English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

RegDwight

01:00

It's a short story.

Robusto

Entschuldigung, bitte. Das heißt 'Ein Hungerkünstler'

Ein Hungerkünstler

Ein Hungerkünstler ist eine Erzählung von Franz Kafka, die erstmals 1922 in der Zeitung Die neue Rundschau erschien . Gleichzeitig ist es der Titel für den 1924 erschienenen Sammelband des Autors, der noch drei weitere Prosatexte enthielt. Drei der vier Erzählungen haben jeweils eine ironische Sicht auf das Künstlerleben zum Inhalt, wobei in zwei Fällen Zirkusfiguren gewählt wurden. Vor und nach der Jahrhundertwende war die Verwendung von Gauklern und Artisten, also Vertreter eher halbseidener Künste, in der Literatur sehr häufig. Siehe bei Frank Wedekind, Rainer Maria Rilke, Charles Bau...

kiamlaluno

I just remember "The metamorphosis."

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno Well, that one is entry-level.

Cerberus

Ah.

Robusto

One of the first things I read in German.

RegDwight

01:01

See?

Cerberus

Does anyone like Mann?

RegDwight

Muh.

I refuse to read Mann. This is so unlike me, but I just do.

Robusto

@Cerberus Well, except when he writes chapters in French, the bastard.

kiamlaluno

Thomas Mann?

Cerberus

I tried his work whose subject I thought would most appeal to me, Budenbrooks, but I didn't like it much.

@Kiam: Derselbe.

Robusto

01:02

Read Der Zauberberg ...

Cerberus

Chapters in French? Excellent!

Does anyone have any French novels to recommend? I tried Claudel's Âmes Grises, but hated it.

My aunt recommended it.

kiamlaluno

@Cerberus God bless you. Did you sneeze?

Cerberus

Hey! France is not all bad, you know.

RegDwight

Sorry to interrupt, but

0

Q: What is the exact quote

There was a quote I have heard long time ago. I remember the meaning, but need the exact quote. Does any one have it?? It goes like.. Words are just sounds that enter your ears, it is all about how you animate them in your minds I tried googling and visited a bunch of sites and couldn'...

quotes

kiamlaluno

"A la reserche de temps perdù."

Cerberus

01:04

Ah, not Proust...

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno recherche.

Cerberus

I mean, he is a cultural giant, but not really my genre, I fear.

kiamlaluno

Isn't that a novel?

Robusto

@kiamlaluno — À la recherche du temps perdu ... Geezis, your French is worse'n yer English.

Cerberus

I read some parts in translation that I already found difficult to follow, emotionally, that is.

I absolutely hate romantic protagonists.

I prefer them crazy or rational.

I

RegDwight

01:06

Mar 14 at 14:26, by kiamlaluno

"Nobless s'oblique" (whatever it is written in French).

Cerberus

Haha.

RegDwight

Sorry @kiam, but that was just too funny.

kiamlaluno

@Robusto Who said I was speaking in French? It could be Western Lombard.

Robusto

@Cerberus — WTF ... romantic is crazy!

@kiamlaluno — Here we go again. Stop trying to live up to all my expectations.

Cerberus

It seems Kiam never got over the Napoleonic conquest of (Northern? ) Italy.

RegDwight

01:07

Who is that Napoleont? Tell me more about him.

Cerberus

@Rob: Well... let's say I like crazy when the author intends his protagonist to be crazy, not when he and his protagonist are crazy in the same way.

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight There is nothing to be sorry.

@Cerberus Lombard is not related to French in any way.

Robusto

@RegDwight: I got yer Napoleon right here ...

kiamlaluno

It's closer to Spanish, and German.

Cerberus

@Reg: Funny, I never knew that. What is it in German? Dutch has the t.

RegDwight

01:09

@Robusto Now how am I supposed to go to bed with that on my mind?

kiamlaluno

Napoleon?

Cerberus

I know!

Luckily I am more in the mood for salty fats.

RegDwight

@Robusto I ate tons of those as a child.

Robusto

Cerberus

(Hates the yellow blubber.)

Hey is "tompouce" a French word?

RegDwight

01:10

Robusto is ultra-generous today. He doesn't even quote, he reposts.

Robusto

34 mins ago, by Robusto

2 mins ago, by Robusto

@RegDwight — Did you look in the bedroom? I mean, that's where I usually start ...

