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David Wallace
David Wallace
4:00 AM
Only in zoos.
And if you go to that wikipedia page, it tells you to say /ˈsɜrvəl/. It was clearly written by tchrist.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Haha.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Why do the numbers disappear when this chatroom displays it?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yeah, it does all sorts of weird things.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I see "Weight ranges from about in females, and from in males. " above, but the Wikipedia page actually has weights in kg and lb there.
Maybe we need to raise it as a bug with the developers. Speaking as an occasional software developer, there's nothing more annoying than users who find bugs and don't report them.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Same here.
But surely they all know this already?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:04 AM
What makes you think that?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I mean, we have talked about how it displays the wrong picture for years in this room.
@DavidWallace Because it is plain to see in any article?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
And how often do the developers come here to experience your unique repartee?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Sure they stalk among us all day?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Cerberus What makes you think they would notice it?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Invisible.
Because it is frequent and obvious?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:06 AM
@Cerberus because they have no better way of spending their time?
@Cerberus How is it frequent and obvious?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@DavidWallace Exactly.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
There ought to be a publicly-visible bug register.
So that we know whether they're aware of it of not.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@DavidWallace Because we have all seen these bugs hundreds of times?
@DavidWallace Yeah.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Cerberus But what end-users do with software is completely different from what developers do with it. You might just as well expect the mechanic in your garage to have noticed that your windscreen wiper is squeaky when you drive into the wind.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Heh.
I suppose.
If they never tested a couple of random Wiki articles, they might not have noticed.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:10 AM
I'm sure they tested many Wikipedia articles. That doesn't mean that they read every word on them, and noticed that nothing had got dropped.
Or rather, that something had got dropped.
They would have looked at it quickly, observed that it seemed OK, then moved onto the next piece of work.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
But it is so obvious!
They must have tested only one or two pages, as you suggested.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
It is not so obvious!
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
But it is!
We have known this for years.
Noticed it.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
You only see it if you're looking for it. That is the definition of not obvious.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If you read the actual in-line text...
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:13 AM
And exactly why would they read it?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Because they are good people?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Good people who are employed as software developers focus on developing software, not reading about servals.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
But those cats are important!
Even though I had never heard of them.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
How could you have never heard of them? They're so obvious!
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
What if I said kiwis were not important?
You would flag my derrière off!
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:16 AM
Fine. Outside of New Zealand, they probably are quite unimportant.
No flagging required.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
But they are important!
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
How so?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Coz.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Oh, well that clears it right up.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Thanks.
I don't remember ever seeing a kiwi live.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:18 AM
So, do we know what the approved way of raising bugs is? There's probably a FAQ somewhere that tells us.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Do you ever see them in the wild?
I have no idea, sorry.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Umm, they're nocturnal. So you'd have to go into a secluded dark bush at night. And there are very few places that actually have any kiwi left. The only places I've ever seen them are zoos, and the national aquarium.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Aww.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
nationalaquarium.co.nz is the best place to see kiwi.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Is the plural not kiwis?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:21 AM
Err, it's originally a Māori word. I would say that the plural is kiwi.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
You used kiwi plural.
What's the singular?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Of course, Māori has other ways of indicating plurals; which means that you get into horrible ambiguity as soon as you use a Māori noun in an English sentence.
"te kiwi" = the kiwi, singular. "ngā kiwi" = the kiwi, plural.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Ah, I see.
Then I would elect to use the simple English plural on -s.
If there is no hope of conforming to Māori plurals anyway.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Sure. Common usage is to say "kiwis" to mean "New Zealanders", or the NZ Rugby League team; but "kiwi" to refer to the bird, in singular or plural.
Think of it as being like "sheep" or "deer".
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Common in NZ, you mean?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:27 AM
Yes, I so mean.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I am not unwilling to conform to your customs.
Kiwi it is, then.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Of course, should you ever choose to use any other Māori noun, the same will apply.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
will try to void any other such nouns
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Really? What if we want to talk about other species of New Zealand bird?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I don't know any other.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:29 AM
Or even tuatara? Have you ever seen any tuatara?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Nope.
Where do emus live?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Australia, and zoos.
Oh, and some farms here, I think.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
We do have ostrich farms.
And ostrich steaks.
Never seen any eggs, though.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Right, we have those too.
Actually, not sure about steaks.
Ostriches are much bigger than emus.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Really?
I didn't know.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:34 AM
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Do they have a large bird in the Americas?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Umm, other than the yellow one on Sesame Street?
 
