English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Miss

3:03 PM

well my google translator is not completely convert into English.. <== Is this right sentence ?

if no then why ?

Cerberus

@Miss Nope...

Miss

why

and how where .. not right

@cerberus: why and where is mistake .or wrong..

Cerberus

It depends on what you want to say. How about this: well, Google Translate will not completely convert this text into English?

Miss

well i did .. but my google si not translating completely in Englsih

RegDwight

BTW, @Miss, you keep asking "is this right sentence ?" many times over. That is ungrammatical. Try "Is this sentence correct?" or something like that.

Miss

3:07 PM

hmm sorry...:(

RegDwight

No worries.

Miss

I will do care next time

MrHen

:(

z7sg

I think you mean I will take care next time. :)

Miss

hmm but what wrong do care == take care

Can't we say do care

take care can be used for human

but not things .. what's say ?

z7sg

3:10 PM

@Miss I will take care. = I will be careful.

I will take care of you. = I will look after you.

Miss

hmm i see

and what about for things

z7sg

@Miss I'm not sure what you want to do with the things.

aedia

@Miss We also say take care when we mean to be careful or watch out about things, or care for animals. "Take care not to slip on the ice," "Take care of your notebook, it's the only one you've got," "I will take care of my pet rabbit."

Cerberus

Or "don't worry about Pompeius: the third fleet will take care of him".

Martha

Dammit, they're at it again.

Hi @Kit.

RegDwight

3:13 PM

s/again/still/.

Martha

@RegDwight Right, sorry.

aedia

@Miss I would say "do care" to emphasize how much I care. "I really do care about speaking English!" to say that it does mean a lot to me, even though you might think I am not trying hard

Martha

@Kit, have I mentioned your newest avatar looks awfully like @RegDwight's current bunny-rabbit-which-isn't-a-bunny-rabbit? I mean, obviously yours is cuter, but at first glance, I keep getting confused.

Miss

hmm i see

thanks

RegDwight

@Martha Wait what? You do realize that I gave her her gravatar, right?

So it's me who's doubly cute. And Kit is just affiliated with stuff.

Martha

3:16 PM

@RegDwight Hers is still cuter.

Lordy, can you guys talk about anything other than that stupid game?

Cerberus

Sowwy.

It is rather annoying, innit.

Martha

RegDwight

chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/748/war-metal-tyrant

3

Martha

See? I'm having to resort to niece pictures from three months ago.

@RegDwight Thank you!!!!

z7sg

@RegDwight I'm tempted to star that post.

Martha

3:22 PM

@z7sg I didn't even bother to resist the temptation.

Of course, now I have to leave. Stupid work.

RegDwight

Now if only I could find a way to move all our War-Metal-Tyrant related stuff from this room to that other one...

I know that you can do that.

But I don't see how.

Cerberus

@Vitaly All three fine. Pick two. Gravity Tank is nice and fast.

Martha

@Cerberus chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/748/war-metal-tyrant

z7sg

I didn't resist that time.

Cerberus

Good idea!

Martha

3:25 PM

Uh, could we standardize on one other-room-chat-link to star?

Cerberus

Hehe.

aedia

Heh. So, Martha, how are you? Oh, you're leaving to do w-o-r-k. Sad.

Cerberus

Let's talk English!

aedia

But I want to learn more Dutch!

RegDwight

20

Dutch Language & Usage

Proposed Q&A site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Dutch language.

Currently in definition.

K pipls I gotta go in a minute. TTYL.

Vitaly

3:28 PM

Later.

aedia

Byes!

Jez

French Language and Usage

General discussion for French Language and Usage - PLEASE USE ...

;-)

aedia

@Jez je ne parle pas français!

Jez

@aedia Raison de plus pour adhérer de cette proposition

aedia

@Jez But I haven't any commits left :(

Jez

3:33 PM

ah, shame

aedia

So sad. Linguistics better get going soon. I have been waiting ages.

Cerberus

Same here!

I have even posted it on my Facebook.

Jez

Libraries is getting a metric ton of committers, from new accounts

someone must've promoted it ex-StackExchange

aedia

@Cerberus If you don't mind me asking, are you a real linguist, like, did you go to school for linguistics? I am just pretend, but I'm thinking about grad school.

I have a CS degree but I think I've forgotten everything I don't use regularly.

