English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

RegDwight

2:00 PM

@Kosmonaut No. I mean the original Game Boy Tetris.

Kosmonaut

Welltris is different from Tetris, not a knock-off.

RegDwight

Well, it's 3D, innit.

Cerberus

@Tom: You might want to be careful: I'd cringe at seeing "stagnation" used for decrease in nominal values, but it is often so used by the ehm... by some people.

It is the same as in Dutch.

Tom

@Cerberus yeah, that's why I have added the definition in a footnote

Cerberus

People don't know what the word came from and start using it in new ways, which may cause confusion.

Oh, I see. Well, stagnation is hardly jargon.

RegDwight

2:02 PM

Hm. @Alain Pannetier is well on his way to getting the Outspoken badge for one single post alone.

Tom

@Cerberus I named it a "stagnating economy", and added a description to the combined term

not just stagnation

Cerberus

Can't you simply not explain it at all, then subtly exclude the wrong sense in a following sentence, as in: "economic growth was barely above zero in those years" or something?

Tom

Hmm.. could do that too, just that the sentence is already on the lengthy side. But I will see, thanks

Cerberus

Yeah it doesn't matter much, do what strikes your fancy.

(I think I'd not explain such basic terms, but...)

Tom

I see your point

RegDwight

2:06 PM

Well, sometimes things do depend on what the meaning of the word is is.

Cerberus

@Reg: How deep!

Tom

@Cerberus I'd have paid you to check my essay when it's finished if I were wealthier than I really am =)

RegDwight

@Cerberus That's not deep, that's Clinton. Get some television, dude. Seriously.

Kosmonaut

And a time machine.

RegDwight

►

Time machines will be supplied for free in this very chat.

Cerberus

2:08 PM

@Tom: Hehe, well, you might be disappointed... I find proofreading English written by Dutchmen the hardest, because they might make the same kind of mistakes I'd make.

Kosmonaut

Fsck everything about the Kenneth Starr investigation. Shame on you for linking to a video.

Cerberus

@Reg: Much obliged... I am not planning to buy a television set any time soon, but I will gladly watch your videos.

Tom

@Cerberus I'm sure you'd do fine ;)

RegDwight

The opinions are divided.

I'm a dividorrrrr!

Cerberus

Hah, well, Clinton sounds just as bad as his wife sometimes does.

RegDwight

2:09 PM

@Kosmonaut Kenneth Starr likes Fahrenheit.

Cerberus

EVIL

Kosmonaut

Everyone who is truly familiar with Fahrenheit likes it. Means nothing.

Cerberus

How dare you disturb the peace and quiet of this chat room by bringing up the evil Anglo-Saxon weirdness stuff.

RegDwight

@Kosmonaut You misspelled "that it" as "it.".

Cerberus

Haha.

Kosmonaut

2:12 PM

@RegDwight You are eaten by an S-block.

Cerberus

@Reg: Now you must be glad you are using British punctuation, not American.

RegDwight

@Kosmonaut Go draw me one first.

Cerberus

What are there S-blocks...

Kosmonaut

S

Cerberus

S?

S, as in s?

RegDwight

2:12 PM

Я

Cerberus

Ya.

Kosmonaut

8þ

RegDwight

Tetris doesn't eat players.

Kosmonaut

RPG Tetris does.

Cerberus

Greek iota subscriptum block attaching itself to your behinds.

RegDwight

2:13 PM

Kosmo has no idea what he's talking about. Much like when he talks about bagles or Fahrenheits.

Cerberus

Especially Fahrenheits, uhuh nods.

Hey does anyone have any idea what the highest number of accents is that can be used on a single letter simultaneously in a real language?

RegDwight

@Cerberus Ask the Viet Namese.

Cerberus

Greek could have 5 in theory.

Oh, do they have lots of accents...?

RegDwight

Well, I don't think they actually use more than two.

Me's joking, as usual. Robusto's not laughing, again.

