English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Epiphany is an open source web browser for the GNOME desktop environment. The browser is a descendant of Galeon and was created after developer disagreements about Galeon's growing complexity. Since then Epiphany has been developed as part of the GNOME project and uses most of GNOME's technology and settings when applicable. As required by the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), Epiphany maintains the clean and simple graphical user interface with only a required minimum number of features exposed to users by default; however, the browser's functionality and configurability can be ext...

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@MattЭллен At least he didn't forget the beginning, so cut him some slack.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Oops I accidentally ate and it.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus hunger is a terrible thing!

cuts some slack for Cerberus

user19161

@MattЭллен A hungry man is an angry man.

Cerberus

Sympathy at last!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

2:10 PM

@kiamlaluno and there should be presents. If you're a proper Italian.

In Spain they still uphold the tradition.

Kitḫ

And cake with a baby Jesus in it.

kiamlaluno

@RegDwightѬſ道 That depends on which part of Italy you are; we have gifts on December 13, Saint Lucy.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 Presents=upvotes.

Cerberus

Ohh I remember they had special cakes in Spain.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Santa Lucia?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

2:11 PM

@JasperLoy My presents are downvotes. Because those actually cost me something, you know. Upvotes are worthless.

JSBᾶngs

@kiamlaluno we give gifts on Dec. 6, St. Nicholas

Cerberus

And I also think we've had this conversation before.

JSBᾶngs

and on christmas, but that's boring

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy Yep.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs Huh, really?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

2:11 PM

@Cerberus You always think that. Prophylactically.

Cerberus

St Nicolas is December 5 here!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

What nonsense.

JSBᾶngs

@Cerberus what?! what sort of crazy calendar are you running over there?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

It's December 6th in Germany. And Holland ain't GMT -24.

Kitḫ

What? That's crazy!

kiamlaluno

2:12 PM

@Cerberus Saint Nicolas cannot be in two places at the same time.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs It has been on the 5th forever!

At least a century.

Kitḫ

Maybe the Dutch celebration starts at sundown.

kiamlaluno

He needs time to buy a ticket to go to the other side of the pond.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

He just misremembers, as always.

I mean, it's over a month ago already.

Cerberus

On second thought, it is called Sinterklaasavond, St Nicholas' Eve.

JSBᾶngs

2:13 PM

see

RegDwight Ѭſ道

You misspelled ananasananas.

JSBᾶngs

St. Nick's Eve is the day before, as usual

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus nuh uh

user19161

@kiamlaluno Armpits are delicate. Scratch them with care.

Matt Эллен

oh, that's already been sorted out

kiamlaluno

2:14 PM

I thought eve was the day after an holiday.

Kitḫ

pats Matt

RegDwight Ѭſ道

No sorting out armpits in this chat.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy I scratch them when I need to laugh at something.

JSBᾶngs

@kiamlaluno you were very confused

the eve is the *eve*ning before a holiday

user19161

@kiamlaluno a holiday

Matt Эллен

2:15 PM

anoliday

Cerberus

So I guess it all matches up. We just don't do anything on the day itself. Presents are given in the evening. But we also get presents all through November! Children put their shoes by the fireplace, with a carrot for St Nicholas' dapple, and sing; the morning after, there will be small presents in their shoes.

kiamlaluno

@JSBᾶngs Why did you use the past? Does that mean I am not confused anymore?

@JSBᾶngs Yes, but you just celebrate a day, while I celebrate twice.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Laugh by all means but be careful when scratching.

JSBᾶngs

@kiamlaluno presumably you now know that the eve precedes the holiday

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy The more I scratch, the more I can laugh.

Cerberus

2:16 PM

@MattЭллен That's right: we celebrate it the night before. But noöne realizes this!

Kitḫ

Hey, @JSB, did you see? My review of your book got approved! I feel semi-published.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus they're blind to the truth!

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ wooo!

btw, where's yer blag?

Kitḫ

Um. Lemme think.

kiamlaluno

@JSBᾶngs Now you will tell me that Halloween is called so because it's the eve of All Saints.

Cerberus

2:18 PM

@MattЭллен At least they get presents!

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs Wait, don't you know?

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ if you posted it, i forgot

kiamlaluno

blog.english.stackexchange.com?

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs foxfirekitty.wordpress.com

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus and carrotty shoes

kiamlaluno

2:19 PM

english.blog.stackexchange.com?

Kitḫ

There's not much there.

kiamlaluno

com.english.stackexchange.blog?

Kitḫ

I was thinking of doing some writing exercises there though.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен If you have old shoes, you can also put some water in them.

Kitḫ

@Cerberus Sabots? Sneakers wouldn't work too well.

