Language Overflow

Damkerng T.

00:43

1

Q: is this grammatically correct as it is using past as well as present tense in the same sentence

And when I fell hard you took a step back Without me, without me, without me And he's long gone when he's next to me And I realize the blame is on me ~Taylor Swift

Nice song!

Taylor Swift 'I Knew You Were Trouble' I BRITs 2013 I OFFICIAL - HD

►

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I looked on Japanese.SE, and the most we had was something like 40 (on the entire Q&A, not just a single answer)

Damkerng T.

@snailboat Hah!

ELL lays over most stacks in commenting!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Oh, it certainly happens.

Anonymous

But it's easier to understand a song when the music and words go together instead of fighting each other.

Damkerng T.

nods -- Indeed!

(There must be a good word for that situation.)

Anonymous

00:56

I noticed they don't always go together in Japanese, either.

Anonymous

I imagine it must be something like when someone sings in a tonal language, but ignores the tones of the words

Damkerng T.

@snailboat It's exactly like that in Thai.

But I've heard that it doesn't seem to matter much in Chinese (not sure if it was Mandarin or Cantonese).

Probably from you, even. :D

Anonymous

Well, what I'd read online was that it mattered a lot in certain Chinese languages, but not in others.

Anonymous

@snailboat No, my question is NOT about etymology. I ask about the specific meanings of the 3 morphemes, NOT the history behind the word. — LePressentiment 9 mins ago

Anonymous

All three are meaningless. They only had historical meaning. To ask what they once meant is to ask about their history. You must agree it's about etymology, since you used the etymology tag yourself. What's more, you used the past tense: you asked "what did [they] mean". — snailboat 8 mins ago

Anonymous

01:07

Is it suddenly not about etymology because being about etymology might get it closed?

Anonymous

I close voted some etymology questions that had nothing to do with learning English today.

Anonymous

etymology ← currently 10 of 27 are closed, which means 17 are open

Damkerng T.

@snailboat That's quite plausible!

Anonymous

Hmm, maybe I only voted to close 2 questions.

jimsug

> an old political idea
a political old idea

political old idea seems at least weird.

Anonymous

01:11

Yeah.

Anonymous

Over on ELU, this is popular: english.stackexchange.com/a/56874/28567

jimsug

> "Descriptive" vs "classifier" sounds like something made up to make learning easier.

Yeah, all grammar is made up to make learning easier :P

Or harder, one might argue.

Anonymous

I was tempted to respond to that answer because of that line, but I didn't

Anonymous

I leave too many comments lying around as it is ;-)

Damkerng T.

@jimsug it would be better if they included PEU entry in the question.

jimsug

01:14

@DamkerngT. It's not as though I didn't immediately recognise it as a variation on the epithet/classifier distinction found in SFL.

Anonymous

A lot of people reject distinctions they aren't familiar with and decide they can't possibly be useful simply because they haven't heard of them

Anonymous

It's a pretty common theme on ELU and ELL.

Damkerng T.

Oh, PEU doesn't really use the words descriptive adjectives and classifier adjectives.

jimsug

Well, I tried to provide examples. It's a very real distinction, even if the tests aren't all watertight.

Damkerng T.

Swan simply says "description before classification".

And continues: "words which describe come before words which classify"

Very smooth!

Anonymous

01:19

Swan's writing a pedagogical grammar, and he has lots of technical references, but his goal is to keep things simple

Damkerng T.

nods

Anonymous

Argh . . .

Anonymous

Some people should probably not be allowed to comment

Damkerng T.

@snailboat Agreed.

The "alongside" question is going to continue to be ambiguous until the OP says more about the context, I think.

It's a curious use of "alongside", imho. I mean, semantically.

I'm not sure whether the Queen was there with the speaker or not.

> When stative verbs are cast in the progressive it usually signals one of two things: either the "state" is regarded as temporary and likely to end soon, or the verb has been recategorized semantically: it has a different sense in the progressive.