Cerberus

@aedia I am a classicist, so I did some courses on linguistics. But I have no degree specifically in linguistics, no. What is CS?

aedia

3:42 PM

@Cerberus Computer science, sorry :)

Cerberus

@Jez Libraries? Hmm... what kind of questions are they asking there?

@aedia Ah, OK. I should have known, Stackexchange and all...

You will probably linguisticize yourself out in any case, once it goes live...

aedia

@Cerberus Mmm, now I want some linguini.

@Cerberus Yeah, I hope to either burn out and get bored or find a research interest. I've been reading some basic texts and listening to some lectures and stuff, but I still don't know what I'm any good at, really.

Grad school applications are formidable. It seems like you already have to know what you want to do with your life. And I'm just a working nobody, jack-of-all-trades kind of person.

Cerberus

If you have the opportunity to go to grad school, why not?

Oh.

Yeah, I know the feeling.

You could browse and ask around, see what research projects are looking for students?

aedia

3:58 PM

I gotta take the GRE (entrance exam) too, and this is a stupid hurdle, but I'm terrified of it. My last scores are too old, but they were bad anyway - I took it in the midst of my awful, horrible breakup with my ex.

I'm not even scared of like, spiders or bees or heights or anything as much as thinking about my ex.

Cerberus

I think you can pass GRE... is it that hard? I have only ever scanned one or two questions...

Right, exes can be tough.

But the GRE is not related to your ex... shake him/her off!

aedia

@Cerberus I really should. I'm a little nervous they will not think I'm serious until I have a clue what I want to research. I suppose a polite inquiry won't hurt.

@Cerberus 'Tis like a zombie memory though! Always making me feel stupid. Arrgh.

Cerberus

Yeah. My friend happened to come upon a n advertisement for a research project that matched her interests exactly. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to get her PhD, nor whether she was fit for it.

aedia

@Cerberus I will try.

Cerberus

How long ago is that?

aedia

4:03 PM

Six years almost? I think that's right.

See, I'm bad at math! I doubt my subtraction abilities... how am I ever going to pass the GRE cries

I used to be able to do calculus. I think something happened to me.

Cerberus

Heh, I am bad at that kind of stuff too. I can't even remember whether bottle lids should be turned right or left to open.

It doesn't matter.

aedia

@Cerberus I know that one! Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. I know because it's the same for drum keys, to tighten and loosen snare drum heads and raise and lower the stands. I was a band geek.

Cerberus

But... I can't even remember what turning left means! Is it the top of the lid that goes right, or the bottom?

Oh, I have to go catch my train.

aedia

@Cerberus Oh, dear. That's a philosophical question, I think.

@Cerberus Commute safe!

Cerberus

@aedia For me, it is quite practical! Heh, bye!

Martha

4:12 PM

@aedia My problem is too fundamental for that mnemonic to help: which way's "left"? I mean, I know I have two sides, and I don't confuse them, but associating a particular word with each side is... hard.

aedia

@Martha I've never really had trouble with left and right body-sides, or left=ccw, right=clockwise, but I had extreme difficulty with the words used for the beltway roads around here. I was always accustomed to North and such and here they were saying "inner loop", even in places where it was not at all obvious there was an inside...

@Martha I still want to say "take the beltway counter-clockwise" rather than "take the outer loop". I have to draw a mental picture with cars in the proper lanes to figure out what direction the inner and outer loop go, and that's bad to do while driving, I think.

Jez

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14070733

ha! News Of The World is to be terminated

I suppose that makes The Sun the UK's best selling paper now. There's a step up in class.

Martha

@aedia Never lived near DC, but I've gotten suitably lost while passing through. Beltways are hard. They totally mess with your sense of direction.

Rhodri

@Jez I wonder if they're trying to stop the public enquiry before it can start. I wouldn't put it past Murdoch

Jez

Looks like there's been a pretty big 'public enquiry' already

Rhodri

4:26 PM

@Jez There's been a couple of police enquiries of varying effectiveness, but no formal public enquiry.

The politicians scent the blood of their ancient enemies, the journalists. Usually it's the other way round.

Jez

i thought their enemies were believers in democracy

Rhodri

Petty newcomers. They'll learn :-)

Kit

Holy crap. So they finally created a War Metal Tyrant room?

Rhodri

Ayup. Quiet here, isn't it?

z7sg

@Jez NotW is the Sunday sister paper of The Sun.

I mean was.

"It is too late to undo this operation"

Kit

4:34 PM

@Rhodri Only because I was at lunch.