Cerberus

It is not.

Robusto

@RegDwight — I am reposting repasts. You should be grateful.

RegDwight

Hahaha, as if to prove me wrong.

Cerberus

Haha.

How does he do it.

RegDwight

01:11

Badly.

Cerberus

To be honest, repost-repast isn't too bad.

RegDwight

I mean, it doesn't work, does it?

Robusto

That was a case of my clipboard going off when I didn't think it was loaded.

RegDwight

@Cerberus Don't make me go ABBA.

@Robusto I'm too afraid to thwack that.

Cerberus

Abba? Where?

Robusto

01:12

@Cerberus — Nah, my humor is wasted on RegDwight.

RegDwight

I told you not to ask!

Robusto

Ah, I knew you were going to trot out that old chestnut.

Cerberus

I bet he pretends he is unaffected while surreptitiously sucking it up with his avid mind.

Oh, God.

kiamlaluno

Is it time to scratch my armpit?

RegDwight

Call me Reg.

Cerberus

01:13

If I were God, I'd do something about spamming.

kiamlaluno

Oh, Him.

Robusto

Oh yeah? Well n can play at that game.

RegDwight

@Cerberus If I were God, I told you what I would do.

But then Vitaly had to spoil the fun.

Robusto

C'mon, get busy and close this sucker down:

0

Q: Is it correct to say "Lets Answer me" or "Let's Answer me"?

Do they have different meaning? Thanks

grammar

Cerberus

No idea, due to no memory.

RegDwight

01:16

@Cerberus I said that I would rather create a chick for myself rather than create a bloke and then a chick for him.

Pay some attention, please.

Cerberus

A good answer would state "let's is not used to exhort a group excluding the speaker".

@Reg: Righttt....

Robusto

@Reg: Do me a favor and delete old Bertrand? I didn't realize it was going to be that huge.

RegDwight

Glad you asked.

Robusto

Merci.

RegDwight

In the year 2525, when they will read this transcript on 1000-inch monitors, your old Bertrand will be tiny.

Robusto

01:19

peanutbutterandjulie.typepad.com/.a/…

Cerberus

Can anyone think of nouns that would use "for" as "fear" does, as in "she complied for fear of being cast out"?

RegDwight

@Cerberus No linguistics stuff here please.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Linguistics stuff is OK if served mit Schlag.

RegDwight

Just looking at this makes me gain weight.

Cerberus

@Reg: Saunters off, skulking...

kiamlaluno

01:20

Is it a marshmellow?

Robusto

@kiamlaluno — No. Not even a marshmallow.

RegDwight

@Robusto Schlagsahne?

Or really Schlag?

Cerberus

I can't take this. I need food now.

RegDwight

You're too weak.

Don't give in.

That's what those capitalists want.

Robusto

@RegDwight —Whipped cream.

RegDwight

01:22

@Robusto Then I would say that Schlag is a regionalism at best.

Robusto

RegDwight

@Robusto I don't eat plastic, thank you.

Robusto

Them's fishies.

Cerberus

Ah!

Robusto

Sakana

RegDwight

01:23

食品サンプル

食品サンプル（しょくひんサンプル）は、飲食店の店頭あるいは店内に陳列される料理の模型。可塑性のある腐敗しない材料を主原料として作られ、商品の細部を視覚的に説明するとともに、商品名や価格を同時に提示することによってメニューの一部または全部の役割を果たす。大正時代から昭和初期にかけての日本で考案された表現手法であるが、業界団体が無く、共通の定義も存在していない。食品サンプルという呼称は戦後になって呼ばれるようになったものであり、料理模型や食品模型とも呼ばれる場合がある。概要初期の食品サンプルは実物を寒天で型取りして蝋を流し込んで作成された。蝋はあらかじめ絵の具を溶かして色付けしたものが用いられ、製品補強を行うために脱脂綿による裏打ちを行った後、表面によりリアルな彩色を施す。こうした一連の作業は手作業で行われているため、実際に飲食店で提供される特徴（皿、盛り付け、量など）に近い個々の食品サンプルの製作が行われた。食品サンプルが高い集客能力を持ったイメージ喚起のための装置として、一般に広く認知されるようになると、それに伴って食品サンプル生産業者に対する受注が増加した。1970年代頃に入ると原材料は蝋製食品サンプルの持つ溶けやすい、壊れやすいといった欠点が改善された合成樹脂へと変化していき、生産の簡略化を目的とした合成樹脂用の金型などが開発された。これにより、より緻密...

