English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

12:04 PM

@RegDwight hey, how are you?

I'm fine, thank you.

A bit busy trying to have a break at least on a Saturday. Alas, I'm here.

:)

by the way happy weekend. to all.

whenever I am saying word like sort, special, Json by naturally I am giving a emphasis on s its sound bad. I have to improve. any suggestion.

@RegDwight

What do you mean by "emphasis on the s"?

@RegDwight — And I had such high hopes for you.

you didn't get my problem. is it?

12:10 PM

Not really, no...

@Robusto It's not like I hadn't warned you!

Feb 25 at 16:40, by RegDwight

I can't be on every site 25/8!

Q: Is it ever useful to create a neologism?

0

Looking back on a couple questions that have requested neologisms, I wonder anew how useful any volunteered neologisms would actually be. What chance is there that the term will go anywhere? Does it require a certain type of person to push a new term through? Is it recommended every Tom, Dick,...

word-usage neologisms

Puh-leez.

Hm. I'm not sure what to think of it, either. Actually, large chunks sound like a question for meta.

At least this ought to be community wiki.

Besides, requesting neologisms is off-topic. We had a meta question about that.

sort, json when I speak this word it sound like short and jshon. mostly it happen whenever s is come in the word.@RegDwight

12:14 PM

In other news, @Reg, since you banned those four members my daily dose of downvotes has been conspicuously absent.

@RobinHood That's palatalization. Which, in general, is a very common linguistic phenomenon. Of course, your pronunciation of these particular words is not part of contemporary Standard English. But I suppose people still understand you, no? But of course, if you are really worried about this and would like to gain control over it, then you can always consider seeing a speech therapist.

@Robusto Sorry for that, but I promise, they will be coming back!

@RegDwight — Oh good. I know you want to keep me humble.

(Well, I did try to pick the periods such that they would have enough time to get sucked into something else in the mean time.)

Damn, my deck is slow. The enemy gets in 3 turns before I even start to fight.

Well, throw in some fast cards, how's that for an advice?

God, I am so helpful today, like double as usual.

12:21 PM

Oh, so this is where we talk about WMT!

Check out my deck in WMT if you want.

Q: How would one convey "get over it" in Japanese?

Yeah, pips, let's head over to that other room.

Jez

6

As a foreigner in Japan, one has to get used to the fact that some Japanese will compliment you on things that are too mundane to really deserve mention. Like the fact that you can use chopsticks, eat sushi, say 「今日は」, and all that sort of thing. Most of the time, it's harmless, and a mere stepp...

word-choice translation set-phrases idioms

@RegDwight thank you SIR.

Jez

see, that's ontopic in japanese.se :-)

12:32 PM

@Jez — What's your point?

Jez

the language site policies are inconsistent

All site policies are inconsistent.

Jul 11 at 14:01, by RegDwight

But hey, you set out to build yourself 50+ communities, you don't get to wonder if not every single one of them is completely identical to every single other one.

Well, we suffer from the pre-eminence of English. Almost all the questions about Japanese or German are in English, so any question about Japanese is perceived to be on topic, no matter how trivial. But on our site, we ask in English about English, so it is difficult to determine what is selbstverständlich and what isn't.

2

Q: Why is it "grandfather", but "great-uncle"?

1:26 PM

0

I know that there are six forms of this word, but "great-uncle" is most common ("great-aunt" has a similar graph). Why is this, if "grandfather" and "grandmother" are common?

word-choice hyphen word-formation

Mmmph.

1:37 PM

@Robusto It's almost as though if you can read the 'Ask a Question' text then you probably already know too much.

Heh. True.

I have a serious question. It's not meant to be snarky at all. I really want to know:

If we want to attract experts, and we hear complaints from non-experts that we don't attract them, how is that alarming at all?

Who you asking?

2:02 PM

@MrDisappointment Just a random thought that crossed my mind. I wonder why it didn't occur to me earlier. I am about to post a corresponding comment.

@Reg, ты знаешь слово "Бомж"?

без определённого места жительства

@MrDisappointment meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions/1561/…

Also @nohat.

@Reg, позавчера ко мне пришла почтальонша..... а я не могу открыть дверь.... думаю "что за куйня?"...... А там , в предбаннике бомж , заснул на полу и ногами заблокировал дверь.. Почтальонша сказала: не смотрите что я хрупкая - сейчас ментов вызову....... Я его скорей в гараж (я нанял 2-х бомжей очистить мою территорию)

@trg787 And the moral of the story is...?

