English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Cerberus

12:42 AM

@Robusto Congratulations! You're a natural!

Robusto

1:40 AM

@Cerberus What, not the natural?

Cerberus

2:57 AM

@Robusto The natural? I'm afraid I don't follow...

Probably some obscure sense of natural that I am unaware of...

tchrist

I wouldn't take that bet.

Cerberus

Then what bet would you take?

tchrist

None. I no more know what he’s talking about than you do, unless it’s an obscure baseball reference.

Cerberus

3:42 AM

OK thank you.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 "Comparing Xiaomi with other traditional smartphone makers is like comparing Apple with Orange (a mobile network operator)."

This is not a bad comparison at all.

Orange is/was pretty big all over Europe.

Not to mention that it's funny, and it works.

crl

9:09 AM

talking of smartphone, which maker would you advise me? Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei,...?

I need something that reacts well when playing ruzzle, a lot of touch moving

Robusto

12:35 PM

@Cerberus No. More like some sense of the that you don't savvy. The indefinite article implies that I'm one of many; the definite says I am unique in my naturalness.

infinitesimal

1:09 PM

hi pal @Cerberus

Cerberus

@crl All the major manufacturers are fine, and they all get the same parts from China. I would recommend a Moto E or a Moto G, unless you plan to play very heavy 3D games or something.

@Robusto Are you mother nature?

@infinitesimal Greetings!

infinitesimal

@Cerberus how are you?

Cerberus

I'm fine.

How about you?

infinitesimal

Fine thanks.

Cerberus

Good, good.

tchrist

1:26 PM

I woke up to a dusting of snow, and the kitties have insisted on going out and playing in it even though it is still dark.

I doubt they'll go far. It’s deeper than Lorin’s legs

crl

@Cerberus ok thanks for your advice

tchrist

It’s also only 19 degrees, and they still aren't back. Silly snow kitties.

Correction, here they are.

They didn't even wipe their feet at the mat. How uncivilized, considering I'm still barefoot.

crl

I'd be curious to know how cats feel temperature, for example they feel 5°C as 25°C

tchrist

Well...

It’s 67 inside right now and 19 outside. Yes, they have fur that we don't, but they still prefer to be warm than to be cold. They can just put up with it longer than we can.

Plus it's still pitch-black, so there are no crunchable birdses for them to stalk.

crl

I guess they feel like us wearing a neopren wetsuit

tchrist

1:35 PM

Long-haired kitties, having more hair, are more tolerant of cold than short-haired desert kitties.

If it were sunny but especially if there were prey to stalk, the long-haired one would likely stay out there for them.

crl

my parent's cat have specially long hair, they must bring it to someone that cut it

tchrist

The most tolerant are those breeds who have triple coats. They often seem like they could not care less.

So, like a Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat?

I've never heard of shearing kitties like sheep.

Cerberus

@tchrist Cute!

tchrist

My folks' Maine Coon doesn't care if it's cold and snowy.

@Cerberus We got 4-7", depending on where you look.

I was not expecting this.

I don’t think the high-gutter-cleaner is going to show up on Monday.

Lorin finds places to hide under waiting for birds. Deck furniture, big rock overhangs, etc.

However, as I only hang suet feeders now because of this, he is much less successful than when I would hang seed feeders.

Thing is, all our kitties are descended from desert kitties.

Well, I think they are.

Cerberus

@crl If you tell me a little bit more about what you would like in a phone and how much money you would be willing to spend, I could give you more detailed advice.

tchrist

1:43 PM

There may be some interbreeding with other allied wildcats.

> A genetic study in 2007 concluded that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica), having diverged around 8000 BC in West Asia.

So, a myrennium ago.

Cerberus

Why desert?

And why combine Greek and Latin?

You can just say, a myriad ago.

tchrist

@Cerberus Isn’t Libia deserted?

@Cerberus To frustrate East Asians with r/l trouble.

Cerberus

@tchrist Probably not the part where the cats live?

