Language Overflow

CowperKettle

06:25

> Furthermore, as far as the method allows to conclude, no alternative N-glycosylation sites are present in the molecule.

I always forget the proper formula to use here

My attempt is a bit clunky.

Jasper

08:40

@CowperKettle Furthermore, as far as the method allows us to conclude, no alternative N-glycosylation sites are present in the molecule.

Jasper

12:57

Nobody in this room, lol.

yubraj

14:48

Is this correct sentence. "could you lend me your car"?

Or I should I use "borrow"?

userr2684291

15:21

@yubraj dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/…

@Jasper That's an impossible thing to say. (:

CowperKettle

17:04

@Jasper Indeed! Thank you!

Anonymous

17:24

@yubraj Your sentence works, although Could I borrow your car? sounds more natural to me.

Jasper

'Just give me your car!' LOL

Anonymous

Ha :-)

Jasper

Hello @snailplane!

Anonymous

And it's true I haven't been here quite as much, but I make it a point to check in on the main site and chat both every day, even if I'm busy.

Anonymous

Good morning, blue square!

Jasper

17:26

Yes, I did see you pop in a few times for a while.

Anonymous

I have jury duty right now.

Jasper

Oh OK, then you better get going.

Anonymous

We'll see how that ends up.

CowperKettle

17:52

@snailplane Wish you all the best with your duty.

Jasper

18:22

@CowperKettle LOL, it's not an exam, LOL.

userr2684291

18:50

@snailplane Inform your fellow jurors of jury nullification. :>

I'm probably too late now.

CowperKettle

@Jasper I know

I meant "do your best"

I dunno what is the standard phrase here

@V.V. - good evening

V.V.

Good evening!

CowperKettle

@V.V. - I tried translating You walk unaware, but I became aware that I'd better walk over to my biochem translations..

> You walk unaware
Of the slender gazelle
That moves as you move
And is one with the limbs
That you have.

> Ты шаг – и она:
Так легка и стройна
Газель, что в тебе,
Что тебе её не
Увидать.

I don't like my translation.

userr2684291

@CowperKettle Probably Good luck with/on your jury duty!

CowperKettle

nods

V.V.

18:54

Interesting!

And unusual

I am struggling with "streams of clay", "echo and love ", and rhyme.

Jasper

That poem looks Russian to me.

V.V.

MERVIN PEAK To Maeve

CowperKettle

@V.V. Selena also struggles with "streams of clay"

I told her today that I would try to scrap "Идешь и не знаешь" and this is my attempt to remodel the first stanza.

But it has taken 1.5 hours!

I'm tired.

I'm struggling with limbs

Jasper

@CowperKettle Sorry but who is Selena?

CowperKettle

@Jasper A friend of ours

V.V.

19:01

I can't put everything into one line

CowperKettle

She speaks highly of you, V.V. (0:

Jasper

Oh OK. I thought it was Selena Gomez, the singer, LOL.

CowperKettle

Good night! (0:

V.V.

Well, we discussed the poem

Good night!

Jasper

I also wrote a poem that day which I suggested to my mum we put on the front door.

Dust
Enter not you must

That's it, just two lines, LOL.

V.V.

19:03

Lol

Jasper

I am Shakespeare, LOL.

V.V.

Almost

Jasper

Maybe I should add Russian to the list of languages to learn this lifetime.

I am trying to learn French, German, Italian, and Spanish, LOL.

userr2684291

That's a nice list alright.

Jasper

Yes, together with English, these are the 5 major languages of Western civilisation.

userr2684291

19:11

Mhm.

Jasper

The other 4 major languages would be Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian, and together these are the 9 full-sized dictionaries offered if you subscribe to oxforddictionaries.com.

userr2684291

Haha.

Jasper

Don't worry, I don't work for OUP, LOL.

But I did get the textbooks, grammars, and dictionaries for those 5 languages.

userr2684291

@Jasper You could've fooled me.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I am a dictionary connoisseur. I know all about choosing English dictionaries, LOL. I can compare like more than 10 of them, LOL.

Oh thanks for starring my poem. Now I will win the Nobel Literature Prize, LOL.

userr2684291

19:19

@Jasper What say you about English dictionaries – which one d'you find the most useful?

Jasper

@userr2684291 I will now give a summary of my great findings, LOL.

Let's talk about the advanced learner's dictionaries first.

userr2684291

No.

Haha. Just tell me which one you find the best for your own needs.

Jasper

Well, I change my mind all the time, LOL.