Cerberus

Oh. Greek uses 3 quite regularly, and 4 wouldn't surprise me at all.

Kosmonaut

2:16 PM

@Cerberus In any language?

Cerberus

Oh, I didn't know he was Vietnamese. Though that would explain his weird non-nativeness.

@Kos: Any natural, spoken language...

Kosmonaut

We don't use accents in spoken language.

Cerberus

Literary variants are OK, of course.

I mean, a language that is actually spoken.

Kosmonaut

The answer is 1 million, on every Vietnamese letter.

RegDwight

Lạy Cha chúng con ở trên trời,
chúng con nguyện danh Cha cả sáng, nước Cha trị đến,
ý Cha thể hiện dưới đất cũng như trên trời.
Xin Cha cho chúng con hôm nay lương thực hằng ngày,
và tha nợ chúng con như chúng con cũng tha kẻ có nợ chúng con.
Xin chớ để chúng con sa chước cám dỗ,
nhưng cứu chúng con cho khỏi sự dữ.

That's Our Father in Vietnamese.

Cerberus

2:18 PM

One million exactly? Or 1M and one?

Kosmonaut

Exactly 1 million.

Cerberus

Oh I see some nice double accents. Sweet.

Kosmonaut

There are three on the second ل in Allah.

Cerberus

Nice.

And aesthetically pleasing.

Greek accents aren't terribly impressive in daily usage:

Kosmonaut

Arabic orthography definitely knows how to make things look visually interesting.

Cerberus

2:22 PM

ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ
πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν:
πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,
πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,
5ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.

RegDwight

Well, they are not allowed to draw, so they draw with letters.

Kosmonaut

Cerberus

Yeah.

Islamic art is good.

Their geometric figures, animals, and plants are also quite pleasing.

Who wants to play a game?

RegDwight

We are playing already.

Kosmonaut still tries to put that L next to that |.

Cerberus

I am thinking of a person, and you have to guess who it is by asking questions, which I may only answer yes or no to.

No Googling allowed. Interested?

Tom

2:28 PM

Does one deposit on a savings account or depost in a savings account?

RegDwight

Yes.

Cerberus

In?

I'd say in.

Kosmonaut

ok

RegDwight

You are not playing by the rules.

It's yes or no.

Cerberus

Oh dear.

RegDwight

2:29 PM

Yes.

@Tom You are thinking of Alan Greenspan. I win.

Cerberus

(But who's asking the questions...)

No.

Tom

I didn't know I was participating :p

RegDwight

Kiamlaluno, come out from behind that cardboard cut-out of a @Cerberus!

Cerberus

Hehe.

Kosmonaut

Are you thinking of Cher?

Cerberus

2:30 PM

Nope.

The idea is that more general questions get you to the answer faster... just a suggestion...

Kosmonaut

Are you thinking of pizza? Preferably with pepperoni.

I'll take a slice.

RegDwight

Are you thinking of Peter Nöone?

Cerberus

Pizza is a woman so doesn't count.

Kosmonaut

Noöne!!!

Spell it right!

Cerberus

Wait what was that about again...

RegDwight

2:31 PM

I get to spell my stuff the way I spell my stuff, or else.

Cerberus

I still give you guys a hint: this person is a tragic figure.

RegDwight

Cher!

Is it Cher?

Cerberus

Another tragic figure.

RegDwight

Another Cher?

I only know one.

Cerberus

No, it is still not Cher.

Ask again in 5 minutes.

RegDwight

2:32 PM

Then think of Cher!

Cerberus

I will think of Cher next time.

Kosmonaut

Cher is a tragic figure. I'm pretty sure it is Cher.

RegDwight

Yes.

Cerberus

The person I have in mind is or was often seen in military dress, but not quite military.

RegDwight

I'm still not quite clear about the rules, but it's fun!

Demi Moore?

Cerberus

2:34 PM

Appearances in Playboy and the like do not count.

RegDwight

No. Soldier Jane.

