English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Matt Эллен

10:03

:D

Cerberus

10:37

Hello.

Rain bad.

Matt Эллен

Hello.

Sun good.

Cerberus

'Tis!

Matt Эллен

Is it raining in Dutchland?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@Cerberus Well, no, we don’t want that falling from the sky, either!

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Nope, all sunny and bright!

Matt Эллен

10:45

@Cerberus nice nice.

Cerberus

@JanusBahsJacquet I see you are not afraid of your exam.

I wouldn't mind if the sun fell out of the sky now and obliterated us all now.

Matt Эллен

oh dear. that doesn't sound good

Janus Bahs Jacquet

(Tis is Danish for ‘pee’—rather have that not falling on my head)

Cerberus

I feel like I only slept 3 hours, I wonder why.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Actually, I’d rather have the sun stay in place, too.

Cerberus

10:46

If the sun fell down, we could all sleep!

Janus Bahs Jacquet

I slept fine!

Matt Эллен

true

Cerberus

@JanusBahsJacquet Hmm I'm sure there is some law for that.

Matt Эллен

I slept OK. I could go another hour

Cerberus

English and Dutch having pis(s).

Janus Bahs Jacquet

10:47

Oh, we have that too.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен The beds of moderatorship must sleep well!

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Tis is the minced version

Cerberus

Ah, how silly.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Probably just taboo dissimilation

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus who nose wat mistakes I'll make if I'm cranky and tired.

!!define tiz

Jarvis the Bot

10:48

@MattЭллен tiz chalk

Cerberus

Yay! Destroy us by accident!

Matt Эллен

what?

Cerberus

@JanusBahsJacquet Funny.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Haha, ‘chalk’ in Asturian, apparently. Brilliant!

Matt Эллен

I was not expecting that :D

Cerberus

10:49

@MattЭллен If you misdirect your powers, you might accidentally annihilate us all. Yay!

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus maybe. yes... I'll call it an "accident". yes...

Cerberus

Great!

Matt Эллен

!!define tizz

Jarvis the Bot

@MattЭллен tizz (colloquial) A tizzy; a state of worried confusion.

Cerberus

I wonder what family Crimean Tatar is...

Matt Эллен

10:50

that's what I wanted

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@Cerberus Looks decidedly Turkic to me

Just going by the case forms

Cerberus

Right, that would make sense.

Oh, it has case forms?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

> It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada.

Yeah, just expand the declension bar thingy

Cerberus

Yes, most of central Asia is Turkic, I believe?

Declension bar? Let me see...

Janus Bahs Jacquet

About half, I’d say. Lots of Caucasian and Indo-European stuff there, too, plus some minor Uralic pockets here and there.

Cerberus

10:52

Lots of Caucasian? I thought they al emigrated long ago...

Oh, you mean in the actual Caucasus?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Yes

Cerberus

I guess that's central Asia too.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

The Kartvelian languages and their ilk

Cerberus

Odd family.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Very odd.

Cerberus

10:55

Very.

Jarvis the Bot

@MattЭллен tizz (colloquial) A tizzy; a state of worried confusion.

@MattЭллен tiz chalk

Cerberus

By "central" I meant central central!

I thought the Tatars had come from the east.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus it's difficult to tell the difference in colour between korean and germanic

Cerberus

Korean has yellow skins.

Matt Эллен

very droll

Cerberus

10:58

German has bluish-white-reddish (from exposure to the sun for 1 minute).

bows

That's the level of my humour this morning.

Matt Эллен

slightly racist. understood

Cerberus

Well, I didn't say yellow was bad or anything.

Matt Эллен

indeed

Cerberus

And none of the skin colours actually describe the colour anyway.

Matt Эллен

that's true

my left hand looks greyer than my right hand

KitFox

11:01

Our überboss allegedly said that he couldn't understand why we had a gay person working there.

Matt Эллен

lolwhut?

Cerberus

Haha.

KitFox

Yeah. I don't think it's really very funny.

Cerberus

What kind of backward echelon is that?

Matt Эллен

"gay people? working? what's that aboot?"

Cerberus

11:02

giggles

KitFox

Come to think of it, he's German, so he probably said "a gay".

Cerberus

Even funnier.

Perhaps he should call the German government to inquire why they have a gay working there too.

KitFox

Well, maybe. Unless you wanted to work here.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Vai are all zeese schwulen peeples vorking?!

Cerberus

Perhaps he meant they deserve extra vacation days?

KitFox

11:04

He's not only gay and working, he's also married. Shocking.

Cerberus

Now I wonder about your company culture.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

To a man, even!

Cerberus

I mean, in this day and age?

KitFox

And so is one of the others, so obviously the gay is spreading.

Cerberus

Is he religious?

Matt Эллен

11:06

the only safe option is for him to resign. so he doesn't catch it

KitFox

I mean, who knows how many are actually gay and we don't know it because they aren't married yet?

Cerberus

The company doesn't participate in any gay prides?