Rhodri

@Jez: if it makes you feel any better, The Times belongs to the same stable as The Sun, and even shares journalists.

If it makes you feel worse, ignore me :-)

Kit

There was a Canadian paper, which was like The Inquirer in the US. It might have been called The Sun as well...

The ad campaign was "all the freedom of speech you deserve."

Ouch.

Rhodri

That reminds me of a line from an RPG campaign chronicle done in the style of a monthly broadsheet.

"The Chroniclers know exactly what happened, and in the interests of the Freedom of the Press we aren't saying."

aedia

Sun (supermarket tabloid)

Sun is a supermarket tabloid owned by American Media Inc. Its contents have often come under question and has been widely regarded as "sensationalistic writing." Since a 1992 invasion of privacy case, a small-print disclaimer printed beneath the masthead has warned readers to "suspend belief for the sake of enjoyment." The paper was founded by Mike Rosenbloom, then-publisher of Globe Magazine, in 1983 as a competitor to Weekly World News, and its early contents reflected the same kind of imaginative journalism. When both papers were consolidated under American Media Inc. ownership in ...

Weekly World News

The Weekly World News was a supermarket tabloid published in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have become pop-culture images widely used in the arts. It continues to exist as a website. History The WWN was launched in 1979 by publisher Generoso Pope, Jr. as a means to continue using the black and white press that the higher-profile tabloid, The National Enquirer, had been printed on, when the sist...

Weekly World News is gone! Ohhh. Sad.

How will I learn about cats rescuing people from burning buildings while in the supermarket checkout now?

I knew I hadn't seen one of these in a while, but I kind of miss them. Even this Wikipedia entry brings back fond memories of my mom teaching us kids to be skeptical.

z7sg

4:51 PM

Ah that is how one goes about teaching skepticism to invisible pink unicorns, I had wondered.

RegDwight

0

A: Ofcourse or of course?

I just checked Merriam-Webster dictionary and it has the 'ofcourse' defined as a 'matter of course', i.e. a natural flow of events.

D'oh. I wonder if he actually saw the accepted answer (mine) which explicitly links to that very page on Merriam-Webster, which is actually not about "ofcourse", but only mentions "of course".

What worth are dictionaries, if people cannot read?

Rhodri

That's... special.

@RegDwight Wait, you're expecting people to read? I thought The Intarweb was write-only.

RegDwight

May 27 at 11:54, by RegDwight

I am write-only.

aedia

@z7sg Also, by muting commercials and analyzing them. "Do you really think that toy made the kids happier? Do you remember what product this is even for; can you tell without the sound?" Or maybe I just have a very weird family.

Kit

@aedia WHAT?! <— incredulity

What about bat boy? How is he going to make a living now?

z7sg

5:04 PM

@aedia Well I can't say cos I do have a weird family. But my parents never did that, if we were occupied with watching TV they would just be thankful for the respite I guess. Though I always preferred the computer or playing with lego.

aedia

@RegDwight You mean your right only, ofcourse. Sheesh, alot of the time I feel like noone can reed or rite anymore.

Kit

I am so sad. And apparently out-of-touch.

RegDwight

@aedia It's nöone, damnit! Nöone!!!

4

aedia

@Kit I think there might still be a website but it's ceased printing.

Kit

@RegDwight That's technically accurate, right?

RegDwight

5:07 PM

Let me see... ah yes, it was me who said it. In that case yes, it is correct.

Rhodri

It's sad how the diaeresis has fallen out of favour. I blame removing Ancient Greek from the syllabus.

Jez

the dia...whatwhat?

RegDwight

Yeah, all of Ancient Greek moved out of the syllabus and into Cerberus' house.

aedia

@z7sg We didn't have a computer in the early part of my youth. It's only been ten years or so since my parents got the internet. I should have had an anniversary party.

Rhodri

@Jez OK, so it's really a trema

Tariq

5:09 PM

Hello

aedia

@RegDwight See, you are right only.

Rhodri

@Tariq Hello there!

RegDwight

@aedia BTW, Cerberus is a philosopher.

Tariq

Hi

RegDwight

Cerberus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

604 2 9

He said so on one of his profiles, can't remember where.

Tariq

5:11 PM

philosopher is complicated term

RegDwight

Harry Potter and the Cerberus Stone.

aedia

@RegDwight Oh, wow. That is all full of words I don't know.

RegDwight

I no, rite?

Phew. Edited before it got embarrassing.