That one tanked big time.

Kosmonaut

Fail

RegDwight

So it was tragic, and military dress, and but not quite miliatry.

Cerberus

Another hint: @Reg has more affinity with this person than others here.

Tom

RegDwight

2:35 PM

Jinx!

Cerberus

@Kos: Fail?

What are these people up to...

RegDwight

You owe me cokes! Allovya!

Kosmonaut

That was what I was trying to do.

RegDwight

That's not Demi Moore.

Cerberus

Haha wtf...

Kosmonaut

2:35 PM

That's Cher!

RegDwight

That's Cher.

Jinx

Kosmonaut

Cher Guevarra

RegDwight

Another tragic figure!

Cerberus

It will be Cher in Military Dress next time, okay?

Kosmonaut

@Cerberus You're going to do the same person twice in a row?

Cerberus

2:36 PM

@Kos: Oh, is that against the rules?

RegDwight

OMG. Sexual-preference questions are off-topic here.

Martha

@Kosmonaut Ow! THWACK!

Cerberus

Oh come on, this isn't Salt Lake City or Palinville.

Kosmonaut

OMGWTF

Cerberus

And, thank you Martha!

RegDwight

2:37 PM

Wer zweimal mit derselben pennt, gehört schon zum Establishment!

Cerberus

Pennen?

RegDwight

Sleep.

Cerberus

Is that anything I want to know?

Ah.

Martha

Have we established whether this person is male or female?

RegDwight

He who does the same person twice in a row is part of the establishment.

Cerberus

2:38 PM

Is that a 70s socialist maxim?

Yeah I got that.

RegDwight

@Martha So far we've only established that it's Cher in military dress. Gender is still unclear.

Cerberus

@Martha: Not yet.

Martha

@Cerberus Ok, so is the person male?

Cerberus

Yes!

RegDwight

@Cerberus A maxim of the 68ies.

Cerberus

2:39 PM

+1 For Martha.

Kosmonaut

@Martha I find that very difficult to answer.

Cerberus

@Reg: Ah was that Woodstock or something?

Martha

@Cerberus Does he speak English?

RegDwight

@Cerberus More like Kommune 1.

Cerberus

@Martha: No (watch our for n/a).

(That was the exclamation mark card from Bridge.)

Kosmonaut

2:40 PM

Is he alive?

Cerberus

No.

RegDwight

Why?

Cerberus

(Is someone half plastic alive?)

Kosmonaut

When were you and the victim last seen together?

Cerberus

(That was referring to Cher.)

@Kos: No.

RegDwight

2:41 PM

Was he a politician?

Cerberus

Yes!

RegDwight

I think it's Cher. Is it Cher?

Kosmonaut

Non-American politician? How am I supposed to know that? I'm American!

Cerberus

If I could turn back time...

@Kos: Yes.

RegDwight

That's Cher!

Kosmonaut

2:42 PM

Gorbachev?

Wait he is alive.

Cerberus

@Kos: No.

RegDwight

He's not plastic, either.

Kosmonaut

OR IS HE?

Cerberus

I think they swapped him for an alien.

RegDwight

He recorded a CD with Clinton just the other day. Or year.

Cerberus

2:43 PM

Right, so did I.

Oh you mean Bill.

Kosmonaut

Gorbachev and Clinton invested jointly?

RegDwight

They got a Grammy for that.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3472495.stm

Cerberus

Nothing trumps Putin's half-naked body.

Kosmonaut

Except EVERYTHING

Martha

Was he born after 1900?

Cerberus

2:44 PM

No.

Kosmonaut

Was he born after 1800?

RegDwight

Was he born before 1900?

Mine is better

@Kos: Yes.

@Kosmonaut No.

2:45 PM

@Reg: Boo.

Martha

Did he die before 1900?

RegDwight

@Cerberus No.

Cerberus

@Martha: No.

Not even in italics.

RegDwight

Did he live in Europe?