But currently, I am using the 2 volume Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

userr2684291

@Jasper What does "shorter" in the title mean?

Abridged or just fewer headwords?

Jasper

@userr2684291 It means that it is shorter than the 20 Volume Oxford English Dictionary, available for subscription at oed.com.

userr2684291

19:25

I see, shorter than that one.

Jasper

@userr2684291 It omits all the words obsolete before 1700, and has only 85,000 quotations instead of for every headword. However, the most recent edition was published in 2007, so is more updated than the 20 volumes published in 1989.

userr2684291

Ah, alright.

Jasper

Again, I don't work for OUP, LOL.

But I would like to mention one other dictionary.

userr2684291

Yes?

Jasper

Oxford Dictionary of English is the largest single volume dictionary from OUP. Compared to Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, it has less words but is more current as it is based on more current studies. However, it has one big problem.

It gives the pronunciation of only some headwords, not all.

When you visit en.oxforddictionaries.com, what you see is essentially the online version, freely available, of Oxford Dictionary of English.

However, the online version does have the pronunciation of all headwords.

userr2684291

19:30

Yep.

Jasper

I can go on about maybe 20 more dictionaries, but I won't bore everyone, LOL.

userr2684291

Go full bore, man. Haha. (I wonder about the meaning of bore in that phrase now.)

Jasper

Yeah, maybe you mean I am a boar, LOL.

userr2684291

I actually committed that eggcorn when I first wrote that word down: I thought it's about a boar that goes at full speed at someone...

It looks completely unrelated.

@Jasper Anyway, I have the OED (the second edition) on all my machines just in case, haha. I have other dictionaries downloaded as well, but most of them are unnecessary as long as en.oxforddictionaries.com, ldoceonline.com, and other online dictionaries remain easily accessible.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English has the most headwords, among all advanced learner's dictionaries.

userr2684291

19:48

@Jasper Oh, by the way, d'you happen to know which dictionary Google provides its definitions from when you search for a word (or force it by including the define operator)?

Jasper

@userr2684291 No, because I never use Google for definitions, LOL.

userr2684291

@Jasper And you call yourself a dictionary connoisseur... Tsk.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Oh dear, now my folly has been exposed, LOL.

userr2684291

I first thought it's the same one that's at en.oxforddictionaries.com, i.e., the ODE, but it's not.

Jasper

The American variant of Oxford Dictionary of English is New Oxford American Dictionary.

It just changes all the spellings and pronunciations to the American one, and adds some illustrations.

It also uses a diacritical respelling system instead of IPA.

However, the printed edition does have pronunciation for all headwords.

Otherwise, these two dictionaries are almost the same, LOL.

userr2684291

19:56

@Jasper Hm, I found one different definition so far – not that I've been searching for it, I just looked up the word twice for no reason in different dictionaries and noticed the dissimilarity.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Another point to note when comparing is that different versions of the dictionary are updated at different rates, so the online version is more updated than the printed version, for example.

userr2684291

Wait... actually...

I think Google uses the NOAD, yes.

I just realized that's also available at en.ox....com.

Jasper

Yes, it is, LOL.

The American variant exists in print and online, LOL.

userr2684291

But yeah, one difference.

Jasper

I suppose that like me you also use British spelling and pronunciation.

However sometimes I talk to myself aloud using American pronunciation.

userr2684291

20:02

Hahah.

@Jasper No, I don't.

Jasper

I talk to myself a lot every day.

userr2684291

I use my version of American English in both spelling and pronunciation.

Jasper

Then you should get an American dictionary instead! LOL

You see, although some dictionaries list both types, those that list primarily one type are more accurate in listing that type.

userr2684291

@Jasper Why would I?

Jasper

@userr2684291 See above, lol.

userr2684291

20:06

@Jasper I mean I told you what dictionaries I use...

Jasper

@userr2684291 Yes. I understand you, and I think you also understand me, so that's good, LOL.

userr2684291

@Jasper The LDOCE tells you when a word is chiefly British or chiefly American or something like that, and definitions are pretty much standard across the board.

Jasper

Yes, and it even tells you how tomato is pronounced on both sides of the Atlantic.

userr2684291

Yeah.

Jasper

In daily life where I live (secret location) I use a modified version of British pronunciation.

I also use slightly different accents when talking to different groups of people.

userr2684291

20:10

Haha.

Jasper

Use the type that suits your target audience.

