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Cerberus
Cerberus
5:00 AM
Right.
Or was it just an example?
 
WMD
WMD
Why don't you delete one of your comments above, then go and do some research.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
The name of the P. himself is probably more popular: I think all its various spellings combined are the no. 1 name here.
@WMD Why not indeed?
 
WMD
WMD
God's blessings and peace be upon him.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
This.
 
WMD
WMD
And I believe you'll find that Fatima was the name of one of the daughters of the Prophet (SAWS).
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:04 AM
Ohhh...
stupid I
I knew there was something wrong.
 
WMD
WMD
You could delete that comment as well.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I think your comment is more conspicuous!
 
WMD
WMD
The point is, that asking an American "do you know Chuck" is much like asking an Amsterdamned "do you know Johannes".
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Haha, well, I don't know anyone named Johannes that I can think of, actually.
Jan.
Many may be called Johannes officially on their birth certificates.
But it is never really used.
 
WMD
WMD
Isn't it usually shortened to Hans?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:08 AM
That is possible, yes.
 
WMD
WMD
And did you not read my story here about the Dutch man and the Canadian in the lift?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hans is very common, but Jan even more so.
Hmm I don't think I have?
(Johan is also possible btw.)
 
WMD
WMD
Nov 25 '12 at 6:48, by David Wallace
So I was in a lift (or is it an elevator when it's in Canada?) with a Canadian guy and a Dutch guy. Mostly talking to the Dutch guy. When the Dutch guy got out of the lift, the Canadian guy said "is he actually royalty, or were you taking the piss?"
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Ohh haha.
So his actual name is Johannes?
Perhaps I was the Dutch guy and Mahnax the Canadian.
 
ctype.h
ctype.h
What should be done with duplicate answers?
 
WMD
WMD
5:11 AM
Their names were indeed Johannes and Paul. Maybe one of them was either you or Mahnax. Or both. I couldn't say.
 
ctype.h
ctype.h
0
A: Is there any difference in "doing / having / making a guest spot"?

rhetoricianSome suggestions: A. Jackson was a fan of Matt Groening, who created ["Family Guy"(?)], so he called him one night to offer Groening a guest spot on his show. B. Who should be given a guest spot on TV shows? C. That guy will grace us with his presence in a guest spot on our show...

 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@WMD OK interesting. I will stay mum on this topic.
@ctype.h Vote to close the newer one, unless it is already quite old?
 
WMD
WMD
Ignore them both.
 
ctype.h
ctype.h
@Cerberus They are answers, not questions.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Ohh sorry.
 
WMD
WMD
5:14 AM
Or upvote the better one and ignore the other.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yeah, I would just let them be.
 
WMD
WMD
It happens frequently. It's not really a bad thing.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yeah, vote whichever one is better up, if there is any difference at all.
 
ctype.h
ctype.h
They are completely identical.
 
WMD
WMD
It's sometimes good for the asker (and subsequent people with the same question) to see that more than one person believes the same thing.
Remember that all the IP belongs to SE, so it's not plagiarism.
 
ctype.h
ctype.h
5:16 AM
@WMD I thought users were supposed to upvote good answers, not copy them.
 
WMD
WMD
Indeed, they are. But there are more serious crimes than this afoot. There are 7 billion people in the world. SE cannot police all of them.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
That is true...bur I suppose it won't hurt to vote to delete the later answer if there is a significant time between them?
 
WMD
WMD
For myself, whenever I post an answer, then see that somebody else posted an almost-identical answer a few seconds before mine was completed, I delete mine. But I don't expect others to behave similarly. C'est la vie.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@ctype.h Ahh yes, I see it now, a blatant copy-paste. I'm voting to delete: this is probably some spammer or sock puppet trying to gain some reps.
 
WMD
WMD
How does one vote to delete an answer? All you can do is downvote it, which in this case is NOT appropriate.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:20 AM
I can't either.
I have downvoted and flagged it.
I think you can only vote to delete answer after some time?
 
WMD
WMD
Don't downvote it. That indicates that it's wrong.
Flag it if you feel you must.
 
01100001
01100001
A Small Question regarding formatting a title properly: Disable Feeds (Make 'em Inaccessible) In WordPress -- what should the 'case' of 'em be? 'Em or 'EM or the way it is?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@WMD I don't know...
 