Noah
Noah
Hi
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hey we have a large bird too, except that it's blue.
Hi!
 
Noah
Noah
Hey, @DavidWallace you sent me someting about the surveys.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:37 AM
According to Wikipedia, emus weigh between 18 and 60kg and ostriches weigh between 63kg and 145kg.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
 
Noah
Noah
I think the discussion was about perform vs. take
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Right. And I said that performing a survey is completely different from taking a survey.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
still thinks perform sounds odd
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Yeah, I think conduct is a better word for conducting a survey.
Hey, who turned Big Bird blue?
 
Noah
Noah
4:38 AM
Okay. If I say I took a survey, does it mean I filled out a survey form.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Yes
Unless context dictates otherwise. Which it well might.
 
Noah
Noah
And performed means I designed and conducted a survey?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I could say "I took a survey of all the people in my street, to find out what they usually eat for breakfast" or something.
Yes, "performed" would always mean designed/conducted.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Huh.
 
Noah
Noah
Okay. You said you could find something about the two types so that I could it to my professor.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:41 AM
Remind me what I said I could find? Did I say examples of both usages?
 
Noah
Noah
Yeah, I think so.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
OK, shall I dig them up and post them here?
 
Noah
Noah
If you dont mind.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
OK, I'll do it some time in the next few hours.
 
Noah
Noah
Fine. Thanks
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
4:47 AM
Here are two pages that talk about performing a survey:
http://www.infinova.com/index.php?cometo=diswhitepaper&whitepaperId=6
http://redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/2.About%20Biodiversity/surveys.htm

Here are two pages that talk about taking a survey:
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml
http://www.surveyhead.com/

Is that what you require @Noah?
 
Noah
Noah
Let me take a look at them.
I think they would serve the purpose.
Cool. Thanks!
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
No worries.
It was the Dutch!
The Dutch replaced Big Bird with a pale blue imitation of his former self. (expatica.com/nl/education/pre_school/…)
The Dutch can't even SAY "Big Bird" - apparently it comes out the same as "big butt"!!
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:26 AM
Haha.
True.
 
 
1 hour later…
David Wallace
David Wallace
6:31 AM
I despair. This makes our whole country look bad.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
7:02 AM
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
7:25 AM
@David: I think what may be happening in some of these cases is that ‘X and I’ is perceived as an invariable chunk of language. Huddleston and Pullum argue persuasively against the case based on analogy with uncoordinated ‘me’. See here, p. 9 forward: cambridge.org/assets/linguistics/cgel/chap1.pdf
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Well, gosh, I just found out I'm a prescriptivist. Thanks for that, @Barrie.
 
 
7 hours later…
Robusto
Robusto
2:02 PM
13 hours ago, by Robusto
@tchrist He should be able to tell when I'm fucking with him by now.
I thought my closing remark would give away the game entirely. Apparently I was wrong. How could you think that I would think you were calling me a Dutchman? Anyway, I have no hard feelings, and I hope you have none either.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
2:32 PM
-1
A: What does "life's a beach" mean?

AMANDAI HATE THIS WEBSITE U GUYS ARE FILL OF SHIT

 
 
1 hour later…
tchrist
tchrist
3:40 PM
Ah me, those crafty Russians are at it again!
Avatar:
Shweet:
This one’s for @Cerb:
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:14 PM
I really had to stare at profligacy, profligate, profligation vs prolificacy, prolificate, prolification for the longest time to make sure it wasn’t a dupe.
 
