English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room - 2012-11-13 (page 3 of 4)

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cornbread ninja

6:05 PM

user image

what if god's dead? / we must've done something wrong

chatkillah out.

@cornbreadninja Come to The Overlook.

6:21 PM

@cornbreadninja all the col kids are playing hooky there.

also we're there.

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

@Robusto When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

0

Q: Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet. have or has?

I am having a dilemma here... "Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet." - the rest of the world has not met me yet, so I'd think it's "has", but a friend of mine used "have" - could he actually be right?

Hasn't this been answered a million times already?

6:37 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Seems like the Nexus 4 was sold out within 14 minutes in Germany, and it was sold out in every other country in the world too, I believe.

And they said Fandroids weren't vicious! Heck, this is worse than a sale in the women's clothing department...

1

Q: When "most is" and when "most are"?

Most corn seed is genetically engineered. Most people in town are unemployed. Most fish is/are seawater species? Is there any general rule that separates where the majority part described by "most" is plural, and when is it singular? Especially, when it's describing some entity com...

grammatical-number

Yep.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Well, I will wait and see anyway. I want to hear some more horror stories and also my wife isn't fully convinced yet.

You will wait about two months, probably.

At least some German stores said the earliest date they could ship more phones would be late December.

How did she like using your Nexus, btw?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus so far so good. But it's only been three days. I think it will take a week or two. Maybe longer. She needs to get to the point where the NS feels too small.

Hahaha.

Yes!

And she consented?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:41 PM

Actually now I find the NS's screen too small. Some things fit better on the GN. Even though I find the GN's screen too big for my pocket. The NS is more portable.

To using your phone for such a long time?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus She finally had too many problems with the SMS capabilities of her old phone.

@Robusto I no rite tel me aboutit lol.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus She doesn't know how long I can hold out with the NS.

Hehe.

Marriage is a complicated battle.

With truces and feints, decoys and traps...

And in the end, you both win.

6:43 PM

@RegDwighт I mentioned your faux pas to colleague-and-fellow-Breaking-Bad-enthusiast Matt at lunch, and he winced and almost dropped his tray.

Dude. Seriously.

@Robusto What faux pas?

What did he do this time?

Nice, I've discovered a way to put people on diet over the Internet.

user19161

@RegDwighт Pray tell.

@RegDwighт Almost.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Can I whoosh him?

6:46 PM

@Robusto anyway, I am still torn about dropping the ball. I think I'll go ahead and watch the rest of the season anyway. Keep in mind that I'm watching in German, so I was going to go back and watch the entire thing in English anyway. And by that time I won't remember anything anyway.

@RegDwighт NOOOOOOO!

Seriously, watch it from the beginning.

Well sorry I am hooked. I can't force myself not to watch.

Oh God, not this again.

@Cerberus no, you. You are bringing that up. We are talking about something else.

user19161

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Oh I get it now. I just read the transcript.

6:47 PM

Let's watch Downton Abbey in German! Surely that won't impact the experience at all.

So don't bring it up in the first place.

laughing at the thought

@Cerberus it won't. Now let me talk at Rob.

Haha.

@Cerberus no crap movie I have seen in German was good in the original, and no great movie in the original was crap in German. You don't know jack. You don't own a TV, you don't go to the cinema, and the last time you did it was for Sex and the City 2, which, again, is exactly the same in all languages, and you know it.

And you didn't have to endure real crap dubbing. We've been over that.

So really, enough of this.

@Rob I still haven't seen Dexter Season 3. But I will.

user19161

6:49 PM

@RegDwighт All movies should be watched in the original language with subtitles if necessary.

@RegDwighт Breaking Bad Season IV is the fulcrum on which the entire series rests. You can't simply start there.

@RegDwighт Aber Mary, du kannst doch sehen, wie gut Matthew aussieht? Du solltest dich mit einem Lord verheiraten. Wir können die Abbey nicht einem Bürgermanne überlassen!

Is that bad enough for you?

The whole thing is a descent into a moral abyss, and if you start there you will have no appreciation of the fall.

@Cerberus you see, and no hard feelings, that is crap German. Of course if you think that is how they handle dubbing, then I understand your position. But they do not.

@Robusto yeah that's the hard part. I know for a fact I have already missed out on that.

@RegDwighт I was just teasing you. Although I must say I have seen a lot of German dubbing, and it never ceased to suck. Sorry.

It's not even German's fault.

6:51 PM

@Cerberus if you watch crap, that is your problem, not mine.

I don't get to watch Linda de Mol dubbed in Russian and then complain.

I remember watching the Nanny a few times in German. Sure such a popular series would have a decent budget for dubbing?

The Nanny is dubbed rather well. I have seen it start to finish in both languages.

Some puns obviously don't translate, but that's the beauty.

I couldn't watch it. Sorry.