WMD
WMD
@Cerberus - nice to see you. I must pray, then buy food for the starving masses who occupy my flat. I will see you another time, God willing.
 
01100001
01100001
@WMD Downvote = not an answer, wrong answer or not a useful answer
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:22 AM
@01100001 Hmm difficult question. I would say 'Em, but I'm not sure.
 
WMD
WMD
If two things are identical, how can one be useful and not the other?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@WMD Oh, which masses?
 
WMD
WMD
Or one wrong and not the other?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Well, take care and until next time!
@WMD Yeah, I know...but still...
 
WMD
WMD
@Cerberus Just me. It was irony.
 
01100001
01100001
5:23 AM
@Cerberus would this be okay to ask it on the main site?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Ohh haha.
@01100001 Absolutely!
 
WMD
WMD
You DO know I live alone, right, Cerberus?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If you ask me, it is a fine question.
@WMD I was wondering already who it might be...an army of voracious cats?
 
WMD
WMD
I would write 'em. Actually, I wouldn't. I would never write 'em or 'Em or 'EM.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
There may be an appropriate context for it.
 
WMD
WMD
5:24 AM
@Cerberus You know I love to feed the cats who come to my door.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I know they are your favourite animals.
 
WMD
WMD
Actually, Cerberus, three-headed dogs are my favourite animals.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Just as I love the pigeons, seagulls, and coots here.
 
WMD
WMD
What's a koot?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@WMD Yay!!
 
WMD
WMD
5:25 AM
Oh, a coot. Why didn't you say so?
 
01100001
01100001
It's the title for a note on my personal blog, but still I thought it'd be worth knowing
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Sorry, I had no idea how it was spelled.
A note?
 
01100001
01100001
@Cerberus Confused as to how I should frame the question properly
@Cerberus Yes, I make notes of stuff I learn (code and just about everything)
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@01100001 "Is there a correct or conventional way to capitalize words in titles that are apocopated at the beginning?", or something like that. Then give a few examples.
 
01100001
01100001
@Cerberus thank you very much!
 
WMD
WMD
5:28 AM
Once more, you have taught me a new word. Thank you, my friend.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Make the title of the question something like Title case: 'em or 'Em?
 
01100001
01100001
ok
 
WMD
WMD
See if you can start an argument over whether the other words in the title should be capitalised or not.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@WMD I sort of made it up, assuming it should exist.
 
WMD
WMD
It does indeed exist, and was the perfect word for the context in which you used it.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:29 AM
@WMD Haha in the question's title?
 
01100001
01100001
@WMD but that could get my question closed.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
That would be perfect.
 
WMD
WMD
I prefer "Title case: 'em or 'Em" over "Title Case: 'Em Or 'em".
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Grrrr!
Perhaps you should ask that first in a separate question. But then how to phrase that question?
Perhaps ask another question first...
A.i.
 
WMD
WMD
And I prefer "Make them inaccessible" over "Make Them Inaccessible".
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:31 AM
And I prefer <an exact copy of your answer>.
 
WMD
WMD
@Cerberus Don't let your Gödel be a hurdle.
 
01100001
01100001
@WMD I can certainly write it the way you said. But I thought the other representation is worth knowing.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Heh.
 
WMD
WMD
Anyway, I as I said earlier, I have other things I must do this evening. Goede nacht, mijn vriend.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Bai!
 
01100001
01100001
5:34 AM
bye!
 
01100001
01100001
5:46 AM
@Cerberus Just posted the question. Please take a look when you get time. Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@01100001 Perfect!
 
01100001
01100001
thanks to you!
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
My guess is that some people will recommend 'em and others 'Em, but it will be interesting to see what they come up with.
'EM doesn't really make sense.
 
01100001
01100001
Yeah, it's the reasoning that matters.
@Cerberus Hmm... shall I remove it?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
That is your choice!
 
01100001
01100001
5:52 AM
ok, I'll remove it.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If you think someone can tell you something new about whether or not 'EM would be appropriate, then leave it in.
 