@tchrist How mean.

tchrist

@Cerberus Perhaps that's it. After all, even a recessive long-hair gene would likely have been bred out by Darwinian selection otherwise.

Cerberus

Interesting.

tchrist

1:49 PM

Mom was trying to explain the partial expression of genes to me, so I guess some things aren't just booleans.

A Beautiful Mind

Is your mom a biologist?

crl

@Cerberus Max ~200€, something that reacts well (good screen, and gesture/touch), something thin and light (<130g), not a smartphone for greedy games, I'd just play Ruzzle on it, and a hardware that saves well the battery, both when idle and used for playing (that's what my current one lacks)

tchrist

@Cerberus Just being sirry. Melly Clistmas! I wonder if I can clam any mole into this?

@crl How often do you have to change its litter?

crl

@tchrist each day will be enough, we usually can charge the evening. Currently I charge it more often at home, I even play with the charger on

Cerberus

@crl Okay, what's your current phone?

crl

1:52 PM

Samsung ace 3

Cerberus

Ah, that is a pretty crappy phone.

tchrist

Apparently Felis silvestris has a lot of sspp.

crl

oh lol, I thought it was a middle-class phone

A Beautiful Mind

@crl Are you an ant now?

tchrist

TIL isabelline.

crl

1:55 PM

@ABeautifulMind yes, I love ants, how they build huge disciplined societies

A Beautiful Mind

@crl What is your plan for your future?

tchrist

It’s a color.

crl

@ABeautifulMind find a job

A Beautiful Mind

@crl OK, good luck.

crl

@tchrist It's a bird rather

tchrist

1:56 PM

@crl Apparently they can be.

Isabelline (colour)

Isabelline /ɪzəˈbɛlɪn/, also known as Isabella, is a pale grey-yellow, pale fawn, pale cream-brown or parchment colour. It is primarily found in animal coat colouring, particularly plumage colour in birds and, in Europe, in horses. It also has historically been applied to fashion. The first known record of the word was in 1600 as "Isabella colour"; this use later became interchangeable in literature with "Isabelline" after the latter was introduced into print in 1859. The origin of the word is unclear; the uncertainty prompted by this has generated several attempts to provide an etymology and led...

Cerberus

@crl Well, its hardware kind of is mid range, but people say it was poorly designed by Samsung, including the software.

@crl You might also consider the Xperia E3. Of all phones I can find under €200, I think it has the best battery life.

tchrist

@crl Are you from or in North Africa?

Johan Larsson

@Cerberus :)

crl

@tchrist yes and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelline_wheatear, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelline_shrike

tchrist

Well, that explains it.

crl

1:57 PM

@tchrist no I've French roots

tchrist

> The first recorded use of Isabella as the name of a colour in English was in the year 1600,[2] to describe an item in Elizabeth I of England's wardrobe inventory: "one rounde gowne of Isabella-colour satten [...] set with silver spangles".[3] Isabelline as a derivative term was first used in the journal Ibis in 1859 by Henry Baker Tristram[4] to describe the common colour of the upper plumage in the birds of Northern Africa.

Cerberus

@JohanLarsson Hello! Why are you laughing?

A Beautiful Mind

@crl You must be a plant.

crl

@Cerberus ok noted

Johan Larsson

@Cerberus You were on the phone.

Cerberus

1:58 PM

Not on the phone, but talking about the phone!

tchrist

@crl I’m not sure that that would preclude a North African ubication. :)

Johan Larsson

ok

crl

@ABeautifulMind hehe, let's say French origins then

Cerberus

CRL needed recommendations...

Robusto

@Cerberus I am no mother.

Cerberus

1:59 PM

If you say so.

crl

@tchrist well I've never been in Africa, yet

tchrist

I don’t know that shrike.

Cerberus

@CRL Yet another option: the HTC Desire 510.

tchrist

What’s wrong with a middle-class anything?

Even palmtops.

Smaller coconuts?

crl

@Cerberus What about the LG L BELLO?

