Friday, September 18, 2009

Interpretive Post

I know I can't be the only person for whom this is an annoyance: since when did every piece of information, explanation, direction, and knowledge become 'interpretive?' The Interpretive Center, Interpretive Signage, Interpretive Photos, Interpretive Porto-potties (I'm exaggerating here). Information Centers, Histories, Photo Journals, all have become Interpretive Signs. Are they being interpreted from Old English? From the original Ojibwa? I know that if you look it up in the dictionary you can make a case for any explanation being 'interpretive' but the connotation of that word has traditionally been from one language to another (whether the language is verbal, written, or visual). Seeing a roadside sign with picture of Lewis and Clark in a canoe doesn't seem to be interpreting anything for me; it's informing me, it's enlightening me, it might possibly be entertaining me, but I can't reconcile myself to it being interpretive. Someone, please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Who makes these decisions anyway, and who do I call to have all the signs in the country changed? I could put lots of people to work, and help the economy.

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