English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

8:26 PM

@ΜετάEd Territory WTH! Nunavut? crap that's a province now. some weirdo part of Brazil? Are you surely the dangly bits aren't part of Florida? You might have been mistaken while drawing.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox yeah, Reg and some others explained what was going on.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja uncool, man, uncool. to his face you say this.

cornbread ninja

@Mitch I'm a jerk like that sometimes. ._.

Mitch

it's not like I know NJ but, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of it not near exits of the Parkway.

cornbread ninja

@Mitch :|

Mitch

8:33 PM

actually all I know of NJ is that-all- the girls at the mall wear too much eyeliner, and the egg-pepper sandwiches are superb. Sonic might know of quite a few other things from there though.

ЯegDwight

0

Q: Does the Oakland Athletics logo misuse the apostrophe?

For years I have thought the Oakland Athletics baseball team has misused the apostrophe. I've always thought the "A" is an abbreviation for "Athletic" and the "s" makes "Athletic" plural. Is my thinking correct? If not, why is "A's" an acceptable shortening of "Athletics"? The same is true w...

apostrophe

Quick! Close it!

Image courtesy of an SE Valued Associate.

cornbread ninja

@ЯegDwight ._.

@RegDwightАΑA too bad that 'huge images' isn't a close reason.

ΜετάEd

@Mitch Of course the dangly bits are part of Florida.

brb

ЯegDwight

I'd have picked a different image, I must say. Like, a contemplative squirrel or something.

Matt Эллен

I knew a guy called hugh jimmage

ЯegDwight

8:36 PM

But the point'd be the same.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja I am defensive of New Jersey if you can't tell.

@ΜετάEd "of course". well if you know the answer -everything- is of course!

cornbread ninja

Mitch

then the answer is it's that part of NA from the 1700's...owned by the French?...with that particular shape?

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja awwww lol

Mitch

bears and squirrels is cuteh

cornbread ninja

8:39 PM

@MattЭллен feel that philosoraptor is played out?

Matt Эллен

not for me.

ЯegDwight

@cornbreadninja yes, that's a nice contemplative squirrel.

Matt Эллен

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен lololol

@ЯegDwight 'e might be a chipmunk.

ЯegDwight

@MattЭллен where do you make those? I tried icanhazcheezburger, to no avail. Google fails me as well.

It can't be that hard, dammit!

Matt Эллен

8:44 PM

I didn't make it, alas. I found it here

I think you can make them there, though

cornbread ninja

@ЯegDwight mememaker.net/template/philosoraptor

ЯegDwight

Ah thanks.

I'm at builder.cheezburger.com right now.

They even have the squirrel.

ΜετάEd

@Mitch Yes.

cornbread ninja

You can has squirrel.

ΜετάEd

@Mitch It has a well known name.

ЯegDwight

8:50 PM

2

That took longer than expected.

@ЯegDwight nice.

lol

Uhh... why doesn't the picture show?

Ah, here we go.

user19161

9:05 PM

@SonicTheHedgehog Wow, an amazing question.

ЯegDwight

Stop trolling poor Sonic.

user19161

But I really think it is amazing.

user19161

Also, I noticed your name change.

user19161

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't know the answer to that question.

ЯegDwight

@JasperLoy now you're trolling me.

Everybody knows that the color was named after the fruit.

user19161

9:06 PM

I will need to look it up to find the answer.

ЯegDwight

In fact it didn't even exist before we had the fruit.

We have like two questions about that.

12

Q: Etymology of the color name "orange"

Etymonline shows orange c.1300, from O.Fr. orenge (12c.), from M.L. pomum de orenge, from It. arancia, originally narancia (Venetian naranza), alteration of Arabic naranj, from Pers. narang, from Skt. naranga-s "orange tree," of uncertain origin. Loss of initial n- probably due to confu...

etymology nouns adjectives

8

Q: Yellow versus orange

I have observed several people over the years refer to something that is orange in color as "yellow". Is that some linguistic difference or a difference in perception?

adjectives

user19161

@ЯegDwight Saying that is like saying everyone knows the colour of the underwear I am wearing.