> ell.stackexchange.com/a/63339/3281

^Worth noting.

> (1) I am completely honest with you right now.
(2) I am being completely honest with you right now.

> (3) I am completely honest with you now.
(4) I am being completely honest with you now.

I think (3) is less jarring than (1), and (4) is about as okay as (2).

Oh, the ELU's HNQ is similar to my recent chblog!

5

Q: What's a word for the ability to discern another's mental state?

I want to avoid some common implications of empathy: that it's mostly involuntary, and that it involves some re-experiencing of the other's feelings. I'm looking for a more general word (or, less ideally, short phrase) that could easily apply both to someone empathetic and to Hannibal Lecter. On...

single-word-requests

Jul 18 at 1:13, by Damkerng T.

> Empathy and sympathy are often used interchangeably. Sympathy is a feeling, but the two terms have distinct origins and meanings.[2] Empathy refers to the understanding and sharing of a specific emotional state with another person.

> Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other person's frame of reference, ...

> Sympathy (from the Greek words syn "together" and pathos "feeling" which means "fellow-feeling") is the perception, understanding, and reaction to the distress or need of another human being.

So, one is ability (or capacity), the other is an act (or a feeling).

@jimsug No such thing ("political old idea") in the Ngram results.

books.google.com/ngrams/…

But I think a politically correct idea is correct.

(Hmm... because a "correct idea" is not a type of idea, probably.)

jimsug

01:53

[politically correct] idea

Damkerng T.

nods

Anonymous

02:17

@DamkerngT. There are very few verbs in English that are always stative.

Damkerng T.

@snailboat I wonder what they are!

Anonymous

But for a number of verbs, the dynamic uses are fairly limited. It depends on the particular verb how limited.

Damkerng T.

(I mean, even be can be used dynamically.)

Must be some verbs that I overlook.

Anonymous

Beware has no dynamic uses ;-) Although it's defective and not what you'd call a stative verb, so that's cheating.

Damkerng T.

Oh, yes!

Anonymous

02:20

Again, 'defective' means it's missing verb forms (no past participle, for example)

Anonymous

Any verb which is missing the -ing form can't be used in the progressive―for example, all modal auxiliaries are missing the -ing form

Anonymous

What the CGEL authors call the 'waxing/waning' use allows the progressive with almost any verb:

Anonymous

> He claims that fewer and fewer students are knowing how to write English when they come up to university.

Anonymous

(p.170)

Anonymous

They also list 'temporary state' and 'agentive activity' as two other ways dynamic meaning can be added:

Anonymous

02:25

> He is being tactful.

Anonymous

> She is cycling to work this week.

Anonymous

Note that neither of these work with know

Anonymous

The progressive is more restricted for some verbs than others

Anonymous

A verb like understand may not be entirely restricted from appearing in the progressive, but the vast majority of the time the progressive wouldn't work.

Damkerng T.

I can't think of a good example of be knowing as the main verb.

Anonymous

02:27

I quoted one above from CGEL

Damkerng T.

Oh, yes!

After thinking about being and cycling, I forgot knowing!

It was that soon!

(See, being and cycling are bold, so they both put knowing in the shade!)

Anonymous

Hah

jimsug

02:53

> The very latest, very educational reform; a reform which is later and more educational than another.

I would assert that your acceptance of very educational is an acceptance of the fact that the reform itself is educational rather than being a reform of education, which is obviously the intended meaning. Also, while you might be able to compile an exhaustive list of mutually exclusive adjectives describing age, remember that you can also intensify this, something that you cannot do to classifiers. Remember that these tests are not conclusive proof on their own, but rather are evidence when used in conjunction with others. — jimsug 57 secs ago

> I think, by and large, I disagree with this whole system of categorization. That said, let's try applying the rules he gives to distinguish them to these sentences.

