English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Jason Marsh

05:01

Most Afro-Americans, who were born in Africa and migrated to USA in some point of their life, are also non-native speakers. It is not strictly considered as an error if they say "Money don't grow on trees" but react to it as "Cool, bro", innit?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasonMarsh Most African-Americans were born in the US. A relatively tiny number of Africans immigrate to the US. Those that do are culturally very different from the ones that have been there for centuries. They speak differently.

In my experience (in Canada) most immigrants from Africa strive to speak standard English, just like most immigrants from anywhere else.

(inasmuch as they make choices about how they speak English. Many people learn enough to be understood and leave it at that, so their speech is accented and full of errors or short-cuts that don't really affect comprehension, but are not at all standard)

Jason Marsh

Spot on mate. I guess I was just speaking in AAVE, which isn't a standard English but widely used.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

mm-hm. That's all it really takes to be speaking AAVE, just say "don't" where white folk say "doesn't".

Jason Marsh

It's more than just "just say 'don't' where white folk say 'doesn't'".

For example, a lot of extensive AAVE speakers tend to use "ain't" in place of "don't".

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

You don't need to explain it to me, I'm familiar with it ;)

I was being sarcastic

Jason Marsh

05:16

Speaking of "I'm familiar with it ;)", are you in the hood, mate?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

No, I wouldn't characterize myself as being in any sort of "hood"

Jason Marsh

►

This video is heaps interesting though. #side_note

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

hasn't that been posted already?

Jason Marsh

I know

I wanted to make use of latest AAVE, which is influenced by Twitter. You say #someting_something.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Are you claiming that hashtags are a feature of AAVE?

Jason Marsh

05:25

yeah

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

it's not

nothing to do with AAVE

Jason Marsh

What do you mean?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

hashtags are a feature of twitter, and other social networks

their online use has spread into meatspace

But their use is in no way correlated with AAVE or standard english

Jason Marsh

I see.

Quick question: How frequently do you receive contacts, through any form of communication medium, from other humans (excluding mum and dad)?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Well, I spend a lot of time in this chat

Jason Marsh

05:34

Righto

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

And I am in online chat with my coworkers all day

And I have a wife and kids who live with me

They are asleep now, as any sane person in my timezone would be

Plus I see other people when I go out of the house: neighbours, etc.

Weekly team meetings with coworkers

Facebook and G+ friends

stuff like that

why?

Jason Marsh

I was just curious about how other humans around the world are like.

I'm probably not going to get married though. I purposefully have put myself on the lowest marriage scale because of that.

Smart move, huh?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I'm not sure what you mean by that.

Jason Marsh

"marriage scale"?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah

Jason Marsh

05:44

I learnt it from a gentleman who I met on TeamSpeak last time. He said it means you are the last one to be considered to get married with.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I don't find the expression very idiomatic.

a scale measures things

You don't put something on a low scale

usually

you might get a low measurement from a scale

You might say "I purposefully rank myself low on the marriage scale", but even then, a "marriage scale" is not a thing I'm familiar with.

Jason Marsh

Perhaps we can add this exciting new feature into English used in ELU or even in AAVE.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Just keep saying it. If it catches on, it becomes part of the language. Until it catches on, it's just wrong. :)

anyway I have to get up for work in 5 hours so I'm going to sign off.

cya

Jason Marsh

G'night.

Matt Эллен

08:03

morning

Andrew Leach

Morning.

pipja

afternoon

Andrew Leach

Ooh. Don't usually get that response. Good afternoon.

pipja

3pm here

i assume you are from europe

UTC or UTC+1

Andrew Leach

UK. Currently at UTC+1.

Matt Эллен

08:10

acursèd BST

GMT 5ever

pipja

wut da fuk

Andrew Leach

British Summer Time.

=Daylight Saving Time. Clocks go forward an hour.

pipja

I used to work with UK clients, 3pm is when they start sending mails :3

Matt Эллен

:D by this time we've had our first coffee and are beginning to wake up

pipja

hahaha

Matt Эллен

08:12

!!urban 5ever

Jarvis the Bot

@MattЭллен 5ever 4ever means forever...so 5ever is longer than 4ever.

pipja

rofl

can I haz 9ever?

Matt Эллен

you can try!

pipja

sounds like 9tail fox

Matt Эллен

interestnig. I hadn't heard of that before

Jason Marsh

08:19

urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=marriage+scale

I've defined a word on urbandictionary

pipja

I approve your definition :3

the definition of "Marriage Elbow" is hilarious

Jason Marsh

09:12

Guys I've defined 2 more terms

regular girlfriend and girltardation

but they are not approved yet

pipja

09:23

do you even need to define regular girlfriend?

