and I’d describe works by Fontane or other german authors as “old german”, when it’s merely old fashioned with words not in common use today, or not used in the same context, for which i remember using a dictionary. I know they used the same language as i do, there was no great shift in how the language worked, but the style and vocabulary used is enough to trip over if one is not used to it.
I don’t think an llm is a good tool to engage with a text one thinks is difficult, but it’s better than not engaging with the text at all.
I’ve found LLM is excellent to help understand how language use is different from one era to the next, or the meaning in a different structure/pattern (Clockwork Orange being an excellent example).
Just the other day I asked about a specific phrase in a 19th century novel that surprised me in it’s specificity - the LLM clarified the author’s meaning and that someone from the era would’ve understood the implications, while only an historian today would’ve got it.
and I’d describe works by Fontane or other german authors as “old german”, when it’s merely old fashioned with words not in common use today, or not used in the same context, for which i remember using a dictionary. I know they used the same language as i do, there was no great shift in how the language worked, but the style and vocabulary used is enough to trip over if one is not used to it.
I don’t think an llm is a good tool to engage with a text one thinks is difficult, but it’s better than not engaging with the text at all.
I’ve found LLM is excellent to help understand how language use is different from one era to the next, or the meaning in a different structure/pattern (Clockwork Orange being an excellent example).
Just the other day I asked about a specific phrase in a 19th century novel that surprised me in it’s specificity - the LLM clarified the author’s meaning and that someone from the era would’ve understood the implications, while only an historian today would’ve got it.