Tariq

What is the advantage to chat here?

What's the topic?

RegDwight

11

A: What are the main points of criticism of the ancient Stoic school vis-a-vis the system of philosophy of the Epicureans?

First it must be said that hedonism in the modern sense was not the core of Epicurism: Epicurus used the word ἡδονή (hêdonê, "pleasure") in a less obvious sense. Epicureans strove after ataraxia, "unperturbedness" of the soul: a state of mind where neither pain nor pleasure affected the soul too...

> Life is a cart pulled by dogs

Sure you would say that, @Cerberus.

Sure.

@Tariq You need an advantage? Deuce is not enough?

As to the topic,

Apr 26 at 20:47, by RegDwight

General discussion about English Language and Usage, plus some fooling around.

Rhodri

5:15 PM

@Tariq We just like to chat

aedia

@Tariq If you have questions about something on the EL&U site that are more than you would want to put in comments, it's good to ask here.

Tariq

OK Good

Rhodri

When it says "plus some fooling around" it means "in the brief intervals when we aren't fooling around."

RegDwight

But you can also talk about hares, Muppets, and vikings.

@Rhodri Why is it that every single time I quote that someone replies with what you just said???

aedia

@Rhodri Wait, we're supposed to be fooling around in the intervals between fooling around? I'm tired. I need a refractory period.

RegDwight

5:17 PM

Mar 11 at 17:08, by RD01

Heavy on the fooling around.

And so on. Search for yourself if you don't believe me.

Rhodri

@RegDwight Narrative inevitability.

RegDwight

But... but... but... what about free will? @Vitaly, HALP

Kit

@RegDwight Cabbages and kings.

RegDwight

The cat may look at cabbages.

Kit

@Tariq And in a variety of languages as well. Not just English.

RegDwight

5:21 PM

Hence the name, the Incomprehensible Room.

Because people keep dropping by and not understanding what language we are speaking.

Rhodri

Heck, we don't understand what language we are speaking half the time.

Kit

What? Huh?

Rhodri

See?

Kit

Quoi? Que?

Shoot. I forgot to move my ASCII cheat sheet.

Qué?

But I don't have the little upside-down question mark.

RegDwight

@Rhodri You just need to flip the monitor upside-down. D'oh!

¡ɥo,p ˙uʍop-ǝpısdn ɹoʇıuoɯ ǝɥʇ dıןɟ oʇ pǝǝu ʇsnɾ noʎ

@Kit And now you do.

Great minds think alike.

Mar 5 at 14:49, by RegDwight

@Robusto great minds think alike. Or, as ze Schömans put it, zwei Idioten, ein Gedanke.

Oh wait, you meant question mark¿¿¿

Kit

5:25 PM

@RegDwight Oh, dude. For the first time in this chat, I love you.

RegDwight

@Kit No, this is not the first time in this chat that you love me.

Kit

And you didn't even have to say "voiceless uvular fricative."

RegDwight

But you know I could, and it's the thought that counts.

Kit

@RegDwight Really? I've declared my love for you before?

RegDwight

Jun 23 at 18:46, by Kit

I love you, @JSBangs!

No wait.

Kit

5:27 PM

I remember declaring my love for @aedia, @JSBangs, @Robusto and @Kosmonaut.

And @Martha.

RegDwight

Jun 17 at 12:44, by Kit

Hahaha! I love you, Reg.

Jun 17 at 12:44, by RegDwight

Hey now. The transcript is public. Don't say things you can't take back.

Kit

Well, I'll be.

RegDwight

Etc.

Rhodri

@Kit I feel left out.

RegDwight

Let's just say that you have loved everyone in this room. Time to move to the next one.

Kit

5:28 PM

@RegDwight Oh yeah, that one. That was really good.

@Rhodri Didn't I love you over the David Tennant/Jeremy Irons conversation?

Rhodri

Oh, that. Yes, probably. I imagine Reg will produce proof in mere moments.

Kit

I think he's lost interest already.

RegDwight

Huh what? Sorry, now that we have that other awesome room talking about that awesome game...

Jun 10 at 15:44, by Kit

@z7sg Frig, you're a Brit too, aintcha? David Tennant, then. Sexy m-f.

That's the best Tennant quote you will read all day, so take it.

Kit

@RegDwight 'Struth.

Rhodri

@RegDwight Amen.

Kit

5:34 PM

Apparently I have declared my love for @Vitaly and @z7sg as well.