01100001
01100001
ok
 
 
3 hours later…
Sudhir
Sudhir
8:24 AM
Hi @AndrewLeach
 
 
4 hours later…
Robusto
Robusto
12:13 PM
OK, wake up and entertain me. I am currently pianoless and I need something else to do.
 
tchrist
tchrist
12:37 PM
What happened to your piano? Are you travelling?
 
user19161
@Robusto What entertainment do you want? Pineapples?
 
user19161
@tchrist The piano became a forte.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist No. Just playing, as usual, and the D4 went down and didn't come up. So I took it apart and found the broken hammer. I found it's pretty much impossible to play anything useful without a D4 key.
 
user19161
@Robusto Try another octave then.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@JasperLoy Have you ever played the piano?
 
user19161
12:43 PM
@Robusto No, I am talking rubbish as usual, just for your entertainment.
 
Robusto
Robusto
What makes you think I am entertained by rubbish?
 
user19161
OK, I will shut up then, like Donny.
 
tchrist
tchrist
That’s teach you for taking the Hammerklavier so seriously.
 
Robusto
Robusto
I was playing Bach! Two-part invention in d-minor.
 
tchrist
tchrist
That’s nice. And shouldn’t be pounding your hammer into brokenness. Hm.
 
Robusto
Robusto
12:48 PM
10 hours ago, by Robusto
Wah! I just broke the D4 key's hammer on my digital piano. I figured out how to replace it and ordered the replacement (and a few spares), but no piano playing for me for a few days. Weh!
 
user19161
Actually, I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Oh. It’s digital. Um, and it has hammers?
 
Robusto
Robusto
Yeah. Roland FP-1. Feels like a real grand-piano action.
YouTube helped.
 
tchrist
tchrist
The Am 2p invention was one of the first ones I memorized as a kid.
And then it ended up getting used in a million TV commercials decades later.
Ug.
You have to get into some pretty dark keys to avoid D natural in the key signature.
Well, or to have a D flat or sharp there, I should say.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Sooner or later, just about every piece gets around to D4.
 
tchrist
tchrist
1:02 PM
The E♯ prelude from WTC2 doesn’t.
However, it has a C double sharp. Never mind. :(
Found one.
The B♯ prelude from book 2 has no D4. Its only C double-sharps are up an octave.
Who the hell wants to play in seven sharps, though? :)
 
Robusto
Robusto
Like I said. Maybe if it was a D7 I wouldn't mind. But that one would never, ever get enough action to get broken.
 
tchrist
tchrist
No joy in the flat keys, either.
They all have accidentals leading to D4.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Yup.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I’m afraid you’re stuck with B♯ BWV 872 then. But only the Prelude. The Fugue has accidentals. Sorry.
And I know better than to look and the 2- and 3-part inventions.
They don’t use such exotic keys.
You might as well have lost middle C.
 
Robusto
Robusto
To sum up: I'm fucked until the replacement hammer gets here.
Actually, I bet middle C gets used less than D4. Someone should run a statistical analysis.
 
tchrist
tchrist
1:14 PM
On my piano, sure, but I use D major scales for practice, not C major.
Typically.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist If you're really practicing, you gotta use 'em all. Didn't you ever have to run the Hanon gantlet?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Yes.
And that certainly uses plenty of C, I know.
I like E♭ and A♭for practicing, too. I don’t really practice the scales with more than four accidentals.
We don’t play pentatonic scales. :)
 
Robusto
Robusto
I don't run scales and arpeggios anymore. I just play the music. Not because my technique is perfect, but because I'm never going to get perfect technique anyway, and practicing that shit is boring.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Isn’t it? I quit Hanon long ago. I do warm up with scales sometimes.
 
Robusto
Robusto
I'm especially not going to get perfect technique if I have to bore myself shitless for an hour every day before I even get to play real music.
I did that shit in my twenties. I've earned an exemption by now, surely.
 
tchrist
tchrist
1:21 PM
Oh and 872 is in C♯ major. I’m counting wrong. Last sharp (ti) is still B♯ so key is C♯. Not that that changes anything.
It can be ok, but well, there are more interesting pieces out there.
Plus the rush at the end really asks you to go on the Fugue, and you can’t.
 
01100001
01100001
Hmm... this question is going nowhere :-/
 
tchrist
tchrist
Where are the janitors? Somebody needs to keep their eye out for them.
I know, I know: Juvenal thought, that one.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@61: No, it's not the length of the word that is significant, it's its part of speech. You can read about what "most" style guides say at this web page, and Grammar Girl writes about this as well. — J.R. 3 hours ago
Immediate disqualification for mention of Grammar Girl.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Yeah.
Give 'em Hell, Harry!
Give 'em Hell, Harry! is a biographical play and 1975 film, written by playwright Samuel Gallu. Both the play and film are a one-man show about former President of the United States Harry S. Truman. Give 'em Hell, Harry! stars James Whitmore and was directed by Steve Binder and Peter H. Hunt. The title comes from an incident that took place during the 1948 Presidential election campaign. Whilst in Harrisburg, Illinois, Truman delivered a speech attacking the Republicans. During the speech a supporter yelled out "Give 'em Hell, Harry!". Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tel...
 