Remember that I come from the translator camp. I am watching much of it precisely to appreciate the hard work other translators put into it.

Well, like Pilate I wash my hands of this mess. Ruin your Breaking Bad experience or not, I can't let it ruin my life.

6:54 PM

@Cerberus so you told me. I got it the first time round. Why do you keep bringing it up? Masochism?

0

A: How many tenses are there in English?

What is a tense? In linguistic terminology, "tense" is a part of verbal paradigm that refers specifically to the time of an utterance. It is impossible for any language to have more than three tenses in this sense, since any action is either past, present, or future. In English, we do the basic...

@RegDwighт I'm not saying they didn't do the best job possible.

It is dubbing itself that is, in my opinion, fundamentally flawed, even regardless of the execution.

But, well, to each his own.

@Robusto it's a tough call for me. I will have to try and get my hands on Season 1-3 real soon.

And don't dis my (former) hoodies!!

@Cerberus that you can say about any translation. That is the axiom. Again, no need to explain it to me. Nothing is translatable. Not even the word "mother".

6:57 PM

@RegDwighт No, it's not that.

It still is the axiom.

And I'm outta here to get you to talk about something else.

user19161

Not too bad, I just answered two questions today, will be reaching 24k soon...

It is 1.) the incongruity between sound and images, and 2.) removing stuff from the original.

OK bai!

@JSBձոգչ And Barry’s off to the races. Where’s Drew Ward when you need him?

For that matter, where is Bill Clinton when you need him?

user19161

@tchrist Barrie, not Barry.

7:09 PM

What happened to Evan’s flag? By the time I got to it, it wouldn’t let me do something to it. He is, of course, correct. For once.

user19161

@tchrist Which flag? The comments about the software? I dismissed it.

Good.

@WillHunting Can’t believe that would get a flag. I mean, fiddlesticks, if that needs a flag, than a third of what we say in this room would get flagged. Tarnation, some people are flag-happy! Cui bono?

user19161

@tchrist Maybe half.

7:25 PM

Trying to push the tenses question over the racism one on the MC. Really, that's linguistics vs. bikeshedding all over again. I can't take it anymore.

Matt Эллен

happy birthday @RegDwighт

user image

2

You are like five months off.

Pretty much exactly five months, actually.

Matt Эллен

that's what I was aiming for?

user19161

@MattЭллен Is it his BD?

And it's not Sir Reg's birthday, either. That'd be March 25th, as Wikipedia tells me.

Matt Эллен

7:27 PM

@WillHunting no

user19161

@MattЭллен Then?

@WillHunting someone else's. Duh.

Matt Эллен

I need an excuse to give him a picture of a narwhal rainbow unicorn

You don't need an excuse for that.

user19161

@MattЭллен What a stupid excuse!

7:27 PM

If anything you need an excuse for not that.

@MattЭллен Hah!

Matt Эллен

s'good innit :D

@RegDwighт Hmm. Before now or after now?

@MattЭллен I likes it.

@KitFox Dunno, but it's in the transcript.

user19161

@RegDwighт HAHAHAHA

7:30 PM

Jul 15 '11 at 19:55, by RegDwight

(And I changed my gravatar only to celebrate my birthday... sniff)

user19161

Too many birthdays, I don't bother to remember any more.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox but don't be cutting open no narwhals, now you know the secret!

Besides Kit must have access to all the data as a mod.

What?

user19161

@RegDwighт Jul 15? That is the birthday of some girl I used to like, HAHAHAHA

7:31 PM

1

Q: Dear Dr. vs Hi vs none in E-mail communication

I am in contact with the my doctor by email. We exchange about 3 messages per week, today we exchanged 2 messages. Now I have a situation where I think it is a bit silly to write each time Dear Dr. Lastname. For example: I send him question Dear Dr. Lastname, question here Kind R...

politeness email

is this even on-topic?

Matt Эллен

@KitFox yep. now you're a mod you have to wish each user a happy birthday on their birthday

user19161

@JSBձոգչ I felt it might be off topic.

July 13th is the birthday of a really sexy woman I used to know.

@WillHunting no, not July 15th. Back to reading comprehension class for you.

Matt Эллен

@JSBձոգչ we have others like it. I wanted to believe it was a dupe, buit I can't see an exact one

7:31 PM

@MattЭллен i also couldn't find a dup

user19161

@KitFox Like yourself.

I'm not very sexy.

But I couldn't tell her how I felt because I lived in the South and people don't talk about that kind of thing down there.

user19161

@KitFox Aww, no harm telling her. Write a letter if it is hard to speak.

@KitFox this is for the second time in two days that I have to tell you about user profiles.

You go to user profile, you see stuff.

user19161

@RegDwighт Yes, you know everyone's birthdays, emails, names, etc.

7:34 PM

@WillHunting ... IQ,..

@RegDwighт I was respecting your privacy.