Cerberus

2:03 PM

@crl Reviews say the ala HTC Desire 510 has a poor display (barely readable in sunlight and other things) and mediocre camera but is otherwise a good phone.

tchrist

@Robusto Done snowblowing yet? Wanna toss it this way?

Robusto

You need snow?

tchrist

No, I need mine blown away.

I'm just lazy. I should go shovel.

Cerberus

@crl Hmm it seems to get decent reviews. The resolution is very low for a screen that size, though. The battery is meh.

@tchrist Depends.

The Moto G is a decent mid-range phone.

Robusto

@tchrist Shovel? Surely you have a snowblower.

crl

2:10 PM

@Cerberus the battery has a high mAh: 2530mAh I thought this meant long life?

SrJoven

Being accused of pedantry on an English Language Usage site. There should be a badge for that.

Cerberus

@crl Yes, but that is only one factor. The screen size, resolution, software, processor, and other optimalisations are also very important for battery life. You can't know unless someone has actually tested it.

tchrist

@Robusto No, actually.

Cerberus

@SrJoven Congratulations! I hereby award you the Medallion of Pedantic Eminence.

@crl So how important are screen size and resolution to you?

SrJoven

@Cerberus I wish I could correct that.

Robusto

2:12 PM

-1

Q: Do some respected reference works contain real errors (as opposed to contrasting analyses)?

In a recent question (since deleted), CDO (Cambridge Dictionaries Online) is shown to give the following examples for (intercategorial polysemes of) since: since adverb B2 from a particular time in the past until a later time, or until now: Emma went to work in New York a year ago, and we ha...

Surely this belongs on meta?

crl

@Cerberus yes you're right I've compared battery life estimation on a vendor, and the HTC beats the LG

tchrist

@Robusto Good idea.

Robusto

@crl My LG G2 usually goes the better part of a week without recharging. I don't know why I would need better than that under normal circumstances.

crl

wow, you must let it idle a lot too

tchrist

Yes, but he keeps it turned off.

Robusto

2:15 PM

@crl I use it casually. But I get that performance even if I use it a lot. Under extreme usage sometimes it will only last three days.

Cerberus

@crl Yes. But the Xperia E3 beats the HTC. Here is a nice overview of some mid-range phones, halfway down the conclusion of the E3 review: gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_e3-review-1153.php

Robusto

> You can now read 59.6% of all real Spanish text

Cerberus

@Robusto You spent far more than CRL is willing to spend...

tchrist

@Robusto Heh.

crl

@Robusto your LG looks like a good beast, a bit expensive like Cerb said (300€), high-class phone I guess

Robusto

2:17 PM

♪ don't bring around a cloud to rain on my charade ♫

@crl 300€ ain't what it used to be.

tchrist

€300?

Robusto

€300 == $339

Cerberus

@crl The E3 and the Desire 510 have a battery life almost as good as the LG G2 (which Ron and I have): gsmarena.com/battery-test.php3

@Robusto Indeed, which is bad for us civilians, but good for European industry...

Robusto

Ron? Ron?

Mitch

Yes?

Cerberus

2:20 PM

Are you asleep, Ron?

Robusto

You called me Ron.

> almost as good as the LG G2 (which Ron and I have)

Cerberus

Oh haha, whoops.

Just too late to correct it...

Or perhaps Ron has it too.

Robusto

@tchrist: Sometimes I have difficulty hearing the difference between eres and él es. Maybe that's just because it's on computer speakers, though. I dunno.

Cerberus

Frontal r and l are not so far removed from each other.

crl

r and j are quite close too, well not so much after reflexion

Robusto

2:28 PM

I will say I'm rather impressed with duolingo. It exceeds my expectations.

tchrist

@Robusto Too much Japanese.

Robusto

Mebbe.

When do you use jamás over nunca?

tchrist

The tap-r should be the sound of here kitty kitty kitty

@Robusto Is that a straight line? :)

Robusto

Nah, DL translates them both as never.

infinitesimal

two and a half more hours til the pregame starts :D

Johan Larsson

2:31 PM

[x] Merge conflict with myself. #TFS

tchrist

@Robusto Use jamás when you want a stronger version.