01100001
01100001
@tchrist Good one.
 
tchrist
tchrist
1:33 PM
The rock band My Chemical Romance also has a song entitled “Give ’em Hell, Kid”.
I could not get it to link. Hm.
 
Robusto
Robusto
> America might be the greatest country in the world, but you know what? That's like being the prettiest Denny's waitress. Just 'cuz you're the best, that doesn't necessarily make you good. — Doug Stanhope
 
tchrist
tchrist
Everyone’s country is the greatest. I heard a story on NPR yesterdayishly about a recently deceased Canadian musician who called Canada the greatest country on earth.
 
01100001
01100001
To each his own :P
@tchrist Oh, you posted an answer
 
tchrist
tchrist
Did.
 
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
2:10 PM
So dan bloom is back, at least in my inbox
 
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
2:25 PM
 
Robusto
Robusto
2:35 PM
Who the hell is Dan Bloom?
yesterday, by Robusto
user image
 
tchrist
tchrist
3:15 PM
Its very argent to know for my exam so give me a structure someone. — Zafor Ahmed 10 mins ago
Et bien, combien de argent?
And whose argent are we talking about here? $? £? €? ¥?
When I was a lad, asking someone else for the answer to an exam question was something called “cheating”. Apparently, this word is no longer used, nor the concept recognized.
 
Noah
Noah
3:40 PM
Hi
@tchrist What's the difference between he asked me to speak with you vs. he told me to speak with you in formal contexts?
Basically asking about the told vs. ask part.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Requested vs directed.
 
Noah
Noah
told=requested
 
tchrist
tchrist
No.
 
Noah
Noah
asked=directed?
 
tchrist
tchrist
asked = requested
told = directed
 
Noah
Noah
3:42 PM
which one is better.
 
tchrist
tchrist
That question is unanswerable.
They mean different things.
 
Noah
Noah
Yeah, I know.
 
tchrist
tchrist
What is the difference between a polite request and a command?
 
Noah
Noah
Okay, a freind has asked me to talk to someone.
 
tchrist
tchrist
At the end of the day, perhaps little, but to the person on the receiving end, quite a bit of kindness.
 
Noah
Noah
3:43 PM
do you think I should use a friend has told me to talk to someoen
 
tchrist
tchrist
I don’t know.
They might have told you that they think you ought to talk to somebody.
You simply cannot get an answer to this without relating the entire tale.
 
Noah
Noah
No, it's about requesting a meeting.
Okay, here is how it goes
 
tchrist
tchrist
Was he polite?
If he was polite, then he asked you.
If it was not polite, then he told you.
 
Noah
Noah
I have a frieind who knows someone at a startup. And he asked me to send an email to a person in that startup whom she knows.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Noah, would you please send mail to John about this?
That’s ask.
Noah, shoot a piece of mail over to John about this.
That’s tell.
 
Noah
Noah
3:48 PM
Well, he told me over the phone.
And I am looking for a job with this startup.
?
 
tchrist
tchrist
If you cannot see any difference between being asked to do something and being told to do it, then no one else will be able to, either.
 
Noah
Noah
Okay.
I can discern the difference between the two. But I dont know which one to use in my email to this guy.
Since this is my first email, i want to sound as professional as possible.
So here is what I have in mind.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Perhaps she suggested that you might contact that person.
 
Tshepang
Tshepang
hi @tchrist; how is this a dupe english.stackexchange.com/questions/106770/…
 
Noah
Noah
Maybe. But she met with him 2 days ago. She talked with him about me. And he asked her to tell me that I send him a copy of my resume.
 
tchrist
tchrist
3:54 PM
Because it is asking the difference between "I have no bananas" and "I haven’t any bananas".
"I haven’t any idea" = "I’ve no idea”
 
Noah
Noah
@tchrist
 
Tshepang
Tshepang
is "have" the same type of word as "enable"
 
tchrist
tchrist
What?
 
