English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

8:00 PM

I would say it barks like a Roman dog.

Except it does it thrice.

@KitFox the part about the cellphone is still the best. It should be linked on every question on use–mention distinction. Or whatever distinction that is. It's a distinction.

KitFox

throws Reg TO THE GROUND

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox Now he's just another victim of the System

RegDwighт

Perhaps on every question that argues that word X should be taken literally.

Yes, that's it.

KitFox

tries to decide if unspeakable acts would be appropriate here

Robusto

8:02 PM

Why would you perform unspeakable acts in chat? They wouldn't take.

RegDwighт

English as she is unspeakable.

Robusto

And by the way, that was a weakly typed chat response.

We need more strong typing here.

KitFox

Dim phrase As ChatResponse

RegDwighт

@Robusto I thought you were going to suggest mounthly typing.

Robusto

Blah blah ... something about menstruation ... and periods ...

RegDwighт

8:04 PM

Stop the pleonasms.

Robusto

...

RegDwighт

That sentence is the longest sequence of pleonasms ever.

Cerberus

1 min ago, by Cerberus

@Robusto Hahahaha.

RegDwighт

@Cerberus when replying to a quoted image, you have to quote yourself saying haha.

Cerberus

@RegDwighт You bet! I will kick any other thricephalic dog's arse.

Of course, stupid me.

RegDwighт

8:05 PM

Many gooder.

Die Knödel sind fast fertig.

Cerberus

17 secs ago, by Cerberus

Shouldn't the entire conversation be quoted?

Robusto

@RegDwighт Fertig? Nicht bereit?

Cerberus

Nö...

Ein Person ist bereit?

Robusto

Doch.

kiamlaluno

(Kartoffen.)

Cerberus

8:07 PM

Kartoffeln.

Bereited, was what you were thinking.

kiamlaluno

That is sweet potato. I prefer plain potatoes.

Cerberus

I like both.

RegDwighт

@Robusto that's an interesting question, actually. I never thought about that.

I'd say that bereit is directed into the future, ready for something. While fertig is directed into the past, like done.

Cerberus

Ich bin bereit = I am willing?

Ich bin fertig = I am ready/done.

RegDwighт

Ich bin bereit = Ich bin ein Pionier.

Cerberus

8:10 PM

Wirklich?

Robusto

When noodles are finished cooking they are ready to be eaten. Everything is relative.

Cerberus

Huh.

Robusto

And when you are finished cooking them you are ready to eat them.

RegDwighт

Cerberus

@Robusto How come you are not a square today, Jasper?

RegDwighт

8:10 PM

@Cerberus no I meant it was the motto of the GDR pioneers. Or boyscouts in English, I guess.

Cerberus

Ahh.

Robusto

Jan 8 at 21:30, by Robusto

No. Let's not say things we can't say back.

Cerberus

And does it mean "I am ready", or "I am willing"? Or both, as in "prepared"?

KitFox

Be prepared.

Robusto

If you were noodles, you would "be prepared" if you were ready to be eaten. Just like the Boy Scouts.

Cerberus

8:12 PM

In Dutch, "ik ben bereid" means "I am willing".

@Robusto Pedo.

Robusto

pedo => dope

Cerberus

Lovely.

Robusto

lovely => volley

I can do this all day.

Tyler Durden: It could be worse. A woman could cut off your penis while you're sleeping and toss it out the window of a moving car.
Narrator: There's always that.

RegDwighт

@Robusto you know I think I can totally imagine a situation in which one could say "die Nudeln sind bereit" without ringing a bell with August Diehl.

What was that role's name, dammit.

Cerberus

Try your hands at zephyr.

RegDwighт

8:14 PM

Wiki sez, Dieter Hellstrom?

Robusto

@RegDwighт Gestapo major?

RegDwighт

The one with three whiskeys.

KitFox

I like the word zephyr.

Cerberus

Thanks.

Anything with y or z is Greek.

Robusto

@Cerberus I don't use my hands for anagrams.

@Cerberus Ready is greek? Yellow is greek?

Cerberus

8:15 PM

Then use your toes. Or your noes.

Robusto

OH NOES

Didn't work.

Cerberus

Any Latin word, silly.

RegDwighт

imdb.com/character/ch0183743

Major Hellstrom.

Robusto

@Cerberus So now you're telling us Latin words are Greek. Not too up on the law of identity, are you?

RegDwighт

That's one hell of a name. One major hell.