Robusto

@infinitesimal You watch the pregame?

@tchrist Thanks.

infinitesimal

of course

Robusto

Kind of like when I would use never ever?

tchrist

Well that’s nunca jamás — and it must be in that order.

Johan Larsson

2:33 PM

In Sweden there is plenty of data that you cannot be successful in school if you are male and have a name that ends with y {Jonny, Ronny, Tommy, ...}

There is | are

crl

never say never => nunca dices jamas

Robusto

@tchrist I guess we don't have anything comparable in English. Never means never.

> You can now read 59.7% of all real Spanish text

Johan Larsson

@Robusto Maybe never ever & just never?

not as elegant

infinitesimal

Cerberus

@JohanLarsson But those are probably lower-class names, aren't they? Just as in Holland.

tchrist

2:36 PM

Sometimes jamás can mean ever, when it’s used for negative concordance.

Robusto

@JohanLarsson There's a direct translation of never ever. Scroll up.

@JohanLarsson Jimmy Carter? Billy Bean? Mickey Mantle?

Johan Larsson

@Cerberus could be

tchrist

You can say casi nunca, but I don’t know that casi jamás makes any sense at all.

Where casi nunca is “almost never” or “hardly ever”.

Robusto

Yeah, I got it.

So, two flavors of never. One that means never, and one that doesn't.

tchrist

Mostly they are interchangeable, but not quite.

Johan Larsson

2:42 PM

Never is probably misused a large %. Never is a long time.

Robusto

Is there any syntactical difference? Like, does one never go before some words or parts of speech perhaps?

@JohanLarsson Well, I never!

infinitesimal

reminds me of different orders of infinity ...

tchrist

@Robusto I keep thinking there might be, but honestly the only one that comes to mind is that to combine them, you must only use nunca jamás, not vice versa. They both mean "never" or "ever", but jamás is stronger.

Nunca digas nunca jamás

Nunca digas nunca jamás (título en inglés: Never Say Never Again) es una versión cinematográfica de la novela publicada en 1961 Operación Trueno (Thunderball), que previamente había sido adaptada en 1965 bajo el mismo nombre. A diferencia de la mayoría de las películas de James Bond, Nunca digas nunca jamás no fue producido por Eon Productions, sino por una productora independiente, uno de cuyos miembros fue Kevin McClory, uno de los escritores originales de la historia de Operación Trueno con Ian Fleming y Jack Whittingham. McClory retuvo los derechos de filmación de la novela tras una larga batalla...

Robusto

So . . . Mi novia nunca bebe cerveza could equally well be rendered as Mi novia jamás bebe cerveza?

tchrist

@Robusto I kinda like jamás at the end: Mi novia no bebe cerveza jamás.

Robusto

2:46 PM

OK, good observation. That's what I'm looking for.

BTW, it isn't until you're looking at foreign languages that you see the logical inconsistencies of English. Why, for example, do we say "Are you there?" when we really mean "Are you here?"

tchrist

“Nunca digas eso, macho.” “De acuerdo, no lo diré jamás.”

crl

adieu, à jamais => goodbye, forever => adios para siempre

Robusto

So much Spanish cognates with so much French.

tchrist

I think that the French adieu is a bit more final than the Spanish cognate.

You would say "Hasta nunca" not "Hasta jamás". I have no idea why.

crl

right

tchrist

2:55 PM

You could ask this on the Spanish Language site. It seems never to have been asked there before.

Robusto

@tchrist I have been sharpening my ear, and I'm now hearing z as s in words like quizá, &c.

tchrist

Good. There can be no /z/ in quizá, only /θ/ or /s/.

But the varieties of both are many. Only in American Spanish and American English does the sound of s come out identically.

So for saying an s sound, a Mexican speaking Spanish does the same thing with his mouth as a Canadian does in English or French.

Outside of North America, it is not always an exact match.