Moral? Don't know. The world did a diversion against Belarus. It's bad. All betrayed us, both the West and Russia.

What is the Belarus? It's 5 towns, 10 mln population.... In Vietnam 80 mln... What for Russia to help us? They on purpose diversed us.

They ruined all prices, currencies ..... it's not objective reason.... they did it on purpose

2:22 PM

Hey, trg787, take it easy, I am Russian :)

@RegDwight Good point.

2 days ago, by Mr. Disappointment

@Jez Tee-hee-hee, you said 'breasts' giggle, giggle, giggle ...

2 days ago, by Mr. Disappointment

I mean, who is really that immature?

That's the thing. We get injected poison, and then blamed for it.

If someone does know another that is, then all I can say is: we mix in very different circles, you and I.

@trg787 I'm with @brilliant on this, actually. Last I checked, Russia was your one and only ally left.

Everyone had forsaken you but Russia.

No one wanted to be friends with Lukashenko except for Putin.

So if they drop you now (do they?), they are the last ones to do so, and consequently also the last ones to blame.

But I don't know enough about the current situation to speak about it with total confidence.

Besides, I gotta go in a few minutes.

So take care.

Me too, but I just noticed I actually elaborated a little on the point we just touched on above:

2 days ago, by Mr. Disappointment

@psmears The worrying thing is that you might be right; either way, it's those people that don't belong here, the individuals who find a single word or phrase amusing without context, or even regardless of relevant context (such as Peter Griffin, of Family Guy (for some reason I'm reminded of him here)), or even offensive. Not necessarily the people asking legitimate questions about such a word or phrase.

2:30 PM

@brilliant, and what? You intentantionally ruined our economics. Thanks you very much. Constant theats: will turn off power or gas. My country got such a blow from Germans at Jun 22 1941.

@MrDisappointment Right. And I actually remember starring that one.

Yeah, I totally milked that situation for stars.

Orly?

Haha, right.

One star.

@trg787 You should've not separated yourselves from Russia .Everything would be fine now.

Hm. I wonder who will keep an eye on these Slavonic hotheads once I'm out.

2:33 PM

Anyway, time is up for the time being, see you all later.

CU.

@Reg, you know..... such ppl here ... only a dictator can command..... here

@trg787 Or, you know, people could be civil to one another.

пацаны, понимаете.... нас спецом повалили... всё хотят скупить... у нас бешеная конкуренция на рынке яиц, перепелиные даже продают, магазины завалены молоком любого вида, кефир, колбасы, ....а нас бросили в жопу

@RegDwight Don't worry - I am not into arguing at the moment :) Is Vitalij around? I wanted to ask him a question.

2:45 PM

I'm all ears ;)

@brilliant Well, just ping him and see. @Vitaly, someone wants to ask you a question.

Aha :)

@RegDwight - How come I didn't think of this!

So what? Can I ask him now or I should wait till he says something here first?

@RegDwight — I agree with the comment and upticked it, but Jeff is talking about corporate proxies. Actual experts on language might not be able to mess with corporate policies.

@Vitaly Hello, Vitaly, may I ask you a question?

2:52 PM

@brilliant — By all means, go ahead. Which doesn't mean I will necessarily be able to answer it.

@Vitaly - Okay. So here is the question: Is there any difference in translation into English between "Эй, куда ты пошёл?" and "Эй, куда ты идёшь?"?

Well, that's not an easy question for me, but I suppose it could still be asked in such a way as to be understandable to English speakers.

@English-speakers: is there a way to ask the question “Hey, where are you going?” without the progressive aspect?

@Vitaly I am kinda skeptical that they will be surfing from the workplace at all, in that case.

But anyhoo, I gotta run.

Laterz.

Later @RegDwight

There's no a big diff..... It's gopnik 's addressing

3:00 PM

@Vitaly "Where are you off to?" perhaps. Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by the progressive aspect

@Vitaly - I mean in the first case the "start" of "going" was witnessed by the speaker, but in the second case the speaker might have not seen how that person began to go, right?

@brilliant According to Google Translate, the phrases are "Hey, where did you go?" and "Hey, where are you going?" which address two different parts of time (the first being the past, the second being the future), so they are not equivalent and will get very different answers

@MattEllen — “Where are you going?” may imply that the person who is going is in the process of doing so, that's the progressive aspect (as @brilliant said, the asker might not have seen them start going)

@Vitaly - I mean in the first case the speaker might have witnessed that person standing or even sitting - not going anywhere first - and then he saw him start walking

And “Where are you going” matches “Куда ты идёшь?” almost perfectly.

