| Word Game ~ |
[20 Mar 2010|10:16pm] |
So, I was looking through this Teach Yourself Croatian book out of curiousity and the words looked like an absolute jumble to me. Just... gibberish. My native language is English, and I've been exposed to a variety of others, though, apparently, nothing like Croatian.
I was then wondering if two languages can be considered opposites of one another. I'm not exactly sure on how to determine that, but perhaps that can be part of this game?
[ For the recordI don't think English and Croatian can be complete opposites, because a part of me thinks that the alphabets should be different themselves - that's just what sparked the question in my head XP]
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[20 Mar 2010|09:34pm] |
Hey,
I wanted to ask if knows any online courses or recommandable books for learning Finnish or Estonian? Especially Estonian is really hard to find.
Also, are there any mnemonics for the Latin grammar? I have to learn it in school and I didn't learn for the past two years, so I've got lots to do and for some reason it's really hard to remember for me. (This is not the case with other languages, it's really odd.)
Thanks in advance!
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| Traditional v Simplified Chinese. |
[21 Mar 2010|03:50am] |
So as I'm living here and studying, learning more Chinese...it seems as though Taiwan is the only country that uses the traditional characters for reading and writing. Am I correct in thinking this?
Most everyone tells me in: Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, and Macau...they all use simplified, and only in Taiwan do they use the traditional.
I'm curious to know how this came to be? What are people's thoughts on this, especially those who've learnt either/or, or had to learn both?
I'd be interested also to know how this has affected the literacy of people in these countries...if for example, literacy rates have been negatively affected in Taiwan, due to people NEEDING to know the traditional script in order to be literate - which is more difficult than the simplified.
Just curious to know =) Thanks!
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| Classroom instructions |
[20 Mar 2010|01:57pm] |
1. Please open your books to page 7.
2. Please open your books at page 7.
3. Please open your books on page 7.
My friend and I have a problem with the prepositions in the phrases above. We think 1) is the right one, and either 2) or 3) is acceptable, but we're not sure which one. Help would be very much appreciated.
EDIT: Thanks a lot, everyone.
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| norwegian name |
[20 Mar 2010|01:49pm] |
Could someone please give me the pronunciation, in IPA, of the Norwegian name Erlend? I want the Bergen pronunciation. Please include information about vowel length.
I've been researching it and I'm a little confused about exactly which phoneme the "r" is. Is it anything like Arabic غ? A comparison with that would be great.
Also, exactly what is the place and manner of the "l"? Is it a dark l?
I'm pretty sure the "d" is silent. Is the "n" alveolar nasal?
Thank you ! شكراً
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| Possessive |
[19 Mar 2010|10:47pm] |
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Just out of curiosity, are there any other languages besides English that use a punctuation marker to identify possessives or another part of speech (Tim's, for example).
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| Greek and other ancient languages |
[19 Mar 2010|04:33pm] |
I'm a linguistics geek, and if I can't answer a question, at least I know here to ask (That's you people :P).
So anyway, a friend of mine wanted so cryptic language that would amount ro "architect of your own destruction" for a RP campain. I knew Latin was not much of an option unless I could find suitably obscure words, however a bit of research brought up a fragment from 2 Peter (2:1) that would word: "επαγοντες εαυτοις απωλειαν" (epagonted heautois apoleian). If I'm not mistaken, Ancient Greek usually uses the past participle as an agent noun, and "εαυτοις" is the same in all three persons of the plural (IIRC), so this could reasonably be constructed as "bringers of your/their own destruction", right?
I nonetheless noted that if it was Latin and Greek, his players would definitely be able to google a translation, especially with a transliteration, so I'm looking for a Sanskrit equivalent (or equivalents), but this is WAY out of my league. Any help?
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| Like? |
[19 Mar 2010|01:11pm] |
As a native speaker of English, I hear the constant misuse overuse of the word "like". Example: "I, like, went to the store and, like, bought some milk."
