Re: [www-it-traduzioni] Translation of "General Public License"

[Andrea Pescetti]

Richard Stallman wrote:
> That connotation means that "generica" is not merely incorrect;
> it is incorrect and harmful.
> Please replace that with the Italian word for "general".
> In Spanish we say "Licencia Pública General".

Actually "generica" is a perfectly valid translation for "general" in 
many cases; for example, I would find more natural to translate 
"general-purpose" with "generico" rather than with "generale".

The two terms are substantially the same, and the risk that a native 
Italian speaker who hears the name "Licenza pubblica generica" 
understands it in derogatory terms is negligible.

So it is really a matter of nuances, much like Francesco wrote. If we 
were agreeing on a new translation, I might still slightly prefer 
"generica" since it sounds better, but "generale" would be on the same 
level; the fact that we are rediscussing an established translation 
makes me believe we should all agree that this is worth the effort. As a 
matter of fact, people call it the "GPL" using the English acronym and 
very rarely expand it to the full form (either the English or the 
Italian one).

Regards,
  Andrea.