Jason Marsh

Additionally, "So Asian"

pipja

hahahaha so asian may mean a lot of thing

can be gosu if the target is a gamer

or can be something else all together

Jason Marsh

right

Jason Marsh

09:48

Amason
British way of saying a popular Online retrailer of books, Amazon(.com). English was first invented in United States of America but when it arrived in Britain, they Britainized most of standard American vocabularies such as Amazon.com. And as a result they've decided to call it Amason.com instead of Amazon.com.

Matt Эллен

10:05

!!define mason

Jarvis the Bot

@MattЭллен mason One whose occupation is to build with stone or brick; also, one who prepares stone for building purposes.

Matt Эллен

a mason is not an Amazon

unless the mason happens to be an Amazon

skullpatrol

Wouldn't that be an Amazonian?

Matt Эллен

@skullpatrol no

unless you meant something other than what I meant :D

skullpatrol

:D

RegDwigнt

10:22

I posted an answer!!! But then I had to migrate the question¡¡¡

Seriously, there should be a :-( equivalent of an exclamation mark.

Matt Эллен

I'm sure @tchrist can think of one!

Jason Marsh

Rockvember
Informal sequel of popular annual rock festival "Rocktober".

Matt Эллен

10:36

are you quoting from urban dictionary?

Jason Marsh

Those are terms I created just now

but not yet approved by moderators.

Andrew Leach

Wears mod hat Your example is not good.

Matt Эллен

@JasonMarsh Can I recommend that you don't treat rape in such a light manner? It's a very serious thing.

Jason Marsh

Sorry

Andrew Leach

I guess you're out of time to edit it. Fixed for you.

Jason Marsh

10:51

!!urban sex swap

Robusto

@RegDwigнt So did all of Deutschland get shitfaced last night? Or were they about as stunned as Brazil?

RegDwigнt

@Robusto I still have trouble believing what I saw.

Robusto

If you have trouble, think how the Brazilians must feel.

The team must have fled for the airport directly from the stadium.

RegDwigнt

I literally pinched myself a couple times. I can't remember ever doing that.

The Germans were in just as big a shock as Brazil.

Robusto

Now I think Team USA's 1-0 loss to Germany is almost a victory.

RegDwigнt

10:53

Yeah no shit.

Almost lost to Algeria and Ghana, too.

Robusto

Grading on a curve, it was a blowout for the US.

RegDwigнt

But 4:0 against Portugal, and then this.

Robusto

inorite

Andrew Leach

@JasonMarsh We don't need this. Please stop doing it.

Jason Marsh

Ok sorry

RegDwigнt

10:55

But back to the original question, in rained rather heavily last night, so quite a few "Public Viewings" as they are called in Germany were called off.

Also, it was a late game.

Robusto

→ 1 message moved to Recycle Bin

RegDwigнt

Had it been at 6 and not 10, and no rain, I think the streets would be littered with drunk and happy people now.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Also, by "shitfaced" I mean more than usual.

RegDwigнt

That's another important factor.

Robusto

For a game, that is.

RegDwigнt

10:57

I actually stopped drinking, that's how dumbfounded I was.

Robusto

Haha.

RegDwigнt

I sat there in utter disbelief. I couldn't applaud or cheer. It was surreal.

Robusto

I guess statistically you're going to have outliers like that one every now and then.

RegDwigнt

I would have celebrated like hell had it been a 2:1.

@Robusto yeah, and more importantly, it can go either way.

I mean, what do we think would have happened had Brazil scored two goals in the first 20 minutes.

Robusto

People would have written the game off for Germany.

RegDwigнt

10:59

As you said after the very first goal, "it's over".

Robusto

Yup.

Well, if Team Germany gets up 1-0 on you that early, the way they've been playing, it is pretty much over.

RegDwigнt

I really want them to meet Ned in the final.

In no small part because then Bra will meet Arg.

Matt Эллен

braarg

RegDwigнt

So two duels between hating neighbors.

Robusto

As I've said before, I know only the basics of the game, but the German team just looks better at positioning themselves. Their movement away from the ball always sets them up for a pass or a block, and they move as a team.

RegDwigнt

11:01

And just imagine Bra losing to Arg. At home.

Matt Эллен

they should change their abbreviation to Arq

RegDwigнt

This would be the final nail in the coffin.

They would literally stop playing football forever.

Robusto

No joy in Mudville, as the saying goes.

