English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

grammalogue, grammar, grammar-child, grammar-figure, grammar-grinding, grammarian, grammarianism, grammar-lad, grammarless, grammar-scholar, grammar school, grammatic, grammatical, grammaticality, grammaticalization, grammaticalize, grammatically, grammaticalness, grammaticaster, grammaticism, grammaticize, grammatist, grammatistical, grammatite, grammatolator, grammatolatry, grammatology, grammatophore.

RegDwight АΑA

@JasperLoy I think the only meaningful difference right now is that the latter doesn't get misused anywhere as much.

tchrist

I want grammatovore.

cornbread ninja

@tchrist tag for sure.

user19161

Also, I was looking at the tag descriptions and the way questions are tagged and I think it is really unclear how to tag a question.

user19161

I think there is a lot of room for individual taste in tagging then.

tchrist

10:07 PM

@JasperLoy Yes, you're right.

@JasperLoy If there's so much room for taste, why is it so seldom manifest?

user19161

If X is involved in a question but only peripherally, I would not tag it with X for example.

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist you have enough rep to not want but have.

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd Yes, a prefix key has advantages. There were several reasons why I didn't choose to have one, though.

user19161

So I would tag a question with X if and only if X is part of the essence of the question.

Cerberus

1.) I sometimes press the letter, then think, hmm I needed an accent there, and then I can add it afterwards.

tchrist

10:09 PM

@RegDwightАΑA I'm saving up a few choice minced-oaths for the taxonomy badge.

Cerberus

2.) Pressing the same key twice is much faster than pressing different keys: // is much faster than /2, say.

user19161

Also, I noticed there is a grammer tag. I guess it is for people who misspell grammar.

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist saving up? What prevents me from grabbing it from you right now?

tchrist

@JasperLoy And also for people who mispell it.

Cerberus

3.) If you have to press different keys, they should at least be close together, which is not possible with a uniform prefix key.

RegDwight АΑA

10:10 PM

Oh wait, it already exists.

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA bows

Cerberus

4.) Insert is too far away: I would rather pick capslock if I had to pick one.

user19161

@tchrist Or for people who engage in mispronounciation.

Cerberus

5.) The end.

tchrist

6.) Addendum A.

user19161

10:10 PM

@Cerberus QED.

Cerberus

You forgot the number.

@tchrist I remember reading the appendices to LotR.

RegDwight АΑA

So. Um. Are the old Review lists now empty for everyone or just me?

Cerberus

I liked most of them, even at that age.

If you give me a link, I'll click it.

RegDwight АΑA

I mean, what if my reviews were all rubbish, do other people get asked to go over the same posts again?

tchrist

@Cerberus You were precocious, or tardy. I didn't read it until age 12, but that was still long before you were a squirt.

@RegDwightАΑA I think we all have the same full queues.

Cerberus

10:12 PM

OMG you were ancient.

tchrist

I don't think me knocking them down shortens others' queues.

I checked with Ma..x the other night. His was still long no matter what I did.

Cerberus

Queues de Paris?

You don't want to knock those down.

tchrist

Cutey pairs.

user19161

@reg After 10 edits by OP, a post becomes wiki. OP can then ask a mod to unwikify it right?

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist so if someone, anyone just mindlessly clicks "review", "review", "review" and does nothing else, that's all we want? And it even counts towards a badge for him?

tchrist

10:14 PM

@JasperLoy And call spirits from the vasty deep, too.

user19161

@tchrist Ah, you belong to the camp who likes a comma before too.

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA I do not know. I even forget you can click Review. I nearly always have an opinion.

RegDwight АΑA

Because that's what I did earlier today. Click "review" three hundred times and do little else beyond that (because most of them already had been edited either by myself or by others).

tchrist

@JasperLoy I like a comma after, too.

user19161

I have some posts that are nearing 10 edits. I fear what will happen when it becomes wiki.

RegDwight АΑA

10:15 PM

8 hours ago, by RegDwight АΑA

I just have to click on "review" under the first three questions, then reload rather than scroll down, rinse repeat, and my edit count goes up by 3 each time.