ЯegDwight

Contrary to popular belief, more people are interested in oranges than in your underwear, Jasper.

Matt Эллен

3

user19161

@MattЭллен There is a guy there called rob too. So matt and rob here and there leads to chaos everywhere. Wow, that actually rhymes. Amazing!

user19161

9:11 PM

@MattЭллен You look a little like the model in that pic.

Matt Эллен

I keep getting told about his pings. I am never going back. And that other matt can't come in here.

user19161

@MattЭллен I don't think he will. He was the one who temp ignored me because I said too many things for him to keep up.

Matt Эллен

!!

user19161

But we are good good now. He said it is not meant to be personal.

ah

9:13 PM

lol

Why they cut off my punctuations?

Stupid generator, stupid.

user19161

A strange thing happened with rep today. Rep is supposed to be correct like within 5 minutes. But it was not so and I had to do a recalc to find I lost 5 points.

user19161

So guys, the recalc is still necessary because sth is going wrong in the cosmos about that auto thing.

Matt Эллен

maybe they had a spare 5 reps lying around and gave it to you, then you callously threw it down the drain

user19161

9:15 PM

callously sounds like carelessly, amazing

user19161

So Yoichi has reached 10k and JR 20k.

Matt Эллен

:O

I have reached bedtime

goodnight

user19161

@MattЭллен Night.

ЯegDwight

Yesterday I was thinking that I should get to 10k edits and then retire.

cornbread ninja

night @MattЭллен!

user19161

9:17 PM

@ЯegDwight You can try...

user19161

@cornbreadninja That sounds a little like mellon.

ЯegDwight

Aug 18 at 21:57, by RegDwight АΑA

@Robusto Do or do not. There is no pastry.

cornbread ninja

@JasperLoy ?

user19161

@cornbreadninja Matt Ellen sounds like Mellon. Elementary, my dear Corn!

Sonic The Hedgehog

user19161

9:19 PM

@ЯegDwight Again, hard to understand.

cornbread ninja

@JasperLoy that's what I thought you meant!

user19161

@SonicTheHedgehog You have a problem there bro?

Sonic The Hedgehog

Nah.

cornbread ninja

@SonicTheHedgehog forever blocky.

Sonic The Hedgehog

...Shoot.

Just found out that Eduard died.

Oh why...

ЯegDwight

9:25 PM

@JasperLoy you seen Star Wars?

Or Harry Potter?

user19161

@ЯegDwight OMG!

cornbread ninja

@ЯegDwight ha

Really? Y'all say 'take' a decision to mean 'make' a decision?

ЯegDwight

I'm not sure I ever took a decision. But I certainly made quite some.

cornbread ninja

Thanks for commenting but not really, because "make a decision" is simply, I believe, the US English version of "take a decision", which is UK English (which I use). — charles.abcam 3 mins ago

ЯegDwight

No idea about that strange UK beast. That's @Matt's domain.

user19161

9:28 PM

@cornbreadninja I would only say make myself.

user19161

@ЯegDwight Nah, that's the dictionary's domain.

cornbread ninja

@JasperLoy same!

@ЯegDwight Why did I think you were there? smacks forehead

user19161

I would say that it is not a regional thing. Make is more often used, but take is correct as well.

cornbread ninja

Strange.

user19161

I think the degree of pretentiousness is this: decide < make a decision < take a decision.

user19161

9:32 PM

So choose it according to how you want to sound.

cornbread ninja

I don't buy it.

Consider request.

I can make a request of you, but I would take a request from you.

