English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

1:26 AM

@Sudhir Here's one take on it:

> Cambridge, where the mathematicians and scientists predominate, as opposed to the Oxford of the poets and storytellers.

Cerberus

How is your short hair doing?

I had mine cut the day before yesterday.

Mahnax

Hello.

tchrist

I see that questions are no longer closed as duplicates; they are merely marked.

The close-vote queue is getting weirder and weirder. Now it tell us whether the dup is protected.

Mahnax

1:48 AM

Oh no! This calls for me to change my avatar to a solid colour and delete everything.

tchrist

That would be duper.

I guess Jasper was really Norton. Notice how they’re both gone now.

Mahnax

Haha, I do not think so.

Oct 16 '12 at 12:56, by Jasper Loy

I am not Nortonn.

Proof. QED.

tchrist

I see you’ve read the Bible.

Mahnax

Yes indeed. I'm quite a fan.

I think my favourite part is when there are some animals on a boat and then only one family survives and somehow repopulates the earth and separates into multiple nations in 100 years or so.

tchrist

He might be able to start a farmstead.

Gene pool runs a mite thin, though.

And the incest, gosh.

It’s all Adam’s fault for choosing to have incestuous children.

I honestly don’t think that a lot of that was ever supposed to be taken as utterly literal. But there can be no myth left in modern though, so it must be exact, all cut and dried. It makes things ridiculous.

Mahnax

2:13 AM

I cannot tell what is supposed to be taken literally in the Bible and what isn't. It's mostly nonsense.

The Psalms contain almost nothing of any use, for example.

tchrist

“of any use”?

Mahnax

Well, I don't know.

tchrist

I think they are supposed to be songs.

Poetry and such.

Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening isn’t much use either, but we still appreciate it.

Mahnax

It is interesting that the Bible is the word of God and the Psalms are praises to God. Therefore God praises himself. QED.

tchrist

Mahnax

2:17 AM

@tchrist I suppose.

Regarding taking things literally, I will bring up the "sun-stood-still" day.

@tchrist Old family portrait?

tchrist

I have 14 pages of Strange Little Things I Found on the Internet to wade through yet.

Mahnax

I see. I feel as though I have learned something very useful.

I'll be back in a moment. I'm fetching laundry.

tchrist

Laundry. Gosh.

My laundry was overdone.

It annoys me.

I washed everything yesterday.

Left both loads in the basket.

The girls who come by every few weeks to tidy of the bathrooms etc thought they were dirty and washed them again, leaving them in the dryer for me to fold. I hate that.

Losing My Religion, retuned to a major key instead of a minor one.

Mahnax

2:44 AM

@tchrist Woah, weird.

tchrist

Really.

Mahnax

@tchrist mildly amused

I don't mean to be rude, but I cannot imagine having someone clean my bathrooms for me.

It is a… foreign concept.

@tchrist No. I have been lying all along.

tchrist

I just finished a four-week stint where I put in closer to 270 hours than 160. I appreciated the help.

Mahnax

@tchrist I understand—I'm not trying to discredit you or anything.

tchrist

I think of it as an assisted-living situation.

Mahnax

2:51 AM

Hehe.

“Grandfather tchrist” has a nice ring to it.

tchrist

I think I have first cousins twice removed now.

Which is the same thing, really.

Mahnax

Sorta.

Robusto

5:09 AM

@tchrist That's not even funny. Just strange.

Benjamin

8:49 AM

Hello, would you know of an on-line database that would show words with certain syllables ordered in usage frequency?
I am teaching English to 6 and 7 years olds and I as I use examples of phonics I would like to teach them words with those phonics they will indeed come across often.

Benjamin

9:22 AM

Okay i found what i needed on morewords.com/most-common-ends-with/tial

Cerberus

10:16 AM

Morning!

Matt Эллен

11:33 AM

Heh. Low

נח Noah نوح

2:30 PM

Hi

Robusto

3:01 PM

@Robus, perhaps; however you can switch a lot of things, but, as the dictionaries say, I assure you that "zap" is more specific to this case. — Carlo_R. 5 mins ago

Man, I wanna smack him. There ought to be a word for the act of a non-native speaker instructing a native speaker on how to speak the language. Oh wait—there is. The Yiddish word chutzpah.

Mitch

4:22 PM

16

Q: How does the "Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop..." joke work?

On YouTube, there's that famous joke the Dalai Lama didn't understand — and neither did I. It even made headlines in my part of the world, and on some of the sites I frequent, yet nobody ever bothered to explain it. I am at a loss. I suppose pretty much every non-native speaker will have tro...

@RegDwighт Wait...I don't get it. I don't get the you don't get it. Are you just posting to spice it up?

Sudhir

6:17 PM

Hi@MattЭллен

Sudhir

6:32 PM

I want to ask one thing

@Jez

Jez

yes?

Sudhir

For airport, we use at, in or on?

