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Anonymous
00:16
@DamkerngT. I think language use is a large part of it, whether it's oral or written.
Anonymous
Writing certainly does expose you to more words than speech, although in principle any word that appears in writing can appear in speech.
nods -- I think "use" is not quite the right word. "Reception" perhaps?
 
5 hours later…
04:50
1
Q: Shift + proposition

user3556985I saw a sentence that has the word shift. I am trying to understand the sentence but it has become hard to understand. The sentence is "Over the past few years shifts in educational policies have affected society especially in developed nations". I am not quite sure how the "shift" is us...

Actually, it's a good question.
Intermediate learners could run into a sentence that they don't know many words at any time.
Or worse, they thought they knew what some of the words mean, but they didn't.
That makes reading difficult.
Suppose that a leaner thought shift must be a noun, knew neither affect nor develop, didn't know -ed verbs can be used as an adjective, and was basically not sure how over works.
It could look like this to them:
> OOOO the past few years XXXXXs in educational policies have XXXXXed society especially in XXXXXed nations.
How do we teach children to read?
It could become much worse if they knew only the first 1000 words.
They might not know educational, policies, society, and even especially.
Which would make them see the sentence like this:
> OOOO the past few years XXXXXs in XXXXXXXXal XXXXXXs have XXXXXed XXXXX XXXXXXXXly in XXXXXed nations.
Can we parse that?
(I think we still can, but not sure how--neatly.)
It was tempting just to tell them that shifts is a noun in the example sentence, but that would be the same as giving them a fish.
It could be good for us, 'cause every time they wanted a fish, they'd come back to us. :P
And that reminds me of:
2
Q: What to call a doctor who doesn't really cure their patient with their effort (to get more money from "repeat business")?

OokerDoctors Are Not “Only Out to Make Money” I read that article and can't get a good word for that kind of doctors, except the term doctors (who) are only out to make money in the second line of the third paragraph (I add the who). I would like to have a good concise term for this kind of doctors. ...

Ethical doctors consistently act against their own financial interests.
05:18
Hmm... sometimes it's hard to find what you're sure it's there on the main site.
Oh, that somehow relates to 2nd language learning!
Though I wouldn't call L2 learners people with dyslexia, there are some similarities in the problems.
> Dyslexia is a developmental learning problem, and is not a result of problems with vision or hearing.
in ELL's Cabin, 2 days ago, by Damkerng T.
I think most people know that it's different, but can't tell how or what the difference is.
in ELL's Cabin, 2 days ago, by snailboat
@DamkerngT. It's definitely true that there are differences like that―you can tell it's different, but you're not sure what.
in ELL's Cabin, 2 days ago, by snailboat
It's equally true that many differences are simply not perceived.
I believe that the two problems (dyslexia and L2 learning) are related because they both could be classified as a developmental learning problem.
 