ЯegDwight

pointerpointer.com

This is awesome. Via Reddit.

user19161

@cornbreadninja OK, but take to mean make does appear as example in one dictionary I checked.

cornbread ninja

@JasperLoy ok.

gets with the times

user19161

6

Q: Why is it "Do a Barrel Roll" and not "Does a Barrel Roll"?

Google search throws you a nice effect when you try searching "Do a Barrel Roll." Should not it be "Does a Barrel Roll," assuming it's one Barrel (or barrel), or at least "Do a Barrels Roll"? (I assume it should be a question: "Does a barrel roll?" or "Do a barrels roll?") EDIT: The problem is ...

grammatical-number

user19161

9:43 PM

Why can't I vote to reopen this? Is it because it is closed by JA?

user19161

Or is it because anything closed by a mod can't be voted on?

ЯegDwight

Hm. You should be able to.

user19161

@ЯegDwight It says I have previously voted to reopen, but the reopen count there does not show up.

user19161

So I am not sure whether I actually voted already or not.

ЯegDwight

Ah well. Then you're out of your reopen votes.

user19161

9:45 PM

No, I did not use any.

user19161

I think it might be a bug.

ЯegDwight

The history in the 10k tools only goes back 30 days.

It might well be that you voted to reopen way before that, so the system pretends to have forgotten, when in fact it has not.

I know I saw close votes age away.

And then I'd vote to close and suddenly they were there again.

So prolly reopen votes behave the same.

But I don't know.

user19161

17

Q: How to say "She/He is my girlfriend/boyfriend" without the possessive "my"

Is there a way to indicate that somebody is your girlfriend without using the possessive term my? I think saying She/He is my partner/other half is OK for married people, but it doesn't feel right for girlfriends and boyfriends.

possessive alternative

user19161

Same thing for this question, haha.

ЯegDwight

Yeah that one is old, too.

user19161

9:49 PM

Well, you know why I voted to reopen. In case it is deleted and I lose my precious reps. I am so cunning...

ЯegDwight

It's your fair good right.

I think the latter can stick around some more for historitcal reasons. But the former is better suited for ELL.

user19161

OMG. I made two typos in an edit today. My fingers must be dying!

ЯegDwight

english.stackexchange.com/a/79350/300

That was sweet.

user19161

I really like the barrell roll question, it was way funnier than the dalai lama one.

user19161

The dalai lama one was a stupid joke, but the barrell roll question is really funny.

ЯegDwight

9:56 PM

It's raining. I'm calling it a day.

Au ruguai !

Jez

user19161

@ЯegDwight Night! Good to sleep earlier.

user19161

@Jez Mr Bean is at it again!

Jez

lol

ΜετάEd

10:14 PM

7 hours ago, by ΜετάEd

Sonic The Hedgehog

10:35 PM

@ΜετάEd Luxemburg?

ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog It's been narrowed down to a historical territory in the New World.

Sonic The Hedgehog

New World?

Illuminati?

ΜετάEd

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas, certain Atlantic and Pacific oceanic islands to which the closest continental shelf is that of the Americas (such as Bermuda), and sometimes Oceania (Australasia). The term originated in the early 16th century, shortly after America was discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European Middle Ages, who had thought of the world as consisting of Europe, Asia, and Africa only: collectively now referred to as the Old World. The Americas were also re...

Mahnax

Good evening.

ΜετάEd

@Mahnax We'll see. Hope for the best.

Mahnax

10:37 PM

@ΜετάEd Any plans?

Sonic The Hedgehog

@Meta I can't find it in Africa!

Mahnax

@SonicTheHedgehog It's, uh, not in Africa.

ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog I am not responsible for the graphic that the onebox picks up from Wikipedia.

It makes no sense to me either.

Sonic The Hedgehog

WeLl WhErE iS It???

Mahnax

The New World.

@ΜετάEd Rupert's Land?

Sonic The Hedgehog

10:41 PM

WhErE iS ThE NeW WoRlD???

ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog It's in the first paragraph quoted above.

