Les langues sur le web

Marie LebertProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.5
Word count
151K words
Chapters
16

Tags

Foreign Language Books Language and Writing Social ObservationScience EnlightenmentLanguage DiversityEmerging FieldAcademic StudyPolicy AnalysisClear ExpositionPopular ExplanationDigital AgeCross-Cultural View

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Les langues sur le web by Marie LebertAuthor: Lebert, Marie,Language: French, Class: TK: Technology: Electrical, Electronics and Nuclear engineering, Release Date: Apr 19, 2010

Editor's review

This is a short French-language essay on "languages on the web," discussing how multiple languages coexist online and how language use and transmission have changed in the internet age. The author, Marie Lebert, has long focused on ebooks and digital culture; her style leans toward compiling information and stating views. It is brief and serves as an introductory read for understanding the early internet's linguistic ecology. Its value lies less in technical detail than in placing language issues within the context of digital publishing, making readers aware that the web does not speak only English. Because it was written early, the specific platforms and data it cites now seem dated, yet its basic questions remain open for discussion. Read it as a snapshot of its era, not as a current authoritative report. It suits chapter-by-chapter reading on a commute or in short sessions, and can be read alongside material on digital humanities or language policy for a fuller picture.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the table of contents and the first and last chapters first to grasp the book's thematic framework, then go back and read the middle discussion closely.
  2. Keep a sheet of paper to note the language phenomena mentioned in the book, and compare them with today's internet after finishing.
  3. Read one or two sections at a time and limit each session to avoid fatigue from accumulated factual material.
  4. Read alongside articles on digital humanities or language policy to supply the contemporary perspective the book lacks.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16

FAQ

Is this book written in French, and what language level is needed? Yes, the original is in French. The book is mainly expository, with fairly plain sentence structures; an intermediate French reading level is enough to read it through with a dictionary. If you only want the gist, you can start with the chapter titles and concluding sections.
Will the content seem outdated now? The specific platforms and data in the book took shape early and do bear the marks of their time. But its basic questions—multilingual coexistence, the status of languages online—still have reference value. It is best read as a historical snapshot rather than a latest report.
Is this book suitable for learning French? It can serve as nonfiction extensive reading material. It is short and focused on one theme, good for practicing the reading of informational texts; but since it leans toward compiling information and is not very literary, it is not recommended as your only French learning material.

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About the author

Marie Lebert Author · French

Marie Lebert is a French translator and researcher of books and digital publishing. She holds a doctorate in linguistics from the Sorbonne and has worked in translation and library roles at international organizations in several countries; she now lives in Australia. Her research focuses on multilingualism online, e-books and the history of translation, and her writing for general readers traces how books have moved from print to digital form. Representative works include La Jérusalem médiévale, Del libro impreso al libro digital, Le Projet Gutenberg and Le Livre 010101: Enquête, and 47 of her titles are held in the collection. Her e-books and writings on Project Gutenberg are distributed free of charge through the University of Toronto's NEF and Project Gutenberg, making them easy to access online. Public information about her is limited, and her works centre on digital publishing and changing reading practices.