12 hours later…
17:26
The Voyager Golden Record contains 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind, and thunder, and animal sounds, including the songs of birds and whales. The record additionally features musical selections from different cultures and eras, spoken greetings in fifty-nine languages, and printed messages from President Jimmy Carter and U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. The items were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University. After NASA had received criticism over the nudity on the Pioneer plaque (line drawings of a naked man and...
English (0:04:18): "Hello from the children of planet Earth"
Thai (0:00:25): "สวัสดีค่ะ สหายในธรณีโพ้น พวกเราในธรณีนี้ขอส่งมิตรจิตมาถึงท่านทุกคน"
> (Hello friends from farland. We in this land have sent you warm greeting to you all)
Arabic (0:00:32): .تحياتنا للأصدقاء في النجوم. يا ليت يجمعنا الزمان Taḥiyyātunā lil-'aṣdiqā' fil-nujūm. Yā laytā yajma`unā al-zamān.
> (Greetings to our friends in the stars. May time bring us together)
Russian (0:00:22): Здравствуйте! Приветствую Вас!
> (Greetings! I Welcome You!)
Cantonese (0:00:14): 各位好嗎?祝各位平安健康快樂。 Go3 wai2 hou2 maa1? Zuk1 go3 wai2 peng4 ngon1 gin6 hong1 faai3 lok6.
> (How's everyone? Wish you peace, health and happiness)
Burmese (0:00:45): နေကောင်းပါသလား [nè káʊɴ bà ðəlá]
> (Are you well)
Indonesian (0:00:54): Selamat malam hadirin sekalian, selamat berpisah dan sampai bertemu lagi dilain waktu
> (Good night, ladies and gentlemen. Goodbye and see you next time)
Latin (0:01:11): Salvete quicumque estis; bonam erga vos voluntatem habemus, et pacem per astra ferimus
> (Greetings to you, whoever you are; we have good will towards you and bring peace across space)
German (0:01:24): Herzliche Grüße an alle
> (Warm greetings to everyone)
Vietnamese (0:01:37): Chân thành gửi tới các bạn lời chào thân hữu
> (Sincere greetings to you)
Turkish (0:01:40): Sayın Türkçe bilen arkadaşlarımız, sabah şerifleriniz hayrolsun
> (Dear Turkish-speaking friends, may the honors of the morning be upon your heads)
Japanese (0:01:45): こんにちは。お元気ですか? Konnichiwa. O genki desu ka?
> (Hello. How are you?)
Hindi (0:01:48): धरती के वासियों की ओर से नमस्कार
> (Greetings from the inhabitants of this world)
Mandarin Chinese (0:02:29): 各位都好吧?我们都很想念你们,有空请到这来玩。
> (How's everyone? We all very much wish to meet you, if you're free please come and visit)
Persian (0:03:09): درود بر ساکنین ماورای آسمان‌ها
> (Greetings to the residents of far skies)
Hungarian (0:03:55): Üdvözletet küldünk magyar nyelven minden békét szerető lénynek a Világegyetemen
> (We are sending greetings in the Hungarian language to all peace-loving beings on the Universe)
Esperanto (0:02:16): Ni strebas vivi en paco kun la popoloj de la tuta mondo, de la tuta kosmo.
> (We strive to live in peace with the peoples of the whole world, of the whole cosmos.)
17:50
1
Q: critics all be like

bart-lebyafter last season critics all be like, "oh please please give us more complexity" since the end felt like i let down when the complex stuff end up being a red herring. Source: http://www.vox.com/2015/7/27/9045233/true-detective-recap-episode-6/in/8586222 Is the form "all be like" allowable in ...

> after last season critics all be like, "oh please please give us more complexity" since the end felt like i let down when the complex stuff end up being a red herring.
Huh? Why can't I find it on the source page?
Ohh
It's in a comment, which I have to scroll way down and then some to load it.
> JaqenHghar80

after last season critics all be like, "oh please please give us more complexity" since the end felt like i let down when the complex stuff end up being a red herring. Now ya’ll get what you ask for and it ends up going over everyone’s heads and ya’ll demand simplicity lol.

This Season has been great while there have been specific lines of dialogue that have been cringeworthy (which critics have focused on too much cause Vince Vaughn is a terrible actor which magnifies them). This episode was amazing but not because it was simple, it was amazing because all the intricate pl
A fluent non-native speaker writing it in a hurry?
(Or a not-so-fluent non-native speaker spending more time to knit smaller pieces up. But I think it was the first, not the latter.)
0
Q: Can I use "when it comes to" like the following?

jihoonI'm comparing my old house and my current house. First, I'd like to talk about my old house and then I will talk about my current house. In this situation, I need to bring up the topic of my old house. To this end, can I use "when it comes to" like the following? If not, is there any suggestion? ...

The question is going to be interesting, once native speakers pitch in their opinions on the sentence acceptability.
For me, on the scale of 1-7, I'd give it 4 or maybe 5.
The most problematic part to me is the semantics.
It may or may not work in the whole context.
18:23
@DamkerngT. No.
A native who wants others to think they're kewl.
Heh!
Hmm... I think the grammar is not good enough to be one.
And here I am, watching @Dam speaking to something I can't find.
How does it feel to speak to oneself, robot?
Nothing special. :-)
Don't you write your journal?
18:28
I actually imagine myself in front of audience.
Hah! :-)
I've never expected the audience. I think it's more like a book, a blog, or something.
> Christopher Pike: That's a technicality.
Spock: I am Vulcan, sir. We embrace technicality.
Christopher Pike: Are you giving me attitude, Spock?
Spock: I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously. To which are you referring?
They used attitude in two different senses!
I don't agree with the close reason. Sure, you can find many obscure meanings by looking 'em up in a dictionary. How is a learner supposed to find the hidden meaning intended in a joke in the sea of different meanings for cheek in the dictionary? — inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M 1 min ago
> "All four of them!" and they all collapse in raucous laughter.
Haha!
Heh.
But it was only funny the first 300 milliseconds.
Hmm... I think it's common for parents to powder their baby's buttock cheeks.
18:56
19:14
in ELL's Cabin, 2 mins ago, by Damkerng T.
Is it born or borne into a family?
Observation: If someone asks something like this, chances are he or she knows the word or the phrase, but it's still not in his or her active vocabulary.
19:39
1
A: Can I use "when it comes to" like the following?