Robusto
Robusto
2
Q: In what circumstances, the word "be" can be directly used without any change?

stckxchng2 examples first: 1.It is announced that the accounting class of the 3rd and 4th hours on the morning of this Wednesday be cancelled 2.It is expected that everybody and each household be on guard Someone told me this kind of examples above appears in the textbook as strict sentences to be taug...

verbs tense infinitive subjunctive-mood
Uh, how about your title? With a modest rearrangement of syntax, of course.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I really have to write that subjunctive article.
The reason it is so hard to write is that usually articles are inflected only for case, gender, and number, not for mood.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist Only verbs can be subjunctive, not articles.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Good morning, @Jasper.
Far be it from me to invent things! Although it seem otherwise to you, I insist that you used no subjunctive inflexion. You may wish the author of today were as sensitive of mood and tense as those of yesteryear, but suffice it to say that mere wishing isn't enough: it takes work. In formal registers—be these written or spoken—there yet remain places where it is obligatory that the verb take the subjunctive lest its author be taken for an unlettered git. Alas, if only it were more easily demonstrated! If it please you, this lesson will repeat till the writing improve or a moderator delete it. — tchrist 16 hours ago
 
user19161
@tchrist I received your ping so I came.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:25 PM
You shouldn’t use Rob as a sock puppet.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Let's not say things we can't take back.
 
user19161
@Robusto Haha, your favourite line.
 
user19161
I did not know the damages in New York were so substantial until my friend told me just now.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@JasperLoy No. Not even my favorite line.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I think he’s more of a whiskers-on-kittens kinda guy.
 
user19161
4:26 PM
Hmm, I hope the SE folks are alright in NY.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Raindrops on roses. Get it right.
 
user19161
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasperLoy I think that unless you are a lawyer seeking recompense, you should opt for damage, not damages.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@JasperLoy Only those folks? Not all them other folks?
 
user19161
@Robusto Haha, actually I was only thinking of a couple of them, but never mind. =)
 
Robusto
Robusto
4:27 PM
@tchrist That would make his verb subjunctivizized.
 
user19161
@tchrist Yes, right.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I keep getting pingpinged.
I am not using to pingpinging.
 
user19161
My favourite song in that show is "Climb every mountain".
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto No, “unless you were” would.
 
user19161
Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:29 PM
We know the song. Some of us, perhaps distressingly well.
 
user19161
The singer in the show was pretty dramatic, that Sister Maria!
 
tchrist
tchrist
Merely a burlesque.
 
Robusto
Robusto
 
user19161
I was also speculating if natural disasters could be caused my manmade instruments.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Those would be unnatural disasters.
 
user19161
4:32 PM
There might be some intrument stirring some waters somewhere which eventually becomes a tsunami for example.
 
user19161
This is like the butterfly effect.
 
user19161
Anyone who has such an instrument can control the world.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
Fuck Google.
> We've reviewed your notice, but it is unclear to us what the specific
copyrighted work or works are that you are asserting have been infringed.
Could you please provide more detail by identifying the work or a
representative list of works? It would be helpful if you could provide us
with a link to the original source of the copyrighted work, as well as
copyright registration numbers if you have them.
Morons. I did just that.
I had to do just that. They had a form I had to fill out.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Djugit formlettered?
 
user19161
@RegDwighт Just explain again then, stay calm dude.
 
Robusto
Robusto
4:33 PM
I'm always impressed by how inventive Elvin Jones was, even in simple backing parts. My vote for best jazz drummer ever.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto Thank you for that.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
@JasperLoy what should I explain again? I have nothing to add. Not a word.
> > copyright work description:
> My contribution to the question-and-answer site "English Language and
> Usage", including text and images, which I publish there under the CC
> BY-SA 3.0 license with attribution required.
>
> That copyrighted work gets scraped and re-published, without
attribution,
> at tinyguru.com.
> copyright work urls:
>
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/12996/is-it-alright-or-allright/12998#12998
> infringement urls:
> http://www.tinyguru.com/english/qid12996.html
 
user19161
@RegDwighт Well, just reply that you just pointed it out in that paragraph or whatever.
 
user19161
Also, why are you so concerned about this? Not to trivialise anything here.
 
user19161
I know the meta posts on this copyright matter, but I don't feel it is that important.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:35 PM
I once saw an utterly hilarious yaoi-backed slideshow version of “My Favourite Things”, and have never been able to get it out of my mind. I can’t find it on Youtube anymore though; perhaps it was taken down.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
Google earns money through that scraper site. Simple as that.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@RegDwighт Oh, that was that. Ick.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
Google doesn't earn a cent through ELU.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Good morning or good day or good afternoon, @BarrieEngland.
 