Well, @Rhodri, it looks like I was wrong. I guess you will have to work harder for my love.

JSBangs

aw, @Kit loves me

Kit

@JSBangs Loved you. My love expires after a twenty-four hour period.

JSBangs

@Kit well, fortunately i have @Reg as a fallback. his love is unconditional and unbounded

RegDwight

Mar 16 at 3:37, by RegDwight

My rules are unclear and flexible.

Kit

If you want more Kit-love, you have to say something really funny again.

giggle

RegDwight

5:38 PM

"Something really funny again"

Kit

@RegDwight Thwack!

RegDwight

Now now

Use-mention is not thwack-worthy where I come from.

Okay I have found the move messages between rooms thingamajig.

Credit where credit is due, it was found for me. By rchern.

Kit

So you can monitor one room whilst chatting in the other?

RegDwight

Anyhow, if all of this stuff starts miraculously disappearing between your very eyes, that's just Reg's fat fingers being fat. As in, not really that miraculous at all.

@Kit Yes, you can!

aedia

@RegDwight Maybe the thwacks are just how she demonstrates her love.

RegDwight

5:43 PM

Log into any other room, you will see the messages posted there while in this room, to the right, above the starred list.

I'm sure I could have explained that better, but meh.

chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/748/war-metal-tyrant

Just click there.

You will be in both rooms.

Then look above the starred list.

→ 20 messages moved to War Metal Tyrant

Jez

damn, i want a greasy kebab tonight.

im just in the mood.

JSBangs

but now what will we talk about, since roughly 70% of chat is either WMT, or people complaining about all of the messages about WMT?

RegDwight

I had warned you about just that.

Many times.

aedia

Grumbles Meeting in ten minutes?! Since when do I have more meetings today? I need more coffee to cope with this.

RegDwight

23 hours ago, by RegDwight

I was thinking about creating a separate room for us to discuss that game. Except that it will suck out all the life out of this room. All that will be left will be Robusto complaining about CSS and Martha's niece's pictures.

Kit

5:48 PM

23 hours ago, by Kit

@RegDwight Ahem Let's not forget Kit's weird sex talk.

aedia

@RegDwight Does it count as many times if it's the same warning many times?

Too bad our philosopher isn't here to ask now.

RegDwight

→ 28 messages moved to War Metal Tyrant

JSBangs

@RegDwight must you also plunder our logs? our logs, our precious logs!

RegDwight

Must? No.

Martha

Yes, he must.

Kosmonaut

5:51 PM

@Kit My spidey sense tells me someone declared their love for me.

RegDwight

As if anybody ever reads the transcript except myself.

May 27 at 19:30, by RegDwight

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

May 27 at 19:31, by Faheem Mitha

@RegDwight : What transcript?

Kit

@RegDwight Since you are every user that is actually in chat, this makes perfect sense.

It's all in your head, Neo.

Rhodri

1

Q: Why is "victuals" pronounced "vittles"?

This doesn't make sense to me. Is it just laziness?

pronunciation

I could have sworn we'd done this one a while back, but I can't find it.

Martha

@Rhodri Is it an answer in the "words mispronounced by literate people" question?

87

Q: What words are commonly mispronounced by literate people who read them before they heard them?

Quite a few words are mispronounced by under-educated people, or people learning English as a second language. Some words are often mispronounced by quite educated people who read, and began reading high-level literature before they heard the vocabulary spoken. This can lead to a vocabulary diss...

pronunciation vocabulary literature list-request

JSBangs

gah, i hate that question

RegDwight

5:55 PM

→ 85 messages moved to War Metal Tyrant

Rhodri

@Martha Ah yes, so it is.

It's a pretty useless answer, though, so I won't comment on the original.

Jez

Doner kebab

Doner kebab () or sometimes döner kebap, lit. 'rotating roast', often shortened to (), lit. 'turn around', also spelled "doener", "donair", "donar", "doner", or sometimes "donner") is a Turkish dish made of lamb meat (mainly) cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off to order. There are many variants in the composition of the meat, the ways of serving it, and the garnishes. Derived dishes include shawarma in Arabic and gyros in Greek, although ingredients and sauces differ. The term kebab in some countries refers specifically to doner kebab. History Before taking its modern aspect, ...

JSBangs

-1

A: What is the one word expression for 'wayside grass'?

You probably weren't thinking of way-waste; but I like it so much I have to suggest it.