https://www.livescience.com/60753-china-shipwreck-from-mongols-era.html
not my field of interest normally and fascinated more by the mechanism of preservation than the details of the wreck itself
The modern outlook of the archaeologists is highlighted by the following:
"The researchers also found the ship's control system, which included a tiller located just above the control room on the ship's deck, the archaeologists wrote."
Or perhaps something was lost, or gained, in translation. Mandarin-to-English has been at times an approximate art.
Quote from: Patrick Waterson on November 03, 2017, 08:21:14 PM
The modern outlook of the archaeologists is highlighted by the following:
"The researchers also found the ship's control system, which included a tiller located just above the control room on the ship's deck, the archaeologists wrote."
Or perhaps something was lost, or gained, in translation. Mandarin-to-English has been at times an approximate art.
and thus is how errors creep into writings....
Quote from: Holly on November 04, 2017, 07:42:51 AM
and thus is how errors creep into writings....
The reason being the change in technology over the period. Were we still using wooden sailing ships, the terminology would have corresponded.
sometimes translations lack exact words that convey the true (contemporary) meaning
Quote from: Holly on November 04, 2017, 07:34:01 PM
sometimes translations lack exact words that convey the true (contemporary) meaning
True enough*, although in this case the concept of a tiller (and its appurtenant rudder, or the other way around) is well established in English.
*
Anyone remember 'deformed man toilet' from the Peking Olympics?But a 'control room' in a junk??? That is a misconception of modernity, not a deficient dictionary. I wonder if the same team of archaeologists will refer to a Command Information Centre in Yuan Chinese warships ...
It is also intriguing that the vessel had "
a hull sectioned into 12 cabins by 12 bulkheads," which is physically impossible - unless the missing 'cabin' is the 'control room'.
Anyway, nit-picking of the Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology's choice of vocabulary aside, thanks for posting this article, Dave.
Quote from: Patrick Waterson on November 05, 2017, 08:14:44 AM
*Anyone remember 'deformed man toilet' from the Peking Olympics?
:o
Quote from: Holly on November 05, 2017, 09:15:24 AM
Quote from: Patrick Waterson on November 05, 2017, 08:14:44 AM
*Anyone remember 'deformed man toilet' from the Peking Olympics?
:o
Yes, they meant 'disabled toilet' (i.e. facilities for the disabled) but did not get the meaning quite right.