English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

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Faheem Mitha

19:00

plus a picture of a kitty, yet.

Robusto

That's Hello Kitty to you. With sparkles, I might add.

Kit

@FaheemMitha This might help.

Robusto

@FaheemMitha — Standard AP style says numbers under 10 get spelled out, everything over is rendered as numerals.

Faheem Mitha

@Kit : Thanks Kit. That seems to cover the issue quite well. Personally, I was going to go with consistency, but thought I'd see what others said.

Robusto

But it varies depending on style guides, etc.

Faheem Mitha

19:02

@Robusto : AP?

Kit

@Robusto Lick this toad, then look at the Hello Kitty again.

Robusto

Associated Press

Faheem Mitha

@Robusto : Ah. The journalist organization?

Ok, thanks.

Robusto

@Kit — Where do you think I got them sparkles?

@FaheemMitha — Ayup.

Faheem Mitha

19:14

I was thinking of just using numerals everywhere. This is a numerical section of a math paper. If I do so, will the English purists take me out back and shoot me?

There is some seeming contradiction here:

Today, it is a simply an issue of style, so it is not wrong to always write numbers with numerals or to always write them in full. For instance, APA recommends that numbers below 10 are written in full, while numbers 10 and above are written with numerals. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends that all numbers below 100 are written in full, with numbers above 100 written as numerals.

Both style guides prohibit mixing spelt out numbers with numbers expressed as numerals, favouring numerals for all numbers when they are mixed.

So is the issue whether the numbers are "mixed", whatever that means?

Kit

@FaheemMitha If it's mathematics, you can probably get away with numerals everywhere.

RegDwight

Q: Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals?

The junction has a stop sign on each of the four entrances. The junction has a stop sign on each of the 4 entrances. The first is preferred, for some reason, by many English texts. Why? I haven't seen this phenomenon in other languages.

Faheem Mitha

but if <10 is neatly separated from >10 then the former should be written out as words? seems a little wacky to me.

@Kit : That's what I'm thinking.

Kit

@FaheemMitha Especially if your topic is numbers.

Faheem Mitha

wonder where the hello kitty crowd went.

@Kit : well, it's applied probability, so not exactly. but yes, I think i'll just go with all numbers. Thanks everyone for the assistance.

Kit

19:18

@FaheemMitha They're just lurking, I'm sure.

@FaheemMitha Yes, I think that'll do then. You're welcome.

RegDwight

@FaheemMitha Note that every publication will have their own guidelines. It it's a paper, just ask around or have a look at previous papers.

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwight : For something as specific as this, I very much doubt anyone cares. And the proofreaders have been over it, and didn't comment on my (inconsistent by any measure) usage in this context.

But proofreaders are not what they were in the good old days.

RegDwight

I see... Well, if you are the only one to care, then care any way you like.)))

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwight : Right.

aka The Incomprehensible Room ?

yikes.

RegDwight

Outsiders keep telling us that we switch between hundreds of languages at a blazing speed.

So rather than trying to catch up, they just call us incomprehensible.

Faheem Mitha

19:30

@RegDwight : Don't see hundreds of languages here. Saw some German back there.

You guys should hop on over to unix.sx. It's dull there.

RegDwight

What, you didn't read the entire transcript????

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwight : What transcript?

RegDwight

The chat transcript. It's only six months worth of multilingual jokes and puns and wordplays.

And @Martha's baby pictures.

Martha

@RegDwight @Martha's niece's baby pictures. Get it right.

RegDwight

@FaheemMitha I'm not following your logic. Why should we hop over to somewhere that's dull?

Faheem Mitha

19:33

@RegDwight : Oh, I see. No, life is too short. I could also try to read everything on the internet. It would only take me a few thousand years. Assuming everyone stopped producing stuff now.

@RegDwight : To liven it up?

RegDwight

@FaheemMitha Wait, you didn't read the entire Internet????

Dude, don't let me down like that.

Faheem Mitha

@Martha : Baby pictures? Nice.

Babies are cute.

Martha

Faheem Mitha

@Martha : So what's his/her name?

Robusto

I am outta here. Have a good weekend.

Martha

19:41

(I'm going to remove that in a moment.)

Kit

@Robusto Bye, Robusto.

Martha

(No need to spread the niece's personal info all over the internet.)

RegDwight

She'll spread it soon enough herself.

