Search found 61 matches
- Fri May 25, 2018 5:42 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Population numbers for languages
- Replies: 16
- Views: 11986
Re: Population numbers for languages
Greek speakers don't understand 'most' of Ancient Greek. There are certain things which are denoted with archaic words, por ejemplo, 'bakery' is αρτοποιείο from άρτον instead of ψωμί, wine labels use λευκός οίνος instead of άσπρο κρασί, similarly ζύθος for beer, shoe shops use υποδήματα instead of ...
- Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:52 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Why don't British singers sing with a British accent?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 5420
Re: Why don't British singers sing with a British accent?
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SingingVoiceDissonance These are some good examples of singers who put on another accent when singing compared to their normal speaking voice. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InternationalPopSongEnglish This is about having an accent somewhere b...
- Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:20 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Words you've learned recently
- Replies: 248
- Views: 82369
Re: Words you've learned recently
And Johnson is such a common name that it's not terribly surprising we had two of them (who were unrelated, incidentally). It kind of is, actually - even the 2nd most common name (in the US*) is still pretty rare. 1:163 Americans, apparently, have 'Johnson' as a surname, making it kind of weird tha...
- Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:11 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Words you've learned recently
- Replies: 248
- Views: 82369
Re: Words you've learned recently
Yeah, the only chit I know of is the kind that comes from Hindi [t͡ʃɪˈʈʰːi] (and only in British English with RP). I've heard this used as a brief note on a small piece of paper. I think they were used as an acknowledgement for goods received or sold, like a receipt, which makes a ministry of chits...
- Fri Aug 25, 2017 3:30 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: How many words do you need?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 4677
Re: How many words do you need?
The amount of words in a language depends how specific words are, IIRC Bengali has 8 words for Aunt. According to someone I worked with has a different term for an aunt who is older or younger than your parent, & different terms for the mother & father's side of the family. Married in aunts also hav...
- Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:38 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlearn
- Replies: 669
- Views: 153689
Re: Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlea
Sorry about that!jal wrote:I think there's a "watching" missing there.Salmoneus wrote:I have no idea what the first half of that sentence is meant to mean
JAL
- Fri Jul 21, 2017 4:52 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlearn
- Replies: 669
- Views: 153689
Re: Incorrect pronunciations you have (or have had) to unlea
While RWBY Chibi recently I noticed some characters were saying flan like flarn, adding an r for some reason.
- Fri May 26, 2017 3:10 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Swearing in (Parisian) French
- Replies: 12
- Views: 4137
Re: Swearing in (Parisian) French
Goddamn is another French term for the English.mèþru wrote:zut alors is barely swearing. Also, I thought rosbif is just plain Anglo-French mutual taunting rather than an offensive term.
- Fri May 19, 2017 5:01 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: English help needed
- Replies: 44
- Views: 13368
Re: English help needed
Huh, I thought tube meant the internet. But Urban Dictionary has TV as their first definition. It pre-dates the Internet, back when TVs were made with Cathode Ray Tubes . The use of "tubes" to refer to the Internet is an intentionally ironic thing (at least, originally) to mock a U.S. Senator whose...
- Fri May 19, 2017 4:57 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Loanwords with a more specific meaning
- Replies: 63
- Views: 14716
Re: Loanwords with a more specific meaning
My Kenyan girlfriend calls the sauce in a stew "soup", which sounds a little odd.
- Fri Apr 28, 2017 3:52 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Greek and Roman gods names
- Replies: 18
- Views: 6489
Re: Greek and Roman gods names
Recently I was re-watching I, Claudius which uses both Greek & Roman names, Mars Field in Rome never gets called Ares Field, but the actual gods seem to depend on context. This is possibly a translation convention as Greek was considered a more "classy" language to the Romans & most educated people ...
- Fri Apr 28, 2017 3:44 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Code-switching
- Replies: 29
- Views: 8890
Re: Code-switching
My girlfiend is Kenyan & often switches languages on the phone with friends & family. As well as English & Swahili she speaks some other African languages & sometimes speaks whole sentences in one before switching to another.
- Fri Apr 07, 2017 5:07 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Will non-English languages make it into space?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 6893
Re: Will non-English languages make it into space?
I used to have a book of space which mentioned why visiting let alone colonising Venus would be hard if not impossible.
