English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Robusto

00:14

@jlliagre Just means that it was probably not the fault of Microsoft's Visual Sourcesafe. It's another construction to put in your English notes.

jlliagre

@Robusto So the sentence doesn't sound odd to you. That must be an idiom then. Is the meaning different than the one with have?

Dannyu NDos

Last night, my brother drank half a bottle of rum, and threw up.

It seems rum is much less detoxable than vodka.

jlliagre

00:34

Robusto

@jlliagre Yes. "It has nothing to do with how poorly motivated we are and everything to do with how unrealistic our deadlines are."

jlliagre

@Robusto Not sure that clarifies it. A no tiene nada que ver con B means A and B are unrelated and is how I would translate A has nothing to do with B. How would you translate A is nothing to do with B in Spanish?

jlliagre

00:51

Okay, several dictionaries say "have nothing to do with" and "are nothing to do with" both mean the same thing.

Robusto

@jlliagre Yeah, that's not uncommon at all in English.

@jlliagre A lot of is constructions in English become has in Spanish and other languages. Cf. "I'm hungry" and "Tengo hambre" or "I'm afraid" and "Tengo miedo".

jlliagre

@Robusto That's different.

Robusto

OK. But "That's nothing to do with me" and "That has nothing to do with me" are identical in meaning in English.

jlliagre

@Robusto Tengo hambre is technically "I have hunger" (even if you don't say it), tengo miedo would be "I have fear".

Robusto

01:07

@jlliagre I understand that. But you don't say "I have hunger" in English.

jlliagre

@Robusto Yes, I thought you told me the opposite.

@Robusto That's what I wrote.

Robusto

@jlliagre You wrote "A no tiene nada que ver con B" and I might have said "A no está relacionado con B."

jlliagre

The first form is stronger.

Robusto

But the second is understood, no?

jlliagre

Sure.

But you can't say A no está nada que ver con B.

At least, that's what I suspect.

But I don't expect every construction to be logical in whatever language.

Robusto

01:17

@jlliagre "No language makes perfect sense." —John McWhorter

jlliagre

@Robusto Exactly.

but French of course ;-)

Robusto

@jlliagre If you're drunk enough, yeah.

jlliagre

@Robusto and only drink good French alcohol, as shown in the poster above.

CowperKettle

Several days ago, I saw an electric car being charged at an electrical charging station. For the first time in my life.

In May, a total of 1100 electric cars were sold in Russia.

The most popular model by far is Zeekr. Never heard of it. auto.ru/ekaterinburg/cars/zeekr/all

jlliagre

01:39

Zeekr

Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Limited, trading as Zeekr (Chinese: 极氪; pinyin: Jí kè; lit. 'extreme krypton') is a Chinese publicly listed automobile company and brand owned by Geely Automobile Holdings. Founded in 2021, it specializes in premium electric cars. Zeekr products are built on the EV-focused Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform. The name of the brand is made up of the letter 'Z' from 'Generation Z', and the term geek. == History == Zeekr was founded in March 2021 as a premium electric mobility brand for battery-powered vehicles by the Geely Group to compete against...

Robusto

@jlliagre Yeah, none of that potato alcohol (we're looking at you, vodka).

CowperKettle

During my first working shift yesterday I translated The Cyclist (1899) by John Joy Bell into Russian.

> The Cyclist (1899) by John Joy Bell
Нет зверя благороднее,
Чем велосипедист!
Он не терзает жертву,
И тем морально чист.
Валяясь на асфальте
С разбитой головой
Приятно думать, что в гробу
Ты будешь как живой.
Хрясь, бум, и он уж далеко,
Спокоен как буддист,
Нет зверя благороднее,
Чем велосипедист!

Well.. translated is not the word here, rather retold.

> There is no nobler beast
What a cyclist!
He doesn't torture the victim
And thus morally pure.
Lying on the asphalt
With a broken head
It's nice to think that in a coffin
You will be as if alive.
Huff, boom, and he’s already far away,
Calm like a Buddhist
There is no nobler beast
What a cyclist!

(Google Translate)

Hm.. I could replace терзает with съедает

> There is no nobler beast
What a cyclist!
He doesn't eat the victim
And thus morally pure.
Lying on the asphalt
With a broken head
It's nice to think that in a coffin
You will be as if alive.
Huff, boom, and he’s already far away,
Calm like a Buddhist
There is no nobler beast
What a cyclist!

CowperKettle

02:18

Daughter from California syndrome

"Daughter from California" syndrome is a phrase used in the American medical profession to describe a situation in which a hitherto disengaged relative challenges the care a dying elderly patient is being given, or insists that the medical team pursue aggressive measures to prolong the patient's life. In California, the "Daughter from California" is known as the "Daughter from New York"; the "Daughter from Ontario" is a Canadian variant.: 396: Editor's note to the title. The "Daughter from California" is often described as angry, articulate, and uninformed. The phrase was first documented by a...

CowperKettle

02:30

CowperKettle

03:13

Word of the morn: virago ("Shortly before her death, when returning from her exile in London, Michel had been dubbed "the angel of petrol", "the virago of the rabble" and "queen of the scum" by the conservative French press").

CowperKettle

03:46

alphabet

@CowperKettle I hope it's a mandatory Zoom webinar. Those are the best.

CowperKettle

> Why do Java developers wear glasses?
Because they can't C#

CowperKettle