Noah
Noah
@tchrist Maybe. But she met with him 2 days ago. She talked with him about me. And he asked her to tell me that I send him a copy of my resume.
 
tchrist
tchrist
He asked her to tell you to send him your résumé?
 
Noah
Noah
3:56 PM
Do you think suggestion is still a better option?
 
tchrist
tchrist
I don’t know.
 
Noah
Noah
@tchrist Yeah.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I fail to understand the question.
 
Tshepang
Tshepang
@tchrist mine?
 
Noah
Noah
Let me put it this way. Say you are the hiring dude. I am the one looking for a job. And Reg is the one who spoke with you about me. You tell Reg that I send you my resume.
 
tchrist
tchrist
3:59 PM
The last sentence doesn’t parse.
And I do not know what it should be instead.
Oh, maybe you want a modal there.
I tell Reg that you ought to send me your résumé?
Is that what you meant?
 
Noah
Noah
Not ought to. But simply ask him.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Why is this so hard? :(
What do you think ought means?
It is much weaker than must, weaker even than should.
I tell Reg that you should send me your résumé?
I don’t understand.
 
Noah
Noah
So I write. Hey, @tchrist. I am Noah and and one of my friends, Reg, told me to send yoou a copy of my resume about a possible opening with your organization.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I’m even on my third cup of coffee, and I still don’t understand.
 
Noah
Noah
Did you read my email?
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:04 PM
@Noah That sounds fine.
Did you send me mail?
 
Noah
Noah
No, the one I just posted here.
 
tchrist
tchrist
pouts
 
Noah
Noah
@tchrist any improvemnets? modifications?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Noah Spell you correctly? :)
 
Noah
Noah
@tchrist What else?
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:05 PM
No, it’s fine.
 
Noah
Noah
Okay, thanks.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Noah Spell résumé correctly? :)
I’m just kidding about all this.
 
Noah
Noah
Okay. Will ask my MS Word spell checker to go through it.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I don’t use Microsoft, so I have no idea. I understand it is not very good.
 
Noah
Noah
I dont use it either. I(we) have an old family iMac. It has MS Office installed so I am kind of forced to use it.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:27 PM
To send mail?
I thought Macs had Open Office.
Or something like that.
I hate all those programs myself.
Everything is tedious to impossible.
 
Noah
Noah
No, it doesnt. It has Apple Mail. But usually when I write documents, I compose them in MS Word. Apple Mail is just an email client. The reason why I mentioned MS Office was because I dont know if Apple has a builtin spellcheker.
My sister has a macbook. She has iWork on there. I love pages, it seems to be way better than Ms word.
Sucks to not have your own computer.
Once I get this job. I might be able to get my own computer.
I am not good at saving.
So that sucks, too.
 
MartyIX
MartyIX
Hi, is there a term for a subject that you choose from a predefined set of subjects? I would not call it "optional subject".
Thank you! ;)
 
Noah
Noah
I read that Apple launched iBookstore in Japan. I just wonder if anyone uses that.
elective subject
chosen subject
 
MartyIX
MartyIX
I'll check the meaning. Thanks for a suggestion!
 
Noah
Noah
I am not sure what you have in mind, but these are the words the mean what you say.
You are welcome @MartyIX
 
MartyIX
MartyIX
4:40 PM
Well, you can have an optional subject - that is: you can choose if you study the subject or not.
And there is another variant: You can choose between (for example) English and Spanish. The choice is up to you but you have to choose one of them and you can't choose (let's say) mathematics.
And I'm interested in the second variant :)
I used the adjective optional incorrectly.. :|
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
4:55 PM
@JasperLoy While I actually misspelled mystery (my fault), insist was just a typo. Thank you anyways.
 