3:04 PM

to say “Hey, where are you going?” is eq "What is your bag?" Once I was asked such quest. by teens , at abt 23:00. At home I called to militia and said to them: wtf?

On the other hand, @MattEllen, “Куда ты пошёл?” implies that the asker has indeed seen how the other person started going, and is asking them impatiently.

@Vitaly I see. I'm trying to think if there is a distinction in English

I'm no professional, I just speak the language!

@Vitaly - And "Where did you go?" would mean more like "Эй, куда ты ходил?" implying the fact that the action of going has already finished, right?

@MattEllen In other words, what would you say in English if someone takes an ill-advised decision to go away to somewhere, and you are irritated by their doing so?

@Vitaly I don't know. I think I would probably still stick to "Hey, where are you going?" as I know no other options for such case.

3:09 PM

@Vitaly If I think someone's decision to start moving is ill-advised I would ask them "Why are you leaving?", or "Why are you going?"

@brilliant — My first impression for “Where did you go?” is that it conveys the idea of repetitive action, as in “Where did you go to school?”

@MattEllen — Interesting, thanks.

Oh yes, you are right. "Эй, куда ты ходил?" is more like "Where have you been?"

@MattEllen Good point! Thank you, Matt!!!

no problem :)

@Vitaly Thank you, too. I just didn't know how to render that difference in English.

@Vitaly In case with school it would be the Past Simple (Indefinite), right?

I dunno.

3:17 PM

@Vitaly - I see. Anyway, thank you - just wanted to check with you about my confusion here. Good night!!!

Q: "I am drinking ice cream" or "I am eating ice cream"?

Anytime. Night.

z7sg

3:43 PM

3

Assuming there is no material in ice cream to be chewed, which is the correct sentence? I am drinking ice cream. I am eating ice cream.

meaning word-choice differences

Hot question!

:/

@z7sg it's sort of about the English language, but it's also not about the English language. it's more about pointless technicalities that people get hung up on

z7sg

@MattEllen What would be the close reason?

@z7sg sort of off-topic as it is more philosophical. It's not a nuance of the English language it a way of thinking about matter.

must fly!

z7sg

OK cya

user19161

6:57 PM

I just got my hardcopy of Carter and McCarthy's Cambridge Grammar of English, hurray! Together with my Larry Trask's Guide to Punctuation, this will make me a super English nerd!

@JasperLoy congratulations! Make sure you use your super powers for good!

user19161

@MattEllen Ya, not many people in chat now. Will check this room out later. Is it night time at your side?

It's late evening

8pm

When is it where you are?

user19161

@MattEllen It is almost exactly 3 am.

and you're not asleep?!

user19161

7:02 PM

Hello Mr Disappointment. Why are you so disappointed?

user19161

@matt No, my life is ... complicated now, as you can see from my profile. I don't sleep at regular hours nowadays.

@JasperLoy I wish you well.

user19161

@MattEllen Thank you. Of course I would not reveal too many details here, since it's too complicated and the whole world is reading. :)

@JasperLoy Of course.

user19161

I tried to check out kit's website, the one about knight industries. I think it's a hoax.

7:07 PM

@JasperLoy LOL, yeah. It's for the TV show Knight Rider

Where the star of the show is a car called KITT

user19161

@MattEllen Oh I think Kit may not really be called Kit then. The thing about profiles on SE or anywhere for that matter, is that they may be 100% real, or 100% fake, or anywhere in between.

@JasperLoy Indeed. you have to take them with a pinch of salt

I don't think mine has anything false in it.

user19161

@MattEllen Mine is totally real too...

user19161

There was actually this user who said she had a lobotomy, and I emailed her to wish her well. On looking back, I think she was probably joking, and now I feel quite stupid. Well, she didn't reply, and the next day she removed the lobotomy part from her profile!

@JasperLoy Don't feel stupid! Especially now you've learned. It's nice to be nice.

7:16 PM

Uff.

user19161

@RegDwight What does that mean?

Exchanged a couple more comments with Jeff.

meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions/1561/…

That should be enough for today.

Seriously, it's Saturday and all.

Saturday night's alright for fighting, but not if you've been fighting Monday through Friday.

too right

and violence is only a short term solution, much like booze

user19161

Exactly Wikipedia has lots of mature content too. I wish I could take over the world and change all laws. Where I stay, the internet is censored, but not that much, to be fair.