RegDwighт
RegDwighт
But I must be off to the showermobile.
 
user19161
4:37 PM
@RegDwighт Enjoy the water!
 
Robusto
Robusto
@RegDwighт Don't drop the soap!
 
user19161
@Robusto Ah, I keep hearing that one here in the army.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Hiya. Late afternoon, as it happens. Pissed off. I craft a perspicacious answer, go and have a cup of tea, come back ready to post it only to find the question has been closed.
 
Robusto
Robusto
What, Jasper, y ou're in the army?
 
user19161
@Robusto In the past, compulsory service.
 
user19161
4:40 PM
Duh, you forgot where I come from?
 
Robusto
Robusto
@BarrieEngland We look for perspicacity especially when we desire to close questions.
Also perspicuity.
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland Hahaha, calm down and enjoy more tea...
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Not the first time, either.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@DavidWallace Great question.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@MετάEd You like any questions about meta. I wonder why that is.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
4:42 PM
Does it really matter if a question is a duplicate? Why not give it a fresh airing?
 
Robusto
Robusto
What question?
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland Well, if it is substantially different it should not be closed. Otherwise, you could close one as duplicate of the other and then answer the unclosed one.
 
user19161
This is part of tidying the site.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
1
Q: Under what circumstances can the word "be" be used directly without any change?

stckxchng Possible Duplicate: When should I use the subjunctive mood? 2 examples first: 1.It is announced that the accounting class of the 3rd and 4th hours on the morning of this Wednesday be cancelled 2.It is expected that everybody and each household be on guard Someone told me this kind o...

verbs tense infinitive subjunctive-mood
 
user19161
Sometimes I closevote the earlier question as duplicate of the later one because the later one is more well-written and covers more ground.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:44 PM
@BarrieEngland I rather hate it when that happens.
It isn’t a precise duplicate, but it is a muddled question.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
@Jasper. A good policy.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Can you apply your answer to the thing it was closeduped against?
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland And hey I am always wondering when you will overtake Robusto in rep. I guess it will happen some time next year. =)
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
If I post my little piece of linguistic wisdom on the earlier question it will make less sense than it otherwise might have done.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@BarrieEngland If you have suffered more than other posters it is only because you have stood beneath the boot heels of giants.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
4:45 PM
Yeh, could be that.
 
Robusto
Robusto
I think it's difficult to find a question that's even worth answering these days.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasperLoy But @Rob has clearly been much more badgered than @Barrie, as the stakes stand at (9, 123, 261) over a mere (1, 64, 129). Hm, I wish the score were (9, 121, 256) vs (1, 64, 125). It would be more nifty, numerically. Not sure how to effect that though.
Because then Barrie’s cubes would make Rob look square.
@Robusto Ain’t that the truth!
 
Robusto
Robusto
Dec 17 '11 at 19:37, by Jasper Loy
I predict @barrie will overtake Robusto by the end of next year.
You seem obsessed with this.
 
user19161
@Robusto Yes, but then you accelerated and he decelerated, so my prediction changed. It is dynamic like the stock market.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Oct 31 at 15:18, by Robusto
@JasperLoy You are notoriously bad at predictions, so who cares?
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
4:52 PM
You might be interested to know that I’ve received this email from someone called Orson Sampson. I can’t find him in the list of users and I don’t intend to reply. Anyone else received it?

'I recently asked a question on english.stackexchange.com and you help me out. I took a look at your profile and felt lucky to have come across you online.