Matt Эллен

2:20 PM

@Cerberus is that advice? I think it would leak out - they're quite holy.

Kitḫ

@MattЭллен thwack

Matt Эллен

@kiamlaluno english.blogoverflow.com

:D

kiamlaluno

@MattЭллен I was close; if you just waited 2 years, I would have said that too.

Matt Эллен

@kiamlaluno I'm impatient. Or helpful...

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Hmm traditional pictures may very have wooden shoes. I suppose it doesn't work with non-peasant shoes. We always used separate bowls of water.

kiamlaluno

2:22 PM

@MattЭллен Or both. :-)

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Perhaps the horse doesn't mind licking holy water from the floor.

kiamlaluno

Does peasant mean "with peas all over"?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus I suppose. They're not very discerning creatures

Kitḫ

Peasant = peasing.

Cerberus

@kiamlaluno Paesano, I should think.

Kitḫ

2:25 PM

Paisano?

Uè, paisà!

Isn't that bread?

pieanos?

Shh!

;-)

user19161

@kiamlaluno A peasant eats peas and gets bitten by an ant.

Kitḫ

2:26 PM

See what I did just then?

You peasant.

Peano?

Pianissimo.

Saint Pea?

Paean?

user19161

2:26 PM

Peano axioms

In mathematical logic, the Peano axioms, also known as the Dedekind–Peano axioms or the Peano postulates, are a set of axioms for the natural numbers presented by the 19th century Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano. These axioms have been used nearly unchanged in a number of metamathematical investigations, including research into fundamental questions of consistency and completeness of number theory. The need for formalism in arithmetic was not well appreciated until the work of Hermann Grassmann, who showed in the 1860s that many facts in arithmetic could be derived from more basic fac...

Cerberus

Now you're all just rambling.

kiamlaluno

Pa nein!

@Cerberus Isn't what I normally do?

Cerberus

Does everyone agree that the Romance languages are the most elegant ones?

Especially French and Italian.

@kiamlaluno No comment!

Kitḫ

No.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ oh! :D I just got it

JSBᾶngs

2:28 PM

@Cerb No

user19161

@Cerberus Why do they use the word Romance instead of something else? It sounds too romantic.

@MattЭллен Yay!

Is Lombard included?

Vince? Sure.

@JSBᾶngs Then how would you classify them?

@JasperLoy It is the standard word!

Kitḫ

2:29 PM

Romanish.

Romano.

Romanesque.

Cerberus

@kiamlaluno Yes, though I have never heard it spoken, that I remember.

user19161

@Cerberus They cannot just say Roman?

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus A "no comment" says more than a hundred words.

Cerberus

@JasperLoy If only!

Matt Эллен

Romanity

Cerberus

2:30 PM

@kiamlaluno Hehe.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus You should come here, then.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Less than a picture.

Matt Эллен

Romulen

Cerberus

I never use anything other than Romance and Italic.

kiamlaluno

Well, or you go in Switzerland.

JSBᾶngs

2:31 PM

i got nothing against the romance langs, i just don't think they're more "elegant" than other languages

user19161

@Cerberus I think Times New Roman looks very ugly.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs I really think it is interesting that so many people in Europe, at least, think French and Italian are the most elegant.

user19161

@JSBᾶngs Perhaps they are more arrogant, not elegant.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy That is because we have euro, now. €1 = Itl 1936.42.

Cerberus

@JasperLoy why?

user19161

2:32 PM

@Cerberus Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus Most language in Europe are Italic languages.

Kitḫ

BRB

Cerberus

It could have something to do with liaison...

@kiamlaluno Uh I doubt that.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ cya!

user19161

@kiamlaluno languages

JSBᾶngs

2:32 PM

@kiamlaluno not remotely

Cerberus

Consider only the Germanic and Slavic branches.

JSBᾶngs

i actually think that the Slavs have the most distinct # of languages

but this depends a lot on how we define "language"

Cerberus

Depends on one's definition, probably.

Jinx!

user19161

@kiamlaluno You can be at two places at the same time if you are at a boundary of two states. That's what happened in the movie A Walk to Remember.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy That depends on where you are; if I am at the borders between Italy, and Swizerland, there is the "neutral territory," between.

user19161

2:35 PM

@kiamlaluno Switzerland

Cerberus

@kiamlaluno Face it: the Lega Nord is not going to succeed any time soon!

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy Swizeland: It's the place where Arnold "Swarzy" comes from.

Cerberus

Huh, I thought he was Austrian?

Yup he is.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus That is what he says, but… come on! With such a last name, from where could he come from?

Matt Эллен

Arnold Switzernega

Cerberus

2:38 PM

Heh, you mean because the Swiss are racists?

