Language Overflow

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Jasper

02:26

Goodnight, everyone. Have a nice weekend.

Anonymous

02:37

@Jasper You too, Blue Square!

Anonymous

@Jasper I'll try too!

Anonymous

Test.

Anonymous

Test.

Anonymous

I may have cheated, though.

Man_From_India

02:52

Good morning folks

Anonymous

Good morning! :-)

CowperKettle

04:05

Good morning, @snailplane, Man Ji!

Poem of the day: Autumn daybreak

> Cold wind of autumn, blowing loud
At dawn, a fortnight overdue,
Jostling the doors, and tearing through
My bedroom to rejoin the cloud,
I know—for I can hear the hiss
And scrape of leaves along the floor—
How may boughs, lashed bare by this,
Will rake the cluttered sky once more.
Tardy, and somewhat south of east,
The sun will rise at length, made known
More by the meagre light increased
Than by a disk in splendour shown;
When, having but to turn my head,
Through the stripped maple I shall see,

3 hours later…

CowperKettle

06:46

How do I name the column in a fill-and-capping machine readiness checklist in which the employee should leave the "completed" mark?

"Completion"?

There are two columns, the first is named "Operation" (like "take the product manufacturing record from your Supervisor") the second is named "Mark signifying performance" in Russian.

1 hour later…

CowperKettle

08:14

> Check the vacuum pump for operability.

(From a checklist)

Is this good? What are the possible alternatives?

CowperKettle

08:25

Word of the day: ility

> Operability is considered one of the ilities and is closely related to reliability, supportability and maintainability. (From Wikipedia)

CowperKettle

08:44

> Check the vacuum pump for operability. When the pump operates, one can hear the characteristic sound and witness the presence of vacuum in the stoppering unit.

Is there a better way to put it?

1 hour later…

CowperKettle

10:00

Q: How do I call this "cogwheel" that feeds tin cans to a specific position?

This is an above view of a system in which tin cans arrive via conveyor (1) to a "feeding star" ("подающая звезда" in Russian; No. 5) and are placed firmly in slot 4. (source in Russian) How does one call this "feeding star" in English? I'm actually translating a text about a pharmaceutical ...

terminology

@snailplane, do you think it would be okay to crosspost the above question on ELL or ELU?

4 hours later…

Araucaria

14:29

A: What kind of word is HOW here? "We will look at how its used"

Short answer We will look at how this is used. This sentence contains a subordinate clause how it was used This is in fact an interrogative clause. And the word how here is an interrogative adverb. Full answer: Adjuncts We often put extra information at the end of a clause explaini...

Lawrence

14:43

@CowperKettle Consider completed.

2 hours later…

V.V.

17:09

"Pontoon, five cards, trick only." (People are playing cards and one says this sentence ) What's the meaning of "trick only"?Thanks in advance.

Jasper

17:35

@V.V. I think it's some terms related to the game itself. I don't play this game, so I don't know. But it's not some special English word here, just some game term.

2 hours later…

V.V.

19:05

Thanks @Jasper. I was just thinking if it was connected with cheating of some kind. If not, then it's clear.

Jasper

@V.V. By the way, since you are in Russia, I wonder whether you have heard of Assimil.

V.V.

No. I just found it's of French origin.

Jasper

I see. Assimil is not well known outside Europe.

And Russia is half Europe, half Asia.

V.V.

I just found textbooks for our learners. So people know it

Jasper

Many polyglots consider Assimil one of the best courses.

There is a Russian course for English speakers.

V.V.

19:17

"English without pains." or "easy English".

Jasper

That is the English course for French speakers, Anglais Sans Peine.

Anyway, they have different courses with different native language and target language. You can choose from the table at fr.assimil.com

V.V.

For Russian speakers.

Jasper

Ah yes, OK.

V.V.

I wonder, a Russian course written by French people?

Jasper

The people who write the course usually know a few languages.

Most of the courses are first made for French speakers.

Then sometimes they get another person to translate from French into another base language for other speakers.

V.V.

19:23

They are usually OK as basic courses

Jasper

It is the best course I can find after doing research on the various courses available for language learners.

I recommend Assimil to everyone who wants to learn on their own.

V.V.

I should have a look.

Jasper

Remember the table there lets you choose the base and target languages.

And the course is the Sans Peine course, which takes you from beginner to B2 Level of the CEFR.

Definitely get the audio as well as the book.

It usually comes in a set at a discounted price if you get both audio and book together.

V.V.

I saw a lot of textbooks. I never use one.

Jasper

I bought the Assimil course for French, German, Italian, and Spanish. =)

Anonymous

19:32

@V.V. They're making the rules more specific, talking about a specific variation on the rules for the game. To understand what they said, you have to understand the rules of the game.

Jasper

@snailplane What is the game called?

Anonymous

Pontoon.

Anonymous

Pontoon (card game)

Pontoon is a name shared by two distinct card games, both blackjack variants. For those in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, pontoon is a card game similar to match play 21 or Spanish 21, while in the UK, a game of pontoon holds closer to the traditional blackjack rules, but can be quickly distinguished by the verbal usage of the terms "twist" and "stick". The Malaysian version of pontoon is played in Australian, Malaysian, British, and Singaporean casinos. using multiple customized decks of cards. In the Treasury Casino, Brisbane, it is known as Treasury 21. In Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast, it...

Anonymous

pagat.com/banking/pontoon.html

Anonymous

The Wikipedia page doesn't mention the "trick" bit, but that other page does.

Anonymous

19:35

Presumably it made sense to whoever was saying it. I don't know the rules exactly.

V.V.

Good. I know the terminology. I should find it in Russian. Because I also need the verb "stick". Thank you, @snailplane.

21 is the clue.