I would also question the grammaticality of very leatheriest - what does that mean? You accept very latest and very old as epithets but then say they are classifiers. Even the internal logic of your post doesn't support your conclusion. I'm sorry, but this post is just... very confusing and suffers from fallacies in logic, as well as a very clear lack of understanding of the nuances in English language. — jimsug 7 secs ago

Too mean?

Catija

03:19

Ugh. I get so frustrated with some of the ELU regs.

jimsug

Is that one of them?

Catija

@jimsug Not sure. I'm talking about something else.

jimsug

idgaf whether they have 1 rep or zero rep, I will come down hard on someone who can't be logically coherent within their own answers

@Catija Oh, forgive my ego ;)

Catija

What is SFG material?

jimsug

Systemic Functional Grammar?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

05:04

@DamkerngT. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M :-)

>
[...] The pianos were part of this cheer. They played for celebrations and moments of pleasant pain. Or rather, someone played them, but not too well, since excellent playing would have been faintly antisocial. "Chopin," my mother said, shaking her head as she stumbled through the prelude. "Why is he famous?"

> --Gryphon: New and Selected Stories by Charles Baxter

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

10:03

@Dam I've found a very interesting image on what answers in SE are and how they should be dealt with.

> If you're still confused, forget about answers. Think about apples instead . . .

user62015

10:17

Hi! @inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Hullo @User!

user62015

There?

(a) I am / (b) very wiser / (c) than / (d) your brother / (e) No error

Answer is b

(a) I am / (b) much lucky / (c) than / (d) your brother / (e) No error

Again answer is b

And reason is Because ‘very’ is used with
positive degree and ‘much’ is used
with comparative degree.

But I did not understand much.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Because of very and much.

Yes.

user62015

Could you explain it to me for a moment.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@User, so you see, very lucky would be correct, and much wiser would also be correct.

When you say

> I'm wiser than you.

You're comparing.

You're comparing me with yourself.

user62015

10:27

Right.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

So, you would use much if you want to emphasize the comparative.

I mean, if you wanna say

> I'm a lot/much/very wiser than you.

Then you should choose much.

user62015

Okay.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Because that's the grammar.

But

When you say

> I'm a lucky person.

If you want to give more hue (i.e. emphasize) to the luckiness then you have to use too/very.

Too is usually known to have a negative connotation.

Which means, when you disapprove of your being lucky.

But very is neutral.

Does that clear things up @user?

user62015

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Please wait. I am checking.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Check.

user62015

10:38

Done. Thanks, it made it clear.

jimsug

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M @user62015 NB: You wouldn't say I'm a much wiser than you.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@jimsug Noooo, I meant (a lot/much/very) not a (lot/much/very).

jimsug

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M You could also say I'm a lot wiser than you.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

You could.

But that's an Indian textbook @Jims.

Thus . . .

jimsug

Is that construction not permitted in Indian English?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

10:43

Dunno, InE is really weird.

The point is, those textbooks usually trigger false positives.

user62015

@jimsug Yes.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

14:20

Funny bug of the day:

5

Q: Or or or or or... displayed when searching for or clicking on a wildcard favourite tag in the new navigation

This happens when clicking on a wildcard link from my Favourite Tags list in the sidebar. It goes away if I refresh the page and doesn't happen at all if I visit the page through the URL it generates. It also happens when searching. This is what happens when searching for [status-*] here on Me...

bug new-nav

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

16:52

@Dam this comment made me laugh to my tears:

I suggest to change this message to "Look, a banana! ...Ok try that again now." — Mat's Mug Mar 9 '14 at 1:23

Wow, @Dam is busy today for sure.

Damkerng T.

17:50

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Hee

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

\o

Damkerng T.

o/

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

How're you doin'?

Damkerng T.

I'm doing okay!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

What were you doing that stopped you from Chblogging?

Damkerng T.

17:51

Something. It must've been something. :D

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Ya know, if it were my classmates saying that, I would've said Was she pretty?