Unless more recent probes & such have outdated it, the book suggests the high gravity, hurricane force winds, high tempratures & acidic clouds made Venus near inhospitable.
Unless more recent probes & such have outdated it, the book suggests the high gravity, hurricane force winds, high tempratures & acidic clouds made Venus near inhospitable.
- Fri Mar 24, 2017 6:42 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Digital Voice Synthesizer
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2858
Re: Digital Voice Synthesizer
Yes it sounds like ET clearing his throat!Xephyr wrote:An excellent addition to my torture chamber.
- Fri Aug 26, 2016 3:49 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Poetic words for "sky" and "sea"
- Replies: 33
- Views: 10490
Re: Poetic words for "sky" and "sea"
My mum says funny things like "Careful! I don't want you falling in the drink !" ... with "the drink" referring to whatever river or ocean I was playing perilously close to. I have a feeling this is not just a mummism but haven't googled it as I should actually be sleeping. In fact, I think she tol...
- Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:24 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Gender agreement in English
- Replies: 28
- Views: 7253
Re: Gender agreement in English
Google finds 11.6 million instances of "pretty woman", just 602,000 of "handsome man". It's about that imbalanced with most adjectives I could think of that describe appearance. Yeah but how many of those results are for the movie? Terms like "pretty girl" or "pretty lady" could well have fewer mat...
- Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:14 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: What foreign language have you dedicated the most effort to
- Replies: 57
- Views: 13283
Re: What foreign language have you dedicated the most effort
I had 3 years of French lessons at school & have brushed it up several times since. Having a French speaking girlfriend 3 years ago helped a lot. Also at school I did a year of German but can't remember much of it. I've picked up the odd bit of Japanese from my interest in the country, & have made s...
- Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:55 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Accents
- Replies: 25
- Views: 6849
Re: Accents
Some of it it known as the Black Country.linguoboy wrote:I thought they used the Black Speech there.Sglod wrote:I think Tolkien based the Shire off The West Midlands; specifically the areas outside Birmingham.
The Cotswolds have a Shire like vibe to them.
- Fri Dec 18, 2015 5:15 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Accents
- Replies: 25
- Views: 6849
Re: Accents
If you're like some nerds, perhaps there are words only ever seen in a book and thus don't pronounce correctly. Also, there's a reason why they're only seen in a book. Little oddities like that can make one sound like a foreign language learner. Me, in a nutshell. To the point that my family still ...
- Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:46 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: How common are rhotic approximants?
- Replies: 24
- Views: 6763
Re: How common are rhotic approximants?
My Chinese friend from Dandong had trouble saying the r in words like pork.
- Fri May 15, 2015 6:37 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Personal names between languages
- Replies: 206
- Views: 32976
Re: Personal names between languages
For me, the main thing is my dislike of switching phonologies mid-sentence. It feels like my mouth is held in a different position, ready to make different sounds and it takes time to switch mouth-configurations. Germans always laugh at me when I pronounce English loan words with a uvular /r/, so I...
- Fri May 08, 2015 5:53 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Personal names between languages
- Replies: 206
- Views: 32976
Re: Personal names between languages
To get things back OT one problem I have with my surname Davies is often it's hard for even English speakers to spell it right (too often it ends up as Davis) or prenounced Dayvees, which someone insisted on.
- Fri Aug 15, 2014 2:57 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Unisex names
- Replies: 35
- Views: 8669
Re: Unisex names
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding fellow commander during the Battle of Britain were Trafford Leigh-Mallory & Sir Keith Park, both names after places, though Keith is far more popular.
- Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:50 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Unisex names
- Replies: 35
- Views: 8669
Re: Unisex names
It seems to be a Scottish thing to give boys surnames as a first name.
Certainly some Scottish surnames see common as first names, ie. Gordon, Cameron, Grant. I've heard of at least one Campbell as a first name.
Certainly some Scottish surnames see common as first names, ie. Gordon, Cameron, Grant. I've heard of at least one Campbell as a first name.
- Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:05 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Icelandic (First) Names
- Replies: 23
- Views: 5558
Re: Icelandic (First) Names
I thought there might be an Icelandic version of "Duncan" given the proximity of Scotland and the incorporation of other Gaelic names into Icelandic tradition (e.g. Dufþakur , Kjaran , Kormákur ). And according to the list of Scottish kings in the Icelandic Wikipedia, it's Dungaður , which remains ...