KitFox

I don't know.

Cerberus

I mean, is he a lone dinosaur, or are the upper strata weird old bigits?

KitFox

I wonder if he realizes that the woman whose memorial bike ride he participated in was also gay, but not married because it wasn't legal yet.

She was well loved.

Matt Эллен

11:08

The company I work for doesn't participate in any gay pride stuff

KitFox

@Cerberus He's not old. Maybe fifty.

Cerberus

Odd.

Perhaps you misunderstood him?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@MattЭллен Nor do any of the ones I work at. Though one of them does have just about enough gay people working there that we could make our own float.

Matt Эллен

lol

KitFox

We do seem to have a lot of gay people. I don't know if it's because they feel more comfortable being out or just that other places required vaccinations.

Cerberus

11:12

Vaccinations?

With holy water?

KitFox

Hmm. Come to think of it. I wonder if I could contract the gay if I had it already. What do you think, @Mr.Shiny?

Maybe it's like chickenpox, and I'll end up with shingles.

Cerberus

There are different strains.

Gay is AIDS, right?

KitFox

Oh! Like maybe I'll get the gay kind instead of the lesbian kind, and start lusting after men?

Cerberus

That would be awful.

KitFox

Wait. Something about that statement seems...odd.

Matt Эллен

11:14

who in their right mind would lust after men?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@MattЭллен Anyone in their right mind, obviously.

Cerberus

Tsk.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

:-þ

Matt Эллен

:D

Cerberus

Don't think thorns make it any better.

KitFox

11:15

In any case, I am not happy about it, especially since I just got a nice bonus.

I like my job, but I really disapprove of that kind of thing.

Matt Эллен

It's a pretty weird thing to be surprised about.

Cerberus

Very.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@Cerberus I thought gay humour was supposed to be all prickly and stuff?

KitFox

I don't want my co-workers to feel uncomfortable there.

@JanusBahsJacquet No, no, studded.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@KitFox You did say “allegedly” to begin with—do you whether that was in fact quite what he said? Or whether he was perhaps misrepresented or misquoted?

Cerberus

11:16

@JanusBahsJacquet I think that was a "declaration", or what was that speech act called again? So apparently.

terdon

On the bright side, their presence implies that the company itself does not discriminate as such. It's only the REMF who's a bigot.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@KitFox But studs don’t make such nice smilies!

Cerberus

Studs can have nice smiles.

KitFox

@JanusBahsJacquet I wasn't present, so I don't know, or I would have talked to HR already.

Cerberus

Janus Bahs Jacquet

11:18

@Cerberus Call that a nice smile?!?!?

Cerberus

Aww you no like?

KitFox

I wonder if we can add a filter to pipe the Indian love spam to the feed.

Cerberus

He's doing his best.

skullpatrol

@KitFox what do you disapprove of?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Anything with “+91” in the title?

Cerberus

11:19

Nice gums.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@Cerberus A bit horsy for my taste.

Cerberus

Yeah, better not taste him.

But a stud is a stud.

KitFox

@skullpatrol The CIO saying he wouldn't have a gay person working for him.

skullpatrol

icic

Cerberus

You said something slightly different earlier?

Hello, Skully.

skullpatrol

11:21

hi

Cerberus

@JanusBahsJacquet By the way, I presume you know the Great Language Game?

I've landed in some obscure Youtube playlist that is basically like this.

KitFox

@Cerberus Basically the same. Why is [specific named person] working here? I don't understand why we hired a gay person. I wouldn't do that.

Cerberus

What I hear now sounds Slavic, or possibly Romanian...

@KitFox You didn't say "I wouldn't do that" earlier?

KitFox

He said he wouldn't hire a gay person.

I don't know his exact words.

Cerberus

Is it at all possible that you misunderstood him because of the weird German accent?

Did he have a lisp?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

11:23

@Cerberus No, I don’t think I do, what is it?

Cerberus

greatlanguagegame.com

KitFox

I told you that it was alleged, that I wasn't present, or I would have reported it.

Cerberus

You listen to radio fragments and guess what language you are listening to, multiple choice, increasing difficulty.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Ooh, looks interesting.

Cerberus

@KitFox Oh, you weren't present, I didn't know that.

It's fun. And beware: there are several samples per language.

And some choices really suck, such as between Croatian and Bosnian...

skullpatrol

11:25

@KitFox so why do you disapprove?

KitFox

@skullpatrol Because I think it is ridiculous to consider [who someone is having sex with] when it comes to work that doesn't involve sex.

Cerberus

What do you think?

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Fun so far, but hard to tell often when you get languages you’re rarely (if ever) exposed to. I have no idea what Shona or Ndebele sound like, for instance, so when they’re the only two options …

Cerberus

Yes, when you have two languages with similar sounds from an unfamiliar family...

That's the only unfair part.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

… and apparently I think Samoan sounds like Sami. Oops!

Cerberus

11:28

Hah.