I am studying for the GRE and want to improve my analytic writing skill. I would be happy to pay a fee for it.'
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto I see that badgering can be reciprocal.
@Barrie Let me check. That would go into my +inbox/direct mailbox, since it would be someone whom I’ve never gotten something from before.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist Sure. 1/badgering is the reciprocal of badgering.
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland Nope, and it's better to keep such private emails confidential.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@BarrieEngland Was it from a prince in Nigeria?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Barrie Nope.
 
user19161
4:54 PM
@Robusto If it were the Sultan of Brunei asking me I might consider.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Hello, any Canadian here?
@Mrs?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasperLoy I don’t feel that Barrie has violated some implied privacy contract here. It’s ok, really.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Umm
 
Robusto
Robusto
@Gigili Wake up Mr. Shiny.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
praising = 1/badgering
 
Gigili
Gigili
4:56 PM
wakes up @Mr.Shiny
 
user19161
@gigili If it's not urgent you should just wait, and I am sure you know mahnax's email addy.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Could have been Nigeria. I imagine that if I'd replied the next thing I'd have heard would have been a request for my bank details so that he could pay me my fee.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@MετάEd praising = (badgering)⁻¹
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland Just be careful if you reach that stage!
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Gigili What would you do with a Canadian if you had one on hand?
 
Robusto
Robusto
4:57 PM
Make bacon!
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
As I said, I don't intend to reply.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
"Orson Sampson" - "Nortonn S" = "Or Samps". Cooincidence? I think not.
 
tchrist
tchrist
What a ham.
 
user19161
Make love.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@MετάEd Yeppers.
 
Robusto
Robusto
4:57 PM
@tchrist That's just pure gammon.
 
user19161
I got a few emails wanting to give me a million dollars.
 
tchrist
tchrist
make: *** No rule to make target `love'.  Stop.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Robusto "Orson Sampson - Versatile + Creative - Software Developer - Nigeria"
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Yeh, that's the one.
 
Robusto
Robusto
So he's playing down the prince angle now?
 
user19161
4:58 PM
@MετάEd Oh, so you got that email?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasperLoy No, I Googled him.
@JasperLoy I say "no" ... maybe I'd better check my inbox.
 
user19161
I once enrolled for a game show to win a million, but I was not selected to play.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@BarrieEngland Did you know that one of the indicators for whether it’s a new Nortonn S sockpuppet question is that you or Jasper have answered already? :)
6
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasperLoy Ok, "no".
 
user19161
I hope that "The moment of truth" comes here, cos I wanna play that game.
 
Robusto
Robusto
5:00 PM
Recently I've been seeing writers using "soft-peddle" in print (in reputable publications, to boot) when I am certain the trope is "soft-pedal": anybody have an opinion on this?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist True.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto They’re testing your medal.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
:@tchrist: That figures.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist I wish they'd stop meddling.
Anyway, it comes from the "soft pedal" on the piano, unless I am very much mistaken.
 
tchrist
tchrist
There is something about a soft-sell, isn’t there?
I forget how that one works.
OED attests all three of soft pedal, soft-pedal, soft-pedalling, but not the other.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
5:02 PM
Definitely 'soft-pedal' - from the piano pedal.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Is there a term for this? Something like mondegreen but pertaining to spelling? (Or misspelling?)
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Eggcorn?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Not much for peddle: just essence-peddler, influence peddling, pack-peddler, peddle, -peddler, peddling, peddlingly, pill peddler.
 
user19161
@barrie By the way, the guys in here often misspell your name as Barry. I would correct them when that happens.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@BarrieEngland Good thought.
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:04 PM
@JasperLoy Well, then he hardly needs to do so, too, now does he? :)
 
Robusto
Robusto
@JasperLoy Note that he capitalizes his name in print. I will correct you when you don't.
Also, you may note that Jasper Loy's real name is Non Sequitur.
 
user19161
@Robusto Or Nortonn S.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto It think it is just a confusion of homophones, no, like medal, meddle, metal, mettle. Would it really merit a special term?
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
Have to go now, but let me leave you with this. Most contributors, of both answers and questions, seem to be men. Is there a reason for that? Is it perhaps that EL&U has its roots in programming and that most programmers are men?
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist Eggcorn comes close, perhaps.
@BarrieEngland On the Internet nobody knows if you're a dog.
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:07 PM
@BarrieEngland Or is it that men gravitate toward the Q&A thing more? No, agony aunts are usually women.
 
user19161
@BarrieEngland Probably so. Also, some are women disguised as men. And maybe women spend less time online.
 
