Language Overflow

Anonymous

02:32

German is such a cool sounding language.

Anonymous

02:44

Have you ever started learning a language just because you like the sounds of the language?

Mick

Yeah! mixer, snifter, decanter, oak-aged. All lovely words.

mike

of course

I'd argue that, other than pure necessity, that's why many people learn a language

people generally don't study German because they like how it sounds :)

it sounds quite harsh to many people's ears

Stack Exchange

03:22

0

Q: How to log my account into the mobile app?

I scrolled down the page and noticed that you have an available app for mobile's users. I decided to download it so that I'd be able to check my answers and also to answer some questions through my mobile. However, as soon as I download the app, I tried to log in my account, only to realize that ...

feature-request

yubraj sharma

06:08

Hello to All !

Which one isn't correct- Hi/Hello to All , Hi/Hello to everyone, Hi/Hello Everyone, Hello/Hi Everyone

mike

none of them are wrong

:)

yubraj sharma

Oh

mike

there are levels of formality and usage, I suppose

yubraj sharma

It means 'To' doesn't affect the meaning here.

mike

Personally I just say 'Hey everyone' or 'hey all' :)

yubraj sharma

06:14

What if we used "To" there ?

mike

there's nothing wrong with it

it just sounds slightly unnatural to me

yubraj sharma

But It's not wrong either ! Right?

mike

I don't think so, no

there's no grammatical rule to say it's wrong

yubraj sharma

But some people say "Hello there !" , why 'there' is necessary here ?

Hi there !

Mick

@yubrajsharma “Hi there!” — What does this 'there' mean?

mike

06:19

Hello (over) there would be my guess

yubraj sharma

Oh !!! I didn't catch that what you said!

'There' means -over there ?

mike

I would presume so

yubraj sharma

In which situation "Hi there' is said ?

Instead of 'Hi everyone.'

mike

I would say hi there to a single individual

but fro a group, hi there and hi everyone is completely interchangeable

Mick

06:35

Once you get away from the formality of "Good morning," etc, you can be as creative as you like with greetings: "Well, how-de-doody-do!"

mike

G'day

:)

Mick

How do?
:)

yubraj sharma

"Hi there" for both an individual and groups. Right ?

Mick

I don't see why not. I'm trying to think if I greet groups of friends in that way. I probably don't, but I don't see why you shouldn't.

mike

I'd often walk into the pub or a coffee shop and say 'hey there' to a group of friends

Mick

06:42

Actually, one of my friends always says that when he turns up for meetings.

yubraj sharma

It means it very informal. Isn't it ?

What if I said "Hi there" to my teacher ?

Mick

How does your teacher address you? That should tell you how he expects to be addressed.

yubraj sharma

Teachers are often addressed by students. Only after that he replies. I would say "Good morning, Good afternoon sir to a teacher. And he replies the same.

Mick

These are all social conventions. The best thing is to copy what others do and say.

yubraj sharma

So do I think to be followed.

"To be followed" or "To follow" is correct here ?

Mick

06:56

If you want to experiment, that's up to you. You could try "Hi there, Mr Sharma," and see what happens. You may get a smile or a frosty look. Who can say?

"To be followed" means that other people follow you.

Damkerng T.

07:45

@mike The sound of German makes me think of "practical" or perhaps "utilitarian". :-)

mike

definitely utilitarian

everything sounds like it's trying to kill you

Damkerng T.

Hehe! That's not what I meant, though. :-)

mike

it's true

I studied German in school, and my ex was German

even 'I love you' in German sounds like a form of torture

Damkerng T.

Haha!

That made me think of Cantonese!

mike

I do love how they combine words into one lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng word though

Damkerng T.

07:48

I love you in Cantonese somehow sounds rather weird to me!

Perhaps all syllables are typically pronounced in the low tone.

mike

With German, it's due to the fact that it is a very guttural language, I think

Damkerng T.

@mike Fortunately, technical terms in German papers are not difficult to be spotted.

@mike Oh! I've never pronounced that special "k" sound right!

I gave them a good laugh every time! :D

mike

yes, it can be hard to master

I much preferred French

though German is more familiar to English speakers

Damkerng T.

nods -- I like the sound of French, too.