Casey at the Bat

"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888" is a baseball poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. First published in The San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, it was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances. It has become one of the best-known poems in American literature. The poem was originally published anonymously (under the pen name "Phin", based on Thayer's college nickname, "Phineas"). Synopsis A baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville (implied to be the home team) is losing by two runs with two out in their last inning....

    Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
    The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
    And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
    But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.

RegDwigнt

That is one long poem.

Robusto

I quoted the important part.

The rest is included for background.

What would happen if Ned beat Deu in the final?

RegDwigнt

11:05

Nothing much.

Been there, done that.

Remember that this is Germany's fourth semifinal in a row. (Another historical record, btw.)

Robusto

While the Brazil game was a goalfest, you have to think the German team was wishing they could bank some of those goals for use later.

RegDwigнt

Yeah first thing I said after 3:0.

Why the fuck is this not the final.

Would be worthy of a final, too.

Bra vs. Ger, I mean come on.

But now it will be a coin flip, against whichever opponent.

Ned are on fire, and while Arg's asses were kicked real good by Ger the last two times around, their defense just sucks every last nerve out of you. Annoying to play against.

Robusto

Who did Germany beat to get into the semis? I can't remember.

Matt Эллен

France

RegDwigнt

This time? France, yes.

Robusto

11:10

Oh. That was the one with the backwards glancing header by Klose, right?

RegDwigнt

Yeah.

Robusto

Which looked either like a) an accident, or b) the work of a supernatural scorer.

RegDwigнt

Another close game. Almost a 1:1 in the very last seconds.

@Robusto no wait, against France it was Hummels.

Robusto

I can't recall. Statistically the probability was that it was Klose.

RegDwigнt

See, I stopped drinking last night and already my memory is not working properly.

@Robusto that much is true.

Robusto

11:12

What, has he scored like 80% of their goals?

RegDwigнt

Well, in case you missed it, he now holds the record for the most goals in World Cup history.

Robusto

feints from lack of surprise

RegDwigнt

He actually got an insert saying that when he was substituted.

16 goals in 23 games.

Previously, the record was 15, held by Ronaldo.

Robusto

I didn't watch after the first four or five goals. It was like watching a pro boxer beating up a high-school kid.

RegDwigнt

So he pulverized the record of a Brazilian player, in Brazil, against Brazil.

Robusto

11:14

How much of Germany's success is coaching and how much player talent?

RegDwigнt

So anyway. Like 99% of his goals are headers.

So statistically, yes, if we are talking about a German header, it's likely Klose.

@Robusto there is a lot of talent in pretty much every team at this level. But not every team plays like a team.

Jason Marsh

redditjs.com/r/worldnews/comments/2a7evp/…

RegDwigнt

Look no further than Brazil. They have the most expensive defender in the world, they have Tiago Silva dispatching the balls, and they had Neymar. But they didn't impress as a whole.

Same for Argentina.

Or Portugal.

Or even France.

The whole must be more than the sum of its parts. For most teams it isn't, for Germany it is. That can only be attributed to the coach.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt As I say, that comes across even to an ignoramus like me.

RegDwigнt

And in no small part should it be attributed to the previous coach who started it all. Klinsmann. He will do wonders to the US team, too, mark my words.

He already has.

They play well, and they work as a team.

Robusto

11:18

@RegDwigнt He got a lot of bad press for stating the truth early on: that this US team wasn't going to win the Cup.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto someone should finally point out how the only Unamerican thing is the very word Unamerican.

The American idea is, everything is possible, nothing is excluded. Unamerican is specifically designed to exclude things and make them taboo.

Robusto

yesterday, by Robusto

@terdon You're just jealous of our Freedom™.

Jason Marsh

'F'reedom?

Robusto

Oh, for @Matt: *Freedoum™

Matt Эллен

thanks! I did wonder what you were talking about

RegDwigнt

11:21

Or for @Cerberus: Vreeeeedom.

Robusto

inorite

RegDwigнt

What was that word again, with OVER 9000 Es in a row?

Dutch is insane.

Jul 4 at 23:08, by Cerberus

Zeeëeind.

I mean come on.

Robusto

Ouch.

RegDwigнt

The thing is, he "explained" it to me.

Robusto

Jun 24 '11 at 15:39, by Kosmonaut

@Robusto Dutch isn't even a convincing forgery.

RegDwigнt

11:22

You see, one of the Es is linking.

In Dutch, they have to link an E to an E, using an E.

Robusto

A linking E. How handy.

Do they have a blinking E as well?

RegDwigнt

With lights on it.

Oh well, I guess I must do some work now.

Robusto

Yeah, me too. Sucks.

RegDwigнt

They built a new build, now I have to shoot new shots.