Robusto
Robusto
But, yes, ELU is very well populated with software folks.
 
user19161
There are also men disguised as women, beware!
 
tchrist
tchrist
Hm, soft petal.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
Colour Blend, Nigeria
106 4
clauses
That's him right there.
 
Robusto
Robusto
5:09 PM
@tchrist 'Eggcorns often involve replacing an unfamiliar, archaic, or obscure word with a more common or modern word ("baited breath" for "bated breath").' I presume this could extend to misunderstanding a word's origins and thinking it means something the speaker is more familiar with.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@MετάEd Does he give his name?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist No.
@tchrist But there is absolutely no question it's him.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Good morning everyone!
 
tchrist
tchrist
The OED makes it annoyingly hard to grep pronunciations. Like its peddle is /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ , so you have to make the schwa optional, not to mention alterating [td], to pick up the other homophones.
 
user19161
@gigili By the way you have not told me what that email was all about... It's just a bunch of pics.
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:13 PM
Perhaps Santa and the Missus have a summer getaway in Nigeria.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
"alterating" I like it.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Anyway, off on errends. Ta-ta!
 
tchrist
tchrist
Well, it’s the North American voicing thing.
 
user19161
I love it when Americans pronounce aunt as ant.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Oh weird, look I found more than I knew of: pattle, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, peddle, petal, petal, pettle.
Pattle is homophonic with petal? Weird.
@JasperLoy It’s majoritarian, but not exclusive.
Oh, I see what happened with pattle.
> pattle, pettle /ˈpæt(ə)l/, /ˈpɛt(ə)l/, sb. Sc. and north. dial.
 
user19161
5:17 PM
Also due to the widespread influence of American television and movies, many youngsters here have adopted a pseudo-American accent which sounds a little pretentious!
 
tchrist
tchrist
My grep found the IPA under the pattle headword.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@JasperLoy I think they pronounce those two words differently from each other; just not different in the same way as you and I do.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@DavidWallace Not true.
 
user19161
@DavidWallace I mean similar, not exactly the same, sorry.
 
tchrist
tchrist
For most but not all North Americans, ant and aunt are perfect homophones.
 
user19161
5:19 PM
This pseudo-American accent I speak of consists of pronouncing the r sometimes and sometimes not. It sounds really silly actually.
 
tchrist
tchrist
No, not similar.
Identical.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist Everyone except Garrison Keillor.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@DavidWallace I think I may reconsider. There is a way that you can be right here, because in fact, there are three pronunciations of aunt. I was only remembering two, because I don’t have that other merger.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
The Tolkien pronunciation?
"Entwife" is like "I Am My Own Grandpa"?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@tchrist A way I can be right? I'll be sure to mark the date on my calendar.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
5:23 PM
@MattЭллен The solution for you is Second Breakfast, obviously.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@DavidWallace The three possibilities for aunt are /ænt/, /ɔːnt/, and /ɑːnt/, which I have listed in order of decreasing frequency. You virtually never hear #3 in North America, but #2 is not all that uncommon, even though #1 is still the majority pronunciation. Which is yours?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I think #3.
 
tchrist
tchrist
The FATHER vowel then, now the CLAWED vowel.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
What's #2?
 
tchrist
tchrist
You don’t round it.
#2 is rounded.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
5:26 PM
Definitely very close to "father", and nothing like "clawed". To be honest, I'm a little confused about the difference between /a:/ and /ɑ:/.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Well that makes two of us, because I am, too.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I probably would have written /a:nt/ if you had asked me, without offering alternatives.
 
