English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

> In the past fifteen years, sentences for possession or distribution of child pornography—a federal crime, since images cross state lines—have increased in length by more than five hundred per cent. The average sentence is now a hundred and nineteen months, which is about the same as the average punishment for a physical sex crime.

Cerberus

1:08 AM

Maximum sentence here is 48 months.

For having a picture on one's hard drive that isn't even of a real child, but some computer animation?

Isn't that a bit heavy handed, especially compared to violent crimes?

> Melissa Hamilton, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, told me that lawmakers have treated pornography possession as if it were an “inchoate crime.” She said, “It has become a kind of proxy—a way to incapacitate men who we fear have already molested someone, or will in the future.”

newyorker.com/reporting/2013/01/14/…

> According to the largest study of released prisoners, conducted by the Bureau of Justice, the re-arrest rate for sex offenders is lower than that for perpetrators of any violent crime except murder.

TemporaryNickName

6:07 AM

Do you think Ozzy Osbourne is the original of every goths in the world and he alienated those people to become like him?

TemporaryNickName

6:21 AM

I am wondering what is so important about being G20 or G8 country. When I was in Korea G20 submit was the most annoying day in my life. They have closed a traffic road so I could not go to movies or arcade for over 3 hours. It was so annoying

skullpatrol

9:32 AM

@Cerberus Hello!

Matt Эллен

10:44 AM

I can't think of a "dangling participle" sentence that would make me take it literally.

skullpatrol

Taking words literally is, in my opinion, the biggest problem for English learners.

Matt Эллен

I imagine it's the same for a non-native of any language

skullpatrol

I agree.

Would "figurative" be the opposite of "literal"?

Matt Эллен

possibly

According thesaurus.com literal is an antonym of figurative, and vice versa

"According to", I should say

skullpatrol

11:06 AM

According to Wikipedia: In tests, figurative language was found to be comprehended at the same speed as literal language; and so premise that the recipient was first attempting to process a literal meaning and discarding it before attempting to process a figurative meaning appears to be a false premise.

Matt Эллен

makes sense. the mind is an analogical beast. "Analogy is the transport mechanism of thought" to somewhat misquote Hofstadter

skullpatrol

So literal and figurative language should be learned together?

Matt Эллен

that's how it works for native speakers, but it's difficult for non-natives, because their culture will have different facets that inform the figurative use of language in their own native tongue. Ideally, yes.

skullpatrol

The dictionary would provide the literal meaning, while the context supports the figurative meaning, correct?

Matt Эллен

A dictionary can also offer figurative meanings, although often they don't. One would hope context would make plain a figurative meaning, but sometimes idiomatic usage even make the richest context opaque.

horses for courses and all that.

anyway, lunch!

bbl

skullpatrol

11:18 AM

later

thanks for responding

MετάEd

1:17 PM

Shhhhh.

Matt Эллен

1:46 PM

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND

Cerberus

silence

JSBձոգչ

i ain't sayin nuthin

Mitch

2:19 PM

__________

Matt Эллен

2:47 PM

4        int 		Empty             ( Usually a 1 here )

I love data formats

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…