English speakers of the fedi.

[eltonfc@bertha.social]

English speakers of the fedi. In a software with the interface in English, Reading a menu with verbs such as Save, Open, Close, Edit, Format etc., do you read them as imperative (an order: "do this") or as an infinitive (the "base form" of the verb, like "to do this")?

Are you a native speaker or have English as a second language?

#Dev #ux #ui #software #interface #translation #uiux #uxui #gui

[eltonfc@bertha.social]

Iff English is your second language, how are these verbs tusually translated to *your* language in software interfaces?

[aarbrk@mstdn.mx]

@eltonfc I'm having trouble answering this question. I think my interpretation is more like a statement of intention (I seek to X).

[eltonfc@bertha.social]

Please boost for reach etc etc

Thanks!

[eltonfc@bertha.social]

@aarbrk in that case, X would be a verb in the infinitive.

[ylyej@mastodon.bahia.no]

@hobbs ajuda aqui

[hobbs@dobbs.town]

@Ylyej fiz o survey. Falante nativo, imperativo.

[hecate@merveilles.town]

@eltonfc
I'm influenced by translations to my native language, which use the infinitive

[rmtakata@bertha.social]

@eltonfc Uma subquestão: imperativo pra quem? Pro usuário ou pro sistema?

[mk_rexx@metalhead.club]

@eltonfc That's the neat part! They don't.

[mk_rexx@metalhead.club]

@eltonfc @aarbrk ESL here. Did I understood it right, something like "save file" or "undo changes" would be imperative?

[jenesuispasgoth@pouet.chapril.org]

@eltonfc I mean, if by infinitive you mean it has to have "to" on front of the verb ("to save" etc.), then mechanically, the English version is "imperative," while my interpretation is "infinitive" because in French it's translated as such.

If not, then it's infinitive for both.

[unassumingkiwireborn@kolektiva.social]

@eltonfc

Native speaker and I chose imperative because that's what they are: commands issued to the program. But Format is weird here because I read that as a noun, similar to Settings or Preferences.

[machinelordzero@mastodon.social]

@eltonfc Native, imperative. I tell the computer what to do, it does it, else there is a problem.

[r1rail@pouet.chapril.org]

@eltonfc I may be biased, because in French imperative and infinitive are different, and menu entries use infinitive

[dereisenhofer@metalhead.club]

@eltonfc I read it kind of both. Interesting.

[chtixof@mamot.fr]

@aarbrk @eltonfc
IMHO, you wrote it: "to X" ➡️ infinitive 😉

[dveditz@infosec.exchange]

@eltonfc
before GUI we had a "command line interface" where you quite literally gave the computer "commands". How could they be anything other than imperative?

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@dveditz @eltonfc a lot of these menu options lead to places though, dialogs. so you're figuratively entering a conversation. a command line rarely does that. your instructions are expected to be complete.

[hiddenalpha@mastodon.social]

@eltonfc
"Format" looks like an outlier. I read it as a noun 🙃