Cerberus

8:16 PM

@Robusto Hmm what is this law? I thought you didn't have to always carry an ID in your country?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

So the boy scouts are probably going to overturn their ban on gay scouts and leaders. foxnews.com/us/2013/01/28/…

Cerberus

You have to here, unfortunately.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But they will continue to discriminate against Atheists.

Robusto

Law of identity

:This article uses forms of logical notation. For a concise description of the symbols used in this notation, see List of logic symbols. In logic, the law of identity is the first of the three classic laws of thought. It states that an object is the same as itself: A → A (if you have A, then you have A). While this can also be listed as A ≡ A (A is equivalent to A), this is redundant. Any reflexive relation upholds the law of identity. When discussing equality, the fact that "A is A" is a tautology. History The earliest use of the law appears to occur in Plato's dialogue Theaetetus (1...

It's not just a good idea, it's the law.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Haha, seriously?

@Robusto Yeah, yeah, I know.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:17 PM

> The BSA, which was founded in 1910, has also excluded atheists throughout its existence. Smith said a change in the policy toward atheists was not being considered, and that the BSA continued to view "Duty to God" as one of its basic principles.

damn faux news sneakily putting text on my clipboard when I copy/paste

RegDwighт

@Robusto and that was an anagram of what, prey tell?

It's too complicated for me. And complex.

Cerberus

preys on Willem Tell

RegDwighт

Ryan Adams wrote a song about that, Answering Tell.

Robusto

@RegDwighт Guglielmo Tell.

RegDwighт

Haste's bald?

Offenkundig nicht.

Robusto

8:20 PM

Ah, had it right the first time. Was a fool to doubt myself.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

And yet on Jan 27 this year a Cub scout group was forced to take down a statement of non-discrimination because they claimed they didn't discriminate based on sexuality. opposingviews.com/i/society/gay-issues/…

RegDwighт

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I misread excluded as executed and was all like, wut.

Robusto

Jun 6 '12 at 20:45, by Robusto

Now you're just fucking things up.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwighт yeah that's slightly worse than what they're actually doing

RegDwighт

@Robusto please do take a minute to look up now in a dictionary of your choice.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:22 PM

Unless they give out really cool merit badges based on how many atheists you execute

kiamlaluno

@RegDwighт Do you see if my chat account is still associated with Drupal Answers?

I cannot see that anymore, and my username is shown in black, here.

RegDwighт

No association at all.

I didn't know that was possible.

How are you supposed to be able to chat here if chatting requires 20 reps somewhere?

kiamlaluno

Strange, I am still moderator on Drupal Answers.

TRiG

Well, I knew the Boy Scouts excluded atheists, but I'm upset to learn they're also favouring Abrahamic faiths (and specifically Christianity). Meh. More privilege blindness, I suppose (of the same sort that's also harming this site). — TRiG 3 hours ago

Robusto

We're kind to atheists here. Mostly.

KitFox

8:25 PM

Boy Scouts excludes all non-Christians. I thought you knew.

That's why all their scoutmasters are pedophiles.

TRiG

@KitFox Nope. Boy Scouts worldwide just requires a commitment to a "higher power".

Cerberus

@Robusto Uhh since when am I kind to you?

TRiG

There are local troups run by specific churches, but generic Boy Scouts discriminate against atheists only.

(Discriminating against non-straight and non-cis people is a distinctive of the Boy Scouts of America.)

KitFox

Interesting. When I was a Boy Scout I had to lie and pretend to be Christian.

TRiG

@KitFox Really? Wow.

I know the Mormons and the Catholics have Boy Scouts branches.

KitFox

8:29 PM

I guess they've loosened up in the last twenty years.

RegDwighт

@KitFox so why past tense, you went on to become a Christian?

KitFox

Haha.

No. I'm not a Boy Scout anymore.

RegDwighт

A Christian but not a boy scout. That kind of shit is allowed?

It's getting weirdo and weirdo.

KitFox

No, I...

Robusto

@Cerberus You are too kind. You too are kind. Two of you are kind. The other head is a dick.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:31 PM

@TRiG Catholics are Christian.

KitFox

Hahaha.

Cerberus

@Robusto Good.

RegDwighт

Nonsense. You should see more Catholics. On a second thought...

TRiG

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 As are the Mormons.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 No need to tell an Irishman...

KitFox

8:32 PM

You guys are hilarious.

RegDwighт

Only on Tuesdays.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@TRiG Well, that's more debatable. They say so. But the differences between them and any other Christians are far greater than the differences between any protestant and any catholic.

