taught to do since childhood, 
and instead simulate (not always successfully) 
the way a UK person would write the same ideas...
 Of course, thinking first in Greek and then try 
to translate into English (often word for word) 
is a recipe for disaster - look no further than at 
the currently existing auto-translating on-line machines...

>  it is not an insult aimed at you

I never thought it was in the first place; I just felt 
the world "gory" was a bit out of place for my taste 
to describe a somewhat technical article; it's just that I 
have, over time, perceived "gory" to have a negative 
connotation - I blame those thriller movies I watched 
in the past :-)

> just pulling our legs to use another idiom.

I most certainly was not! But since you mention it, 
I would've used "intricate details" in the same context...

Anyhow, many thanks Simon for clarifying it for me!

Kind regards, 
Vangelis.