Cerberus

I'll take that as well, thank you.

Robusto

Hey, want to see something really creepy?

Too bad Martha's not here ...

Marzipan babies!!!!!

Cerberus

Haha.

RegDwight

I... I quit.

kiamlaluno

I vomit.

RegDwight

01:24

My mom always taught me to quit first, vomit later.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Hahahahahahaha ... I win! Yes!!!! Who knew all it would take was a handful of marzipan babies?

Cerberus

I hate marzipan: can't you make any out of raw salmon or something?

Robusto

Dig in!

kiamlaluno

I love marzipan.

Cerberus

Yuck.

Robusto

01:25

But they're so cute! Try a couple.

RegDwight

They actually sell those in Germany.

kiamlaluno

Are they called "shark teeth"?

Cerberus

Marzipan as well?

RegDwight

@Cerberus Yup. And Yuck.

Robusto

snopes.com/photos/arts/marzipan.asp

That ain't chopped liver. Oh wait ... it is!

Cerberus

01:28

What's cutest and most delicious about those babies is their life-like infant genitals. Just the kind of thing that would appeal to marzipan-lovers.

RegDwight

Okay, now I have to quit harder.

Cerberus

It is working!

(Not you.)

Robusto

@Cerberus — Three-headed doggie had to go and spoil it.

Cerberus

Hehe.

kiamlaluno

Oh no, a young Tracy Spencer.

RegDwight

01:30

I'll have some Shokuhin-Sanpuru, thank you.

Robusto

@Cerberus You know, I was going to make a joke about "If it was shaped like a Schwanz you'd eat it quick enough," but I thought better of it.

RegDwight

Only to post it now.

Robusto

Well, he made me do it.

Cerberus

@Rob: You misapprehend my appetites.

Robusto

martinranchwinery.com/storage/thereses-kitchen/…

kiamlaluno

01:31

I would rather have an upside-down cake.

RegDwight

This chat has turned into 4chan and I didn't even notice.

Cerberus

It was the babies!

Robusto

1 min ago, by Robusto

Well, he made me do it.

Cerberus

*He

Robusto

@Cerberus — What, You think You're God?

kiamlaluno

01:33

Thinking better, I would rather like a New York style cheesecake.

Robusto

Coming right up!

Cerberus

@Rob: You know I never click links. I was just babbling in the dark.

Robusto

Cerberus

1

Q: Is not responding to spam a bad thing?

Is ignoring spam a bad thing? I mean, if you just get the email and ignore it, then you've basically confirmed that your email exists -- there wasn't any mail delivery failure notice to the spammer, so obviously you received the email. Isn't that enough to make you get more spam? Is it better t...

email spam spam-prevention

Funny title.

kiamlaluno

@Robusto See? That is really a beauty.

Robusto

01:36

Pause to Pump It Up a little ...

►

RegDwight

UMG content.

Cerberus

Aww.

You were in Germany?

kiamlaluno

Him Aww!

Cerberus

Here I can watch all Rob's videos.

Or Mother Russia?

Robusto

Try this one, Commie:

►

kiamlaluno

01:39

Mother Russia and Uncle Italy?

Cerberus

Uncle Italy?

kiamlaluno

Aunt?

RegDwight

@Robusto UMG content.

Robusto

Find a new country.

kiamlaluno

Now, it's not polite to check if somebody is male or female.

Robusto

01:40

Novaya Rodina!

RegDwight

This is getting old.

Robusto

@kiamlaluno — Sure it is. Just unzip 'em or pull up the dress. It's the only way to be sure.

RegDwight

I have found so many new countries in my life. I'm not going to look for another one just to watch a video.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Can you think of a better reason to repatriate?

Cerberus

Hey I just noticed how great EL&U is: good answers always get loads of upvotes. On Superuser, not quite.

Robusto

01:42

@Cerberus — Lies!

Cerberus

I posted this awesome, totally-problem-solving answer to an AHK question months ago, and I never even got an upvote, let alone a comment or a tick. My answer involved testing and writing ready-made code.

RegDwight

Apr 5 at 1:13, by Robusto

I saw one of @nohat's answers where he f***ing nailed it, had charts and everything and a well-written, well-reasoned answer, and it got like two votes.

