English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room - 2011-05-27 (page 4 of 4)

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7:00 PM

plus a picture of a kitty, yet.

That's Hello Kitty to you. With sparkles, I might add.

@FaheemMitha This might help.

@FaheemMitha — Standard AP style says numbers under 10 get spelled out, everything over is rendered as numerals.

@Kit : Thanks Kit. That seems to cover the issue quite well. Personally, I was going to go with consistency, but thought I'd see what others said.

But it varies depending on style guides, etc.

7:02 PM

@Robusto : AP?

@Robusto Lick this toad, then look at the Hello Kitty again.

Associated Press

@Robusto : Ah. The journalist organization?

Ok, thanks.

@Kit — Where do you think I got them sparkles?

@FaheemMitha — Ayup.

7:14 PM

I was thinking of just using numerals everywhere. This is a numerical section of a math paper. If I do so, will the English purists take me out back and shoot me?

There is some seeming contradiction here:

Today, it is a simply an issue of style, so it is not wrong to always write numbers with numerals or to always write them in full. For instance, APA recommends that numbers below 10 are written in full, while numbers 10 and above are written with numerals. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends that all numbers below 100 are written in full, with numbers above 100 written as numerals.

Both style guides prohibit mixing spelt out numbers with numbers expressed as numerals, favouring numerals for all numbers when they are mixed.

So is the issue whether the numbers are "mixed", whatever that means?

@FaheemMitha If it's mathematics, you can probably get away with numerals everywhere.

49

Q: Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals?

The junction has a stop sign on each of the four entrances. The junction has a stop sign on each of the 4 entrances. The first is preferred, for some reason, by many English texts. Why? I haven't seen this phenomenon in other languages.

writing-style numbers

but if <10 is neatly separated from >10 then the former should be written out as words? seems a little wacky to me.

@Kit : That's what I'm thinking.

@FaheemMitha Especially if your topic is numbers.

wonder where the hello kitty crowd went.

@Kit : well, it's applied probability, so not exactly. but yes, I think i'll just go with all numbers. Thanks everyone for the assistance.

7:18 PM

@FaheemMitha They're just lurking, I'm sure.

@FaheemMitha Yes, I think that'll do then. You're welcome.

@FaheemMitha Note that every publication will have their own guidelines. It it's a paper, just ask around or have a look at previous papers.

@RegDwight : For something as specific as this, I very much doubt anyone cares. And the proofreaders have been over it, and didn't comment on my (inconsistent by any measure) usage in this context.

But proofreaders are not what they were in the good old days.

I see... Well, if you are the only one to care, then care any way you like.)))

@RegDwight : Right.

aka The Incomprehensible Room ?

yikes.

Outsiders keep telling us that we switch between hundreds of languages at a blazing speed.

So rather than trying to catch up, they just call us incomprehensible.

7:30 PM

@RegDwight : Don't see hundreds of languages here. Saw some German back there.

You guys should hop on over to unix.sx. It's dull there.

What, you didn't read the entire transcript????

3

@RegDwight : What transcript?

The chat transcript. It's only six months worth of multilingual jokes and puns and wordplays.

And @Martha's baby pictures.

@RegDwight @Martha's niece's baby pictures. Get it right.

@FaheemMitha I'm not following your logic. Why should we hop over to somewhere that's dull?

7:33 PM

@RegDwight : Oh, I see. No, life is too short. I could also try to read everything on the internet. It would only take me a few thousand years. Assuming everyone stopped producing stuff now.

@RegDwight : To liven it up?

@FaheemMitha Wait, you didn't read the entire Internet????

Dude, don't let me down like that.

@Martha : Baby pictures? Nice.

Babies are cute.

user image

@Martha : So what's his/her name?

I am outta here. Have a good weekend.

7:41 PM

(I'm going to remove that in a moment.)

@Robusto Bye, Robusto.

(No need to spread the niece's personal info all over the internet.)