Damkerng T.

Hah!

Well, we'd got a power outage here. But since the power came back, I'd been busy with something else.

I guess I have a lot to catch up in chat rooms. :D

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Catch!

Damkerng T.

Huh? Not sure. But I think @Catija looks different!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Yes.

Catija

17:55

Just a little bit. It's the same subject in the photo, just a different image.

Damkerng T.

This angle looks cute too!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

It looks more vibrant now.

Damkerng T.

Makes me think of that theory for shooting a scene in a movie.

A director has said that he had a scene reshot because it was shot in the wrong direction the first time.

He said he believed it was more natural for things to happen from left to right in his scene!

I don't think it applies to a photo anyway. But hey, it's just my random thought!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

I think that's common enough in shooting scenes.

Catija

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Instagram. Those filters are magic.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

18:02

Huh.

Damkerng T.

Neat!

Using candies doesn't make things any easier, at least not in American English. If we have a lollipop and a piece of licorice, we would not say we had "two candies". Nor would we say "two pieces of candy" in that particular case, since they're so different. I don't know what I would say in that case. Perhaps "I have two kinds of candy". — TRomano 5 hours ago

Oh, candy is uncountable too in the US!

Catija

@DamkerngT. Meh... I'd argue that it's regional and depends on your age.

Damkerng T.

Oh! I'd love to hear more!

Catija

There are brand names that use "candies".

sees.com

Damkerng T.

Hmm... reading the comment again, I think it sounds like he suggested that if we have a lollipop and a piece of licorice, we might say "two pieces of candies"?

@Catija Somehow I can't reach the site!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

18:17

Now I want to haz some candiez.

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M LOL

Catija

lammes.com

Damkerng T.

A-ha! Thanks!

Catija

This one has their main production building about two blocks away from my house.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Lames candies.

Nice name.

Damkerng T.

18:19

@Catija Cool!

Would you get a great discount if you bought it directly from the production building?

Catija

:D They make good stuff... though they're relatively small. Sees Candies is huge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See%27s_Candies

@DamkerngT. Nope, they actually have a storefront at the production building, so they do a decent amount of sales there.

Damkerng T.

@Catija Eww... I can't even see the end of their headquarter in the photo!

@Catija That's too bad. I think we should get at least a small discount when we buy things from the sources.

Catija

@DamkerngT. If it makes you feel better, I think it costs less to buy them directly than at a third party company. They sell some of the candies, particularly the "Longhorns", at gift shops all over town, and I believe you pay more in those cases.

Damkerng T.

According to the comment, "I have two kinds of candy" is okay. I wonder why he felt "two pieces of candy" is odd.

@Catija Yay! -- That really sounds better. :-)

> Longhorns: Texas pecans, clustered in chewy caramel and smothered in milk chocolate, create the cornerstone of Lammes chocolate confections. Available in 12, 24 and 36 ounce gift boxes. - See more at: lammes.com/product.php?web_item_id=114#sthash.jpWHbV0Q.dpuf

Catija

@DamkerngT. I'm not sure about that one. I guess that he's saying that it sounds odd to him to say "I have two pieces of candy" when you're saying that you have two different types of candy. Personally, I don't have an issue with it. "I have two pieces of candy, a lollypop and a piece of licorice".

@DamkerngT. Right. And the connection to Austin is this:

Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns (or variously as Longhorns or 'Horns), taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the official "large animal" of the US State of Texas. The University of Texas at Austin is the apparent flagship institution of the University of Texas System. The women's teams are sometimes called the Lady Longhorns, but generally both the men's and women's teams are referred...

This is the university I attended^

Damkerng T.

18:26

A-ha! Cool!

> The University of Texas currently fields a varsity team in nine men's sports and eleven women's sports.[10] They are:

Catija

Pecans are the state tree/nut of Texas.

Damkerng T.