A bit like Elvish.

mike

hmmm - maybe!

Damkerng T.

07:53

Have you ever seen The Triplets of Belleville?

I think French-ness shines through even in French animations.

Belleville Rendez-Vous(french version)

►

I really like how the waiter moves! :-)

mike

I'll take a look (slow internet here)

Damkerng T.

Aww

mike

it's annoying, but you get used to it

Damkerng T.

If it's not too intruding, what is the speed of your connection at the moment?

I hope it's at least 2Mbps.

mike

hahahahahaahha

there isn't a 2Mbps connection in this entire country

closer to 200kbps

300kbps on a good day

Damkerng T.

07:58

Hah!

mike

I save my downloading for when I'm in BKK

Damkerng T.

Surfing the web over there must be a little bit tough.

mike

yeah, it can be pretty painful

but I chose to be here

Damkerng T.

nods

It's strange that just some years ago, I still had to buy 56Kbps package refills regularly.

I suppose YouTube changed everything, and now streaming is (almost) everywhere.

mike

It depends on the country, and the existing infrastructure

here, there wasn't really an infrastructure to begin with

there's nothing to build on

Damkerng T.

08:04

@mike It's strong evidence that we don't need to have a high-speed internet connection!

mike

need, no

but there are times when it would be a distinct benefit

Damkerng T.

True, that

mike

plus, nobody will invest here, if there isn't an infrastructure to work with

Damkerng T.

Let's have this one as our word of the day ...

Word of the Day: Arcadian

Pandya

08:52

New Year's Eve

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve (also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries), the last day of the year, is on December 31 which is six days after Christmas. Samoa and parts of Kiribati are the first places to welcome the New Year while American Samoa and Baker Island in the United States, are among the last. == North America == === Canada === New Year traditions and celebrations in Canada vary regionally. New Year's Eve (also called New Year's Eve Day or Veille du Jour de l'An in French) is generally a social holiday. In many cities, such as Toront...

@DamkerngT. Happy ^^ /cc @snailplane @MaulikV.

Damkerng T.

@Pandya Happy New Year's Eve!

Interesting! At the age of about is fine, too!

And that reminds me that I haven't implemented the !!ngram command!

Anonymous

HNYE! :-)

Damkerng T.

WWAA!

(Wow, what an acronym!)

I changed my hat. Don't I look a bit like X-Men's Cyclops!

Anonymous

09:31

29

Q: What makes the German language sound so harsh?

When international friends hear me talking German, they always think I must be really angry and having an argument with somebody. What are the phonetical explanations for making the German language sound so harsh or rude?

sociolinguistics phonetics

Anonymous

I don't find German to be harsh sounding on the whole, though. It can be, but I don't think it is intrinsically.

Anonymous

Harshness is in the ear of the beholder, I suppose :-)

Mick

I have watched Das Boot many times (in German with English subtitles). It doesn't sound harsh to me at all. Maybe it's a accent thing. I don't like the stereotyped accents that you hear in a lot of Hollywood films, but most Americans are very easy to listen to.

Damkerng T.

10:01

For me, it's mostly about the intonation and prosody. I think German sounds somewhat staccato-ish to me because of this.

(And American English sounds somewhat smoother than British English to me for the same reason, I suppose.)

Damkerng T.

10:19

Hey, I didn't know that Mark Zuckerberg can speak Mandarin!

Mark Zuckerberg speaks fluent Mandarin during Q&A in Beijing

►

chinaeducenter.com/en/hsk/hsklevel5.php

Ohh... interesting!

Mick

Impressive.

Anonymous

10:43

Now I'm at a computer, so I can go back and star the things I saw on my phone earlier :-)

Anonymous

And I can see hats now!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. A very different look, but somehow it fits with your avatar :-)

Damkerng T.

11:32

@snailplane It fits me perfectly because I get cold easily. :-)

Anonymous

11:46

@DamkerngT. Me too!

Anonymous

Brr.

Anonymous

Stupid winter.

Anonymous

I think I'm happiest when it's around 30°C :-)

Pandya

@snailplane why can you not star messages on mobile chat?

Anonymous

@Pandya I use the old interface. The new interface has more features, but it's not really usable.

