[Lingo] Re: [tlug] Correct particle to use

[Darren Cook <darren@example.com>]

>> Japanese grammar, I plug the possibilities into Google and let mostly
>> native speakers "vote" for whichever expression they think is
>> appropriate. 

The honyaku list uses the term "Googits" to refer to the number of hits
for each alternative, and those professional translators seem to use it
a lot.

However, I find it dangerous: Google may be doing clever stuff, or may
do so in the future. E.g. if they introduce a rule that knows you cannot
use "を" with "読める" (*), so they fix that grammar mistake and return
you the "が読める" hits.

Having said that, I use the technique all the time :-).

Darren

*: I was hoping a native speaker would jump in and give some examples of
where this is valid. If it wasn't for 71,000 google hits I'd suggest "A
Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" has a typo.