She'll spread it soon enough herself.

Word.

@Vitaly So how do you prove the non-existence of something?

@RegDwight So what should I name this stored procedure?

7:55 PM

@Kit You tell @RegDwight to do it.

I'm not participating in this chat. @Martha has killed it. :P

@RegDwight What is the name of the function I wrote to find the schools that are associated with the users?

Wut?

What schools? What users? Who are you? KITT, hol mich hier raus!!

@RegDwight english.stackexchange.com/questions/26668/… so I thought you could help.

Wow, now you make even less sense. Who would've thunk.

Seriously, help me out.

I'm not following.

8:01 PM

@RegDwight This unit is malfunctioning.

Turing tests are hard.

@RegDwight Please stand by while we install your updates...

May I sit by?

@RegDwight Installing update 1 of 271465709...

May I sleep by?

8:14 PM

@RegDwight Why, thank you for the compliment.

Compliments are half lies. I'm just stating facts.

user image

@Martha ZOMG!

She's what, 11 months?

Just past 10 months.

In fact, in that picture, she's exactly 10 months old.

@Martha Are you part of a family of wealth and power? We might be able to arrange an alliance between our houses...

8:26 PM

Uh, um, does a distantly-related Nobel Prize winner in the family tree count?

(Ok, not so distant: brother-in-law's dad's cousin.)

@Martha Compared to my lineage? Definitely would be a step up for us.

@Martha Wait, which Nobel Prize?

... uh. Um. Medicine, I think. (I'm terrible, I know.)

<connects the dots>

Might've been chemistry. Lemme look it up.

Here, have a temporary link.

Nobel Prize + Hungary + Medicine or chemistry or whatever + niece's name = street address and phone numba!

8:30 PM

Everyone had their fill? It's going away in 3... 2... 1...

@RegDwight Not quite. I've got to get his cousin's son's sibling's wife's niece's name.

@Kit Piece of cake. Once you pass the Turing test, that is.

Also, her boss really likes Java. Or JavaScript. He really doesn't care. But he likes it.

If that ain't a dead giveaway, nuthin is.

@RegDwight Oh, well that cinches it. I've totally got her ticket now.

See, I toldya.

@Martha I was so hoping that it was Ignaz Semmelweis.

He's the only Hungarian I know, and I do so adore him.

Quitting time. TTFN.

8:38 PM

Night!

9:32 PM

Anyone awake?

Sure.

9:57 PM

But not anymore!

Night all!

Night.

10:16 PM

is anyone here?

I need to know a word

I speak spanish mainly but I don't even know how to say it in spanish hehe

how do you say when something leaves a trace, but in a negative way

like for instance, the appendix is a "trace" of evolution in the sense that is not useful now but just a consequence of something else, but is not just a "trace" but is a "bad trace" because it can make us sick and all that

there's 'vestigial', but it doesn't necessarily imply bad

when there is, for instance a nuclear bomb

how to you call the damage after the bomb because of radiation

what's the more general way to call that damage?

fallout

collateral damage

well seems like fallout is pretty close. Thanks!

10:32 PM

What language is this?

user image

10:45 PM

Uh, something that uses Chinese characters? :p

10:58 PM

Hi, people.

@Vitaly Is it Korean?

I am the one who is asking. Hi.

It looks Korean to me, but I couldn't swear to it.

@Martha and @psmears could you confirm or deny @Vitaly's language question?

11:15 PM

How should I know?

I apparently don't have Korean as a language choice without using Unicode.

@Martha You mentioned Chinese characters

They don't look like Chinese to me, but I don't speak or read Chinese.

They look like Chinese characters to me. But I'm no expert - they could be Japanese, or Korean, or something else Oriental-ish.

They do look Asian.

What's the difference between Oriental and Asian, btw?

I had a friend that seemed to think Oriental is offensive nowadays.

@Vitaly None-sense-ish

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