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA I don't think those count as having been acted on.

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist they actually do, as Matt explained to me. Which is why I was doing it in the first place.

See above quote.

tchrist

Ijitry?

user19161

There are some stupid sites that don't allow me to use my previous 5 passwords.

RegDwight АΑA

If I click "review" on a post and it turns out I already edited it three years ago, that counts as an action and my edit count goes up.

user19161

10:17 PM

@RegDwightАΑA WTF?

tchrist

@JasperLoy Which ones are those?

@RegDwightАΑA Super-ijitry then, you say.

user19161

@tchrist Actually only one. And it's secret so I can't tell you...

RegDwight АΑA

@JasperLoy well no, it's kind of logical and in fact I would be complaining if it didn't go up.

I did fix the post, after all.

tchrist

OT || !OT: "How do you pronounce the e in elephent?" [sic]

RegDwight АΑA

Except that they should go the full nine yards and just count it towards the badge immediately, rather than waiting two years for me to discover the Review page, hoping that the posts haven't been reviewed by others in the mean time.

user19161

10:19 PM

@tchrist You don't, because an elephent does not exist.

tchrist

@JasperLoy Honor or offer?

@RegDwightАΑA That's why they call it the mean time, you know. Because this kinda shit makes people mean.

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist correctly.

Aug 2 at 0:40, by RegDwight АΑA

"How to use the word duplicate?" — "Correctly. Next!"

tchrist

OT, !OT, OT, !OT, OT, !OT, OT, !OT?????

user19161

I think I will aim for 25k end of this year.

tchrist

I'm exploring the idea that everything is closable as GR.

RegDwight АΑA

10:22 PM

@tchrist pronunciation is on-topic. Gen-ref applies.

@tchrist every question is too basic if you know the answer, or where to look.

tchrist

0

Q: How should the first "o" in "operator" be pronounced?

I've always been taught that a vowel before a double consonant following another vowel should have a short sound. Conversely, there are many situations where a vowel preceding a single consonant and vowel gets a long sound. Short Sounds: Mississippi - All I's except the last get short sound...

RegDwight АΑA

I know which question you mean.

tchrist

3

Q: Is 'hair' singular or plural?

When one says I was washing my hair, is it singular or plural? What is the singular for hair?

grammatical-number

RegDwight АΑA

Bah not that again.

I had to review like three answers on that one. Or the same answer thrice, I forget.

@tchrist but yeah, he himself realizes while asking the question that he's applying something that isn't a rule of English. Note the weasel wording.

> there are many situations where a vowel preceding a single consonant and vowel gets a long sound

Yes, there are many situations. This is not one of them. This is one of the many others.

user19161

I would like to buy a vowel.

user19161

10:27 PM

I suddenly have a brilliant idea.

user19161

Instead of @cerb map games, we can play Wheel of Fortune in this chat.

user19161

-2

Q: When do you use ‒, –, — or ―?

Possible Duplicate: When should I use an em-dash, an en-dash, and a hyphen? In the Windows character map, in the group General Punctuation, there are four different dashes: Figure Dash ‒ En Dash – Em Dash — Horizontal Bar ― Which is used for what really?

punctuation dash

user19161

This has been closed as ED. But is it really ED? Look at the four options there.

RegDwight АΑA

52 mins ago, by RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox no, we accept his rewording the question such that it asks about the horizontal bar only, or improving the older question accordingly.

user19161

But what is the figure dash or horizontal bar?

user19161

10:32 PM

Is it for pullups?

RegDwight АΑA

That is one possible rewording.

Well I'm out for today. Night all!

user19161

@RegDwightАΑA Night.

tchrist

10:47 PM

@JasperLoy Curls. It's for curls.

The figure dash is the width of a figure.

The horizontal bar is a quotation dash.

It has different linebreak props than an em dash.

A figure dash only makes sense if you use column figures, not proportionate ones.

@JasperLoy Easy come, easy go.