Sonic The Hedgehog

...wth. Why is Africa highlighted???

Mahnax

No, it couldn't be Rupert's Land.

That would be silly.

2 mins ago, by ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog I am not responsible for the graphic that the onebox picks up from Wikipedia.

ΜετάEd

2 mins ago, by ΜετάEd

It makes no sense to me either.

Sonic The Hedgehog

Yes you are.

ΜετάEd

10:43 PM

Try to keep up.

Sonic The Hedgehog

You are responsible.

ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog How do you think I am responsible?

Sonic The Hedgehog

@Meta post a question on meta regarding the onebox misinterpretation.

ΜετάEd

It seems to be an unfortunate choice of image from the Wikipedia article. That image is buried in the bottom of the page.

Sonic The Hedgehog

...Why???

ΜετάEd

10:47 PM

Look at the page. It has a "see also" box for "regions of the world". And the Africa image is first there.

Mahnax

@Μετά Can you give us one hint?

Sonic The Hedgehog

But New World also includes 'Mericas.

ΜετάEd

@SonicTheHedgehog Yes, it does.

@Mahnax Early 1700's.

Mahnax

@ΜετάEd Danke.

Sonic The Hedgehog

Oh...

Mahnax

10:51 PM

gives up

I have no idea.

Sonic The Hedgehog

"I am a servant of the sacred fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor!
The Dark and Fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!
Go back to the shadows!"

YOU

SHALL NOT

PASS!

ΜετάEd

That's "Udûn".

Cerberus

So has anybody guessed your map yet?

I was Away.

Mahnax

I couldn't get it.

Cerberus

Hmm.

Is it the French colonies in the current United States?

Were they even a unit?

ΜετάEd

10:57 PM

It's clear some people know roughly where on earth it is ... but nobody has come up with the name.

Cerberus

It could be Florida, Louisiana, etc. up to the Great Lakes, but excluding the 13 colonies.

Is that the right area?

And do you think I would know this name?

I don't know much about colonial history.

ΜετάEd

That's the right general area. For example, that's part of Florida down there on the right.

It was more difficult than I thought for people to identify the geography, because we are so familiar with political boundaries.

Cerberus

I don't think it could be the Confederation, because that is not exactly the same area, and it was only formed a century later.

@ΜετάEd If your map had not been hand drawn, we would have seen it imemdiately, the borders/coastlines.

Not that is wasn't very well drawn, but still.

More details = more certainty.

I said Florida and Maine before, but I wasn't sure at all.

But, as you say, that wouldn't have helped with the name.

Does it have anything to do with France?

ΜετάEd

@Cerberus It does not overlap with Maine or have any Atlantic coastline.

Cerberus

Really?

And the lakes?

47 mins ago, by ΜετάEd

7 hours ago, by ΜετάEd

ΜετάEd

11:02 PM

It borders on the lakes to the north, but excludes much of Michigan so that characteristic shape isn't there.

Cerberus

Then what is the upper right pointy area?

No part of Maine?

Then it is accidental.

The similarity I mean was not intended.

So anyway, you would probably have to know a lot about colonial history, which I don't.

So I won't know this name.

Robusto

0

Q: Diachronic devoicing of initial lenis plosives

I get the impression that in the "classical Received Pronunciation" of English during phonetician Jones' era, the lenis plosives /b/, /d/, /g/ (and probably the affricate /dʒ/ as well) in initial position were more voiced than the English of today's Britain. Additionally, were the fortis plosives...

history phonology phonetics

Better on Linguistics.SE?

Mahnax

I would say so.

ΜετάEd

That upper right pointy area ends in far west New York State.

Cerberus

@Robusto I'd say no.

It is all about English.

ΜετάEd

11:04 PM

@Cerberus You know the name.

Cerberus

If we don't want this, then what do we want?

@ΜετάEd Are you quite sure?

Robusto

@Cerberus Then get up off your dead butt and answer it.