TRiG

in The Upper Room, Oct 5 '11 at 22:51, by TRiG

@brilliant As an atheist, I think it would be rather bad form of me to tell anyone zie's "not a real Christian".

Robusto

> This is a chemical burn. It will hurt more than you've ever been burned before. You will have a scar.

Cerberus

Uhh.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:34 PM

@TRiG I'm not trying to call them "not real Christians". I'm merely pointing out that there are arguments in favour of that position.

RegDwighт

@Robusto That's low-hanging fruit.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto What is that, the user-manual for religion?

Robusto

> Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think every thing you're supposed to think?

kiamlaluno

Sings "I am blue da ba dee, da ba dah...."

Robusto

> Buy what you're told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned.

RegDwighт

8:35 PM

> I always said, if I had to fuck a guy... I mean had to, if my life depended on it... I'd fuck Elvis.

TRiG

@Cerberus Irishmen would not doubt that Catholicism exists within Christianity. Some of the fundie Protestants in NI would say that Catholics are non-Christian, but they would be aware that they claim Christianity and exist within the broad spectrum of "Christian". I believe that in Mexico it's different, and Cathlolics themselves might identify as "other than Christian" there.

@RegDwighт Elvis?

RegDwighт

Elvis the Palvis.

kiamlaluno

Threlvis?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwighт That's like the worst possible choice. For one, he's dead. For two, at least fuck a guy who looks like a girl, if fucking guys isn't your thing. Like Orlando Bloom.

TRiG

I though the normal goto guy for straight guys was Johnny Depp.

Robusto

8:36 PM

> Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you, never wanted you, and in all probability, he HATES you. It's not the worst thing that can happen.

RegDwighт

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 tell that to Quentin Tarantino.

TRiG

@Robusto What are you quoting?

KitFox

Oh that's who David Wallace reminds me of.

Cerberus

@TRiG I would rather expect Irishmen, fervent Catholics as they are, to deny Christianity to Protestants! As to Mexico, are you sure? That sounds very strange.

TRiG

@Cerberus Such I've heard.

Er. I've heard such.

Robusto

8:37 PM

@TRiG We don't talk about it.

Cerberus

@TRiG "Normal"...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus But they speak Mexican in Mexico. who can even understand them? They could be disavowing Christianity or disavowing tacos, who would know?

kiamlaluno

I am back!

Do they speak Mexican? I thought that was what chiuauas speak.

RegDwighт

@Robusto no Rod Stewart in this chat.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 They could not be disavowing tacos. It would be like...Brits disavowing vinegar on their chips.

KitFox

8:39 PM

I don't want to talk about it.

RegDwighт

Anyhoo, Mahlzeit.

TRiG

@Cerberus Well, possibly. Any Christian might deny any other Christian's claim to Christianity. It happens. But they wouldn't, in Ireland, deny that the others at least claim to be Christian, and exist within the spectrum of belief which is commonly called "Christianity". Or, as I'm very fond of saying at Christianity SE, words have different meanings in different contexts.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Probably not, but my point is that they speak a different language.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus It would be like Italians eating wurstels.

RegDwighт

@TRiG Not this word: galkabrumsk.

TRiG

8:39 PM

@Cerberus Yes, normal. I've heard this more than once. (Me, I think Johnny Depp is hot in his Jack Sparrow outfit, but not so much otherwise.)

Cerberus

But...I think people tend to twist this "commonly" to what suits them.

RegDwighт

disappears

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Gosh. A very interesting point. taking several pages of notes

@kiamlaluno Haha what? Sausages?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus All my points are interesting. Or at least pointy.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus No, no... wurstels. :)

Cerberus

8:41 PM

Unlike Robusto's obtuse points. That's why he gets sued and you...don't.

@kiamlaluno I only know Wurst.

@TRiG So why do you frequent religious rooms as an atheist?

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus Strange... we call them wurstel. ;)

Robusto

@Cerberus Those are not points, those are angles.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus He likes to argue?

Robusto

I have an acute shortage of obtuse angles, however.

kiamlaluno

Würstel

Il würstel, detto anche salsicciotto, (il termine proviene dal diminutivo della parola tedesca wurst, "insaccato", secondo i dialetti tedeschi meridionali, laddove il termine in tedesco standard, hochdeutsch, suonerebbe würstchen) è una specie di insaccato fatta con carni tritate, bovine e suine, tipica della Germania e dell'Austria e, in Italia, dell'Alto Adige. Il würstel commercializzato in Italia corrisponde generalmente al wiener o wiener würstchen (letteralmente "salsicciotto di Vienna" o "viennese") reperibile in Germania. Lo stesso prodotto in Svizzera è chiamato wienerli e in A...