Likewise there is Canadian French and Parisian French, or Mexican Spanish and Madridian Spanish, LOL.

userr2684291

@Jasper That's interesting actually, because when I talk to my Australian friends, maybe 2 sentences into the conversation I can't help but convert my weird American accent to a weird Australian accent.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I confess that I have great difficulty understanding some Australians. It really sounds terrible.

The authority on Australian English however is the Macquarie Dictionary!

userr2684291

Haha.

Jasper

Now this dictionary can only be bought in Australia or on Australian websites.

userr2684291

20:16

I'm pretty sure I have a pirated version somewhere, lol.

Jasper

LOL

userr2684291

Or not... meh, I don't need any more dictionaries.

Jasper

I use pirated versions to evaluate math books before buying them.

userr2684291

@Jasper I only downloaded all my dictionaries so I can search them more easily.

Well, I needed that maybe a year ago when I was searching for all definitions containing certain words.

Jasper

Do you go back to school next week, or next next week?

userr2684291

20:23

The week before the tenth month this year.

Pretty sure that's like... next week or something?

Jasper

Tenth month, LOL. You don't remember October?

userr2684291

Who knows, I'll get an email when it starts anyway, lol.

I don't know the names of months in English very well.

Jasper

Do you study in your country or another country?

userr2684291

Currently the former.

(I also don't know the names of months in my first language.)

Jasper

I have a dream, that there are no countries, just one big world, like John Lennon.

userr2684291

20:28

John Lennon is a big world indeed.

Jasper

Maybe he is a dream.

userr2684291

I made some palačinke (crepes) today, filled them with sugar like an animal, and ate that.

We didn't have any jam.

Not sure what that's called in AmE.

Jasper

I see. I don't exercise much, so I try not to eat too much.

userr2684291

Oh, I've never had any problems with that.

Just not sure how healthful it is to eat a lot of raw sugar.

Jasper

You used healthful and not healthy, lol.

You sure are very particular about your words, lol.

userr2684291

20:36

That prescriptive advice I read somewhere ages ago has finally paid off.

Jasper

Finally paid off? LOL.

Well, it does impress a lunatic like me, LOL.

userr2684291

Hahaha.

Oh, I found a website with really obscure words; let me try to find it.

phrontistery.info/ihlstart.html

Jasper

20:53

@userr2684291 Caducibranchiate is one word not in the SOED.

userr2684291

@Jasper It's in the OED.

"Of Amphibians: Losing their gills before reaching maturity (like the frog). Also as n."

Jasper

@userr2684291 It is also in Collins English Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary.

userr2684291

Also in Webster's dictionary.

Jasper

You mean Webster's Third New International Dictionary, or W3, LOL.

userr2684291

Yep.

Jasper

20:56

Also known as Merriam-Webster's Unabridged.

userr2684291

Yeah, I'm not very happy with that dictionary, but sometimes it contains words the OED doesn't.

Also, I generally don't like it; the OED seems more comprehensive: its definitions, albeit sometimes difficult to understand, seem to cover it all.

Jasper

W3 has not been updated since 1961.

New words are added in an addendum in front.

But the meat of the printed form remains unchanged.

However, you can subscribe to the online version at unabridged.merriam-webster.com.

userr2684291

Smh.

Jasper

I don't work at MW, by the way, LOL.

userr2684291

(That's the first time I used that silly abbreviation.)

Jasper

21:03

LOL. You must also be a lunatic like me, LOL.

I have no idea what smh means.

userr2684291

In what way, haha?

Oh, I know what it means, I'd just never used it before.

Jasper

What does it mean?

userr2684291

It means "shaking my head" as in "I'm disappointed" or "not again...".

Jasper

I guessed it was 'so much hype', LOL.

userr2684291

I'm very inconsistent in my use of initialisms, but I rationalize it as unimportant (unlike my emoticons!).

Jasper

21:10

Rationalize is the Oxford spelling, LOL.

userr2684291

Yes.

Jasper

They have the Oxford spelling and the Oxford comma too, LOL.

Hmm, I see you know many things.

userr2684291

I know some things.

Jasper

I know nothing, LOL.

userr2684291

21:25

@Jasper That's a good start.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I wish I could start all over in life. =D

userr2684291

@Jasper You're not dead or moribund.

Jasper

Moribund is not in my vocab, lol.

userr2684291

@Jasper Do possess yourself of it.