I just made new ones the other day. But it's back to square one now.

BBL.

Robusto

I'm nursing the last bits of a big project, fending off the part where I have to document everything I did.

RegDwigнt

11:24

Solution: do not ever do anything.

Robusto

I always forget that part.

RegDwigнt

See, forgetting is already doing too much.

Less. Less!

Robusto

Tahiti beckons.

While I am coding I feel godlike. While I am documenting I feel more like a mole.

RegDwigнt

Project Documentation
Chapter One
I am God.
The End

Johan Larsson

@Robusto self-documenting code?

Robusto

11:29

@JohanLarsson Well, my code is pretty readable. But I still have to go through and explain everything to those who will work on it in the future.

@RegDwigнt Chapter Two: Wherein our Hero Falls From Grace. The End.

Johan Larsson

> It easier to write code than it is to read code.

RegDwigнt

Oh, BTW, chat was dead last night, so repost.

13 hours ago, by RegDwigнt

►

13 hours ago, by RegDwigнt

Johan Larsson

@RegDwigнt there are more

Mitch

11:46

Why do any people bother watching once your own country has been eliminated?

Johan Larsson

A good game is > bearable imo

Robusto

12:03

@Mitch Now, now, let's not be churlish.

Johan Larsson

!!define churlish

Jarvis the Bot

@JohanLarsson churlish of or pertaining to a serf, peasant, or rustic

Matt Эллен

@Mitch to see who wins

Johan Larsson

who will win arghol? I think arg but it is another flip.

Matt Эллен

An all Eurpoean final would be a bit rubbing their noses in it

Johan Larsson

12:06

Maybe arg copes with the heat better, I say arg 2 hol 0, defensive game

Matt Эллен

Ned has higher goal difference, but maybe the other teams were particularly rubbish

Johan Larsson

we must ask Cerb

Matt Эллен

yes... he's sure to know :D

Jason Marsh

Guys, I realised definition of TA can defer depending on your situation.

RegDwigнt

@MattЭллен not to mention having to play against Arg.

Jason Marsh

12:16

If your opponent showed you hospitality then it means "Thanks always" but if he/she threatened you then "Thanks asshole".

RegDwigнt

Congratulations.

Jason Marsh

Me?

RegDwigнt

Yes.

Jason Marsh

TA

Cerberus

Greetings.

Matt Эллен

12:17

TA -> Territorial Army
TA -> Teaching Assistant

RegDwigнt

Next up, you will realize that TA stands for Trans Am.

Then Technology Assessment.

Then Turn Around.

Then Target Audience.

Johan Larsson

@Cerberus nervous?

RegDwigнt

Then 100+ other things.

Good luck realizing.

Jason Marsh

TA

Matt Эллен

everytime I read TA, I assume you're shouting ta.

RegDwigнt

12:18

BTW, no one, ever, says "he/she".

@MattЭллен better than shouting TAURE EN'ARVANDOR. Faster, too.

Matt Эллен

Vraiment

RegDwigнt

Hey, I invented a new game.

It's called "Guess the score".

Cerberus

@JohanLarsson Haha is this about football?

RegDwigнt

Cerberus

You can guess the answer!

Johan Larsson

12:22

you are but too shy to tell us

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt hmmm. pretty even stats. looks like Brazil did better, so I'd guess 1-7

RegDwigнt

Go back to your cave, troll!

7 is not even a number in football.

Cerberus

goes back to cave

Johan Larsson

Brazil's strategy was to get i the box and dive.

Jason Marsh

cool cool cool

A quote used to tell how cool story you just heard from the other. However you don't give too much *i*shit*i* about his story.

example:

James: "I woke up today and realised TA mean 'Thanks Asshole' in long word"
You: "Cool cool cool" (then immediately forget what he just said and go back to you life)

RegDwigнt

12:24

@JohanLarsson yeah, they watched too many Robben videos.

Jason Marsh

Do you like the term?

Johan Larsson

@RegDwigнt they have always been like that ime

RegDwigнt

@JohanLarsson spiegel.de/fotostrecke/…

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt maybe I mis-did my calculations...

Johan Larsson

but usually they have some extreme superstars who can win the games with individual moves.

RegDwigнt

12:26

@JohanLarsson have you seen Ronaldo yesterday?

Johan Larsson

yeah he was on tv for a couple of seconds

RegDwigнt

I didn't recognize him even after the commentator said his name.

I mean, I remember how he got twice his size. But yesterday he got twice that size all over again, just for the occasion.

I really did not recognize his face.

Johan Larsson

:)

RegDwigнt

They should have substituted him for César.