ΜετάEd

Many people know the name, but fewer know that this large territory once carried the name.

Cerberus

We don't learn anything about regions or territories in the Americas...

Oh.

ΜετάEd

@Robusto That's an error for penis llosives, isn't it?

Cerberus

11:05 PM

Then I won't know that the territory carried that name.

Mahnax

Texas.

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd Louisiana?

ΜετάEd

Not Texas. But that's the right idea.

@Cerberus ding

Cerberus

Yay!

Mahnax

Good job, Cerb!

Cerberus

11:06 PM

I did know it, sort of, deep down...but it was a gamble.

All of the French possessions in the current United States.

ΜετάEd

This was the closest guess earlier:

Cerberus

I guess the English had already conquered Québec, non?

ΜετάEd

7 hours ago, by Mitch

@ΜετάEd New Spain? (If the part of north america above Mexico owned by Spain before the Louisiana purchase (or sale) to the US might be called that)

Mahnax

Ooh, it's storming here.

Cerberus

He even named it, but didn't realise that was the answer, haha.

@Mahnax Gracias.

Your house can take a beating, can't it?

Mahnax

11:07 PM

7 hours ago, by ΜετάEd

@Mitch It is now part of two countries.

How is it part of two countries?

Cerberus

Right.

Some parts belong to Canada now, probably.

Mahnax

Oh, it extended that far north?

Cerberus

Must be.

ΜετάEd

Yes, it does overlap present day Canada. Alberta and Saskatchewan, I think.

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd I can't find any map or hint of the area you drew.

Which exact year is this?

ΜετάEd

11:21 PM

ualberta.ca/~mbeaudoi/Bob.html

Oh, sorry. That's not it. digs

US National Park Service: nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/FrenchAmA.htm

Cerberus

Nope. It's not on a porn site.

ΜετάEd

But the first link is funnier.

Cerberus

Hmm Wiki doesn't seem to agree with that map.

Louisiana (New France)

Louisiana () or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1764 and 1802–04, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. It originally covered an expansive territory that included most of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River and stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains. Louisiana was divided into two regions, known as Upper Louisiana (French: Haute-Louisiane), which began north of the Arkansas River, and L...

ΜετάEd

You know, OneBox ought to be extended to all URLs. It should pick up the page title or something.

Cerberus

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/…

ΜετάEd

11:23 PM

@Cerberus The maps that you generally see there are of the territory as it was when it was sold.

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd Agreed.

ΜετάEd

The NPS map isn't a map of the Louisiana Purchase, per se.

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd The problem is that your map excludes an area in the north that was only ceded by France after Fontainebleau in 1763—but then most of the southern part (or all) was ceded as well.

ΜετάEd

But they don't go into any of the scholarship behind the map.

Well, the NPS could always be wrong!

Cerberus

@ΜετάEd Seems that way, though I wouldn't know myself.

Oh, well.

It was a fun map.

ΜετάEd

11:30 PM

I'll have to do some more historical maps.

But now I shall go home.

Cerberus

Yes!

They are fun.

I used to do historical maps by simply erasing all names from an actual historical map.

Sonic The Hedgehog

That's a hand drawn MS Paint, not a place.

Cerberus

The above map is not detailed at all BTW.

@SonicTheHedgehog D'oh.

It's not drawn in Paint, but it is drawn.

Drawn from memory.

And I know anyone from that country will think it extremely crude and incorrect.

ΜετάEd

I was hoping it was a province or something.

Cerberus

Nope.

It's ugly.

It's fairly large.

100+ million inhabitants.

> there are numerous instances of Balrogs not flying but every instance of the Balrogs not flying can be explained away as one of: [...] 3. Had no reason to fly at that time

ΜετάEd

11:35 PM

That's not supposed to be Ghana, is it?

Cerberus

This is funny.

@ΜετάEd Nope.

Bigger.

More populous.