Anonymous

11:59

The old interface doesn't let you star messages unless someone else has already starred them.

Anonymous

If someone else stars them, then you can add your own star :-)

Pandya

@snailplane How do I run old interface?

Damkerng T.

@snailplane 25-28 would be perfect for me! :)

Arrowfar

I have never chatted on SE on phone, everything is so little on phone.

Damkerng T.

Right now it's at 25, but last night it was a bit cold (23-24, I think).

@Arrowfar I think I could try that. It could get me a hat, too! :P

Arrowfar

12:05

Hello @DamkerngT. How is it going?

Damkerng T.

Maybe later.

Arrowfar

I have switched off hats. :)

Damkerng T.

@Arrowfar Too many things to do before the New Year. :D

Oh, right! Speaking about hats, I think there's a special hat around this New Year.

Arrowfar

Merry christmas and happy new year to everyone here by the way. :-)

Damkerng T.

Happy New Year to you, too!

Arrowfar

12:07

Thanks!

Damkerng T.

0

Q: Meaning of "Powerless smile"

"Powerless" is the opposite of "Powerful", I kind of understand the meaning behind a "powerful smile" however, I cannot grasp the meaning of a "powerless smile". "This may be an underhanded way of speaking, but, I do like you. However, that's only as a friend. No matter how hard you try, I wi...

meaning

I haven't searched for it yet, but I have a hunch that it may be from a manga again!

I don't think it's a really good idea to learn English from literal translation.

!!translate/ยิ้มแห้งๆ

Ellbot

th: ยิ้มแห้งๆ
en: Iigmแhgg more

Damkerng T.

Ugh!

!!translate ยิ้มอ่อนๆ

Hmm...

Maybe I should modify the syntax

!!translate/ยิ้มอ่อนๆ

Ellbot

th: ยิ้มอ่อนๆ
en: Soft smile

Damkerng T.

!!translate/ยิ้มจางๆ

Ellbot

12:20

th: ยิ้มจางๆ
en: Smile faded

Damkerng T.

!!translate/ยิ้มอย่างหมดแรง

Ellbot

th: ยิ้มอย่างหมดแรง
en: Smiling exhaustion

Damkerng T.

Apparently, these are too much for machine translation to handle.

Anonymous

@Pandya There's an option for it on your user page: chat.stackexchange.com/users/115725?tab=prefs

Anonymous

I turn off the "new mobile UI (beta)" option.

Anonymous

12:26

@DamkerngT. s/literal/bad/

Damkerng T.

@snailplane Hehe! You're right!

Pandya

@snailplane oh! ok.

Damkerng T.

I'm guessing that it's something close to Thai's ยิ้มอย่างหมดแรง "smile in an exhausted way" (or "smile, looking exhausted").

QuokMoon

ยิ้มอย่างหมดแรง look like every word is similar for me . :P (Smiling exhaustion)

Damkerng T.

Haha!

asianfanfics.com/blog/view/831549

> "...I had a feeling you might say something like this. Though I only realized around afternoon today."

"Though I only realized around afternoon today." -- That also sounds somewhat off.

Afternoon is unlike noon. How should I think of around afternoon?

"Though I only realized this this afternoon." is probably better.

Or "Though I realized this only this afternoon."

user2684291

12:37

@snailplane I know right? German has always been most euphonious to my ear after English (I can't really compare the two, they're like apples and oranges, and I happen to like fruit). I enjoy the rhythm and the sort of precision in pronunciation (I know this depends, but at least I was taught always to enunciate every sound, especially the endings), and also the consistency and pace with which the flow is carried threw. :>

*through

Damkerng T.

Some people think the Chinese language always sounds like arguing. I think it's possibly true in some dialects. For me, I love the sound of spoken Mandarin in Beijing. A young woman can sound like a bright bell. :-)

user2684291

@DamkerngT. Mandarin sounds kind of unpredictable to me which is due to the tones, and neutral, not aggressive at all.

Damkerng T.

To my ear, several dialects in Chinese can sound a bit aggressive even when the speaker is speaking normally.

Arrowfar

Hello @user2684291

user2684291

@Arrowfar Hey, what's up?