TRomanoYou aren't using it quite right. It's a bit forced when comparing only two things. I tend to rush through the aisles of the supermarket, not wanting to waste much time there, and the canned music is often terrible, so I want to get out quickly. One box of oatmeal is as good as the next. But when...

A-ha! TRomano feels that it's weird too!
But with my new house.... You can toss boxes of breakfast cereal into your cart; but with melons, you should take your time and pick a ripe one. — TRomano 51 mins ago
He gave but with/when as an alternative. That's quite nice.
20:17
> The opening scene is located at the Dettifoss Waterfall in Iceland.
> Just before getting to the waterfall, the camera flies you over the Krossá river, in Landmannalaugar.
> The Old Man of Storr in Scotland is the perfect setting for some archaeological discoveries. (Isle of Skye in the movie).
I always wonder where they shot those scenes in Prometheus!
Nice!
Anonymous
21:04
@DamkerngT. Oh, these are beautiful.
Anonymous
That waterfall image would make a good desktop, too.
@snailboat It was a stunning opening scene. Perhaps that's why I like the movie so much.
Anonymous
@DamkerngT. Neat! Slight aside: The honorific prefix o- is, well, a prefix. I wouldn't personally write it as a separate word.
I thought it was CG at first. Maybe they did some CG stuff onto it, but probably not much.
Ahh
@snailboat BTW, the Thai version sounds a little funny to my ear. :P
> สวัสดีค่ะ สหายในธรณีโพ้น พวกเราในธรณีนี้ขอส่งมิตรจิตมาถึงท่านทุกคน
"ธรณีโพ้น" -- Hah!
"ธรณีนี้" -- HAH!
ธรณี is more like "land", as in the "soil" we stand upon, but its sense can cover "earth", then again using ธรณี in that sentence sounds a bit odd. It was as if it were translated back from English. Though it was from several decades ago, and I'm not very sure how frequently people used ธรณี to mean "earth" back then.
0
Q: Questions without restructuring the sentence

AhmadIn Persian, when we want to make a question we put some words in front of the sentence (How, Why) but the sentence remains the same, if it is a normal question such is it red, in formal sentences we put a specific word like "Aya it is red", otherwise we simply say "it is red?" (by the way I shoul...

> Then I have this bad habit in English and many times I tend to say:
> It is red?
Then you mean how it works?
Why you don't say him? Why you say these to me?
Why I should bother?
How I can fix this problem?
Aww...
They've gotten an Unenglish virus!
I'm not sure about the best way to break the Unenglish habit.
Sorry, but I am not sure you got me right or not! I know the difference between Can I fix this problem and How can I fix this problem, and how to make a question. but I would like to know if one may say I can fix this problem? if the problem is about can and fix, OK can one say You ate something? or You go picnic?Ahmad 31 mins ago
in English Language Learners, Apr 13 at 12:26, by Damkerng T.
"Any good sentence can be bad in the wrong context."
Anonymous
21:24
@DamkerngT. Of those six sentences, five are grammatical, but none are canonical interrogative questions.
Anonymous
All five need special circumstances to be used.
nods -- And I suspect that they'll use it in the wrong occasions.
You ate something? is a good hint on what he was thinking of.
I remember that both you and StoneyB wrote good answers on echo questions.
Not sure where they are. :D
> As another example, I say:
"I am an expert at instructing people how to operate computer operated tractors."
But you are unclear about what I mean. Then you could say:
"Then you mean how it works?"
Huh?
Hmm...
Not the worse of a sentence, nor the best.
0
Q: from the moment vs after

jihoon 1.Explain about what you usually do from the moment you wake up and to the moment you go to sleep. 2.Explain about what you usually do after you wake up and until you go to sleep. my humble personal opinion is that from the moment = after / to the moment = until But I'm not sure if I ...

