I know how difficult it is to write a word correctly like Tai Kwon Do(e) or Taikwondo; I know that the difficulty lies in a phonetic trans-literation from an original language to English. Tonight, I’ve encountered a different ilk of “trans” problems (you know, translations, transliterations, transcendental-izations). We’ll call the issue at hand a Tech-script-unrealization. Yeah, I like that because it’s long and doesn’t mean much.
Previously I’ve mentioned a service that I use called Jott (Jott.com). It’s great. To use it, you sign up, they give you a phone number, you call that and speak what you want to remember, what you want jotted. Now I can always remember facts from NPR I hear while driving or upcoming concert dates when they fly by me in the audible world. Just to be fair, I’ve confused certain aspects of Jott before. Tonight, though, Jott is the one who’s confused.
You see, my brother is a member of the small personage in the DC area who enjoy the martial art of Tai Jut Su (I figure title caps will solve my ‘trans problems’ thus far). He’s also knowledgeable of computers. So, knowing that he drives hours from WV to DC in order to train with other Tai Jut Su people, instead of phoning him and potentially interrupting, I did what any good 21st century brother would do and ‘texted’ him. Although, I don’t text, I jott.
I called my trusty Jott number, I spoke slowly and clearly: “Call me if you are not busy hitting people with sticks” which is what he calls Tai Jut Su.
Jott, on the other hand, decided to ‘Tech-script-unrealize’ my message as “Call me if you are not busy heading people with Dicks.”
An interesting choice, no? Also, why the Dicks and not dicks? Surely somehow the proper noun is less pejorative but hey, if you’re going to mess up, why not head all the people with dicks!?