> Men's sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross country, Football, Golf, Swimming and diving, Tennis, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field.

Women's sports: Basketball, Cross country, Golf, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and diving, Tennis

^I have no problem with any of them except "Golf". :P

Catija

Golf is the sport of business :)

Damkerng T.

@Catija Ah, I see. On their page, they even write "Texas pecans". :D

@Catija Haha!

Catija

@DamkerngT. Exactly.

Damkerng T.

18:31

Oh, I just noticed that my clock was wrong!

Catija

@DamkerngT. Are you up too late?

Damkerng T.

The list makes it sound like rowing isn't popular among men over there.

@Catija I got a power outtage earlier today. I fixed clocks on most PCs/machines in my office, but this one was still wrong.

Catija

@DamkerngT. I'm not sure why men don't compete... a lot of the time, collegiate sports attract students to schools so the men who do rowing may get pulled to other schools with better rowing programs. It's so hot here, rowing can be very strenuous.

Damkerng T.

@Catija So I thought it was still around midnight. But late is not a big problem for me. I usually stay up late anyway. :-)

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. Pfft.

Catija

18:34

Ah, I see. That makes sense.

Damkerng T.

@Catija It looks cool in movies. In rowing over here rowers will row in the other direction. I think that's why rowing in Hollywood movies look very interesting and exciting to me.

It also looks like it needs a lot of effort.

Catija

@DamkerngT. You row so that you're facing the same direction you're moving? Wow... that sounds complicated. From what I understand, the method we use is actually easier on your body because you're using your full body strength to move the oars.

Damkerng T.

@Catija That's exactly what we do!

For reference:

Catija

With two oars or with one? We have different types of boats that use different methods for rowing.

Damkerng T.

@Catija Each rower will use only one oar.

@Catija Oh, there are two types of them?

Catija

18:40

@DamkerngT. We use that method in canoes... but you can only use your upper body for it. The skulls (the boats they use in competitive racing) have foot supports that allow you to use your leg strength in addition to your arms.

So, your feet go where the shoes are and the butt plate runs back and forth on the tracks in the bottom of the boat.

Damkerng T.

@Catija nods -- I think this method is more efficient, mechanically.

Catija

They have one and two oar configurations of this but the seat system is the same, I think.

Damkerng T.

Oh, come to think of it, I think I've seen this kind of boat with one oar in Olympics.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

It looks like a crossbow.

Damkerng T.

It's usually the two-oar type in movies, if I'm not mistaken.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M I think they use share some of the same basic ideas.

(Which makes the sliding seats important, imho.)

Catija

18:47

@DamkerngT. Both are events in the summer Olympics. olympic.org/rowing

Damkerng T.

@Catija Oh, right! -- They look awesome!

Damkerng T.

19:14

Argh! What happened to my Kindle!

(Its screen went entirely black!)

Damkerng T.

19:42

2

A: Should I use having/ have

I would say " I'm an engineer and I have knowledge in ... " Because we use "have" to mean 'to own' or diseases. And "having" for something continuous. Of course, as Sander said, using "with" would be best.

A very interesting point.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

That's a nice answer.

Damkerng T.

Indeed. Thought this point got my curiosity.

> Because we use "have" to mean 'to own' or diseases. And "having" for something continuous.

The string "student having knowledge in" returned nothing but one hit in Google cache!

> Summary Description: An Electrical Engineer Graduate student having knowledge in fields of Electrical and Electronics circuits, having technical...

> webcache.googleusercontent.com/…

Catija

Is he Indian?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Must be.

Damkerng T.

Oh, yes. It seems so. From the cache, I found his Linkedin page:

> linkedin.com/in/nagendraketineni

Catija

19:52

is 106 on TOEFL good?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@Catija Wasn't that outta 120?

Damkerng T.

@Catija They changed the scale some years ago. I think it's 130 now.

Oh, right. 120.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Still, it means more fluent English than mine.