Vitaly

Word.

Kit

@Vitaly So how do you prove the non-existence of something?

@RegDwight So what should I name this stored procedure?

Vitaly

19:55

@Kit You tell @RegDwight to do it.

RegDwight

I'm not participating in this chat. @Martha has killed it. :P

Kit

@RegDwight What is the name of the function I wrote to find the schools that are associated with the users?

RegDwight

Wut?

What schools? What users? Who are you? KITT, hol mich hier raus!!

Kit

@RegDwight english.stackexchange.com/questions/26668/… so I thought you could help.

RegDwight

Wow, now you make even less sense. Who would've thunk.

Seriously, help me out.

I'm not following.

Kit

20:01

@RegDwight This unit is malfunctioning.

RegDwight

Turing tests are hard.

Kit

@RegDwight Please stand by while we install your updates...

RegDwight

May I sit by?

Kit

@RegDwight Installing update 1 of 271465709...

RegDwight

May I sleep by?

Martha

20:14

@RegDwight Why, thank you for the compliment.

RegDwight

Compliments are half lies. I'm just stating facts.

Martha

Kit

@Martha ZOMG!

She's what, 11 months?

Martha

Just past 10 months.

In fact, in that picture, she's exactly 10 months old.

Kit

@Martha Are you part of a family of wealth and power? We might be able to arrange an alliance between our houses...

Martha

20:26

Uh, um, does a distantly-related Nobel Prize winner in the family tree count?

(Ok, not so distant: brother-in-law's dad's cousin.)

Kit

@Martha Compared to my lineage? Definitely would be a step up for us.

@Martha Wait, which Nobel Prize?

Martha

... uh. Um. Medicine, I think. (I'm terrible, I know.)

RegDwight

Martha

Might've been chemistry. Lemme look it up.

Here, have a temporary link.

RegDwight

Nobel Prize + Hungary + Medicine or chemistry or whatever + niece's name = street address and phone numba!

Martha

20:30

Everyone had their fill? It's going away in 3... 2... 1...

Kit

@RegDwight Not quite. I've got to get his cousin's son's sibling's wife's niece's name.

RegDwight

@Kit Piece of cake. Once you pass the Turing test, that is.

Also, her boss really likes Java. Or JavaScript. He really doesn't care. But he likes it.

If that ain't a dead giveaway, nuthin is.

Kit

@RegDwight Oh, well that cinches it. I've totally got her ticket now.

RegDwight

See, I toldya.

Kit

@Martha I was so hoping that it was Ignaz Semmelweis.

He's the only Hungarian I know, and I do so adore him.

Quitting time. TTFN.

RegDwight

20:38

Night!

Jez

21:32

Anyone awake?

RegDwight

Sure.

RegDwight

21:57

But not anymore!

Night all!

Vitaly

Night.

jsoldi

22:16

is anyone here?

I need to know a word

I speak spanish mainly but I don't even know how to say it in spanish hehe

how do you say when something leaves a trace, but in a negative way

like for instance, the appendix is a "trace" of evolution in the sense that is not useful now but just a consequence of something else, but is not just a "trace" but is a "bad trace" because it can make us sick and all that

Jez

there's 'vestigial', but it doesn't necessarily imply bad

jsoldi

when there is, for instance a nuclear bomb

how to you call the damage after the bomb because of radiation

what's the more general way to call that damage?

Jez

fallout

collateral damage

jsoldi

well seems like fallout is pretty close. Thanks!

Vitaly

22:32

What language is this?

Martha

22:45

Uh, something that uses Chinese characters? :p

Spare Oom

22:58

Hi, people.

@Vitaly Is it Korean?

Vitaly

I am the one who is asking. Hi.

Spare Oom

It looks Korean to me, but I couldn't swear to it.

@Martha and @psmears could you confirm or deny @Vitaly's language question?

Martha

23:15

How should I know?

Spare Oom

I apparently don't have Korean as a language choice without using Unicode.

@Martha You mentioned Chinese characters

They don't look like Chinese to me, but I don't speak or read Chinese.

Martha

They look like Chinese characters to me. But I'm no expert - they could be Japanese, or Korean, or something else Oriental-ish.

Spare Oom

They do look Asian.

What's the difference between Oriental and Asian, btw?

I had a friend that seemed to think Oriental is offensive nowadays.

Gigili

@Vitaly None-sense-ish

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