Search found 592 matches

by alice
Mon May 28, 2018 2:04 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything
Replies: 13
Views: 9666

Re: The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything

That reads like a rather long-winded "no", Sal :-)

Perhaps it's less confusing if I ask "has anyone come up with a phonological model which is applicable to all known (spoken!) languages, etcetera"? Or does that merely amount to the same thing?
by alice
Sat May 26, 2018 10:41 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

jmcd wrote:That doesn't sound good. What sort of work is it?
Desk-bound software engineering. Arguably this belongs in the venting thread.
jmcd wrote:We could maybe find a moment that suit all three of us?
Perhaps, although I wouldn't be able to stay long.
by alice
Fri May 25, 2018 3:59 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Oh What's up with your work? Briefly: I was diagnosed with ME/CFS 21 months ago and have been off work more or less continuously since. I've been back a few times this month, but it has turned out to be too much too soon. You don't happen to be in Edinburgh this summer yourself, do you? I'm unlikel...
by alice
Thu May 24, 2018 9:24 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Verily, it eggs-cruciates.

Meanwhile, after four weeks of two half-days, I have to stop work again.
by alice
Mon May 21, 2018 5:24 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything
Replies: 13
Views: 9666

Re: The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything

Rory, that's very useful. It casts a lot of light on my original motivation for asking, which pertains to my ongoing quest to create a set of rules for my multi-language SCA which don't get stranded somewhere between individual but underspecified phonologies and global but overspecified phonetics. B...
by alice
Thu May 17, 2018 1:10 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: A Very Brief Explanation of the British Election
Replies: 323
Views: 92887

Re: A Very Brief Explanation of the British Election

Breaking news!!! Read all about it here!!!

"A new customs proposal hoping to prevent a hard border in Ireland after Brexit has been agreed by cabinet."

You know where you heard it first!!!
by alice
Mon May 14, 2018 1:54 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything
Replies: 13
Views: 9666

The Grand Phonological Theory of Everything

Is there a theory of phonology which is applicable to all known languages. i.e. it can elegantly explain all sound changes, allophonies, inventories, and so on? Straightforward feature theory (Jakobsonian?) can't cope with scalar-valued features like vowel height, and adding scalar values doesn't re...
by alice
Fri May 04, 2018 3:19 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Well, so much for that. My contracting firm is not willing to let me out of my contract, regardless of what my manager's manager was offering them in return. My manager told me that, in 18 months, the time limit after which I am actually free of my contract, if I'm not happy with where I am working...
by alice
Thu May 03, 2018 5:50 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Welp. My current manager gave me a counteroffer; he would see if he could break me out of my contract with my contracting firm and he would give me a open spot on GE's next generation product's team, and he would offer me the same or better than how much I am being offered already. I told him that ...
by alice
Tue May 01, 2018 10:53 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Welp. I just gave my notice, talked with my manager, my contracting company manager, and my team lead about leaving, and this all just happened , practically unplanned. I was never really looking to change jobs, but rather this new job just fell in my lap and I never did anything to not change jobs...
by alice
Tue May 01, 2018 10:51 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Creativity of the day
Replies: 1704
Views: 322063

Re: Creativity of the day

Risla wrote:
alice wrote:
Risla wrote:Lookit the yarn I spun!
Niiiiiice! What is the technical name for such a thing - does it qualify as a "skein"?
That is indeed a skein.
alice is enlightened
by alice
Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:21 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Creativity of the day
Replies: 1704
Views: 322063

Re: Creativity of the day

Risla wrote:Lookit the yarn I spun!
Niiiiiice! What is the technical name for such a thing - does it qualify as a "skein"?
by alice
Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:52 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: What do you call...
Replies: 22
Views: 13290

Re: What do you call...

Going back to my original question, in:

The Prime Minister said this: she had full confidence in her Home Secretary.

is it correct to calll "this" a pronoun, even though it stands for something which is not a noun?
by alice
Wed Apr 25, 2018 4:43 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Going back to work next week at last, after fifteen months. Good luck! Thank you! I actually just came to this thread to post that I'm quitting my job. I gave a month's notice about three weeks ago, and after some negotiations today with the boss (apparently it's way easier to figure out the payrol...
by alice
Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:48 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Contradictory Feelings Thread
Replies: 933
Views: 203731

Re: The Contradictory Feelings Thread

Going back to work next week at last, after fifteen months.
by alice
Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:48 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: What do you call...
Replies: 22
Views: 13290

What do you call...

Consider the bolded words in: Far off I heard it : a telephoneme. He told me this : all languages are derived from Basque. These look very like anaphoric pronouns, except that they refer to something not yet mentioned rather than already mentioned. Are they still "anaphors", or something else like "...
by alice
Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:05 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Does Germanic have native terms for "cube" and "sphere"?
Replies: 4
Views: 4741

Re: Does Germanic have native terms for "cube" and "sphere"?

That's enough to start with; thanks.
by alice
Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:35 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: How should I assign gender to words?
Replies: 10
Views: 7342

Re: How should I assign gender to words?

Sexing words is always tricky, but it's easier with older words which aren't so worn away and have the, er, important bits still intact. *Gendering* words, however, is pretty much up to you. It depends what you mean by "gender" - is it merely a way of classifying words to govern how they agree with ...
by alice
Sat Feb 17, 2018 5:26 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Venting thread that still excludes eddy (2)
Replies: 2639
Views: 299457

Re: Venting thread

The (expletive)-ing (expletive)s at the (expletive)-ing DWP think I'm no longer too (expletive)-ing ill to (expletive)-ing do my job and have (expletive)-ing stopped my ESA. My total income is now zero.
by alice
Sat Feb 17, 2018 5:21 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Obscure question about Greek
Replies: 2
Views: 3749

Obscure question about Greek

It is too obviously a word-for-word rendering of the Latin sentence, which for that matter, is an equally servile calque on the Greek. This is referring to the OHG sentence phigboum habeta sum giflanzotan , "somebody had planted a fig tree", with reference to the present perfect formation with "to ...
by alice
Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:29 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Age, Leisure Work and Motivation
Replies: 24
Views: 12687

Re: Age, Leisure Work and Motivation

Deplorable backsliders, the lot of you. I've conlanged for at least three hours a day, every day, since I was ten years old.

Seriously, though, I've noticed it too, and it's just part of growing up. Ask anyone who's every been in a band for several years, for example.
by alice
Tue Jan 23, 2018 1:17 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Age, Leisure Work and Motivation
Replies: 24
Views: 12687

Re: Age, Leisure Work and Motivation

I haven't "finished" a conlang since I started doing this way back in my early teens, but I have had a lot of fun along the way. What is this "finished conlang" thing you're talking about? Do tell. I always thought finishing a conlang was like the proverbial irresistible force proverbially meeting ...
by alice
Tue Jan 09, 2018 6:48 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Wat Porridgeton, of Burbridge, Lancs.
Replies: 0
Views: 5505

Wat Porridgeton, of Burbridge, Lancs.

Does history provide us with any more details about this singularly transported individual?
by alice
Mon Jan 01, 2018 10:05 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Quick question about French
Replies: 7
Views: 3009

Quick question about French

Are there any words with /yj/, which would presumably be spelled <uille>?