I think Austonesian usually has the retroflex t and stuff?

KitFox

That sentence I wrote is stupidly difficult to parse.

Cerberus

What I think is interesting is that languages of different families in south and south-east Asia and the Pacific have similar sounds, even though they are vastly different families.

skullpatrol

@KitFox some people do involve sex with their work

Janus Bahs Jacquet

@Cerberus Not usually, but sometimes. It was more the number of fricatives that made me think of Sami—those aren’t so common in Polynesian languages, but apparently they are in Samoan.

greatlanguagegame.com/gameover/53ac03963ef8ba092607a228

First attempt—clearly I’m no good with Indian languages. Malayalam vs. Bangla, wrong. Punjabi vs. Bangla, wrong.

KitFox

@skullpatrol Yes, and in that case, I would expect sexual partners/attraction to be pertinent to the discussion about whether someone was a suitable candidate for the position.

skullpatrol

11:38

@KitFox in fact some people even go both ways to get promotions at work

KitFox

Well, that's all kinds of unethical.

And also has no relevance with regard to my work environment.

skullpatrol

so it comes done to ethics

work ethics

KitFox

Comes down to? It wasn't anywhere else.

Cerberus

@JanusBahsJacquet Great! I think that is a good score. Of course.

OK I have to run, bye guys!

KitFox

The fact is, I don't use my vulva to do my job, therefore the presence or absence of a vulva should have no bearing on whether I am able to be employed thusly.

skullpatrol

11:40

later pal

KitFox

Likewise, I don't have sex with my husband or anyone else at work, also it's not part of what I do for work, therefore who I have sex with should also have no bearing on whether I am able to be employed thusly.

Cerberus

And @JanusBahsJacquet eutuchê êi toi! Or something.

KitFox

It's not rocket science.

Cerberus

poof

KitFox

Not that rocket science requires those things either.

terdon

12:16

@Cerberus you horrible horrible person. You got me hooked on another silly game.

I got 800 on my first try though :)

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Nasty thing just gave me the choice between Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, and Slovak. Gah!

terdon

It's strange how often you can guess right. For some reason I can recognize language groups despite not speaking any of their constituent tongues.

Though I was given at least 3 languages that I speak fluently so those were easy :)

So, Greek boy, is this Greek or Armenian? Umm...

Janus Bahs Jacquet

I was quite proud that I was able to correctly identify Burmese when I heard it. The typically southeast Asian sound coupled with the voiceless laterals clinched it. :-D

terdon

12:34

I was just surprised at how often I could place a language in more or less the right group. I'd expect it from you, it's your field. Apparently, all of us have picked up on these differences to a certain extend through, presumably, auditive osmosis.

Janus Bahs Jacquet

Damn! Foiled by Czech/Slovenian. So sure I heard a ř, but apparently not. :-/

Andrew Leach

Hmm. Why is there a Russian.SE question in the feed?

0

Q: Хрен and phrases in which it is involved

What is the English equivalent of the following phrases: "Ни хрена не делаешь", "Какого хрена?", "Пошёл на хрен", "Не хрена тебе здесь делать", "Ты совсем охренел".

usage

Janus Bahs Jacquet

I was wondering that, too.

Zoe

12:49

Nutella and bread for dinner.

KitFox

Reg added a couple of the L&U sites into the feed.

Matt Эллен

@AndrewLeach something Reg setup. I think he's added questions from the sites he moderates at.

oh, I guess not

Mitch

13:29

@Zoe Food of the Gods

Jarvis the Bot

@Mitch Welcome back!

Mitch

Hello

KitFox

I'm trying to decide if I should shower and go to the diner for breakfast and if both in what order.

It's raining and cold.

Matt Эллен

you could shower in the rain on your way to the diner

Mitch

Both. Same time.

Matt Эллен

13:34

jinx!

Mitch

NO U

KitFox

Hmm.

I think I stink enough the showering is the real priority.

But there's a cat on me.

He's purring.

Mitch

@skullpatrol Sounds like a romcom movie plot. Anne Hathaway and... Michelle Williams and... Matt Damon.. and

KitFox

!!wiki Michelle Williams

Jarvis the Bot

Michelle Williams (actress)

Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003. Williams graduated to full-length features, including Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Dick (1999), and Prozac Nation (2001). From the 2000s, Williams appeared primarily in dramatic, independent films for which she has received critical acclaim. One of her career highlights was Brokebac...

Matt Эллен

13:37

Is she one of the Dawson's Creek lot?

oh, so she is

KitFox

Huh.

bbl

Matt Эллен

cu

Andrew Leach

@MattЭллен That wasn't an admission, was it, there?

Matt Эллен

admission? You'll get nothing out of me! I didn't do it

the fact that I knew, without reading the article, that she and Heath Ledger had a child together is mere coincidence

KitFox

13:56

Oh, I don't have the boilerplate comment tool anymore.

I wonder what I did with that.

whaeves. I gotta do werk

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…