Then you haven't seen Austria yet!

kiamlaluno

Swarzenegger => Swizerland.

user19161

@MattЭллен His name is as hard to spell as diarrhoea.

Kitḫ

It is a dark and swishy place.

Cerberus

In German, it might very well mean black nigger!

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus No, because his last name sounds like Swizerland.

Kitḫ

2:39 PM

@Cerb, please.

Cerberus

But it doesn't!

Robusto

@Cerberus — Of course not.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ I'm not suppose to use that word?

Robusto

@Cerberus I thought it meant black eyes.

Cerberus

@Robusto How can you not?

Kitḫ

2:40 PM

@Cerberus I would prefer it if you didn't. I wounds my ears.

JSBᾶngs

@Robusto long time no see! at least by me

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus Ask to that user who said something to @nohat because he used the word nigger.

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ really? i always find that interesting.

user19161

@JSBᾶngs You have him in your sleep everyday.

Cerberus

@Robusto Well, perhaps it does. But it doesn't sound like that to a Dutchman.

Robusto

2:41 PM

@Cerberus It's easy. I just listen to Japanese and its own brand of elegance, and I don't worry about Romance languages at all.

JSBᾶngs

@JasperLoy what? no i don't. that would be extremely creepy.

kiamlaluno

Then, I will tell you she was my fiancé.

Robusto

@JSBᾶngs Heya, JS.

Kitḫ

@kiamlaluno I thought nohat actually said "n-word."

Robusto

@JasperLoy You're the one who dreams about me. And how creepy is that?

Cerberus

2:41 PM

@Kitḫ Seriously: it is interesting that this word is so sensitive in America. I mean, even among liberal adults.

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ i think that nohat actually said nigger

kiamlaluno

@Kitḫ I dunno; I deleted the comments when my account was merged with mine.

Robusto

@Cerberus Watch a couple of Tarantino films. Not so sensitive.

Kitḫ

Well, no sense in arguing when we can just...oh.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@JSBᾶngs I think the whole point was that he did not.

kiamlaluno

2:42 PM

I could not get her comments to be attributed to me.

Kitḫ

@RegDwightѬſ道 I thought so too.

JSBᾶngs

@RegDwightѬſ道 oh, well, i must have misremembered

RegDwight Ѭſ道

30

Q: Referencing the existence of words that may be offensive

I left a comment on this answer in which I made a reference to a word that many people find offensive (although I didn’t use or even mention the word itself). I referenced the word because it was an example of the type of word that the question was asking about: insults ending in -er. Another u...

discussion

Cerberus

@Robusto Each language has its bit of elegance, even the Germanic languages, which, honestly, are the peasants among languages. But French and Italian still win!

user19161

@kiamlaluno Really?

Robusto

2:43 PM

@Cerberus Sez you.

Kitḫ

@RegDwightѬſ道 I was just going to post that.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus nah, English is way better than all those

Robusto

In point of fact, English is way more elegant than French or Italian.

Cerberus

@Robusto Yeah, and I hear it a lot.

JSBᾶngs

@Cerberus Taci măi din gură

Kitḫ

2:43 PM

I like the Scandanavian languages.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs Ewww!

Hehe.

@MattЭллен Snob!

Robusto

@Cerberus — English also has a larger vocabulary because we borrow from everyone. So we actually contain the romance languages.

Matt Эллен

Personally I just like to wind up Cerberus by being contradictory

kiamlaluno

In that meta question, replace "kiamlaluno" with "Cinque."

JSBᾶngs

@Cerberus Ce ştii tu boule de eleganţă

Cerberus

2:44 PM

@Robusto Nonsense.

@MattЭллен And I appreciate it.

Robusto

@Cerberus Das ist nicht Unsinn.

Matt Эллен

:D excellent, then I shall continiue

Kitḫ

@MattЭллен Well, and look at the way he asked that question. He was begging for it.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs Something like "your style lacks elegance"?

kiamlaluno

By the way, who kidnapped Cinque?

Cerberus

2:45 PM

@Robusto Doch.

JSBᾶngs

@Cerberus no, it means "What do you know about elegance, asshole?"

user19161

@kiamlaluno No such username now.

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs chortle

Cerberus

It is impossible to say how many words a language "has".

@JSBᾶngs Well, I translated freely.

Robusto

@JSBᾶngs Asshole elegance — now there's a concept.

JSBᾶngs

2:46 PM

@Cerberus so that's your excuse

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy Of course; when accounts are merged just one is left.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs Indeed it is! You like?

Robusto

@Cerberus — Well, if we're talking made-up languages, like Dutch, it's definitely impossible to say. Anything can be a Dutch word. No certification required.