Robusto

OK, I asked it there.

0

Q: What is the difference, if any, between *nunca* and *jamás*?

Friends tell me there is a subtle difference between the two, and that jamás is a little stronger, a little more definitive a statement than nunca. Are there any other differences? Places where you'd use one and not the other?

definiciones

tchrist

Good!

Robusto

Feel free to switch the tags.

crl

2:59 PM

and nunca is to jamas what siempre is to ... ?

tchrist

Well, you can say siempre jamás. It’s not all that common but it’s certainly possible and does occur.

Forevermore.

Or forever after.

Robusto

How would they translate The Neverending Story?

tchrist

Una historia sin fin, o una que es interminable.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto Why *?

tchrist

> La locución adverbial 'siempre jamás' aparece recogida en el Diccionario de la lengua española (2001) con el significado de siempre, en sentido reforzado: ej. ambos se juraron fidelidad, el uno al otro, por siempre jamás, sin importar peligros o dificultades.

> Con este sentido lo más usual es que dicha locución adverbial aparezca precedida por la preposición 'por', tal como aparece registrada en el Diccionario de uso del español de América y España (Vox, 2003): por siempre jamás. loc. adv. En cualquier momento del tiempo, sin interrupción, desde el momento del cual se habla en adelante: ej. te querré por siempre jamás.

Robusto

3:04 PM

@JohanLarsson Why not?

Johan Larsson

Does not look good imo.

tchrist

So jamás is making siempre more emphatic there.

For ever and ever.

Robusto

@JohanLarsson Because?

tchrist

But *siempre nunca makes no sense whatsoever.

@Robusto He wants to know why you didn’t use “quotes” in the title.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto because my sense of aesthetics reacts that way.

tchrist

3:07 PM

> Por otra parte, en este diccionario aparece la locución adverbial 'hasta siempre' con la siguiente acepción: hasta siempre. loc. adv. Expresión que se utiliza para despedirse de alguien al que no se piensa volver a ver en un plazo largo de tiempo pero al que se espera tener presente: ej. ¡buen viaje de regreso a tu país y hasta siempre! (Depto. de Lingüística, ILL)

Johan Larsson

If it is a convention it is fine of course. Convention > preference every time.

Robusto

@JohanLarsson Para tú . . .

1

Q: What is the difference, if any, between "nunca" and "jamás"?

Friends tell me there is a subtle difference between the two, and that jamás is a little stronger, a little more definitive a statement than nunca. Are there any other differences? Places where you'd use one and not the other?

definiciones

I forgot that they don't use markdown in titles.

tchrist

@Robusto Wait till you get to coming and going. If somebody says "Ven aquí" (come here) to you in Spanish, you must respond with Voy, never with Vengo, which makes no sense to them.

And you pronounce it homophonously with English Boy.

Since it is in utterance-initial/emphatic position.

Robusto

Hmm.

tchrist

Whereas in No voy, because it is now intervocalic, it’s that bilabial approximate that does not occur in English.

@Robusto The way to remember those is that coming matches with from, but going with to.

Bring/take.

Robusto

3:12 PM

OK.

tchrist

Vengo de Chicago, pero voy a París.

Robusto

I'm a lot farther along than I expected to be in < 2 weeks. Pretty long way to go, of course, but I feel like I'm making good progress.

tchrist

Spanish is not hard.

And you’re used to this.

You’ve also spent a lifetime hearing it on the fringes.

8

Q: Are there any words that have opposite regional meanings?

Following in the footsteps of EL&U, are there any words that have opposite meanings in different Spanish-speaking regions? We are looking for words that are the same, but have different meanings in different dialects, and not words which are different between the two dialects.

diferencias-regionales vocabulario

Like English, apart from pronouns, Spanish has no cases to confuse you.

And the way we express aspects is often in quite the same fashion.

Robusto

@tchrist One thing I can't seem to remember is that it's mi hermana, not mia hermana. I expect gender agreement there, but there isn't any.

tchrist

Mía is a tonic pronoun, so must be postpositive. Hermana mía, ¿en que piensas?