Catija

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Have you taken it?

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Maybe or maybe not.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

19:54

@Catija Not yet.

Catija

I wonder how I'd do.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

But can I score that high?!

Damkerng T.

@Catija I'm pretty sure you will get 115+. :-)

Catija

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M You never say anything that sounds particularly wrong to me.

Damkerng T.

(The remaining 5 is a gap for human errors.)

Catija

19:55

Oh, speaking is part of it HA HA... Guess that should be easy enough. I don't know anything about the TOEFL.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@Catija I dunno, it's just my gut feeling.

Damkerng T.

My idea is that TOEFL seems to favor fluency more than proficiency.

Catija

I know a lot of people who do fine in written language but their spoken isn't as strong... and I know people who do the opposite, too.

Damkerng T.

(And IELTS is the opposite.)

So by default, every native speaker should get almost a full score on TOEFL.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

I should definitely take TOEFL.

Catija

19:57

I was in a class on Indian Cinema and was paired up with a girl from Mexico... we had to give a presentation and her English was horrid. I'm not sure how she got into the university.

Damkerng T.

I think IELTS could give native speakers a little harder time.

Catija

@DamkerngT. That makes sense.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@Catija Oh they do . . .

BTW @Dam there's a very important piece of info for your blog.

Damkerng T.

@Catija The minimum requirement is not very high, afaik.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Haha!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. Here:

in The Periodic Table, 11 hours ago, by inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

OMG!

Damkerng T.

19:59

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M OMG!

Catija

> A score of 550 (paper test), 213 (computer-based test), or 79 (internet-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) OR an overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is considered the minimum acceptable for admission to The University of Texas at Austin.

Damkerng T.

Hey, it's the same for Damkerng T.!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

6.5 for IELTS?

Damkerng T.

That's really not very high.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

That's a bit too low.

Catija

20:00

Hmmmm. And that's for the graduate program.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

I remember my testing myself a while ago . . . Using IELTS's self-exams or whatever they're called.

I typically got 7.5.

And it was back then!

Catija

Sounds like you should be fine, then :P

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Well, I can confidently say I can get at least an 8 now.

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M If my speculation is correct, you should be at somewhere between 8.0-8.75.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

BTW a lot of it was reading comprehension

Catija

20:02

Harvard doesn't even require an English Proficiency test...

college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/…

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. STOP PINGING ME.

Damkerng T.

Soorryy! :P

@Catija Hah!

Catija

Stanford:
> The minimum TOEFL scores required are 250 for the computer-based test, 600 for the paper-based test and 100 for the internet-based test.

Damkerng T.

A-ha! I think that makes sense.

100 in iTOEFL ensures that the student can communication verbally.

Catija

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M Ping!

Damkerng T.

20:06

Plz, plz, plz, ...

Oh, no! It's dead again!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. URGENNT SOLVE HOMEWORK NEED TI TUESDAY HAALP!

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M I was hoping that my Kindle will come back to life.

Catija

:( Poor Kindle. Should we hold a wake for it?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. Revive. Electric shock.

Damkerng T.

@Catija I guess it wouldn't mind, if it were still alive. -- sad

Maybe it's just too... old. -- sobbing

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

20:10

@DamkerngT. Suggestion: Throw it outta the window. If it didn't turn on, mission successful.

Damkerng T.

Oh, it's rebooting itself again!

and stopped dead again...

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

Maybe it needs a choke.

Damkerng T.

Hooray! It's back!

> nationmultimedia.com/national/…

> With TOEFL scores averaging at 450, Thai students' proficiency in the English language appears to be the lowest in the Asean region.

> "While, Thais' average TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] score stands at about 450; [students from] Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have averaged around 500. Malaysia and Singapore were even higher at approximately 550 on average," Sriwika Mekthavatchaikul said at a seminar on improving the capacity and quality of universities ahead of the Asean Economic Community.