That reminds me of our even if = "whether or not".
in ELL's Cabin, 32 mins ago, by snailboat
> I won't tell you, even if you torture me!
> I won't tell you, whether you torture me or not!
It's not really wrong. It could be even useful, because when we learn a new language, we need to have something to hold old. But it's not quite right and not usually useful to replace one word/phrase with another.
The same goes to synonyms, where a lot of learners seem to think that synonymous means interchangeable.
But it's not easy to convince people of the truth.
It's probably an obvious truth, if one thinks about it.
I'm not sure if "forms" is the word you want. Perhaps "comprises"? — Catija 17 hours ago
The question is actually interesting.
I thought it was passable. Then I read Catija's comment, and agreed with the comment. But I changed my mind after reading this answer:
0
A: Did I use "Form" appropriately in my sentence?

TBridges42This is an interesting question, because looking at a dictionary definition, I would agree with Catija and laureapresa that "to form" is not the right verb here. However, I have used it this way myself, so I did a quick Google search for the exact phrase "forms a part of" and got over 33 million ...

Basically, I think the question asks: Can 'form' mean 'be'?
Interestingly, Macmillan seems to agree with him:
form‌​: 3. [linking verb] to be something, or to be the parts that something consists of
> Fieldwork forms an important part of the course.
Mountains form a natural barrier that keeps invaders out.
Land ownership formed the basis of their wealth and power.
Let's have a second look at the OP's sentence (after other minor issues fixed):
> In arid regions, the evaporation forms a significant part of the water loss in irrigation canals.
Hmm... I think it's quite okay.
'To form or not to form... that's the question.
Anonymous
22:17
@DamkerngT. Yeah, I think of synonym as meaning "pretty close in meaning".
Anonymous
If you require that synonyms be completely interchangeable, well, some would say there aren't any!
Anonymous
Like, let's say you look up あたかも, and you find the definition says まるで。 You might think, "Oh, hey! あたかも and まるで are synonyms. I can just substitute one in my head for the other!"
@snailboat I might be part of that group!
Anonymous
But if you pay attention, you'll notice あたかも is used less often, more in formal writing, and has a slightly different range of meaning
Anonymous
22:20
I think that original step where you think あたかも=まるで is great for understanding, as a first step.
Anonymous
As long as you don't take the = thingy too far.
Anonymous
Maybe if you mentally say あたかも≈まるで :-)
Anonymous
The ≈ 'about equal to' operator is very useful!
It's like when I was young, my 'lion' was about the same as my 'tiger'. :-)
Anonymous
22:20
In Japanese, they use ≒ instead. I don't know why English uses ≈ but Japanese uses ≒.
Anonymous
Korean uses ≒ too.
Anonymous
@DamkerngT. Oh! Yes. Big cat = big cat.
@snailboat Oh, that's cool!
Anonymous
@DamkerngT. Yeah, I like ≒ :-)
23:36
-1
Q: What is the difference between 'Inaugurated' and 'launched'?

user31782We usually say, Windows 10 has been launched. Why can't we say, Windows 10 has been inaugurated. If we can, then why are there two different words for exactly the same thing.

An interesting user. Possibly the opposite of some other users we're familiar with.
Searching for windows inaugurated landed me on this:
Title: Windows 10 Inaugurated a New Era
A quick scan tells me that the English on the site looks okay.
But they keep things simple, so maybe it's easy to fix the errors before they post their posts.
IT English is usually simple.
(Also, I think stuff like Grammarly could deal with simple text quite effectively.)
Oh!
> Here are shortcuts work with all the Windows applications when use.
An interesting sentence pattern.
23:53
Phrase of the Day: Cut off the nose to spite the face
Anonymous
EDIT: Oh :-)
A related Aesop's fable: Cut off your tail to save my face!
@snailboat I mixed them up!
:-)
Anonymous
"Doctor, at this rate, we're going to lose the whole face! We're going to have to . . . amputate the nose"
Anonymous
"Um, can I just chime in here on―" "No! Stop talking! It makes it harder to cut your nose off. What if we missed!?"
Anonymous
"Well, see, the thing is, I like smelling―"
23:57
Hmm... can we still smell without our nose?
Anonymous
Well, I'm not sure there's a firm dividing line between smell and taste.
Anonymous
But I don't think you would call it "smelling" if you were noseless.
Anonymous
Oh! Hey! That reminds me of anime again.
Anonymous
Anonymous
23:59
Poor noseless Kuririn!
LOL
I haven't noticed that before!
Anonymous
That's a very long anime series. I think there are hundreds of episodes. I saw, I think, the first 10-15 or so.

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