Anonymous

12:52

Which Chinese language? They all sound different.

Arrowfar

btw, what does "s" mean in "s/literal/bad/"? sarcasm?

Damkerng T.

@snailplane Cantonese is one, for me.

Arrowfar

@user2684291 Yes I am fine thanks.

Anonymous

"Substitute"

Arrowfar

nods

Anonymous

12:53

It means to search and replace.

Anonymous

Sort of a slang programmers use :-)

Damkerng T.

I think one reason is probably they sound somewhat like when a Thai speaker talks rather impolitely. Typically, such a speaker wouldn't smooth out their utterances around the end of each utterance.

Arrowfar

I see :)

Damkerng T.

!!translate/หางเสียง

user2684291

@Arrowfar linux.die.net/man/1/sed

Ellbot

12:54

th: หางเสียง
en: twang

Damkerng T.

Hmm..

I don't think it's right.

Arrowfar

@user2684291 Cool.

user2684291

@Arrowfar I haven't heard native English speakers answer in the affirmative before stating how they're doing.

"How are you doing?" ~ "Can't complain." / "Fine, thanks." / ...

Arrowfar

@user2684291 Oh I'm not a native speaker of English :-)

user2684291

Haha. All right.

Arrowfar

12:58

I'm just using an English name here in chats :-)

user2684291

@Arrowfar I didn't claim you were, by the way, I was implying that that's not how I'd expect one to reply to that, and I suggested alternatives I hear often.

Arrowfar

Oh I see. Yeah.

@user2684291 I think "Yes" as in "Yes I am fine thanks" is fine as well. I don't know exactly how to define this "yes" but I said in a sympathetic sense I guess, like a "nod" maybe.

user2684291

I didn't ask you if you were fine, though.

Arrowfar

Yes I get that. :)

CowperKettle

Happy New Year, oveflowers!

Arrowfar

13:10

@user2684291 Maybe you were looking for something like "Not much" "Nothing much" or "Oh, the usual."

@CowperKettle Happy New year to you too!

user2684291

@Arrowfar Sure, but not "Yes, not much." or "Yes, I am fine.".

Arrowfar

Haha, well I can be more pedantic and try to prove you wrong but I just don't feel like Googling now :-) But thanks for the correction, much appreciated.

user2684291

...

@Arrowfar I would appreciate it if you proved me wrong.

Arrowfar

Oh great. I will look for examples then and see if I can come up with some good ones. Not now though.

user2684291

It's simply not a yes-or-no question, that's why "yes" seems out of place.

"What's up?" ~ "Yes."

Damkerng T.

13:18

> amazon.com/Inventist-OW2-Parent-Orbitwheel-Skates/dp/B00HLBTJJ4

It looks awesome: youtu.be/CLUf81XxHUE?t=279

A sideway segway, perhaps! :-)

Arrowfar

@user2684291 Yes I know that "Not much/nothing much" is the correct response but it is not necessary to take it in a literal sense. What I wrote "Yes I am fine thanks" is correct in fact. Proof is here in Barrie England's answer. He writes "I can only speculate that the reply might be something like 'Yeh, I'm good.'". Also check out the other answers there.

24

Q: What is an appropriate response to "what's up" greeting?

Sorry if it's a trivial question, but when someone uses what's up as a greeting I have no idea what they want to hear. What are the possible answers and what does this question mean exactly?

slang greetings

Also note what JR wrote their in the comment "...in the U.S., "What's up?" isn't too far removed from "How ya doin'?" Both are often used as informal greetings"

user2684291

Well I never.

Arrowfar

Well thanks for jogging my mind by the way. It has been a fun discussion. :)

user2684291

Thanks for proving me wrong.

Arrowfar

Yay!

:D

Damkerng T.

13:32

"Every man has his own quirks and twists" --Harriet Beecher Stowe

So, I wish you all a Happy New Year, and may your quirkiness be with you. :-)

(sad about the Force... RIP, princess)

Anonymous

13:44

@Arrowfar Yes seems strange since you weren't asked a yes-or-no question.

user2684291

@Arrowfar Know what? Scratch that. I think you're in the wrong, and that usage is idiosyncratic or the person has been thinking about something else. What does "How ya doin'?" have to do with anything anyway?