tchrist
tchrist
The range of /a/, /ɑ/, /ɒ/, and /ɔ/ confuses the heck out of me, because I usually have only two or three of those, not four.
Damn it.
Fontage breakage.
There, that works.
I think I always have /ɑ/ for /a/ and /ɔ/ for /ɒ/.
That’s why I can’t find a minimal triple.
Cloth and claw have the same vowel for me.
As do father and fart and bother.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I would be very surprised if you and I pronounce claw the same.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I can do the bother thing, but it tends to go all the way to the THOUGHT vowel.
I have /ɔ/ in cloth, claw, caught, calm, call, kalmia.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
5:32 PM
autonomy
pedant
 
tchrist
tchrist
No, only in autonomy, not in pedant.
People who have /ɑ/ in those (cloth, claw, caught, calm, call, kalmia) sound funny to me.
They don’t have phonemic roundedness as a distinguishing trait, but I do, so it sounds weird.
Ed should be the same as me, and probably Rob, too. Others I cannot say.
 
Robusto
Robusto
-1
Q: How do I improve my communication, grammar and verbal skills?

DanThis question might look subjective but i please read out my proposition before closing it. English is my second language also i never went to any "fancy" schools, my communication and grammatical skills are absolutely pathetic. I also have hard time while trying to spell complex words. I desp...

grammar learning
This one pleads with us not to close it because he acknowledges that it is off-topic.
 
Barrie England
Barrie England
6:01 PM
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@BarrieEngland Not quite clear what they're asking, is it?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto I also don’t know why people think ransom-note txtspēk is acceptable here.
Wow, did Nigeria have a big fire-sale on diacritics back when they were romanizing them?
 
tchrist
tchrist
6:49 PM
> Nna, that test hard no be small! You sabi do am? Me a go tell dem.
Nigerian Pidgin
Nigerian Pidgin is an English-based pidgin and a creole language spoken as a lingua franca across Nigeria. The language is commonly referred to as "Pidgin" or "Brokin". It is often not considered a creole language since most speakers are not native speakers, although many children do learn it early. Nonetheless it can be spoken as a pidgin, a creole, or a decreolised acrolect by different speakers, who may switch between these forms depending on the social setting. Ihemere (2006) reports that Nigerian Pidgin is the native language of approximately 3 to 5 million people and is a second la...
 
Monica
Monica
7:19 PM
Hello! Is anyone there?
 
Robusto
Robusto
7:34 PM
@Monica I'm not there. I'm here, though.
 
user19161
7:56 PM
@Monica I am not there, but I am me. QED.
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
8:23 PM
@waiwai what's wrong with "... he was a 17-year-old man."?
 
tchrist
tchrist
The OP might not like this one all that much, but I think it is better than the existing answers, especially after that new one that just got deleted:
0
A: Is there a feminine equivalent of "emasculate"?

tchristThe verb emasculate has at least three related but distinct meanings, given by the OED as: trans. To deprive of virility, to castrate (a male person or animal). transf. and fig. To deprive of strength and vigour; to weaken, make effeminate and cowardly; to enfeeble, impoverish (language)...

-1
A: Is there a feminine equivalent of "emasculate"?

winterAssociating an abstract concept like "power" with gender is what forms the nonsensical basis of the old misogynist word "emasculate".

Ah, already edited. Did read:
> So you deleted my post. You're not a man. I don't need to be born male to be more of a man than you. I probably produce more testosterone in my pituitary gland then both your little balls. Keep on telling yourself that you were born with "male privilege" and you have some "invisible power" to be "emasculated" over. Women aren't below you, you cowardly cunt.
 
tchrist
tchrist
8:43 PM
I guess an oöphorectomy should be pronounced an “uh-oh for ectomy”. :)
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
@Monica, your name seems Italian! If you are Italian, please follow Italian Language & Usage. Thank you.
110
Italian Language & Usage

Proposed Q&A site for students, teachers and lovers of the Italian language.

Currently in definition.

 
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