Robusto

@Cerberus — Your story is so sad I'm almost sorry I took my Prozac today.

Cerberus

@Rob: Take another one. Don't worry about the side effects: I'm sure it doesn't matter anyway.

Robusto

@Cerberus — Nah, I'm into harder stuff now.

Cerberus

01:44

@Reg: At least those answers get one or two upvotes within a day here, and usually a nice comment.

Harder?

RegDwight

Harder, faster, Scooter!

Cerberus

You got that from a friendly Chinese webshop that was good enough to e-mail unsolicited information to you?

RegDwight

@Cerberus Since when are placebos harder than the real stuff?

Cerberus

The mind is our hardest organ?

I should have put that answer in a comment, I know it sucked.

Robusto

@Cerberus — Blow is just a metaphor. You nailed it.

Cerberus

01:49

@Rob: I feel like I am grasping the outlines of your joke, but not quite getting a firm grip.

Robusto

@Cerberus — OK, I'll lay it out for you. The recipient of fellatio, hereinafter referred to as the fellatee, instructs the fellator who is performing the act the opposite of how it is meant to be performed, "Blow is just a metaphor! Suck!"

Hey, you asked.

RegDwight

You didn't deliver on your promise to mention fellatee once again.

Cerberus

@Rob: I got that part, but thank you. I just didn't get why you felt the need to mention this synonym...

Robusto

@RegDwight — Fellatee. There. Now pay me.

RegDwight

@Cerberus Blow = coke.

@Robusto Thanks.

@Robusto I never promised to pay you.

Cerberus

01:53

Coke?

RegDwight

Cocaine.

Robusto

@RegDwight — You C***s***er!

Cerberus

Blow is a synonym for coke? Didn't know that... but still not getting it. Never mind!

RegDwight

@Robusto I see we're ending on a high note. Oh well, then I do plan to contribute.

Robusto

@Cerberus — You said "I know it sucked" — I said "No, blow is must a metaphor. You nailed it."

@RegDwight — Please, don't make me flag you.

RegDwight

01:55

Was sagt ein Blinder in einem Fischgeschäft? Hallo, Mädels!

@Robusto I would have to approve your flag.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Ja, das hab Ich schon gehört.

Mein Mädel verlangte mir!

RegDwight

Now that just doesn't make any sense.

Robusto

Aus "Der Fliegende Holländer"

Cerberus

@Rob: Never mind, I think I am just too tired to get the whole picture. I got the double meaning of nailed and its comparative relation to "blow"... wahh I need sleepy time.

RegDwight

That one goes "Mein Mädel verlangt nach mir!"

kiamlaluno

01:57

I guess I will be the first to go check the bed.

Robusto

@RegDwight — I stand corrected.

Hey, I said lyrics were hardest for me to hear.

Mit Gewitter und Sturm aus fernem Meer
mein Mädel, bin dir nah!
Über turmhohe Flut vom Süden her -
Mein Mädel, ich bin da!
Mein Mädel, wenn nich Südwind wär',
ich nimmer wohl käm' zu dir!
Ach, lieber S&uuuml;dwind, blas' noch mehr!
Mein Mädel verlangt nach mir!

I like the part where he's just getting to the tender moment — and then the whole freaking chorus joins in!

kiamlaluno

Buh bye!

Robusto

**Hohojo! Hallohoho Jollohohoho! **

Cerberus

Ciao!

Robusto

Ciao!

RegDwight

01:58

Ciao!

Robusto

Triple Jinx!

kiamlaluno

Auf fidersen!

RegDwight

Did we mention ciao?

Robusto

Jinx!

Triple Jinx!!!!

Cerberus

Haha.

RegDwight

01:59

That wasn't a jinx on my part. I posted mine after having seen yours.

Cerberus

You language people are crazy.

Robusto

@RegDwight — The rules of Jinx are clear and inflexible.

RegDwight

A reply is not a jinx.

Robusto

Don't be a poor sport.

Cerberus

At least mine is beyond reproach.

Robusto

02:02

Nothing is beyond reproof.

But I think you meant "reproach".

Cerberus

Ah but some tings are.

RegDwight

The reproof is 200 points per day.

Cerberus

Oh.

Yes.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Yeah, it sounds like pure alcohol. 200 reproof.

