English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Cerberus

00:02

@Tonepoet I am especially horrified by the lack of a dot!

Mitch

@JamesBond but that would be AGAG not GAGA

Are you looking for French?

Cerberus

Are you gagging?

Mitch

00:33

That would ña GAAGing

Tonepoet

@Cerberus The problem is that if his name really was just S, it's not really an abbreviation, so treating it as if it is an abbreviation is somewhat questionable. We don't place periods after the letter I when it's used as a personal pronoun, because it's not short for anything.

tchrist

Toro toro toro.

0

Q: How many parts of speech can a word be at the same time?

TLDR: It is possible for a sentence to have a word in it that is simultaneously more than one single part of speech in that sentence (under the same parse and meaning)? My hunch is that the answer is no, but I have heard the contrary proposition argued. So I would like to know definitively whet...

Cerberus

00:52

@Tonepoet Yes, but they could at least try to hide the embarrassing lack of a real name...

Tonepoet

@Cerberus He did use the period, except when in a rush, and surely he shouldn't perjure himself during the pledge.

Tonepoet

01:17

@tchrist Is quickly stilling bubbling stills still leaves them stiller than you'd like a contrived example, or an actual quotation?

I'm particularly wondering why a conjunction, namely and, isn't between stilling and bubbling.

tchrist

@Tonepoet It’s a demonstration not a quotation.

@Tonepoet Because you don't separate a verb from its object using a conjunction.

You’re stilling the still. That still is a bubbling still.

And so you are stilling this bubbling still of yours.

Tonepoet

Ah, I see.

tchrist

I deliberately used an -ing verb right next to an -ing adjective.

Or so I see them.

Probably some people see them as everything at once. I don't know; it gives me double-vision to think like that.

This one's going nowhere fast:

-5

Q: Is there a word or shorter expression that means 'single-word' as used in 'single-word-request?'

Is there a single word or shorter expression that means 'single-word-request'? My question is not about the request itself; I am curious to know if there is a single word such as 'synonym' or 'antonym' for 'a single word / phrase that can express a multi-word description of something', which is...

single-word-requests phrases phrase-requests vocabulary

Well, nowhere positive. :/

And it has 53 comments, sheesh.

Tonepoet

01:49

@tchrist I'm still tempted to suggest Lexeme...

tchrist

WORD

Tonepoet

@tchrist We answer single word requests with very short phrases sometimes.

tchrist

ＷＯＲＤ

Færd

Last night I met a Dutch girl (two actually, but one of them wasn't that willing to chat) who was very adept at English (like almost all Dutch people I've meat), but insecure about her language.

When I inquired why, she said it was because they use the consonant x a lot, and her language didn't sound as smooth and sophisticated as Spanish or French does.

I listened to some Dutch on YouTube, and turns out x is a hallmark of it. But it didn't sound unpleasant the least bit.

Tonepoet

@tchrist Is this an abbreviation for White Orchids Rot and Die?

I do get it, if it's not pluralized, it's (usually) singular. I doubt that's the sort of answer sought though.

SmokeDetector

02:07

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword in body: One word in describing a person who always trying to be creative by Haziq Mazlan on english.SE

Cerberus

@Færd Perhaps not, but a Dutch accent in English does sound rather horrible.

Færd

She didn't have a non-English accent.

And she wasn't very fond of the landscapes over there too. She described her country merely as 'flat'.

Which makes me wonder, what are you going to do with global warming? When will you go under water?

Tonepoet

@tchrist Part of the problem is also "Why do we qualify Single Word Requests with the word Single" if the word single doesn't have any operative effect.

Naturally it does have a qualifying effect, but just what effect that is hard to determine, especially since short phrases, open compounds and whatever are not automatically disqualified as answers.

So the reason I like lexeme as an answer is that it is the smallest unit with semantic meaning. "Take off" is a lexeme according to Collins. It has other problems though. Namely that affixes are also included, and it doesn't seem to account for the separate parts of speech.

Færd

02:27

For the record: I'm sure there's a lot to enjoy about Holland. I just quoted a stranger with the common grass-is-greener condition.

James Bond

@Mitch The original paper proving the theorems was written by Serre in French, and they came to be known as the GAGA theorems.

@Cerberus There is a man selling Italian chocolate here in Antarctica in my favourite shopping mall. He married an Antarctican and is living here now. He was from Netherlands and said he loved Antarctica. I didn't know how to respond. I wanted to tell him I would prefer Netherlands to Antarctica any day. =)

Cerberus

@Færd She is right about that.

@Færd We have been under water since the Middle Ages.

As in, below sea level.

As long as you have good dikes, it isn't a problem.

James Bond

I finished watching 21 Bond movies, 5 more to go...

Cerberus

@JamesBond Hmm, well, to each his own!

Some don't like cold weather or directness.

James Bond

Anyway I have not bought any chocolate from them!

That is because (1) the chocolate is quite expensive (2) I am fat and should not eat chocolate =)

@Færd I seriously dislike the saying about the grass being greener on the other side. I think it doesn't mean anything at all and should be abolished.

I think it is time for me to go to bed. Poof!

iamRR

04:55

Good morning folks!

Anybody there?

M.A.R.

06:22

Morning peeps

M.A.R.

06:46

See, this joker called Dan Bron added a comment and did not even see that the link is already present in the question details? — bhrt93 3 mins ago

Today's fun drama of meta.SE

Of course, the link has already been shared in the question.What can I do when getting “We are no longer accepting questions/answers from this account”? BUT, THE JOKERS OF MODERATORS ARE SO IRRESPONSIBLE THAT THEY DON'T BOTHER TO READ IT ANYMORE. AND IT IS NOT A DUPLICATE, THE POINTS RAISED ARE DIFFERENT. BUT ALAS, THERE IS A SAYING HERE.....YOU CANNOT MAKE A FOOL INTO AN INTELLIGENT MAN. — bhrt93 4 mins ago

LOL, classic

Poor Dan

Færd

08:21

@JamesBond What's wrong with it?