Mitch

@JohanLarsson ha ha. that's not what it means. It means 'mean'. or 'rude' or .. the rest of the wiktionary suggestions: surly, ungracious, stingy, grudging, (of soil) difficult to till, lacking pliancy, unmanageable.

I vote for '(of soil)', a man of the earth.

Matt Эллен

12:32

like one of the villains in spiderman 3?

Johan Larsson

@Mitch thanks, I did not understand jarvis riddle :)

Matt Эллен

outfoxed by kitfox's sox

Jason Marsh

Guys how many pull ups can you do?

RegDwigнt

OVER 9000

By the way: elephant.

Matt Эллен

heel pant

antehelp

RegDwigнt

12:38

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: Dominant in word (no tags)

685-252

Do you really believe that^?

:-)

Matt Эллен

word

RegDwigнt

You can believe anything at all. You just have to believe it.

0

A: Is "dominant in microsoft office" correct?

The both sentences making sense that you are commanding/ruling the application of MS office so better you can prefer "I'm quite capable of using MS office".

The answers are even better!

685-252

thanks for the context pal :D

RegDwigнt

That user is on fire anyway.

0

Q: cross between across

which is the correct sentence? I can cross the road or I can across the road Also, please explain why! Because I'm trying to improve my English usage of words in everyday English

grammaticality

Jason Marsh

12:43

PUPM

Push ups per minute
Pull ups per minute

James: I've finally scored 20 PUPM.
Alex: That's cute

RegDwigнt

Q: Why did the chicken across the road? A: Unjust because.

And I even accidentally whole article.

I'm so excited, I just can't hide it.

Mitch

And you a verb or too.

RegDwigнt

0

A: cross between across

The first sentence. Your second sentence doesn't contain a verb. "Cross" is a verb, at least in this instance. "Across" is either an adverb ("I ran across to meet you") or a preposition ("I ran across the street").

Wow.

685-252

I'm about to lose control...

Jason Marsh

@685-252 So Asian

RegDwigнt

12:46

The main site makes me go Brazilian right now.

685-252

@JasonMarsh in what way?

Jason Marsh

Nothing

I was on a video chat with a guy and he told me "So Asian"

RegDwigнt

Jason has been practicing incomprehensibility.

Matt Эллен

toulouse lautrec

685-252

"So what was his problem with Asians?"

RegDwigнt

12:49

@MattЭллен Your Lautrec or Lautrec's Lautrec?

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt Henri's Lautrec

Jason Marsh

@685-252 I wanted to make use of this new feature of English just to amuse you.

Sorry if it threatened you.

685-252

racism is not amusing

RegDwigнt

Putting two words together is not a new feature of English or any language.

@685-252 to his defense, calling Asians a single race is racism.

Matt Эллен

swr word for putting words together in English

685-252

12:51

those that laugh show how little character they actually have

RegDwigнt

Let's not blow it out of proportion.

There was no racism or laughs, only a random sequence of random words with complete disregard for any context past present or future.

685-252

@RegDwigнt It is not a proportion when you divide by zero.

RegDwigнt

He might as well have said "blue shatters" instead.

Mitch

@Robusto actually no. or maybe yes. Is it it churlish to wonder why other people aren't churlish?

RegDwigнt

Churley MacLaine is pretty churlish.

@685-252 save that talk for the Math room.

685-252

12:55

:-O

RegDwigнt

See, you are subtracting a letter from a punctuation mark.

Anything goes.

685-252

@RegDwigнt did you see my latest question?

RegDwigнt

Alas I did no such thing.

Mitch

@RegDwigнt How dare you!

RegDwigнt

@Mitch shatters. Not shitters or shutters.

685-252

12:57

@RegDwigнt wanna see?

Mitch

Such language! flugged

RegDwigнt

0

Q: How exactly does the response "infintely many" answer the question of "how many"?

I admit that the level of this question is roughly about middle school, but this is what the question asks: The ratio of nickels to dimes to quarters is 3:8:1. If all the coins were dimes, the amount of money would be the same. Show that there are infinitely many solutions to this problem.

algebra-precalculus soft-question problem-solving

Much question, very words.

685-252

nah, not there; on this site

RegDwigнt

I can navigate this site, too.

I took a 101 once.

685-252

0

A: How is the sentence "The symbol % is used to represent percent." read?

In all likelihood, the meaning as intended by the original author cannot be expressed exactly in speech. As it appears on the page, '%' is one of several possible glyphs that represent the same grapheme - a semantically meaningful unit of a written language. The equivalent unit in spoken languag...

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…