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10:00 - 23:0023:00 - 00:00

10:52
292 visits!!!
Hi folks!
@OtavioMacedo Uhm, so another version was created in US?
Hello @DavidWallace
Yay!
@DavidWallace You're up late!
Are you back to normal time?
Tonight's the night!
11:02
No, wait, that's probably tonight.
Jinx.
So it's midnight now, and in three hours, it will be 2am.
So one less hour of sleep.
I think one hour more. Assuming I spend it sleeping, of course.
My condolences. I know what it's like.
Huh, wait.
Ack I am too tired to think.
You get one less; I get one more. It's because you're on the wrong side of the world.
11:04
Ahhh of course.
That makes sense, southern hemisphere.
I was only considering time zones.
I guess we have nothing in common.
Of course, you make up for it by getting a longer summer.
Except that, if a small, very heavy comet should pierce through the earth at 90 degrees impact, we are in the same boat.
Pierce through? My Englishes are being failinged.
What's wrong with "pierce through"? Sounds grammatical to me, if the context is right.
Hmm.
I would rather say "pierce the earth".
Or "go through".
Sounds like a bit of a contamination. But then I am a purist.
11:10
@Alenanno Thanks!
But nothing on the NOAD... weird. Maybe it's more BrE?
@Cerberus You're welcome! :P
But hmm you see, that dictionary is pretty descriptive. It doesn't help much with style.
You're a three-headed dog. You're really concerned about style? :D Who cares, you can destroy everything and drag people to Hell! lol :P
But I must drag them in style!
You as an Italian must understand.
On a more serious note... This discussion made me think about "tear through" but well...
11:12
Oh, I didn't even see that you'd used the offending phrase. My reading ability is failing. Yeah, in your context, just leave out the "through". But I guess you knew that already.
@Cerberus ahah, yeah, I realized the problem in my post. :P
@DavidWallace Ah so at least my back-up brain correctly registered the irregularity.
But offending? Isn't that a bit strong?
@Alenanno Haha good.
I suppose when you have three brains, it's not unusual for one of them to make a mistake.
True.
The others should repair the damage.
Ninety degrees to what? You mean you want it to strike the equator, somewhere close to either India or Peru?
11:20
@DavidWallace To the surface.
A comet can strike at any angle, theoretically.
Oh, OK, so straight down.
Yup.
Get it now?
Do you know how incredibly unlikely that is? You and I must have more in common than being equally affected by such a not-going-to-happen event.
It is a start.
 
5 hours later…
16:35
0
Q: In cultures where genders speak different languages, how do genders quote each other?

diN0botIn some cultures, females and males speak different languages*. When retelling, for example, what a man said, would a female say it in the male language or translate it into the female language? Would a male do the same when retelling what a female said? Would behavior change depending on wh...

 
3 hours later…
19:46
I've found I never need to look for trouble. It always seems to know exactly where I am.
What happened, @Gigili?
The friend you sent a present to came on to you?
Ö
+10.
You predicted it yourself.
And I don't know what the ö is supposed to mean...
Really?
It's supposed to be a surprised emoticon.
19:53
Oh.
I am notoriously bad at smileys.
I don't do them, and I don't understand them.
You say I don't do them like it's an organized crime.
Almost.
Against humanity?
Yup. And literacy.
Surely it's not against literacy, as you cannot the expression on my face, I have to represent it somehow.
I'm just helping you, please don't call the police.
20:10
I can tell the expression on your face without looking at it.
20:45
So what do you want to do about your German?
Ehmm nothing in particular? Just reading?
1
Q: Serious Question

Montague WithnailI'm out to dinner with a japanese chick and its going pretty goo but when I said 'chin chin' she kind of made a weird face. Then I remembered my mate dave from school told me one time that that meant penis in japanese. Is this true ?