> --The Nation, February 28, 2013 1:00 am

Oh, 106 on the new scale is like 623 on the old scale of TOEFL.

What?! My Kindle is dead again!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. I'm convinced it's pranking you.

Damkerng T.

20:33

Oh, interesting. They replaced Late Show with David Letterman with The Late Late Show with James Corden.

He seems like a nice guy, but isn't he English?!

Catija

@DamkerngT. Um... no. Letterman retired and Stephen Colbert is taking his seat. The Late Late Show is aired after The Late Show. They are two different shows.

Damkerng T.

Oh, Wikipedia says the show follows The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Catija

Regardless, I don't know that there's any rule that says a British person couldn't host it.

Damkerng T.

nods -- The way they air the programs over here makes me think James Corden replaces David Letterman.

Catija

@DamkerngT. Ah, no, they're on summer hiatus. Colbert will do his first show in the US on September 8th.

Damkerng T.

20:38

@Catija Oh, no, I didn't mean that. I just use David Letterman as a regular TV show I'm exposed to AmE accents.

But tonight, the David Letterman show is no more.

Catija

@DamkerngT. Ah! I see. They must air them really late for you. The last show was actually aired a month or so ago.

Damkerng T.

I think so, about it being late!

Most guests are still Americans, I think.

Catija

@DamkerngT. Oh, certainly. actors and musicians.

Damkerng T.

21:15

A couple of weeks after that day is fine too. — Damkerng T. 2 mins ago

I think even A couple weeks after, I saw her ... is also fine.

Which makes me think... is there any case that later can't be replaced with after?

Catija

I just corrected a 68K MetaSE user.

Damkerng T.

Oh! their English?

Catija

@DamkerngT. No. Their answer was bad.

Damkerng T.

Ahh

Strange. James Corden sounds AmE like when he sings the song ending his first show.

Catija

I've often found that singing isn't a good way to tell someone's accent. Training in singing generally affects how you pronounce words.

Damkerng T.

21:30

I'm not sure if it was on purpose. I mean, sometimes I noticed that British singers seemed to purposely use an American accent.

(or what that's supposed to be one. ;-)

An interesting metaphor!

Using the same metaphor, I think my answer-comments would usually look like this:

:D

Catija

@DamkerngT. Look at these beautiful answers you can't have?

Damkerng T.

21:45

Need some effort to get to. :P

Catija

Where did you see that one above?

Damkerng T.

I wonder whether the first "NOT Answer" in that photo is the avatar J.R. uses. :-)

@Catija A Meta.SE post via your answer.

I browsed through your profile to find the one you corrected a 68k user. ;-)

Catija

Ah, yeah. It's a really nice image.

Damkerng T.

256

Q: Your answer is in another castle: when is an answer not an answer?

I think we can all agree, this sucks: If you've been around a little while, you've probably encountered hundreds of answers like this in various forums, some of them even marked as "The Answer" by well-meaning1 forum admins looking to close a thread. We could try to enumerate the commonly-obse...

discussion link-only-answers not-an-answer faq-proposed

Oops! Shog9's avatar looks a bit scary up there!

Catija

:D It's a really useful post.

Damkerng T.

21:49

I think a bunch of my comments are like the second "NOT Answer" in the photo, too.

Indeed!

Catija

Well, for comments that's fine. :D

Damkerng T.

Oh, talking about they run shows a bit late over here... Believe it or not, I'm watching Everybody Loves Raymond season 6! (it follows the Late Late Show.)

@Catija Yep! They're like the "Apple Ahead" sign. Um... I mean, "Answer Ahead". :-)

Catija

Wow. Do they subtitle or dub? I'm guessing subtitles since you likely watch to hear the English...

Damkerng T.

@Catija They subtitle it. Sadly, I can't turn the subtitles off on this channel.

The Late Late Show hasn't got subtitled, though. I think they have no English subtitles to translate from. Hahaha! :-)

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