@RegDwight Also, I fail to see what NYT has to do with anything here; well, on the contrary, actually... that, to me, is kind of doubling back on the earlier stance of attracting the right people - surely those people read journals and papers published within their field, and don't expect to rely on the Times to enable them to further their vocational expertise.

user19161

7:25 PM

Talking about booze, I am actually quite averse to alcohol. A few sips makes me red. But recently after finishing the bottle of wine my friend gave me, supposedly my liver enzymes have been activated, and now I actually quite enjoy more than a few sips!

I can drink vodka bucketwise. But don't let me so much as sip beer or smell wine.

@JasperLoy Aye, booze can be quite enjoyable. I'm considering having me some cheap bourbon this warm summer's eve.

But why cheap?

Jul 5 at 19:44, by RegDwight

FFS, people, get yourself some, I dunno, Laphroaig or something. Or the Famous Grouse if you're poor. Whatever.

@RegDwight because I'm saving the Talisker for a special occasion

user19161

I'm amazed how fast reg can reference stuff and paste it - moderator skills I suppose.

7:28 PM

Plus I like Southern Comfort

Can't say that that's entirely unreasonable...

@jasper, I know I often wonder how he does it

@JasperLoy if you search the transcript for "Laphroaig", there's exactly one quote.

Well, two now.

:D

oh search! I hadn't really noticed that

user19161

I don't type too fast, but improving. And I don't type the correct way either, just the naturally acquired way.

7:30 PM

@MattEllen You don't actually have to search. @Robusto will confirm that I simply have every message open in a separate tab.

Mar 12 at 1:50, by RegDwight

Yes, I have 4273568 tabs open at the moment.

So when I'm looking for the Famous Grouse, I just go

Jun 17 at 12:36, by RegDwight

Tab number 4166624. Note the 666. Easy to remember.

user19161

Haha. BTW is Robusto his real name? It sounds real enough, yet it sounds fake too...

@RegDwight my programmer's brain wants to point out the flaw there. Humour is lost on it. Luckily it's in a separate jar.

user19161

Hello jcolebrand. I remember you were drachenstern.

@JasperLoy Robusto is a cigar.

user19161

Hahaha...

7:34 PM

I dunno what's so funny. It's true.

But perhaps it's funny because it's true?

user19161

That's why it's funny, cos I didn't know.

@MrDisappointment Pictured from left to right: ..., ..., ..., Robusto,...

Hah.

user19161

7:36 PM

Oh Mr Dis's picture is taking a long time to show up on my browser...

waiwai933

@RegDwight Sorry to bother you—would you mind taking a quick look at the flag queue? I don't want to make a rash decision on whether or not to close the question (and if so, whether to use NARQ for being too broad or NC).

Robusto is taking measures to prevent getting recognized.

@waiwai933 Oh, right. The queue. Brb.

user19161

@MrDisappointment I see you are an astronomer.

Wait. There's actually a queue? C'mon guys...

waiwai933

@RegDwight Thanks.

7:37 PM

@waiwai933 Yeah, too little information I would say.

waiwai933

@MrDisappointment It's technically called a queue. The line isn't very long, though.

And even given enough information, could be considered a CW candidate.

@waiwai933 I'm just playin'.

@JasperLoy Not exactly, but I do enjoy astronomy very much.

Note how he's all blue and stuff.

That's a real astronomer.

@RegDwight I try to hold back in titles, though.

user19161

7:40 PM

@MrDisappointment I tried to look up why the moon waxes and wanes. After several hours of surfing, I came to the conclusion that most of the explanation out there is oversimplification.

@JasperLoy astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/ask

user19161

It seems that I would need a few days, weeks, or months to really understand. But it's alright, I prefer to learn myself!

"How is moon waxed?" Click.

Feel free to ask the question, our community is very young and we could do with more questions - join in!

user19161

@MrDisappointment I'll consider...

7:42 PM

Hey now, Moses.

No exodus in this room.

/me checks @RegDwight didn't just go push his luck...

@MrDisappointment No, I cleverly waited before you do just that and pushed my luck only afterwards.

KGB school.

Hah! Cunning.

I don't have time to troll all fifty-eleven sites. Too busy trolling one.

@RegDwight I got this yesterday...

> and god damn it stop deleting my answers, im contributing a lot to the subject at hand.