Yes, it was a serious question.
Alas, he didn't get it.
Uh no, I'm afraid I don't get it.
I asked for advice and
they told me:
tomorrow is April 1st
the questions is titled "SERIOUS question"...
20:56
And it's already April 1st in Japan
Yep. I will delete it later.
Yes, I was about to say that. ^
Heh, yes, probably April's Fool.
How are you guys and girls? :P
Should I flag it for your attention Ale?
21:08
Flag what? The question?
I am considering whether I should try a 1-4 joke again this year.
1-4 joke?
@Alenanno The comment.
@Gigili Oh no, don't worry. It's ok. :) Thanks.
No emoticons in this chat
21:09
LoL? Why?
@Cerberus What did you do last year?
@Alenanno You can see that removed message, right?
How does it look like? Like other messages or something like: a message (removed)
@Gigili Normally I see the (removed) but in the history I see what you wrote, yes. :)
Sounds exciting.
Sometimes, yes. :D
21:13
@Alenanno April 1.
2
Q: Why do so many people use a preposition with which to end a sentence?

Cerberus Possible Duplicate: When is it okay to end a sentence in a preposition? I see it a lot, even though my elementary teacher told me it is wrong. This is probably a new development, a sign that our language is in decay. Soon none of us will be able to understand each other. But this slopp...