Jasper

@userr2684291 LOL. Possess is in my vocab.

userr2684291

21:49

@Jasper hastebin.com/raw/owafiqumay I know no-one asked for it, but that's a list of all supposedly English words ending in -bund that I could find. Most of them are rare.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Why did you use hastebin, lol.

cogitabund
cumberbund
cummerbund
errabund
furibund
kummerbund
meditabund
moribund
plunderbund
pudibund
ridibund
sangerbund
unmoribund

There, this is more convenient.

userr2684291

Yeah, but it takes a lot of space.

And no one asked for it, haha.

Jasper

It's OK, it doesn't bother anyone.

After all, we own the room now, lol.

userr2684291

I was just curious, because -bund isn't a prolific suffix.

Jasper

@userr2684291 By the way, shouldn't you be out partying instead of hanging out in a chatroom? LOL.

userr2684291

22:03

@Jasper I don't do that generally, but I'm currently reading something – I'm not here exclusively. The friends I hang out with don't do it either. Maybe if it's someone's birthday or a similarly "special" occasion.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I see. I cannot help but feel that your writing is too perfect for a chat room. You are the only SE user I have observed who writes every sentence with perfect punctuation and formatting. =)

Talking about punctuation, I am very frustrated, because so many different guides will say different things. It is as complicated as grammar itself.

However, the final chapter of CGEL does cover punctuation.

userr2684291

@Jasper Eh, it's not really perfect, and it's just a habit I kept when I'm not in a hurry or on my phone.

@Jasper I wouldn't worry much about most of it.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I was a little obsessed with punctuation a few years ago. I spent a whole week studying the comma, and then I gave up. Too many different conventions.

userr2684291

@Jasper Hm...

I think some conventions are more conventional than others, however.

Jasper

Butcher's Copy-Editing published by CUP recommends consulting Trask's Guide to Punctuation.

Now Trask is a world class linguist, but I read that little book years ago, and it seems some of it is very unconventional, so I would not recommend it.

userr2684291

22:17

Oh, the OED contains other -bund words.

Tremebund, plorabund, minitabund, ludibund, letabund, lachrymabund, gaudibund, and aspectabund.

Jasper

LOL, and I am just a bund, LOL.

userr2684291

Haha. It takes so much time to search the whole dictionary.

Jasper

Yeah, which is why we shouldn't search at all.

userr2684291

I let it search on its own, and then it takes about 10 minutes or something.

Jasper

LOL, you must be using bad software to search a pirated copy.

userr2684291

22:30

@Jasper It's just so huge, you know?

Jasper

@userr2684291 Yeah, but from my experience, for example, searching a DJVU file can be 10 times as fast as searching a PDF file in Adobe Reader. =D

userr2684291

Right.

Anyway, I found them all, and it appears Webster has fewer headwords with that suffix.

(Even though it appears to have more entries in total.)

Jasper

I think there is an 1828 dictionary which you still can buy, called An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Webster himself. Not too sure about that though.

userr2684291

This one's called Webster's New Third International Unabridged Dictionary.

I think that one will suffice.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Third New, not New Third, I think.

@userr2684291 I didn't ask you to buy the 1828 one, it is so outdated, lol. I just mentioned it for historical reasons.

userr2684291

22:43

@Jasper Ah, the label seems to be off.

Jasper

@userr2684291 It must be a pirated copy then, LOL

Maybe I am wrong, let me see...

userr2684291

No, you're right.

Jasper

merriam-webster.com/shop-dictionaries/dictionaries/…

I think I will just stick to ELL chat and main site for now, too much drama elsewhere, lol.

userr2684291

I've only recently discovered the thesaurus that website offers.

Jasper

Oh, I have never used a thesaurus in my entire life.

userr2684291

22:51

Well, sometimes I know a word with the meaning close to the one I can't remember, so that's why I use it.

Jasper

I just do all my writing using very simple words, and never had the need to use an alternative word.

Other than English, I also speak Chinese.

userr2684291

I'll be honest, I didn't know what moribund meant in simple English, I'd tell you it means "about to die" or "close to dying", but I couldn't remember the simpler adjective, "dying".

@Jasper Oh, that's nice.

But yeah, or sometimes I know a slang/colloquial term but not the informal or neutral word.

Thesauri help with that.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I actually speak both natively, but my Chinese is not too good.

userr2684291

@Jasper Well, there was a time when I was really gung-ho (heh) about learning Chinese, and now I feel that need again. I simply think it'd be a good investment for the future, and I don't dislike the language at all, so that's good.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I see. You can ask me if you have problems with Chinese, lol.

userr2684291

23:03

We'll see, we'll see. Thank you for the offer.

I'm going to bed now.

Jasper

Good night. =D

userr2684291

Good night.

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