7:45 PM

Sorry, should I have said "goddarn" instead?

user19161

@MrDisappointment Oh, you are mod too?

Facepalm

Mar 17 at 18:54, by RegDwight

user19161

@RegDwight All your animals look fake, except the owl.

That one has an aura.

Feb 9 at 13:55, by RegDwight

I have actually seen that owl in person.

Feb 9 at 13:58, by RegDwight

He was so cute, wearing those fluffy pants and all.

user19161

7:50 PM

BTW I think Robusto's avatar mean dream in Chinese, and Fx's means prosper, but my Chinese is not too good, though I am also considered a native speaker in Chinese as well as Eng.

I can confirm that it means dream.

And I confirm Fx's too.

Feb 25 at 2:11, by Robusto

@ina — Neither. I'm American. The character 夢　「ゆめ」(yume) that makes up my Gravatar means "dream" in Japanese.

user19161

And you speak Chinese too?

Mar 4 at 12:26, by Robusto

ゆめ yume is the Japanese reading of the kanji.

@JasperLoy No, but I remember stuff.

user19161

Oh I see, Japanese and Chinese share a lot of characters. But that's traditional Chinese, not the modern version which I learned in school.

Apr 26 at 21:14, by F'x

a Chinese guy recently read my gravatar and said I was going to get rich, so I have to go out there and look for some money

That was in a comment though, probably deleted at this point.

Funnily enough, that "Chinese guy" was in chat at that time. Fx failed to notice him. :P

user19161

7:55 PM

I had to spend 10 years learning Chinese, very painful experience. I've forgotten how to write half the words now.

Q: Is English Language & Usage highbrow?

1

What level of discourse are we aiming for here? What does our audience expect and desire? What are we capable of providing?

discussion

Nohat adds his 2 cents.

user19161

I spent 10 years studying Eng in school too, and got an A1 for the GCE O level exams I must say, hehe.

I must admit that all those GMATs and GCEs don't tell me anything.

My wife has some letter-plus-number level in a foreign language, too.

user19161

Yes I remember someone got 99 percentile here...

Right.

And I had to ask for an explanation here in chat.

Jul 11 at 14:28, by RegDwight

I don't even know who GMAT is.

8:05 PM

Perhaps related to Tiamat

Holy Buddha, are you playing that game now, too?

user19161

@MattEllen What is tiamat?

@RegDwight I'm not! Looks fun though :D

user19161

@RegDwight Who is holy buddha?

@JasperLoy Tiamat is a chaos monster from ...

8:08 PM

@MattEllen Haha. You are too polite. :))

Babylonian mythology

@JasperLoy I dunno, but I could bing, should I?

user19161

Well I almost never play computer games, they are boring....

Aaaand we have come full circle!

yesterday, by RegDwight

@JasperLoy I'm a console junkie myself. But I am addicted to this one (browser/flash, not computer) game. Go figure.

Reboot the universe!

user19161

Now you know I'm telling the truth, no contradiction. I seldom tell lies in life...

user19161

8:12 PM

What languages do you guys speak besides Eng?

I dunno, but I could search.

May 6 at 13:36, by RegDwight

If you search the chat history, I'm more into talking French, Japanese, and German.

May 6 at 13:36, by RegDwight

And something I like to call Dutch.

Though all of that, of course, doesn't answer the question which languages I speak fluently or at least somewhat confidently.

Them's only hints which languages you should try first when entering my blather into Google Translate.

user19161

Of course, I remember Russian is your native tongue right @reg?

May 6 at 13:32, by RegDwight

And JSBangs thinks that I'm Bulgarian.

Actually I had a nice collection of guesses somewhere... it's hard to find though, cause it's all quotes.

user19161

How about you Matt?

user19161

I'm trying to learn German and French, not yet started at all though...

8:23 PM

And here it is!

user19161

I actually got the Teach Yourself German and Teach Yourself French packs a few years ago, haha. Comes complete with coursebook plus 2 CDs each, at a reasonable price.

But is it any good?

user19161

Well, I haven't really started, but browsing through the book and trying out the CDs I think that's the best option for anyone to learn, other than paying for an expensive course.

@japser, sorry was out of the room. gonna catch up...

user19161

@MattEllen It's OK, chat is come and go as you like, own time own target.

8:29 PM

@JasperLoy I only speak English with any semblance of fluency. I know a little French and a little Spanish. I'm considering improving my French.