Robusto

8:43 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Because THE WORLD IS WRONG ON THE INTERNET.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto Yeah, that's what I said. Sorta.

TRiG

@Cerberus Because religion is fascinating.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It's especially true on the religious sites.

Cerberus

@Robusto You always look at things from weird angles, but that's not the point. I'm just suing you.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@TRiG fascinating like a train-wreck

Cerberus

8:44 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 ...

TRiG

And the SE model of religious discussion actually works rather better than might be expected.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Sometimes. Not always.

Cerberus

@TRiG I find it fascinating from a sociological point of view, but the intricacies of doctrine I find...boring.

kiamlaluno

So, is würstel a word, in some Germany place?

TRiG

in The Upper Room, Apr 26 '12 at 20:18, by TRiG

I have practically no interest in theology myself, but the intersection of religion, society, politics, and social policy is certainly interesting.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

What I find fascinating about religion is how people can get so absorbed in the details, the puzzles, the intricacies, etc, and never stop to think "does any of this shit make sense"

4

TRiG

8:56 PM

in The Upper Room, Aug 10 '12 at 1:42, by TRiG

And they will know we are Christians by our flaming Weetabix.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@TRiG That is hilarious

It's true though. I don't know of any anti-gay protesters who are not also religious.

TRiG

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 There's a reason I so commonly link to Slacktivist when I'm posting on Christianity SE. It's an awesome blog.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@TRiG He's drawing the wrong conclusion though. Instead of saying "you're making us look bad", he should say "I'm not going to be part of this anymore"

Cerberus

@TRiG Agreed.

@TRiG Haha what, do Christians eat Weetabix?

Link gives me an error.

TRiG

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I disagree, actually.

in The Library, Jan 19 at 18:51, by TRiG

And I've said before that I'd rather like to be Liberal Christian, but I can't convince myself it's true. (Also, I'm somewhat wary of beliefs I like. I stayed a Witness for longer precisely because I was gay, and therefore distrusted my own reasons for leaving. It can be hard to explain that to people.)

I don't think he should leave because he dislikes his fellow travellers. I think he should leave iff he stops believing it to be true.

(Or, rather, he should leave iff he wants to. The above is my rule for me, not my rule for Fred Clark.)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

9:12 PM

@TRiG I think if everyone on the train turns out to be crazy, you might be on the crazy train.

Mahnax

> Theologians take evidence of invisible magic stuff and compare it in invisible magic experiments. This is why theology has turned out to be so much more useful than science.

3

(From the link @Jez provided earlier)

The sad thing is that the person who said that was being serious.

TRiG

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yes. True. And one of the things that got me begin considering the possibility of leaving was the realisation that other people read the Bible just as carefully as I did, but came to completely different conclusions.

But Fred is not exactly the only intelligent and compassionate Christian in the world. He does have friends.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@TRiG Sure, I know many people who are intelligent, compassionate christians and they are also appalled at what their fellow christians do or say. But I don't understand why that doesn't cause more of them to rebel or examine their beliefs more.

Example: so many catholics do not believe the church's stance on birth control makes sense and they outright ignore it. They don't believe the church's stance on female priests or married priests makes sense. They don't believe in the church's position on homosexuality. Yet how can they maintain that cognitive dissonance? The pope makes the rules and is supposedly directed by god. directly directed. Infallibly directed.

Why doesn't that lead to people examining the source of their beliefs? Clearly they feel that the church is wrong about one thing. Why can't it be wrong about two things? 10 things? Everything?

MετάEd

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Pope is only infallible when he says he is, which he does rarely. He still says he's right, of course.

TRiG

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 People can fundamentally disagree with the Church's position on everything and still be Catholics. I can't quite get my head around that either.

Spare Oom

9:22 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I can't answer for everyone, but I consider it a problem of interpretation.

Mitch

OK I have a somewhat on -topic question...

wthells up with...

23

Q: Why is "a Japanese" offensive?

When talking about a person from Japan, why is it offensive to say "a Japanese" rather than "a Japanese person"? The English language Wiktionary says (person in or from Japan): The singular “a Japanese” is less common than locutions using the adjective, such as “a Japanese person”, and i...