tchrist
tchrist
> The most remarkable feature of this vb., besides its many idiomatic and phrasal uses, is its employment as a regular auxiliary of the future tense, which goes back to the OE. period, and may be paralleled in other Germanic languages, e.g. MHG.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hello!
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:19 PM
Hiya
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
What's going on in here?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Nothing.
Rob was by early on. He has a dead key on his piano, one it’s nearly impossible to play anything much without.
And the quality of questions on the main site continues to suck.
And Norton has asked the same question five times now.
I’m afraid to run my scoring-program on the newest 50 questions.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Hi @Cerberus
Could you please clear my doubt
I only answered four questions in my exam.
I answered only four question in my exam.
Is there any subtle difference in the semantics?
@tchrist: You can share your view.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@tchrist Just pick whichever questions you do like, and write an elaborate answer?
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:34 PM
I did that already.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@Sudhir It's very subtle.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I do it once or twice a day, usually.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
What's the difference?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
In the first sentence, only applies to the entire sentence. In the second, it applies to "four questions" specifically. In other cases, the difference might matter, but in your example they are as good as equivalent.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
@Cerberus I'm very weak in grammar that's why I asked.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:36 PM
OK.
Have you picked up an introductory grammar book yet?
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
No
I didn't get it.
So you have?
In my country if you need a good job you should master English.
Though its not an official language.
@Cerberus: Tell
@Cerberus:Busy with your work?
@Cerberus: I never seen/saw such an amazing video?
@tchrist:You can help
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:56 PM
I have never seen.
I think Americans sometimes also use I never saw.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
thanks
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
But I have never seen is OK everywhere.
 
tchrist
tchrist
No.
We don’t.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Not you.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I have a passport.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
5:57 PM
Does it say "Anglo-Saxon"?
 
tchrist
tchrist
You are thinking of “I just ate” vs “I’ve just eaten.”
I’ve never seen anyone say “I never saw that before.” It sounds wrong.
I’ve heard first-language-German speakers use it in halting English, though.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
@tchrist: “I never saw that before.”is wrong?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I wouldn't use it, is all I know.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Then what you'll use?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
7 mins ago, by Cerberus
I have never seen.
 
tchrist
tchrist
6:10 PM
I hadn’t thought you were German, but thanks for the proof.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hmm?
We are Frankish and Saxon and Frisian and a couple other Germanic tribes all mixed up.
 
tchrist
tchrist
What, no teasing in this chat? Since when?
Considering that people don’t even sit close enough to the screen to see the little 1920 x 1080 shots.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
6:25 PM
@tchrist Certainly and emphatically not.
It is like the golden HDMI cables I mentioned.
 
Mitja
Mitja
7:20 PM
Would Star Trek ship occupants develop their own accent because of long-term isolation?
 
Jez
Jez
@Mitja yis keptin
 
Andrew Leach
Andrew Leach
@Mitja Not necessarily. The USA has a variety of accents, presumably all developing from the original Pilgrim Fathers' accent which was the English of the time. However the residents of the Falkland Islands and even Gibraltar still all sound remarkably English.
It may be because inhabitants of those two places want to sound English, whereas Americans are less concerned about that. But presumably Star Trek voyagers would want to retain that linguistic link with home?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:14 PM
@AndrewLeach I rather think it is because more people emigrated to America before the arrhotification of England, compared to other colonies.
Combined with less British control later on from a continuous stream of new officials sent from England.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus You focus too much on the R. There are rhotic speakers in Britain.
Just because they get spat upon by the bluenoses doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
The TRAP–BATH split is also a factor, as is the repatterning of stress and wholesale deletion of syllables.
Not to mention all the differences in vocabulary and idioms.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:31 PM
I think the same may apply for the accent in general, not just the r.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Yes, probably.
@AndrewLeach I’m sure that @Mitch would be quick to tell you that he knows people who think that an English accent annoys certain Americans, because they take it as a sign that somebody’s gettin’ all uppity and puttin’ on airs. For my part, I’ve never understood why they re-dub documentaries and audio books from the UK with American voices, as though to somehow make them more attractive to buyers.
Like, did we really need to replace David Attenborough with Oprah Winfrey — or with anyone, for that matter? And what’s so wrong with Stephen Fry’s Harry Potter readings that they need to be re-recorded?
I don’t understand any of that.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
9:02 PM
???
Why on earth would they do that?
Is there a chance that it would be hard to understand for some people?
Even if so, then just subtitle it.
 
tchrist
tchrist
9:51 PM
I told you: I do not understand.
 
 
2 hours later…
tchrist
tchrist
11:41 PM
The Dragon speaks:
-1
A: Is “An other-other woman (person / thing)” a popular English phrase?

Karen E. BurrowsWhy are we burning up brain cells trying to create crippled expressions (other other-woman, or other-other woman); which was spawned as a spoken phrase, when a decent education in English grammar, a passing ability to read a dictionary and a reasonable command of the language would have given us ...

 
chatkillah
chatkillah
@JasperLoy I can't change for five days.
 
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