@KitFox just respect my authoritae.

Privacy is secondary.

That too.

user19161

I have no secrets in my profile.

I have some secrets in your profile.

user19161

7:35 PM

Such as?

Them is secrets. DUH.

I had no idea. How interesting.

It is most very interesting indeed.

But that explains why the math was all off.

I thought there was something screwy there.

I wonder if I put my proper birthday on my profile.

user19161

There is a website here for homosexuals to meet up with one another.

7:37 PM

Huh, well I guess I did. How very unusual of me.

user19161

It's quite interesting because there is this section where X will say I would like to meet the guy I saw at Y place at Z time wearing a blue shirt. Please contact me.

Yeah. Those are pretty common in metro areas.

user19161

You can even put up pictures to identify people.

We used to have this magazine in the train.

@WillHunting a website?

user19161

7:38 PM

@JSBձոգչ I only know about one.

It's his first time looking for a man. Be nice to him.

user19161

I am not looking for one. =)

Wait, what's going on here?

Why does COCA insist that I'm in the Netherlands?

*that I be

7:40 PM

COCA knows better than you where you are

It does because you ought to be.

I actually provided them with my actual location. Actually.

It senses that you're a Lindafan.

user19161

@RegDwighт You are too secretive! I think I know your location, shh...

And it wasn't Andøy, Mongolia.

7:41 PM

How bad would it be if I restructured this sproc?

This is fucked up: my PC can still connect to my Wifi, but my phone says the signal is too weak.

Resetting modem...

That's because your PC eated up all the signals, duh.

user19161

@Cerberus Haha, phones are for calling and texting, not internet. QED.

@RegDwighт But I have just fed it!

user19161

The tense question is getting so much attention and nobody is upvoting my trivial answers on the other questions. =)

7:42 PM

@Cerberus with the signals, yes.

user image

This is about normal.

Resetting modem...

Matt Эллен

@KitFox 3.5, maybe 4

user19161

So interestingly, my non-gay friend had his picture put up on that gay site. They talk about him there.

Tethering now.

@WillHunting How very non-gay of him.

Straight almost, one would be inclined to say.

@WillHunting Does this "friend" look anything like you?

7:44 PM

Haha.

user19161

@Robusto No way.

"Friends" are so funny.

user19161

But it was my gay friend who introduced me to the site.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus but if one were inclined, how could one be straight?

You got me there.

7:45 PM

@MattЭллен Ramp. Duh.

Straight and inclined.

pfft kids these days.

Matt Эллен

oh. right.

Back on regular modem.

user19161

@Cerberus Oh you misunderstood perhaps. Others put up his pic, not him, haha.

Frig. Of course two rows go missing when I change the sproc.

@WillHunting Huh? Who did this?

That is wicked.

user19161

7:47 PM

@Cerberus They did not say bad things about him. It's just a pic found in the newspapers that they scanned in I think. They were admiring his physique.

Matt Эллен

> Susan woke up feeling groggy. She thought with the girl gone she'd be able to rest.

latest line of my book

Oh Matt is exploring Kit's world apparently.

user19161

@MattЭллен What book are you writing?

Matt Эллен

@KitFox lol

user19161

Justin Bieber. My World 2.0

7:48 PM

@WillHunting Ohh OK.

Matt Эллен

@WillHunting it's a supernatural thriller, I suppose

Then it's OK.

user19161

@Cerberus Hehe.

user19161

@MattЭллен Susan seems to be a very popular name in this chat, I wonder why.

Matt Эллен

@WillHunting really? I can't say I've noticed. Maybe that's how it got into my story, though.

user19161

7:51 PM

@MattЭллен Matt is also very common. I talk to two Matts in this room and one Matt in another.

user19161

Here comes the other Matt @mah boo!

@WillHunting Hello.

user19161

There seem to be less questions these days here.

I am quite behind on my NaNoWriMo, so today is catch-up day.

user19161

Hey @mitch!

7:57 PM

@Cerberus Surely you mean Lindisfarne, not Lindafan.

Lindisfarne is no more.

@Cerberus aargh..I am so slow...yes, the game, the wordrobe game.

It was sacked to the ground.

yes it is terribly easy. I didn't bother going far enough to see if it gets harder.

Right.

7:58 PM

yes, I just look at the shortest phrase that's enough to answer.

@WillHunting hey dude.

Um you don't need to do this.

user19161

It is interesting that Tim and Tom are both names.

Uh no. not interating at all. in fact ...

why is it interesting?

hygenic Hygeinic. Hygienic.

The latter!

user19161

7:58 PM

@KitFox The last.

pronounce it in German.

Yeah.

We have a trema on it even.

Hygiëne.

user19161

But the most interesting thing is that imminent and immanent are both words.

I believe French has a gravis.

the New Yorker would be proud

7:59 PM

Hygiène.

Thanks.

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Nov '1213

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