Search found 700 matches

by Bob Johnson
Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:12 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Official ZBB Quote Thread
Replies: 2878
Views: 636944

Re: The Official ZBB Quote Thread

2. I'm plenty intelligent, thanks Not intelligent enough to figure this out on your own. Do you need a nanny to help you with everything in life? You pay nannies, you know; expecting people to do things for you for free when you should be able to do it yourself is the height of rudeness. You're act...
by Bob Johnson
Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:07 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Sources of "because"
Replies: 68
Views: 11745

Re: Sources of "because"

as a quick gloss, the で means 'for' or 'at' or something like that, and the の nominalises or something, so it's like "for the (doing), ...". it shows up in the counterpart question なんで (why? or "for what?"). there's also another word meaning why which is なぜ. i dunno what the difference is tbh. I di...
by Bob Johnson
Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:38 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Creativity of the day
Replies: 1704
Views: 323223

Re: Creativity of the day

din wrote:?
Howard Phillips Lovecraft wrote:Now and then the less organized ululations would cease, and from what seemed a well-drilled chorus of hoarse voices would rise in singsong chant that hideous phrase or ritual:

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
by Bob Johnson
Sat Oct 20, 2012 7:58 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Creativity of the day
Replies: 1704
Views: 323223

Re: Creativity of the day

din wrote:1 thagn.png
ia ia miott thagn
by Bob Johnson
Fri Oct 19, 2012 7:19 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

grocery
grocer
spoilers wrote:[ˈɡɻoʊ.ʃɻ.i] ~ [ˈɡɻoʊ.ʃɻi]
[ˈgɻoʊ.sɻ] but I hardly ever use the word
by Bob Johnson
Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:06 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: How do languages deal with distinctions like watch/see?
Replies: 41
Views: 8762

Re: How do languages deal with distinctions like watch/see?

Japanese doesn't really bother; though you can use adverbs like <jitto miru> "look firmly {at accusative}" if you need to emphasize it, or verb compounds like <miharu> lit. look-stick-to or <mitsumeru> lit. look-fill-up.
by Bob Johnson
Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:21 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Trying to find a name for two cases...
Replies: 4
Views: 1688

Re: Trying to find a name for two cases...

clawgrip wrote:Historically the markers for nominative (ga) and genitive (no) were interchangeable (so I've read)
Er... oh, you mean in VPs; in NPs, <ga> was possessive and <no> appositional.
by Bob Johnson
Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:50 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Cool or Trendy Languages
Replies: 38
Views: 8401

Re: Cool or Trendy Languages

So, how much does the "cool" factor determine the aquisition of a language? People will learn words and phrases, but not the whole language. "Tres chic!" Out of Chinese/Japanese/Korean and German/Russian, which do you think is most highly regarded by your native countrymen? People seem to be ignori...
by Bob Johnson
Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:42 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Reduction
Replies: 4
Views: 1861

Re: Reduction

It's very common in an oxygen-free atmosph-- oh VOWEL reduction.

Do people commonly consider the vowel devoicing in Japanese to be reduction? /i/ and /u/ are devoiced or "disappear" in a low-pitch syllable not next to a voiced consonant.
by Bob Johnson
Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:58 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Gender of loanwords
Replies: 45
Views: 8927

Re: Gender of loanwords

Izambri wrote:For example, in Catalan biwa is masculine because other Romance languages, when adopting that Japanese word, assigned that gender.
Could this be transfer from llaüt/laúd/luth/liuto? (all masc.)

.. or maybe all that is from the Arabic, also masc.
by Bob Johnson
Sat Oct 06, 2012 4:40 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Sound Change Quickie Thread
Replies: 2827
Views: 613808

Re: Sound Change Quickie Thread

Rekettye wrote:/i u ɑ ɛ ɤ~o ø̞ə/

The idea is that */e/ lowered to /ɛ/ and */ø:/ to /ø̞/ with a schwa offglide
Was there only one long vowel? If not, what happened to them?
by Bob Johnson
Sat Oct 06, 2012 3:02 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The dream thread
Replies: 1807
Views: 311401

Re: The dream thread

Ean wrote:People actually eat bugs while sleeping during their lifetimes.
But not eight per year.
by Bob Johnson
Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:25 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: "Go" as a nonhuman "speech" marker
Replies: 23
Views: 4006

Re: "Go" as a nonhuman "speech" marker

and so I went "nah that's not right"
by Bob Johnson
Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:09 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

Lolz you all took me seriously about "mirror" Could you not tell that something transcribed as [mɹ̩ːː↗] was being tongue-in-cheek? Though I confused it by then being deadpan about the correct transcription immediately after. Soz Pretending to be trolling all along after making a mistake is rather t...
by Bob Johnson
Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:47 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2
Replies: 812
Views: 203552

Re: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2

Wattmann wrote:
Vuvuzela wrote:...through either Latin or Icelandic.
reactionface.png
English is a Germanic language, after all; where do you think those elements came from?
by Bob Johnson
Wed Oct 03, 2012 12:18 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The Innovative Usage Thread
Replies: 2452
Views: 413505

Re: The Innovative Usage Thread

linguoboy wrote:How do people interpret this sentence?
  • For example, bear grease has been substituted for extra virgin olive oil in Nuwati’s line of balms.
What's actually in the balms, olive oil or bear grease?
Bear grease in Nuwati's, olive oil in other lines.

Are people confusing "for" and "with"?
by Bob Johnson
Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:47 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

Rekettye wrote:
Bob Johnson wrote:
Rekettye wrote:mirror [mɹ̩ːː↗]
Mrr? Are you sure you've transcribed that correctly?
Have you ever heard anyone from Northern Ireland speak? XD

Though in "careful speech" it's probably [mɹ̩ɹ̩] or [mə˞ɹə˞].
Well English isn't typically described as a tonal language with three degrees of length...
by Bob Johnson
Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:16 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

Rekettye wrote:mirror [mɹ̩ːː↗]
Mrr? Are you sure you've transcribed that correctly?
by Bob Johnson
Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:05 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

Ean wrote:That's the first time I've seen -ae as a schwa and spontaneous ghost -s's.
strange things happen when rough phonetic borrowings from dead languages that aren't ever used in common speech are involved
by Bob Johnson
Sat Sep 29, 2012 7:13 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread
Replies: 3108
Views: 639964

Re: The "How do You Pronounce X" Thread

Ean wrote:How do you say venae cavae?
[ˈveɪnə ˈkævəz]

i'm not a doctor but i've watched many on TV
by Bob Johnson
Fri Sep 28, 2012 7:44 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: PC pronouns
Replies: 56
Views: 18974

Re: PC pronouns

2+3 clusivity wrote:So English has "zhe" and "zir" as PC pronouns
those appear to be from different proposals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun
by Bob Johnson
Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:18 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2
Replies: 812
Views: 203552

Re: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2

linguofreak wrote:There also exists a set of changes that turns // into /fɪʃ/.
/fɪʃ/ is descended not from its call but from the noise it makes passing through the water
by Bob Johnson
Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:13 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2
Replies: 812
Views: 203552

Re: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2

Hubris Incalculable wrote:
Vuvuzela wrote:
Ean wrote:
"That's what the Monks want you to think!"
by Bob Johnson
Sat Sep 15, 2012 5:38 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Polysemy in function/non-lexical words.
Replies: 37
Views: 7121

Re: Polysemy in function/non-lexical words.

Well English has the -of vs -'ve distinction, which often is merged as /əv/ in speech. Obviously not merged in writing, but growing up a lot of kids dont even realize theyre different words and write things like "I should of known". But that's something particular to the perfects of those modals, o...