James Bond

@Færd Because whenever people say something is better somewhere else, they don't, to a high probability, say it for no reasons, so to use this saying when talking to these people is like dismissing what they are saying.

@M.A.R. That is too much. Anyway, the solution is for ELL and ELU to merge. =)

Færd

@Cerberus Good!

But the sea level hasn't risen much since then, compared to what's to come. Some people will be needing full-on dams, or to migrate.

James Bond

@Færd What I was referring to was the saying 'the grass is greener on the other side', not what you are saying. =)

Færd

@JamesBond Disagree with 'whenever'.

@JamesBond I know.

James Bond

@Færd Sure, you disagree a lot. =)

Færd

08:27

:)

See you.

James Bond

Anyway, I almost never use sayings. It sounds so stupid to copy them over and over again.

In a way, sayings make people stop thinking, stop looking at the situation from first principles.

But people think in terms of words, and so when they get attached to these sayings, they have stopped thinking.

SmokeDetector

11:32

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword in title: What are the specific words to describe lines/wrinkles/crinkles on a piece of paper or a book? by Simone on english.SE

James Bond

12:55

@Færd Maybe Antarctica will be submerged in water soon.

Cerberus

14:28

@Færd We already have dikes everywhere.

At worst, they will need to be heightened.

With a cm each year or so.

We have an entire province that used to be sea. There are cities on the sea floor.

We built dikes around an area of the sea and pumped the water out.

It's really nothing special.

All you need is dikes.

Cerberus

14:48

Mitch

16:06

@Cerberus she loves you

Yeah yeah yeah

Cerberus

16:17

Okay.

Mitch

From the song

The Beatles - 51 Years Ago Today - All You Need is Love

►

englishstudent

16:35

@Mitch Thanks for the detailed response. Much appreciated.

@Mitch Do you listen to new songs too or just classics?

tchrist

16:54

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=32306

I propose that we pass around a collection plate to ship this man a crate of catsup, which he's clearly not getting enough of in his diet.

> I feel I should be trying to explain the point in words of one syllable. But I can’t: although “split” has only one syllable, I need other words like “infinitival” and “adverb” and “grammatical” and “mythical” and “atavistic” and “editor” and “fucking” and “moron” for which I find no really satisfying one-syllable synonyms.

I see eight single-word-requests there.

M.A.R.

@tchrist There's a one-syllable synonym for "fucking": "fing"

tchrist

I've never heard that one.

M.A.R.

@tchrist Ahh, he's closed the comments. Most probably because of that Thomas Westgard or whatever guy

tchrist

Coward.

iamRR

17:45

Hello folks!

Færd

18:12

@Cerberus I kinda knew that you did all that, but to see it vividly in that picture, wow.

I hope you don't get in a fight with someone who really enjoys committing war crimes.

@JamesBond It's up to you to choose where to draw the defining boundaries around the building blocks of the language that you use. You can include no more than single words, or choose to incorporate some cool sayings also.

@JamesBond It is already, no?

@iamRR Hi! What happened to your homework?

M.A.R.

I wonder what.

Someone is liking me on meta.SE

Two abrupt downvotes on unrelated posts

James Bond

@Færd Neither the metaphorical nor the actual one, yet, I think.

M.A.R.

At least smart enough not to trigger the downvote reversal script

Færd

@JamesBond No ice down there? Must be a grueling drought.

James Bond

@M.A.R. But it's meta, doesn't really matter as much!

M.A.R.

18:21

Sure it does

Anything is as important as we make it

Færd

You self-important 3$^&%$!

tchrist

18:56

Quelle heure est-il à Paris maintenant?

Almost 9pm, apparently.

Only 15 points.

Sad.

Noah

19:35

Is saying "on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd put it under 5" correct?

tchrist

@Noah Sounds a bit funny, but it doesn’t scream wrong, either.

Noah

@tchrist What part of it sounds funny and how?

tchrist

Maybe "less than" instead of "under"? Or "give it" instead of "put it"? Not really sure.

Like I said, it just sounds a bit funny, not wrong.

Noah

I think the person wanted to say at exactly 5 not less than.

tchrist

Q: How was the movie last night, Noah?
A: On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d probably give it a 5 or so, Naamah. Maybe less.

If it's exactly 5, you certainly don't want to say that it is under or less than 5.

James Bond

20:21

I would just say '5 upon 10' to desribe the movie.

tchrist

21:02

Why is a device for clipping nails called a a nail-clipper not a clipping-nailser?
Why do we only have letter-opening devices not open-lettering devices?
Why aren't candies that are good at breaking jaws called break-jawers instead of jaw-breakers?

Why is a device for opening bottles called a bottle-opener not an open-bottler?
Why aren't phrases that twist tongues called twist-tonguers instead of tongue-twisters?

James Bond

21:56

@tchrist It seems that that's one question instead of five. =)

Cerberus

23:00

@Færd In fact, during a war, we've always broken our own dikes.

It used to work very well against advancing troops—before the advent of aeroplanes.

We had an entire system of dikes and lands that could be submerged at will.

Hollandic Water Line

The Hollandic Water Line (Dutch: Hollandsche Waterlinie, modern spelling: Hollandse Waterlinie) was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of water, the Water Line could be used to transform Holland almost into an island. In the 20th century, the Line was extended to include Utrecht. == History == Early in the Eighty Years' War of Independence against Spain, the Dutch realized that flooding low-lying areas formed an excellent defence against enemy troops. This...

The picture from above of the town on that page is where I grew up.

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