My question is: does this occur in another language? I don't necessarily mean "like", but a certain word that is arbitrarily inserted into a sentence?
I'm also wondering if there are any German speakers who wouldn't mind being penpals. I've taken several classes and it's actually my university major. I have no one with which to practise and, as a result, have forgotten a lot. I really love the language and don't want to lose any more.
Thanks.
EDIT: I'll own it, I have no evidence that "like" is misused when used this way. It's just an irritant of mine.
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| romanian question |
[19 Mar 2010|02:08pm] |
okay, so i'm 1/4 romanian but everyone in that part of the family is long dead and i don't speak any romanian, but i'm trying to remember two phrases that my dad always used to say (his dad spoke it, he didn't). i'm sure that the pronunciation has been mangled through three generations of people who never even lived in romania- i'd give IPA but it doesn't seem worth it since i'm sure it's being pronounced "off" anyway.
one sounded like "mancha sitash" and supposedly meant "eat it and say it's good" (lol). looking thru the verb forms of "a mânca", i'm guessing the first part is "mâncaţi" but what would the adverb at the end be?
( the other is kind of vulgar, so i'm putting it under a cut )
all i can say is that my romanian family emigrated in the '20s and i don't really know where they were from- but i think my last name is lipovan so maybe somewhere in bucovina? i really don't know though. any help would be most appreciated!!
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| learn japanese? |
[19 Mar 2010|01:45pm] |
hello!
i am hoping to learn to speak (and eventually write) japanese. does anyone know any good websites that teach japanese well? My old world history teacher talked about how she went to this website where she had a teacher in korea that gave her korean lessons over the web. does anyone know what website this may be (and if they teach japanese?)
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[19 Mar 2010|01:45pm] |
hello!
i am hoping to learn to speak (and eventually write) japanese. does anyone know any good websites that teach japanese well? My old world history teacher talked about how she went to this website where she had a teacher in korea that gave her korean lessons over the web. does anyone know what website this may be (and if they teach japanese?)
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| I have some questions |
[19 Mar 2010|09:18pm] |
Hello again everybody,
I just stumbled on some words that i do not understand clearly, so I'm asking for help：
1. What is the meaning of 打 in 打趣？Is it the same as 打招呼，打交道， 打听? If not, can you give me some words in which the meaning of 打 is the same as 打趣？
2. I look up the dictionary and see that 摆渡 and 渡河 have the same meaning of crossing the river. Is there any different in the usage of those 2 words or they can be replaced by each other in every case?
3. Can you help me distinguish between 本领 and 本事 (preferable with example when I can only use 本事，not 本领 and vice-versa. And what measure words go with them （ is 个appropriate？）
Thanks in advanced
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[18 Mar 2010|08:23pm] |
My friend wants to get "there is no god" tattooed in as many languages as possible. We submitted some. He wants more. Also, we want to make sure we were accurate in our suggestions. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.
( here is what we have so far )
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| Good-sounding words in Arabic |
[18 Mar 2010|11:31pm] |
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mood |
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 curious |
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Hello all!
I'm learning Arabic and I have to write an essay for next week. I have been "collecting" nice-sounding words in Arabic for a while and I want to use all them in the text. These words are particular because they are made up by repeting the same syllable twice. I would like to know more words like these. I'll give you some examples:
تمتم (tamtama) mutter
سمسم (simsim) sesame
بلبل (bulbul) a kind of bird which I don't know the name in English
بلبل (balbala) to annoy
جرجر (jarjara) to drag
نعنع (n3n3) mint
لؤلؤ (lu2lu2) pearl
كسكس (kouskous) kouskous :)
سلسل (salsala) to chain
وشوش (washwasha) to whisper
هسهس (hashasa) to swish
مشمش (mishmish) apricot
Do you know any more words like these?
شكرا جزيلا
or
Moltes gràcies! (that's in my mother tongue :D)
Pau Moreno
PS: Ah, I'm not completely sure about the meaning of the words I wrote... is there any error? Thanks!