Jez

well, you're usually at the airport

Sudhir

ok

Jez

you can say in the airport but it's unusual and implies you're inside a building

and if you're on the airport, it sounds like you're on the roof

Sudhir

6:35 PM

These preposition always bites me in deciding

Jez

yeah

Sudhir

in the internet / on the internet

Jez

on the intenet

Sudhir

I am working in the project/ on the project

Let the task be done in/on time

@Jez?

tell

I'm waiting

@Jez

please tell

I'm going for sleep

Jez

on the project

on time

Sudhir

6:41 PM

why?

Jez

it just is

learn by rote

Sudhir

ok

tchrist

Halt.

I agree that on time sounds like what you want.

But I am not convinced that in time cannot be used.

Jez

i was trying to give simple answers

tchrist

Usually in time leads to something else, though.

Sudhir

6:43 PM

@tchrist: in time means that before the deadline

tchrist

I hope to get it done in time to go to the new show.

Sudhir

here in this context

I'm right?

tchrist

Right about what?

Nobody says “Let the task be done...”

Just “Get it done on time.”

Sudhir

@tchrist: My manager said to me

"Let the task done on time."

tchrist

Be gone.

And it is still unnatural.

Who is this, God?

Sudhir

6:46 PM

Why?

tchrist

Sounds like God-talk.

Sudhir

He is very strict

He give us orders

if not done you'll be asked to leave

tchrist

You simply do not speak that way.

Sudhir

ok

tchrist

> And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Sudhir

6:48 PM

I was unsure that's why I asked

tchrist

> And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

> And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

> And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

> And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Sudhir

Ha ha

tchrist

> And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Sudhir

good examples

tchrist

> And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

> And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

I hope your boss uses hath properly.

Otherwise, he’s being an ostentatious twit.

Actually, even if he does use hath right, he is still being an ostentatious twit.

Sudhir

6:50 PM

His English is very good

tchrist

> And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Sudhir

So he use to show off to us

tchrist

> And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

See? God-talk.

Sudhir

as our english is not too good

tchrist

> But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

I hope he minds his thees and thous, too.

Sudhir

6:52 PM

@tchrist: I have one question

Can you put some light on it?

tchrist

> Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

4 mins ago, by tchrist

> And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Sudhir

@tchrist?

Why do Indians follow British English instead of American?

tchrist

> Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with euill, neither tempteth he any man.

They don’t. Not really. They just think they do.

Sudhir

Any reasons?

tchrist

> Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Sudhir

6:56 PM

please tell

tchrist

Jan 20 at 15:39, by tchrist

@Cerberus ‘Mercy!’ cried Gandalf. ‘If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?’

waiwai933

7:26 PM

15 messages deleted

TRiG

8:11 PM

Garbage is what you program into a computer. Trash is what you try to keep your daughter from dating. — Robusto Apr 8 '11 at 0:28

Just because I like it.

Jez

woah wth happpened?

all those deleted messages

Mahnax

8:36 PM

Probably a heated discussion.

tchrist

9:54 PM

@Mahnax No. I was being pestered by a user who always comes on here and petulanty whines and begs for answers, and pings everybody he can find to get them to pay attention to him.

And I had had enough of that.

So I told him such behavior wasn’t acceptable.

Apparently I am supposed to flag instead. Very well, so be it. Flags away.

Cerberus

@tchrist Why not follow my example?

Mahnax

@tchrist Fair enough.

Ugh, I have to go watch football with my family in a little while.

Cerberus

Qui displicet ignorare.

@Mahnax Uhh have...fun?

Mahnax

@Cerberus Um, yes. Fun will be “had”.

Cerberus

Hehe.

And you will be there.

Yay!

Mahnax

10:07 PM

I will sit on the floor and read a book, most likely.

I should finish American Gods by Gaiman soon.

Before I become compelled to start yet another book.

Cerberus

You're a simultaneist, aren't you?

Mahnax

Quite.

Cerberus

I recognise the problem.

Mahnax

I just get so excited to read that I can't decide which one to read first.

So I start one, start another, etc. and finish them all eventually.

Cerberus

Aww.

Mahnax

10:09 PM

Hm?

Nice selfie, Cerby.

Cerberus

You might consider stacking new books on your nightstand.

Haha.

Mahnax

@Cerberus Good idea. Step 1: acquire a nightstand.

Cerberus

Right. I'm not at that step either.

A cardboard box is where I'm at.

Mahnax

I use a textbook (on the floor) with some paper towel on it for drinks when I'm in bed.

The textbook is on top of a fluffy mat-thing where I keep books that I am reading.

tchrist

@Cerberus What, ignore him? Yes, I finally did that.

Mahnax

10:15 PM

My bed is low enough that I can reach the floor easily.

So it's all quite a nice arrangement.

tchrist

Don’t drink in bed. That’s how fires start.

Oh wait, that’s smoking.

Mahnax

drinks in bed

smokes in be—

flames

Cerberus

@Mahnax A fluffy mat thing. O of course.