Anonymous

I don't think you can compare it directly to what Barrie England wrote.

Arrowfar

Well I respectfully disagree with both of you. Give me a proof then, because it is not necessary to take the greeting in the literal sense. So "yeah I am fine thanks" is a good response.

user2684291

"It used to be asked only when the person addressed seemed to be in some kind of trouble." I think it was meant more like an answer to this, which'd be in the line of "alright?" and its kin.

Arrowfar

But I could be wrong.

user2684291

13:50

Maybe it's BrE or something.

Arrowfar

Well then we could each have different opinions and thoughts about things here. It is a language after all, and hard and fast rules don't always apply.

Anonymous

@Arrowfar My only "proof" is that when you said "Yes", I thought, "Huh? What?"

Anonymous

That is, I'm telling you that what you wrote sounds weird to me as a native speaker. You don't have to agree.

Anonymous

You can talk however you wish, just like everyone else here.

Arrowfar

I see. Thank you snails.

No, I appreciate your feedback. :)

Anonymous

13:52

Yeah, it's just feedback. I don't have any interest in arguing over correctness.

Arrowfar

Same here.

Anonymous

I think correctness is overrated as a concept, anyway.

Damkerng T.

Someone ask me how I'm doing

Anonymous

How are you doing, Damkerng? :-)

Damkerng T.

Vroom, vroom!

:)

I just used my robot free pass. :P

user2684291

13:54

I take it you're purring, in your own, robot way? (:

Damkerng T.

Hee

Mick

Did someone mention BrE?

Arrowfar

Hello @Mick

user2684291

hides

Mick

Hello. Anyone want some bacon?

Damkerng T.

13:57

My cat, probably. :-)

user2684291

caterwauls

Damkerng T.

pat, pat, ...

The cat in the hat got a pat on the back.

Seuss is fun!

user2684291

The cat is in the bag.

Damkerng T.

Oh, no! Poor cat!

Ahh... I haven't heard it used like this. Thanks for a new phrase!

I've only heard let the cat out of the bag.

Cat o' nine tails is quite common in games, perhaps. I don't know much about games these days, though.

user2684291

14:30

@DamkerngT. Haha, well that's the one I've provided a link to as well; my version is altered, and I wouldn't expect to hear it from native speakers (like you haven't), except (just a conjecture) an adventurous journalist, perhaps, who might venture to write, in quotation marks, such a twist of the turn of phrase.

user2684291

14:41

@DamkerngT. Huh, Google Images shows quite a toy... What kinda games have you been playing? ^^

CowperKettle

15:29

What a hat!

I'm a real fop in it

V.V.

A new hat?

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Oh, very nice! :-)

Anonymous

Happy New Year!

yubraj sharma

Happy New year 2017 to All !!!!!

Hi

V.V.

Happy New Year! Who will be the first to see it in?

yubraj sharma

15:38

Means?

Mick

I'm on GMT, so another 8 hours and 20 minutes to go.

Anonymous

@yubrajsharma We live in different time zones. V.V. is wondering which one of us will be in 2017 first.

Anonymous

I live in California, so I'll be a bit later than most of you all :-)

yubraj sharma

@snailplane Oh I see !

V.V.

No Australians here?

CowperKettle

15:40

@snailplane Happy New Year, Snails!

Sorry for lagging, I'm chatting otherwhere

Mick

As a whingeing pom, I'm so tempted to post a sarcastic comment

V.V.

Dam will be the first and Mike, I think.

yubraj sharma

I'm going to enter in 2017 after 2.30 hour

V.V.

Me in 5 hours.

yubraj sharma

@snail ?

Anonymous

15:47

T minus 16 hours here :-)

V.V.

Fantastic!

I have a new hat!

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle An awesome hat!

Anonymous

Yay! Me too :-) I'm up to 13.

Damkerng T.

Oh, everyone has a new hat!

V.V.

Wow,Snail

Anonymous

15:57

I have 10 on ELL. Mari-Lou has the most on ELL, with 24 hats: winterbash2016.stackexchange.com/leaderboard/…

Damkerng T.

I have no idea how she managed to get all of those!

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