Cerberus

@Robusto All languages are made up.

And we have the bigger dictionary.

Robusto

@Cerberus That would be the Dutch point of view.

Cerberus

2:47 PM

So at least we made up more!

JSBᾶngs

@Robusto it's not quite as bad as the danes

Matt Эллен

:D

Kitḫ

@Cerberus You need a bigger dictionary.

Robusto

@Cerberus Whoa! You have a bigger dic------?

JSBᾶngs

►

Kitḫ

2:47 PM

I satisfy plenty of people with my more modestly sized dictionary.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ I know! such an inflammatory remark.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ We didn't need it: it just happened, after 150 years of hard work.

Robusto

Hey, what do you get when you cross a Dutchman with a Dane? A Cheese Danish! <rimshot>

Cerberus

@Robusto Yes, you mini-you.

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ i was under the impression that you didn't have a dictionary at all

kiamlaluno

2:48 PM

> Also, would you please make it clear in your question that the "quote" is not mine? Much appreciated. I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself and don't need or want anyone putting words in my mouth.

Now, that is… strong.

Robusto

@Cerberus — You have to measure yours in millimeters, so I think we know who is mini and who is maxi.

user19161

@Robusto Size does not matter. Only performance counts.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs Haha, I know that one, brilliant.

Robusto

@JasperLoy — That's the usual rationalization.

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs I have several actually.

user19161

2:50 PM

@Robusto Though of course, there is some correlation.

Cerberus

@Robusto We have measurements that can be extended ad infinitum: megameter, gigameter, terameter...and what do you have? Mile. Right.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Robusto You haven't thought it through now, have you? Everything is much smaller in inches than in millimeters.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Hot!

Robusto

@Cerberus You forgot light year.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Robusto You forgott Buzz.

Cerberus

2:52 PM

@Robusto Try putting kilo- in front of that!

user19161

I remember Robusto's foot is exactly one foot long.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Kilobuzz? Kilofoot? Works for me.

Kiloham

Hardly elegant.

Kiloburger.

2:52 PM

Kiloelegant.

KiloCinque.

Kiloapp.

Nanelegant.

kilovolt

OK. I'll let you have gigacheese, @Cerberus.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

2:53 PM

Kiloepic win.

Cerberus

Yay!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Milliyay.

kiamlaluno

Megakilosauce.

user19161

Everyone is on drugs.

Cerberus

Don't you mean minispent?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

2:53 PM

Kilodrugs.

Matt Эллен

teradrugs

user19161

I am only on coffee.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

I need five kilodrugs.

Matt Эллен

LOL

kiamlaluno

I don't give a kiloton of what she says.

Robusto

2:54 PM

Megadeth.

user19161

I realised I am the only avatarless one in this room. The world must be ending. After all it is 2012.

Matt Эллен

lml

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@kiamlaluno As long as it's a metric kiloton, you can keep it.

swift

MegaDeus MegaEx :D

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Skid row.

kiamlaluno

2:55 PM

@RegDwightѬſ道 I have never measured it. How can I know it's metric?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Yes!

Kitḫ

Oh my holy hell, what happened in the two minutes I was gone?

Robusto

@JasperLoy — James Cameron gets royalties on all avatars now. That's why we switched to gravatars.

Kitḫ

What is wrong with you people?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Kitḫ Seven. Seven happened. No wait, eight.

user19161

2:57 PM

@swift Happy New Year! I only know megaupload.

Kitḫ

@RegDwightѬſ道 Well it looks like OVER 9000!!!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Kitḫ Certainly you meant what isn't not unright with us.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ lick

RegDwight Ѭſ道

No licking in this chat.

Robusto

Seriously.

Matt Эллен

2:58 PM

@Kit click

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Kitḫ Seven is over 9000.

I mean, cummon.

Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 minilick

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 That's what I said a few weeks ago.

Kitḫ

@RegDwightѬſ道 What isn't not unright with everyone else?

kiamlaluno

Is there any other comment I have to delete?

Robusto

2:58 PM

This is the one place I thought I could come and not get licked. Wait ... that didn't come out right.

Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 No doing that!

@Robusto Don't try WMT.

Kitḫ

Everybody knows that 24 is the biggest number.

kiamlaluno

Uh… I guess that is a question nobody can answer.

user19161

@Robusto You are licked by your dog who is being choked by the python.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

24 is the loneliest number since the number 23.

Robusto

2:59 PM

@JasperLoy — The dog is dead. He couldn't handle scoping based on whitespace.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 23 is the number that appears in almost all watch advertisements.

Robusto

@RegDwightѬſ道 24 is the opposite of perfection. Or the reverse, actually.

user19161

I wonder why.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@JasperLoy Illuminating.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…