Of which you drink 200 pints per day.

RegDwight

►

Cerberus

02:03

I didn't even notice or considered reading back when you said that. How tragic.

Robusto

You know, I should be getting paid for these jokes. And here I am wasting them on your dumb asses.

Cerberus

You have only yourself to reproof.

And, yes, this time it was deliberate, thank you for asking.

Robusto

@Cerberus — I have only myself to reprove, not reproof.

Who let all these foreigners in?

RegDwight

Your waisting your time on our dumb asses is the perfect proof that nobody is willing to pay you.

Cerberus

@Robusto No way! Wow I had no idea!

@Reg: *perfect reproof

Why is everyone so scared of this poor word?

Robusto

02:06

@RegDwight — Traurig aber wahr.

But maybe I could take up a collection?

RegDwight

Haha, so that's what they taught you in Catholics school.

Robusto

@RegDwight — That and ... other things.

RegDwight

Gott ist tot.

Robusto

Well ... I think I can just find my bedroom. I'll cyaz all tomorrow. Hopefully there will be a better class of questions on the board.

@RegDwight — Natürlich.

RegDwight

At last, I can go to bed.

Cerberus

02:08

I hope so!

Night!

Robusto

Also, bis später!

RegDwight

Night all.

Robusto

/logout

Cerberus

And I, too!

Ciao!

We are all going to bed together. How... interesting.

psmears

09:30

10 hours ago, by RegDwight

Arabic I can't read. جان سخت ۱

@RegDwight Since Kosmonaut didn't respond (as far as I can see...)

That could be rendered as "gaan sakhkhit", roughly "Demons struck", but somewhat ungrammatical

But I think it's actually Farsi

In which case it would mean "Difficult life"

psmears

09:47

("Jan Sakht")

Vitaly

@Cerberus: languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3090

RegDwight

11:06

This question is quite a wreck. I would have never expected that.

0

Q: Where is the stress in the word "commenting" ?

Hey, I'm wondering where the stress in the word "commenting" is. Is it in the first or the second syllable ?? How do you pronounce it ? Thanks,

pronunciation

I would have expected one single, short, correct answer, and a few close votes as "general reference" to sweeten the deal. Instead we have... well, look for yourself.

Vitaly

@RegDwight

psmears

@RegDwight It could be worse...

RegDwight

That's not an excuse.

psmears

...there could be a massive argument between those preferring comMENTing

RegDwight

It could also be better, and on our site it should.

psmears

11:09

and those preferring commentING

RegDwight

Yes, with the stress on the G.

I mean, we stress consonants now? That was huge news to me.

Vitaly

is there any way to search inside a book on Google Books when there's no preview?

just to make sure the term is there somewhere

RegDwight

@Vitaly I thought the search itself always works, you just don't see the image?

Vitaly

but I need to search inside a particular book

RegDwight

I don't use it too often...

@Vitaly Yes, that's what I'm talking about, too.

On several occasions, they would present me with snippets, but tell me that the pages hadn't been scanned in yet.

Vitaly

11:15

Yeah, I need to know whether the term “left dislocation” is inside The Cambridge grammar of the English language

and I can't see any intuitive way to do it, if there's any

advanced search looks horrible

RegDwight

Hm. I don't see a search field, either...

Just some reviews.

Vitaly

That's what I am seeing

RegDwight

"No preview available", whatever that means.

Vitaly

it means that there is neither a public scan nor a single snippet

RegDwight

Well, looks like you're out of luck, then.

google.com/…

Vitaly

11:18

on the plus side, that book is a standard reference book, so there might be a good chance someone here has it handy

RegDwight

Though it's quite cumbersome to search within a physical book.

Vitaly

from what I understand, it has a comprehensive index

RegDwight

Short of reading it cover to cover.

Ah, okay.

Vitaly

it bugs me so much I am on the verge of ordering it, even if I never read it in its entirety

or I could try to ask one of the authors, given that he's a frequent LanguageLog poster X)

meh… ordering it.

RegDwight

11:55

Grrrr. What is the point of this answer?

0

A: Can anyone tell me what the suffix "-fu" stands for in the following sentence?

-fu is a suffix, means the skill you've in a particular aspect. Note: it's a slang

If the top answer on that question weren't mine, I would just delete this one. But now people can claim that I am biased.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…