I actually have the "Teach yourself Japanese" pack :D I failed to teach myself.

That's an awesome business model.

Haven't taught yourself Japanese? Try Spanish now!

:D

I learnt Spanish and French at school, so I was motivated

user19161

@MattEllen Then you can consider joining the French site which seems to be making progress.

The only other languages I know are programming languages

user19161

Hello psmears.

8:32 PM

@MattEllen C++ would buy again.

@JasperLoy (Pssst, he's busy catching up.)

user19161

The only (pseudo-)programming language I know is LaTeX.

LaTeX is not a language. It's a platform. On which the turtle all the way down stands.

Oh and yeah, I wonder how Jez's proposal is faring...

Most programming languages are English combined with a gun pointing at your foot, so they're not all that difficult to learn.

130

French Language & Usage

Proposed Q&A site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the French language.

Currently in commitment.

better than the Cognitive Science one :(

81

Cognitive Science

Proposed Q&A site for researchers and scientists working in the field of cognitive science. Includes (but is not limited to) neuroscience, artificial intelligence, psychology, and learning science.

Currently in commitment.

8:36 PM

While we're at it...

141

Linguistics

Proposed Q&A site for professional linguists and others with an interest in linguistic research and theory.

Currently in commitment.

Bitcoin & Crypto-currency

That another one I've committed to!

the third is

130

Proposed Q&A site for the community of Bitcoin enthusiasts, amateurs, and professionals. Anyone interested in learning about Bitcoin or other crypto-currencies. (Please see bitcoin.org for "What is Bitcoin?" :)

Currently in commitment.

@JasperLoy How you have learned it?

user19161

I wonder what kind of stuff I'll see at linguistics - a bit of many languages as examples I guess.

user19161

@Gigili Hi Gigili! Learned what?

@MattEllen Wow, I first read that as a name of some medicine, bitco-in. I'm not BSing you.

And I was wondering what the heck it was supposed to be.

And what it had to do with cryptography.

8:38 PM

@RegDwight A cure for capitalismosis?

@JasperLoy Hi! LaTex?

or maybe bankitis

@MattEllen A cure for Robusto, actually:

Mar 14 at 16:22, by Robusto

I'm a Capitalizationist. I Thought You Knew That.

:D

Your eyes tell you what is there, but your brain is free to ignore them!

user19161

@Gigili Oh, you mean how did I learn LaTeX? For free, I recommend sarovar.org/frs/?group_id=48&release_id=105

user19161

8:41 PM

@gigili That's a tutorial in pdf

Thank you

user19161

@Gigili Consider joining the LaTeX site. The tutorial I pointed to is more detailed than the most widely used lshort by Tobias Oetiker, which is also quite good.

@JasperLoy I found it not easy to learn really , when I wanted to write a modern resume

CV*

@JasperLoy I just ask the LaTeX guru at our company, who has a PhD in document processing and was in the room when TeX was first invented or something. And even he, whenever I ask him, always heads for the bookshelf and checks a book or five, cover to cover, before providing so much as a single word of advice.

user19161

@Gigili I see. I'm not an expert in LaTeX, but the guys over at the LaTeX SE site are real experts. There are many package authors there. But of course, to get up and running with LaTeX, just read one of the two free tutorials. :)

8:49 PM

@JasperLoy Great then, thanks

user19161

@RegDwight Well, his PhD is in document processing, not in TeX.

Oh he has qualifications well beyond that, but this is the only one I can be bothered memorizing.

Me, I'm happy I can spell "LaTeX".

That's enough for me.

@RegDwight I think the trick is learning how to pronounce it, from what I've heard.

user19161

@RegDwight Where I live, there is not a single book on LaTeX in the whole country. :)

user19161

I mean the bookstores.

8:54 PM

I have no idea what the pronunciation in English is. I go with the German one.

/ˈlaːtɛç/

user19161

Well, names can be pronounced anyway you like. :)

user19161

@Gigili You use ubuntu too?

user19161

@RegDwight Ya, I think the X is supposed to be like the german velar fricative, if I'm not wrong.

You mean /x/?

user19161

@MattEllen Well, learning how to pronounce it will not teach you how to use it. :)

8:57 PM

No German could pronounce it with a /x/.

user19161

@RegDwight I think so, at least from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium:De-LaTeX.ogg

@JasperLoy uhm, yes if you can call it so .. I'm trying

@JasperLoy Very true! It will however keep the LaTeX fundamentalists from killing you ;-)