Una amiga mía. Una de mis amigas. Una de la mías.

The comes-in-front form is shorter. I think is actually the fault of Latin. Mi fili is something of an exception for vocatives.

Quick: How many syllables in Mi hijo?

Robusto

3:20 PM

@tchrist But it doesn't have to be postpositive in Mi hermana es una niña pequeña.

tchrist

@Robusto Right. Postpositive is the emphatic position.

Whenever you have a choice of ordering in Spanish — and you have more choices for that than you do in English — there will be a normal ordering and an emphatic ordering.

Un gran amigo != Un amigo grande

Notice the postpositive form is not apocopated.

Robusto

So Mi hermana es una pequeña niña is not as emphatic as Mi hermana es una niña pequeña?

tchrist

This happens with a few words. Not many.

@Robusto No, a prefix adjective is weaker.

Robusto

I edited. See above.

tchrist

Yes.

Mi bonita esposa is your pretty wife, but mi esposa bonita is your pretty wife — suggesting polygamy.

Robusto

3:24 PM

Hah.

I kind of like that way of emphasis.

tchrist

Most adjectives in Spanish come after the nouns, but the common ones come before. It’s just like French in this regard.

Robusto

How do I tell the common ones from the uncommon?

tchrist

Un viejo amigo is an old friend of yours, but un amigo viejo is a friend of yours who is old.

@Robusto You see the common ones more often. :)

Robusto

Noted.

0

A: What is the difference, if any, between "nunca" and "jamás"?

"jamas" is a subtle slang synonym of "nunca". Look up the English translation for both words to see their definitions and in what contexts they're used.

tchrist

There’s some mnemonic for remembering the ones that come first from French, but of course, I forget it. If you can dig it up, it applies to Spanish as well.

Robusto

3:26 PM

First response.

tchrist

Idiot.

Robusto

Does he not suspect that I know what the words mean?

tchrist

Wait for native speakers.

Good, bad, young, old, new.

And of course, the possessive determiners.

There are more. I can’t enumerate them. They just come to me.

dcorking

are the Scots languages / dialects (I mean those descended from Anglo-Saxon) on topic here?

tchrist

@dcorking You can try. :)

dcorking

3:30 PM

@tchrist OK - I shall.

tchrist

@Robusto Colors that are normal. You would say la blanca nieva because it is always white. If you say la nieve negra it would be exceptional.

Or amarilla. :)

Robusto

ok

tchrist

It’s a descriptive/restrictive thing for the common adjectives.

For a lot of things, it’s been too long since I learned any rules to remember them as rules per se. I just fit things together, obedient to something I am unaware of.

The wife example is a really good illustration though.

Bueno also apocopates to buen used in front of the noun.

So do primero and tercero and grande.

Well, they lose their ends and become monosyllabic.

Apocopate = make it poco :)

crl

pequeña niña

tchrist

Yes.

> Los comportamientos de los adjetivos en lo referente a su posición respecto del sustantivo no siguen una fórmula fija. En esta cuestión “no se trata de leyes, sino de tendencias”, como dice Gili Gaya (1970: 216); la inmensa mayoría de los adjetivos del español son susceptibles de ser colocados antes o después del sustantivo al que sirvan de adjunto.

Oh good. I didn’t forget a rule: there are no rules, only tendencies. :)

> «Se advierte una oposición entre las lenguas germánicas, que anteponen normalmente el adjetivo, y las lenguas románicas, que tienden a posponerlo, pero permitiendo una gran libertad en esta colocación.
El francés ocupa una posición intermedia. Por una parte ha fijado en una gran mayoría de casos el lugar de los adjetivos, con clara tendencia a posponerlos; en otros varía grandemente el significado de éstos al cambiarlos de posición: neuf, nouveau, mientras que en número más restringido de ocasiones, y casi siempre con fines literarios o de expresión afectiva, permite una cierta libertad e…

> En español, como en portugués y en italiano, es más libre, aunque no caprichosa

Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian are freer in this regard than French is.

