Moonchild wrote:You misunderstand. I wasn't talking about capitalization. I was talking about using the correct term.
Right.
Moonchild wrote:Also, supporting FTP has nothing to do with where these terms are used ("web pages" are not retrieved over FTP!) so please don't try to push the argument just to win it.
I know in the translation business as well some people insist on using "internet" instead of "web" but I disagree, so does the majority of linguists, and so do my direct colleagues.
IMO, especially "page internet" and "site internet" are misnomers when talking about webpages and websites. Even if a "site" can encompass more than just the web part of it, HTML is by definition served over http (it's the hypertext protocol) and as such "web" (short for "world-wide web", AKA www) so most definitely from the browser's point of view it can only be one thing.
Well, the French linguists from the Académie française disagree: "site internet" is correct while "site web" does not exist on their reference website. So obviously, they are not the same linguists as yours but if we are to take the expert way, the French experts are the only ones to refer to in fr_FR matter.
Second, I just ask one of the IT pros I usually work with, as they specialize in websites (
http://www.agence-webcorp.com/; in passing note the footer on their webpage says "© WEBCORP 2015, Tout droits réservés. Agence de communication &
création de site internet"): they also used "site internet" at work and with their customers (the same people that run Pale Moon). Of course it is only 1 pro and their customers, but Google also shows that many other pros use "site internet" themselves.
Third, from a translation perspective it's true that I care much more about the user's experience (especially the one who is not fluent in English or in technology as are typically the elders) and less on the precision of the word/meaning if the replacing word is more expressive (we say "parlant" in french). It's common practice in the translation business (I have 25 years, mostly in IT) to do so: the user is who matters, not the absolute precision of the technique if it adds nothing to the meaning; and here, there is no compelling case that "site web" adds anything in readability or any other benefit for the user. On the contrary, IMHO.
So we have to balance between a technically exact English word which is not translated in French, a position
not recommended by the French experts from the Académie Française btw, and for which we have no statistics of use, as compared to a word that everyone, both pro and non-pro, knows or at least have heard of in the media, and that is widely encountered in the context that interests us here.
It is a disservice to the user to utilize an English word when a more expressive (but admittedly a bit less precise technically speaking) word is possible, and in this case is already commonly used.