@Mahnax !

No smoking.

Mahnax

Haha, I jest, Cerberus!

Cerberus

That's really bad for you.

phew

tchrist

10:16 PM

@Cerberus I caught you exhaling smoke right there.

Cerberus

I'm always in flames.

Flamboyant as I am.

tchrist

Flame boys can be no less.

Cerberus

buoys flame

Mahnax

buys fame

tchrist

I bet you’re boisterous, too.

Cerberus

10:18 PM

stomps on flame, extinguishing it

There.

By the way, stompen is done with your fist.

Stampen with your foot.

Mahnax

Alright, I'm off to the races. Bye.

Cerberus

Bai!

And een stempel is a stamp.

Mahnax

cloud of smoke; vanish

Cerberus

Nice.

tchrist

Looks like Nordy’s back.

@Cerberus There are a bunch of those pairs I can’t keep straight, nor am in the least bit certain about.

Most are verbs. Not all.

Cerberus

10:27 PM

Like which?

tchrist

Like the spelling of the adjective hum[uo]ngus.

Cerberus

Dutch-English pairs?

tchrist

No.

English.

Cerberus

English spelling...

tchrist

Champing at the bit, chomping at the bit.

Most are a/o pairs, I think.

There are others.

Here, let me grep them out of the OED.

Mahnax

10:31 PM

So apparently I'm not off to the races just yet.

Cerberus

A false start again, huh.

tchrist

I thought you were getting a bit racy there.

Mahnax

@Cerberus Well, if the official dude would stop firing his pistol every time he imagined seeing poultry then maybe we'd have left by now.

Cerberus

I didn't you you were a chicken.

Mahnax

error: what

> I didn't! You — you were a chicken!

Cerberus

10:37 PM

error: ]you are)wrong)(

tchrist

tramp tromp

Mahnax

++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

tchrist

Looks like a terminal-based progress meter.

In fact, I think the CD ripper does that.

Mahnax

It's Brainf-ck.

tchrist

The + is like an error.

Oh.

ertella

22 2

usage grammar idioms meaning grammaticality word-choice negation

Smells like a Nordie.

Or a Nutella. Can’t tell.

Cerberus

10:41 PM

Sometimes I wonder how people who don't know basic subject-verb agreement find us.

tchrist

Heh.

It always seems to turn into ESL-hour ’round about now.

Cerberus

When China wakes up?

tchrist

I think so.

They get up a bit earlier than India.

Cerberus

They should stay up later.

tchrist

Who do not tend to be as bad.

Although sometimes they are.

I’m looking for the best Buzzword Bingo card.

Cerberus

10:44 PM

Not as weird, but equally bad, I would say.

At least half of them are IE'ers.

tchrist

Oh, I should have known. Andy has a configurable version.

Mahnax

So I have tried Windows 8 now.

tchrist

Andy has 98 phrases in his buzzword-bingo database, from which to generate zillions of different cards.

@Mahnax You are ritually unclean. Go cleanse thyself.

Cerberus

Oh, God. I can tell immediately.

You have the Taint.

Mahnax

@tchrist Fear not—four hours on my computer hath cleansed me thoroughly.

Cerberus

10:48 PM

You will vanish and turn into a coloured square before my eyes, I know it.

tchrist

That’s one of those plural subjects taken as singular.

Mahnax

I hate Windows 8 even more than I did before, by the way.

And I detested it before.

tchrist

What, no contempt?

Cerberus

Haha.

An admirable change of perspective.

Mahnax

@tchrist That too.

There is simply no way to use it correctly. It's a mess.

tchrist

10:49 PM

Correctly?

Cerberus

You may be able to fix it with enough programs.

Mahnax

@tchrist It feels incorrect to use it at all.

Cerberus

Already there are 100 programs to bring back the start button.

tchrist

@Cerberus You do not solve the problem of having too many programs through more of the same.

Cerberus

Sure you can.

I solve all my problems that way.

And my computer is perfect.

Mahnax

10:51 PM

@Cerberus snorts

Cerberus

It is.

Fast and functional.

Mahnax

What's its hardness on the Mohs scale?

Cerberus

Mohs? Is that where diamond is 10?

Mahnax

Yes.

Cerberus

Then it's off the scale.

Mahnax

10:52 PM

Oh, now it's actually time to go.

@Cerberus -3?

Cerberus

I understand.

Mahnax

Haha, bye!

cloud of dust

Cerberus

Les extrêmes se touchent.

tchrist

Hiyo, Silver!

How come my Economist used to come on Saturdays but now usually arrives on Mondays? It’s not as though I’ve changed my name to fall later in the alphabet.

I have a friend whose name starts with W. He says he’s always last to get anything.

Cerberus

Not true.

tchrist

10:58 PM

What, like in false?

Cerberus

He's just always the first to whine.

tchrist

Mayhap.

Cerberus

Sssssss.