Cerberus

Yes.

RegDwight

2:47 PM

Did he live in Moscow?

Cerberus

Yes.

RegDwight

Did he live in Stalin?

Kosmonaut

Uh

Cerberus

He was not the Spirit of Totalitarism.

RegDwight

I won't take uh for an answer.

Martha

2:48 PM

Is his corpse displayed for all to see?

Cerberus

@Martha: Don't know.

And WHAT!?

RegDwight

Haha. How diplomatic of you.

"I dunno if those crazy Russians display his corpse or not."

Cerberus

Some members of my family fled to escape the fate he met.

Martha

@Cerberus You know, like Lenin.

Cerberus

@Reg: Exactly.

@Martha: I had some faint idea that they had someone on display, but forgot who it was.

But the answer is most probably: no.

RegDwight

2:50 PM

Oh come on, you don't even need a TV set to know that.

Kosmonaut

I really think the answer is Cher Guevarra.

Everything seems to point towards that answer.

RegDwight

For example, this arrow: ↑

Cerberus

@Kos: If you want to provide an answer to a controversial subject, you need references. Preferably CGEL or some obscure linguistic article in Belarussian.

Kosmonaut

You see?

Cerberus

Except that they probably speak Russian there...

RegDwight

2:51 PM

@Cerberus Ugh. I don't even want to begin to know what kind of pervert gel that is.

Cerberus

It gets some people quite horny.

(You know who you are.)

Martha

In other news, it is absolutely pouring rain right now.

Cerberus

No way!

I don't see it.

RegDwight

Me neither.

Martha

And I didn't bring my umbrella. Actually, I can't find my umbrella.

RegDwight

2:52 PM

Those Hungarians and their Ministry of Disinformation.

Cerberus

Is the rain on display for all to see?

Hehe.

RegDwight

@Martha Your umbrella is dinky anyhow.

Cerberus

Do they still have that? I thought they had some new, crisp laws of censoring...?

Kosmonaut

Did this person famously say: "Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel! If I could turn back time — if I could find a way"

Martha

It was not! It was black with white polka dots! It was a very pretty umbrella!

Tom

2:53 PM

Q: When refering to the previous footnote one can use Ibid, but what if I want to refer to a certain footnote that is not the previous?

RegDwight

Mar 24 at 1:42, by Martha

What's up is that I really need to go home. Maybe the rain has let up enough to make that feasible. (Umbrella = dinky.)

@Tom Yes.

Cerberus

@Kos: What the... I can only imagine the weird drugs you must be taking.

Martha

Oh, that umbrella. That's my dad's umbrella that I stole after I couldn't find my lovely non-dinky polka-dotted umbrella.

RegDwight

@Cerberus He likes to call them bagles.

Kosmonaut

@Cerberus Okay, then maybe it isn't Cher Guevara.

Cerberus

2:54 PM

@Tom: Repeat title and author in short.

Martha

But I forgot to steal dad's dinky umbrella this morning.

Cerberus

@Martha: Please elaborate.

Tom

@Cerberus hmm alright

Cerberus

R. Eggy, 'On the Metabolism of Sperm Whales', in: Lunatic Ravings (Chatroom 2011), 55-66: 56.

Short:

RegDwight

@Kosmonaut This can't be true. It's always Cher Guevara. You must be out of your mind claiming it isn't.

Cerberus

2:56 PM

Eggy, 'Metabolism', 58.

RegDwight

@Cerberus Is that the solution? How were we supposed to think of that????

Cerberus

That's how I do it.

@Reg: You have no imagination.

RegDwight

@Cerberus I have two and a half, actually.

Cerberus

Besides, I didn't say that was the answer: the answer might be in that famous work of non-fiction.

RegDwight

The Bible?

Cerberus

2:58 PM

That one.

No wait.

I think some of the experts on EL&U said it was fiction...

So... now my world view is shattered.

Well you guys still suck at this game, no offence.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…