Oooh, odd!

[bunn]

Logged into LJ this morning and found all the menu options and links are in Cyrillic script - actually, I think they are probably in Russian, although sadly my Russian is non-existent, so I can't be entirely sure of that.

I assume that the wrong language has been associated with my account, and have reported it. It's an interesting insight into what it must be like trying to use those parts of the web built for monolingual English speakers, for someone with no English.

You'd think, too, given that I've had an LJ for tumty-tum years and use it a lot, that I would remember where at least some of the options were without a label cue, but no! Even the friends page link I got wrong!

I hope they can put it back, although I suppose if they don't, it will be an excellent educational opportunity for me to get some basic Russian... Right. Now which of these buttons is 'Post', I wonder? :-D

ETA - figured it out! It was my theme - I had language set to 'default' in http://www.livejournal.com/customize/options.bml 'default' presumably used to be English, and is now Russian. Thankfully, the customise page doesn't use my theme, so I could read it and change the language to English (UK). Still seems odd that this resulted in me getting my 'you have made a support request' acknowledgement email in Russian!

ETA No I haven't I thought that had fixed it, but then noticed that everything was in Russian if I clicked through to view someone else's full post including comments. And when I log in in another browser, I get 'Мы рады снова видеть вас в LiveJournal!' Ah well.

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I do hope LJ isn't going to do this to everyone on a regular basis...

I once somehow managed to hit the button at the bottom of the Flickr page that switched the language option to Korean. It has very pretty characters.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Since nobody else has leapt in to say 'ME TOO!' I am now wondering if I (or, possibly, someone else in my house with big blue eyes and busy paws) has accidentally changed an obscure setting. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me, but I have no firm conviction that it couldn't possibly have been Yama Bungle.

I'll see what support say, if I don't get any useful response, I shall have to find a Russian handbook and see if I can find my way back to that setting!

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I've been trying halfheartedly to teach myself Cyrillic script, supposedly as a vague prelude to teaching myself Russian. If the world were just, this should have happened to me (not that I'd have much of a clue either).

It's an interesting insight into what it must be like trying to use those parts of the web built for monolingual English speakers, for someone with no English.

Yes! So many more people end up having to try adapting themselves to English, which is particularly difficult given all the phonetic things a letter can represent in English.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It's interesting how quickly your eyes start to adopt and pick out correlations. This morning, all the links and buttons might as well have said the same 'BLABLABLA' - whereas now I am already starting to pick out pidgin Russian translations from context - I can now see, for example, that I have 4 комментария (which my brain has decided to pronounce as 'Kommentapna')

I particularly like the Russian for delete - Спам! That's a much more satisfying word than 'delete!' Cnam! Cnam!

Now I shall do what my brain is already starting to refer to as AO6aButton Kommentapna! (post comment :-D)

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Not sure from your comment if you know that Спам is just Spam...? Amusing that cheap wartime british tinned meat substitute has made it into Russian by a circuitous route and a completely different meaning -N

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I thought it *might* be - but it was being used where the English says 'Delete', so I wasn't sure. I think in English, spam in both senses is a noun, so it's made the leap to verbitude too.

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Maybe being too anal here, but *technically* "спам" is a noun, sorry (Russian has clear endings for verbs). It would be even more awesome if there were a verb "спамовать" to go with it, imperative form спамовуйте IIRC (hopes desperately). I do remember being told circa 1990 of the loanword "кликовать"="to click with a computer mouse" and enjoying that... N

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Is there anything you aren't good at, Neuromancer? ;-)

Edited to correct horrible typo!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It may be formatted as a noun, but if it's being used in practical terms as an imperative - ie a stand alone word that means 'Computer, kindly delete this comment and file it under 'spam' , if you would*' then surely it is functionally a verb?

* I'm quite glad that function labels don't have to be formatted like that, although it would somehow create a leisured, faintly Regency air if they were. :-D

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

You're probably right, but am pretty sure it's not a grammatically a verb in Russian! -N

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I think the transliteration would be closer to kommentari(?). I can't remember what the last character is supposed to be. But yeah, it does look rather like "Kommentapna!"

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Hey, I make NO attempt at correct transliteration. It's a very frivolous approach to someone's real world language, but to be honest, I'm treating it as a sort of cross between Orgoreyn and Khuzdul.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ahaha! Wasn't the language called Orgota? Well, either way, nothing like a random LHoD reference in my day. =D

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Doh, of course it is. I knew Orgoreyn was wrong!

For further random LHOD references, Jo Walton's blog today is about sympathetic characters and Estraven, if you'd not seen it. http://papersky.livejournal.com/589474.html

[huinare.livejournal.com]

EEEE! Thanks very much. I hadn't seen that, love it. =D (I really need to become familiar with Walton's work.)

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Interesting.

I remain logged in to LJ pretty much permanently, so nothing changed overnight for me, but I wonder if this has happened to everyone who logs out or if this was aimed at you!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I usually have some device that is logged in, so I'm not sure that logging in was actually what triggered it, I just happened to log in anew on a desktop machine for a change, and noticed it then. But it seems to be consistent across all my devices, so I think it must be at the account level.

Of course, it could be that rather than LJ's fault, this is the action of a nocturnal Bungle prancing on an already-logged in keyword... Worrying thought!

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Now that wouldn't surprise me!

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Maybe you're actually a Russian spy, sent so deeply undercover that even you have been hypnotised to forget your true origin. But now has come the time for you to report back in. Operative Yama has pressed the button to switch your LJ to Russian, and already, within mere hours, you are beginning to understand it, as the old supressed memories resurface. You'll be talking it like a native tomorrow, and heading back to Moscow to pass on all the vital intelligence you have gathered, on such key issues as rescue lurchers and the correct way to eat scones.

We've all been so stupid! We really should have suspected an espionage background when you started using Le Carre icons and revelling in being a hiver.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Given that this suggestion comes from someone who has known me for ?24 years, I have to wonder why the suspicion has taken so long to germinate. Could it be that you are ALSO a spy? :-oooo

[ozisim.livejournal.com]

I clicked through to leave a clever and funny comment, but then I read this and it is so full of awesome and win that I can't remember what I was going to say now...