That looks like a good question, though.
Thanks!
I did my best to phrase it in reasonable terms.
Like this:
> Should all existing literature be corrected and republished as well, the old editions burned?
Even with that, some people didn't get it rolls eyes.
Notably Robusto.
Just because it lacks an emoticon.
21:21
I tried to include every item that people always complain about on ELU: duplicates, peeving, NARQ...
@Gigili Just because they are stupid.
If you think an experienced user you have chatted with every day for months would post a question like that, you're nuts.
2
But you posted it, after all.
And...
@Cerberus Well that backfired didn't it.
Notobly Robusto backfired?
@Cerberus Bonus star for insulting Robust 0.
21:25
Hah.
Hey, watch your tongue, I like him.
He's just stupid sometimes.
Hmm, I dislike him, but he actually seems quite intelligent.
and I mean that the April Fools' prank backfired, not Robust 0 himself.
Why?
People falling for it was even better than I could have hoped for.
@Cerberus Nothing special. I just want to start learning again, wanted to know if you want to do it as well.
Wait, 3 "want"s in one sentence, pft-y tss.
@Gigili Hmm well, I don't plan on learning to speak it actively, because that is no fun. But reading is fun and actually more useful for me.
Aha, okay then.
21:32
@Cerberus Speak... what?
@Alenanno German.
Oh I re-took it from the start some days ago.
@Alenanno Where is the start of German?
@Alenanno Why from the beginning?
And how?
@DavidWallace Is that a joke or an actual question? :P
21:34
@Gigili - does it have to be German, or will any language that you don't already speak fulfil your need for learning?
@Gigili Alphabet, articles, etc
@Alenanno And when he's done alphabet, articles, etc; then he moves on to concepts beginning with B.
@DavidWallace Errr, nope. :P
It has to be German, because I'll be there again.
just for a holiday, or long term?
21:36
I find just reading a novel quite an efficient way of learning a language passively, and it is fun.
Reading is no fun for me..
@DavidWallace A preparation for a long term or something like that.
Languages should be learned for art and science!
where in Germany?
@Gigili Why not?
<--teutophile
21:37
@Cerberus Not so passively, as you have to look words up in a dictionary
@kaleissin I think Germanophile is better...
one day I'll start reading that thiiick Perry Rhodan again, one day...
@kaleissin Procrastinating, eh? :D
@OtavioMacedo I mean in order to have passive skill (reading, listening) in the language, as opposed to active (writing, speaking).
21:39
it's not the page-turner that my very first sf book in English was :)
Active skill is more useful, at least in my case.
@Cerberus Because of what Otavio said.
Both skills are useful. :P
@Alenanno Sure. And reading helps for actively using a language as well, but less so.
@Gigili How do you mean?
@Cerberus Reading does help. If you don't read, learning is slower, I think.
Reading is no fun because Otavio said something?
21:42
@Cerberus I need to look up many words which makes it more exhausting than fun.
@Gigili Oh that's why. But the more you read, the less you'll need to look up. :P
@Alenanno Yeah, though writing and speaking can help too.
With German, if you don't try to speak it, you'll never remember genders and plurals.
@Cerberus Yes yes. I mean, in class they make students read stuff. That helps building up the vocabulary.
@Gigili Oh, that, yes. Well, then you should read a book suitable for your level. I put away a French book that was too difficult not long ago. But don't give up too soon: after 50 pages or so, it usually gets easier, as you learn more words and you get used to the typical vocabulary the writer uses.
@Alenanno Absolutely!
@DavidWallace Naaah.
21:44
Although I do know a man who lived in Germany for a while, and just said "duh" for every form of "the". People understood him just fine.
I was starting to read a book in French but stopped after two pages. Not because french was difficult, but because the book was already boring. XD
Heh.
Then pick up another book!
The book has to be good.
It has to be of a genre/style that you like.
I found the cases more difficult than genders.
Is now a good time for me to teach my son to read in his first language? Given that he already reads very fluently in his second language.
How so?
21:46
This one was a sort of detective thing. But it was boring... Maybe I read it the wrong time.
@Gigili Really? But German only has four cases.
Maigret?
@DavidWallace Ask on Parenting SE :D
I like Maigret.
@Alenanno Good idea. Thanks, I might just do that.
21:47
In fact detective stories are the best genre for me if I don't know the language well.
@DavidWallace How come he learned to read in his second language first?
@Cerberus They are interesting yes. But this one was not interesting at the time.
@OtavioMacedo I was wondering that too.
@OtavioMacedo because he has only ever been to school in a country where his second language is spoken.
@DavidWallace Which languages are these, and how old is he?
@Alenanno Then throw it in the trash and find a better book!
@Cerberus Bosnian, English, 10.
21:48
Ah I see.
And his second language is English?
Sure, let him read Bosnian if he likes.
@DavidWallace That's what I do when I'm in Germany, real simplified :)
But the point is, he needs someone to teach him to read Bosnian. If I just put a Bosnian book in front of him, he won't understand it.
can't think of the gender when it's hard enough to remember the word :)
Is your wife a Bosnian beauty?
@Kale: You might want to fix the spelling of your starred line!
Ah.
My wife?
21:51
hehe
@Cerberus Umm, I like to think so.
Good.
@Gigili I don't think he was talking to you, somehow.
Why can't she teach him?
@DavidWallace try to find childrens boosk then, or a comic in Bosnian?
21:53
An excellent question, for which I have no good answer.
Do any of you use Spotify?
We have some children's books, but he's past the age of being interested in Cinderella and Winnie the Pooh; and not yet capable of reading anything more substantial.
hm, Bosnian is written with the latin alphabet right? then you can tell him that English spelling sucks black holes throug straws and that any other language is easier to read :)
@DavidWallace He always talks to me.
I could borrow some comics from my nephew.
@kaleissin I could do that, yes. Then what?
21:55
if he's at midlle or above intelligence he should be able to work it out for himself. letter -> sound, letters -> word
@Gigili Yeah, he must like you or something :-)
the worst mapping from letter to sound i've ever seen is english
@DavidWallace No no, as in he dislikes me somehow.
ask him to read out loud to you and his mum
21:57
no Bosnian grandparents about is there? he could read for them too
And we call the story "hugh" in Persian.
@Gigili with that author it sounds like a translation from English
@kaleissin Good idea. And no, both Bosnian grandparents have passed away.
I recommend:
It's a children's book but plenty interesting enough for an adult
and the descriptions of pre-WWII Berlin are fascinating
I think it was illegal during the WWII because the children in it weren't blindly obeyong parents and other authrity
but I'm scared as to how extremely obedient they actually are in that book
fascinating cultural perspective
I wonder if there is something like Emil.. in Bosnian?
learn language and history in one go?
@kaleissin but he has two Bosnian aunts and one Bosnian uncle here in New Zealand.
One problem is that he doesn't understand the grammar; so written words, especially declined or conjugated ones, won't always make sense to him, even if he knows the nominative (of nouns or adjectives) or present indicative (of verbs).
22:05
@kaleissin I like the cover.
The yellow reminds me of Curious George.
books like Emil.. are handy because they have been translated out the wazoo. I have a good Norwegian edition with the same paging and can follow the story paralelly in two languages :)
maybe i should get more translations of it
might improve my French :)
Sounds like a great way, I'd try it.
Ah! See until you posted the French version, I didn't realise that "die Detektive" was a plural. I was thinking feminine singular because of the "die"; and I didn't stop to wonder whether a feminine word for "detective" might be unconventional.
22:15
Yes, German is cool like that.
here it is in English:
Yes, like just having a heavily-overloaded 3-feminine-singular / 3-plural / 2-polite pronoun wasn't enough for them!
According to WikiP, it's been translated into over 59 languages. Maybe I can get it in Bosnian for my son.
is there an amazon for Bosnian? I wish there was one for scandinavian languages
can hardly get ebooks in Norwegian at all
(the publishers are being <censored> little <censored>)
Why?
@kaleissin There doesn't appear to be a Bosnian Amazon.
@DavidWallace woohoo!
@Alenanno Norw. big publishers are a cartel. They also own the printers, the bookstore chains, the press, the book clubs and a lot of other mass media
and books cost about 300NOK new, even in paperback
bookstores are not allowed to set the prices themselves
That's not very cheap...
40 € for a book is not cheap at all.
so funnily enough, ppl that read a lot buy English books
and if you want to read ebooks, you get to choose between English and Swedish (Sweden does not have a cartel)
22:26
It's very similar to Norwegian, at least... :D
the kicker is, of course: the cartel is allowed to continue because it supposedly protects the Norwegian language and supports culture... and ppl read English instead because of prices and availability...
they're lobbying to make the cartel law now :)
@kaleissin there's always an excuse like that
As in "protecting the national industry"
Even though some national products are more expensive and of lower quality than the imported ones
2
Q: False-belief verbs