However, it’s not random.

It’s a good article. I bet you can read 59.7% of it. :)

crl

3:41 PM

la rose rouge = la rosa roja = the red rose

tchrist

Ou bien la rose rose. :)

¡Adoro las rosas rojas!

crl

oh coincidence, I didn't see your "rose rose" before typing it

infinitesimal

i dispute your use of "="

tchrist

As a color rosa mean pink.

infinitesimal

do they have the same "value"?

crl

3:43 PM

@infinitesimal they are isomorphic

dcorking

@tchrist I added some Dictionary of the Scots Language info to my answer about aught / owt :

9

A: Has "aught" survived in common usage?

Yes, it survived, but it is commonly spelled owt. The original spelling of aught is archaic, (Dictionaries: Oxford, Chambers) as is the meaning of "zero" (derived from nought, and alternatively spelled ought.) (Oxford dictionary: aught-2. Not in Chambers) This archaic meaning is used when naming...

tchrist

@dcorking Oh, I misunderstood what you meant about topicality. Certainly that is fine.

infinitesimal

3:54 PM

hi @Mitch

Mitch

A poco pate

Hi!

infinitesimal

@Mitch how are you?

tchrist

@Mitch Toupée.

Mitch

:D

I am doing swimmingly

Johan Larsson

@tchrist how many % Espagnol do you have?

Mitch

3:57 PM

But not swimming. Too cold and you get all wet

infinitesimal

:D

crl

@JohanLarsson Tiene cien!

infinitesimal

there's an (virtual?) ant crawling around on my screen :-)

crl

crash it :D

infinitesimal

i keep trying, but it disappears and then reappears

tchrist

4:07 PM

@JohanLarsson Most. I don’t know how to measure it.

@crl Good for you for remembering under word that apocopates!

@infinitesimal Formicating.

Kerning beware.

infinitesimal

urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Formicating

wtf?

tchrist

@JohanLarsson So for example, in the previously mentioned article, there is no word, inflection, idiom, or way of phrasing things that was unfamiliar to me. That doesn’t mean I know everything, but I knew everything written there, including why and how it was written that way.

That’s not the same as being certifiable as a simultaneous speech translator, either.

That’s a different skill.

It’s actually quite hard to think in two languages at once.

infinitesimal

and sometimes in one language

tchrist

heh

Johan Larsson

@tchrist Ask Ron. YourEspagnol / AllEspagnol

crl

4:19 PM

He certainly don't know all Spanish vocabulary, but probably as much as a typical Spanish

SrJoven

4:49 PM

I may be hyper sensitive to things here. I am not trying to look like a stalker or one with a vendetta, but what should be done about answers consistently posted by the same user as answers masquerading as comments and feeling but not. really. answers.?

Johan Larsson

Move on is my choice. I guess post a better answer or downvote are options.

tchrist

Is it a comment?

Johan Larsson

Or just Tom it. :)

SrJoven

The answers are on the order of "I don't really know how to answer your question. I doubt anyone can."

tchrist

Oh those ones.

You can downvote it. You can even flag it as not an answer.

But if you comment on it, you will just draw yourself into an unproductive argument.

By definition, no answer begins "This is not an answer".

The thing is, there are some questions that have no answer.

So an answer to those should begin "The answer to your question is that no, there is no...." or something like that.

And yes, he annoys me, too.

SrJoven

4:55 PM

@tchrist I agree with this. But I feel that "I don't know how to answer this and I don't think anyone can." is as valid a comment as an answer. But I'd rather see this presented as authoritative rather than use of "I" in the answer.

Johan Larsson

How often are you annoyed on the internet?

SrJoven

@JohanLarsson I have a dedicated IP address to be annoyed.

tchrist

@JohanLarsson Every time some asshole takes pot-shots at me.

Other times, not so much.

Johan Larsson

did I just take a pot-shot?

tchrist

I think not.

Johan Larsson