An em dash can linebreak after, which can suck. A quotation dash can only linebreak before.

A pox on all single-word-requests now and forever more!

There is no reason that there must exist a single word to express every possible thought.

That is the very reason we have language.

With movable words.

And syntax.

0

Q: 'naturist' vs. 'nudist'

nudist, a person who engages in the practice of going naked wherever possible. (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/nudist?q=nudist) naturist, a person who goes naked in designated areas. (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/naturist?q=naturist)...

meaning

Oh, fuzzybottoms!

It's a meaning tag.

A nekkid tag would mean more.

> Can anybody explain if in the above deifintions wherever possible and designated areas are abstractically rederred to the same locations?

Uggy wuggy was impaired.

simchona

11:05 PM

Two edits later, it's "abstractly refer"

user19161

11:32 PM

@tchrist Actually, I am not sure of the answer.

tchrist

@JasperLoy The answer is cultural.

user19161

1

Q: "First come, first serve(d)"

What is the correct version of this common phrase? First come, first serve First come, first served

idioms

user19161

I think the above is an interesting question.

tchrist

It is not a distinction that non-nekkid people realize, recognize, or respect.

user19161

One can say "if they are the first to come, they will be the first to be served" or "if they are the first to come, they are the first to serve" equally.

tchrist

11:35 PM

I don't understand the situation in which the latter might arise.

user19161

The latter means "they are the first for us to serve".

user19161

I guess it is an ellipsis.

tchrist

It is seldom the role of those who arrive for them to do the serving.

Rather, they are more likely to be on the receiving end of said service.

No?

I am not saying the other could not ever happen.

I just cannot right now come up with an obvious real-world scenario is all.

It may be that I am imagination impaired.

user19161

Wow, most of the recent questions are - voted.

tchrist

This always happens.

It is a timezone thing.

user19161

11:41 PM

Also, most of Xavier's recent questions are - voted.

tchrist

Once the Europeans retire, the sun moves on to the backside of the world.

Highly, or just a little?

user19161

Quite highly.

tchrist

Maybe there is an instinctive downvote against him because of his past history.

user19161

@tchrist Are you saying Americans are more likely to downvote?

user19161

@tchrist What history? Other than the authoritative comments.

tchrist

11:42 PM

No, I'm saying that the people who post now after Eurodusk are more apt to be questions to draw quick downvotes.

user19161

When I vote, I try not to be biased in either direction.

tchrist

I understand that.

I was only theorizing a possible contributing factor.

I've no idea whether it is true.

user19161

But I think that most people are influenced by subconscious biases in real life.

tchrist

Just so.

Oh my, even Yoichi-san has been downered.

Prolly just a crowd of grumps right now.

Maybe there are still Europeans online, but they have been drinking and so are now ornery.

user19161

@tchrist It's Yoichi Oishi.

tchrist

11:46 PM

I AM SO KIDDING!

user19161

Or maybe Yoishi is a contraction?

tchrist

I was just finishing up a late day at $dayjob, and wasn't watching the site.

Yoichi puts so much genuine, honest effort into his questions. It seems both unkind and unjust to downvote him.

user19161

Actually Yoichi's questions often have upvotes because they are quite long I feel, not necessarily because they are fantastic.

tchrist

Even if he is wrong, he deserves an A for effort.

You may be right.

But at least they can be read, and far more easily than many short ones.

user19161

I feel that maybe some of my old questions would be closed as GR if they had been asked by someone else.

user19161

11:50 PM

I like those questions asking about subtle differences in two words.

user19161

Often others want to close them as GR but it is the subtlety that makes it good.

user19161

These cannot really be adequately explained by looking up a D.

tchrist

Which is why usage guides continue to be popular.

I have to shutdown and drive home. Gag. It's more than fifty miles.

But because some of it is town-driving, it will take me more than fifty minutes.

I hate that.

user19161

@tchrist Bye.

tchrist

(Normal highware rate = 1 mile per 1 minute)

Hasta . . . .

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…