Dan VellemanSome languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese, have a dedicated belief verb that one uses for describing false beliefs. For instance, in Mandarin, yiwei is used to describe beliefs that the speaker wants to emphasize are false; xiang is a neutral belief verb, like English 'think' and 'believe...

22:41
@kaleissin but surely someone like you, who feels strongly about this, can organise an opposing lobby?
I'd like to set the first letter of my name as avatar but it wouldn't make sense as it's not "G". Let's cry.
And then you'd get everybody asking - why is your avatar a T? (I just picked a letter randomly), and eventually, you'd get annoyed with it, and change it back.
You read my mind.
@Gigili Just put the Farsi letter.
Next, I'll be finishing your sentences.
22:47
@Alenanno I have one ready, that's why I wanted to do it. Unfortunately it's the English letter.
@Gigili What do you mean?
They'll ask what does it mean in that case.
Thou thought this through thoroughly.
@Gigili :P c'mon, just put it! :D Although I like this one. Not sure about the letter. I'll know when I see it.
And now that you've explained HERE that that's what it is, if you do make your avatar a T (or whatever), everyone will know what letter your name begins with.
22:49
@Alenanno I made the first letter of my name with m&ms.
Why don't you just make it a G, for Gigili?
@Gigili I would have eaten them.
@Gigili What is the first letter of your real name?
@DavidWallace Because I like my name better than the nonsense Gigili?
Then why don't you use it here?
Because it makes me feel unsafe or something like that. I felt so when I set my whole face as avatar.
@Alenanno Guess and win a prize.
22:51
@Gigili I really liked your whole face!
I didn't see your whole face!!! :(
@Alenanno You missed it! She's beautiful!
@OtavioMacedo Thank you.
Do you mean that sideways one that was most of your face?
Eh thank you Otavio.
22:52
Or did you do a genuine full face (that I also sadly missed)?
@OtavioMacedo That is easily understandable from her current avatar. :D
@DavidWallace The latter, I guess.
Which one? XD
@Gigili I'm sad now. I would have liked to see your face.
@Alenanno Z, ز
22:55
Ah, good, I can stop saying T.
@Gigili :D the sound is [z]?
@DavidWallace Huh.
@Alenanno Yes.
@Gigili - there's a woman I used to work with who has the same first name as you (although in English, she spells it slightly differently). So I guess I knew how to pronounce it.
OK, I'm off to play with my son for a wee while. BBL.
@DavidWallace Try this: forvo.com
Have fun.
10:00 - 23:0023:00 - 00:00

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