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| Window question |
[18 Mar 2010|02:12pm] |
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I'm not sure this counts under linguistics, but someone in here will likely know anyway. What is the proper term for this kind of window? The description says arch, but I think that's a bit vague. Thanks~
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| German question |
[18 Mar 2010|03:08pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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curious |
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Good afternoon, linguaphiles, a quick question on German.
While translating a trade magazine into English, I've come across a title that suggests to me that there's a common referent:
"Kinder, Kinder, was für..."
In the case I'm doing, it's "Schuhe", but I've Googled it, and it seems very popular, with all kinds of endings. Can anyone tell me what the reference is to, and possibly a vaguely similar English equivalent? Is it part of a nursery rhyme, perhaps?
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| Final -ig in German |
[18 Mar 2010|11:26am] |
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There was an interesting discussion here recently about variations in the pronunciation of 'ich'. Would anyone care to comment on variations in the pronunciation of the final '-ig' in words like 'wenig' or 'billig'?
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| English speaking Doctors |
[18 Mar 2010|07:05am] |
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Hello community,
Does anyone know where to go if you want an English speaking doctor?
I live in Korso, Vantaa and have been studying Finnish for 7 months. Its just it not enough for the doctors to understand me.
At first getting a doctor was relatively easy but then I missed one appointment because I miss heard my doctor say 'go to the hospital in 2 weeks'.
So I ignored going to the doctors for 4 months (because I didn't know that my doctor said that) and just recently have tried to get a new appointment. Then getting a doctor (who speaks English) was suddenly VERY difficult. The nurses were speaking Finnish and I got another doctor who spoke Finnish to me. This all happened in a spam of 4 weeks (which is really long just for one appointment).
I had to get an operation done by my old doctor but he wasn't there (do doctors in Finland move around?) and I REALLY badly need to get this done early.
Should I just go to the private hospital (Its really expensive, as in a talking session cost 60 Euros for 50 min, but if they speak have an English speaking doctor there...) or should I persist and try going to the public hospital (which is much cheaper).
I have some problem with my stomach and I might need surgery later (which is why I picked public because the operation might cost less) that is why it is quite important.
PS- Complaint on Finnish Doctor
The latest doctor that I have met asked me (after I have told him about my problem) if I had children. This was SERIOUSLY offensive to me because, one, I am only seventeen (and the whole time I wanted to say 'Do I look like a hooker?'. Sorry that really pissed me off), and two, I look more Asian then Finnish (yes I am half). He also asked me what I was doing in Finland (even though I am a Finnish citizen with Finnish passports) because I, of course look like an immigrant, and sorry but if the EU and Finland decide to support immigrants with healthcare then why bother asking the question anyway. This is maddening.
* The children thing was really offensive to me because I have never had sex (or drink) and never will. That is my decision and I am not offend by others who do this but still do seventeen year olds in Finland get pregnant that early?
G2G in a hurry (sorry if this is messy). But do tell me your experiences with doctors in Finland whether it was private or public. Cheers
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| Etymology of Colo(u)r |
[17 Mar 2010|07:23pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 amused |
] |
I'm trying to find out more about the etymology of the word colo(u)r, particularly its spelling.
I recall reading a source that said that the spelling "colour" first arose in the 15th century while "color" first arose in the 17th century. I found this interesting because it means that "color" was around before Noah Webster published his dictionary and so wasn't something he fabricated. I'm aware that "color" was pretty rare compared against "colour" (not sure how it measures up to some of the weird spellings I found on that page).
However, I'm having difficulty finding this source again. Does anybody have any source for when the "colour" and "color" spellings first appeared?
If anyone wants to know the reason as to why I need these etymologies, I'm in an argument and I'm trying to prove that Noah Webster did not single-handedly create American English and that American English isn't some sort of horrible perversion of the *natural* and *original* English language (as spoken in England, of course!).
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