Recent questions tagged linguistics

Description : Is it... "irresistible" force, or "unstoppable" force?

Last Answer : The “Irresistible Force Paradox” (aka “The Unstoppable Force” Paradox) is… “When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”. I think it was originated by the Chinese (maybe a thousand years ago), and ponders the question…... .... .... Well….I’m not sure what the hell it ponders…....

Description : Do you think there should be only one language spoken in the world?

Last Answer : answer:Probably not possible. The benefits are obvious. But language is heavily influenced by culture. For instance, in the USA ,we speak English predominantly. But if you drive,say from Florida to Michigan ... languages. English is the closest thing now. It is the world's most common 2nd language.

Description : What's the deal with /e/?

Last Answer : answer:And it’s not just that one guy, either: British Council vowel chart I know this is UK RP, not US English, but still.

Description : What is the difference between religion and spirituality?

Last Answer : Oh yeah. I'm very spiritual. I think there is something inside all living things that makes them special, and it can be inside other things, a mountain, a place, that makes it special. ... It's someone's attempt to control those around them by calling on their desire to believe in something.

Description : Is it Monday or Friday?

Last Answer : Mondays are are the first days of a week of opportunities. The only thing that is worse than working is NOT working. I like looking at all the hung over people on Mondays and feeling glad I am not one of them.

Description : Is there any difference between going hand in hand, and hand in glove?

Last Answer : answer:Hand in glove means that two things go together, fit together, like a hand in a glove. That is, they were made for each other and have a tight fit. Hand in hand means, side by side, holding hands.

Description : When your parents swore, what were their favored cuss words or phrases?

Last Answer : Shit and fuck I think. If memory serves. Pretty sure they have maintained those as their primary curse words.

Description : Can you author a post that contains not a solitary showing of that symbol fifth in rank out of our 26 script-signs (found amidst "d" and "f")?

Last Answer : Oh my God, no. I’m far too lazy for that. On top of which, it would suck up too much of my day.

Description : What is the difference between epistemology and ontology?

Last Answer : answer:Epistemology: what we can know Ontology: what exists (Often intertwined)

Description : How would I go about changing the spelling of several common words in English?

Last Answer : answer:Firstly, you’d need to copy yourself thousands of times and then make every copy of yourself spell they way you want. Then you’d need to keep it up for decades and still be prepared for it to fail. Good luck ;-P

Description : Is there a word from when someone uses a noun as a verb?

Last Answer : Never heard a word to describe people using it that way, but the action of doing so is called, and I love this, Verbing the Noun.

Description : Why do older people seem so fond of using articles?

Last Answer : Facebook actually started as The Facebook. So that might be part of it.

Description : Does American English adhere to the double negative law?

Last Answer : Yes, but your second example is just a colloquialism. Not meant to be taken at face value.

Description : Are there any statistic research on peoples' use (count) of each character in the alphabet?

Last Answer : Have you not tried googling for this?

Description : Can you help build my collection of funny Spoonerisms?

Last Answer : engrish.com

Description : Where did the phrase "tongue in cheek" come from?

Last Answer : answer:Wikipedia says What more can I say?

Description : Now that refudiate is on its way to the dictionary, what should the newly coined word mean?

Last Answer : The core word appears to be refuse or refute. you can take it from there.

Description : Can you help me find examples of scare quotes being misused?

Last Answer : Nothing specific comes to mind, but I’m sure you can find plenty of scare quotes here.

Description : Have you noiced how many common euphemisms in the English language are related to violence?

Last Answer : answer:Well, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. Sock it to me. Punch it. (Step on the accelerator) I'll take a stab at it. I'm not sure why most euphemisms are ... describe violence, nor does it require an accompanying violent physical act in order to perceive the point being emphasized.

Description : What's the difference, for you, between "bravery" and "courage"?

Last Answer : I think courage is a quality a person possesses, wheras bravery usually relates to a specific action.

Description : What is the name of this linguist/philosopher?

Last Answer : It wasn’t Dewey, was it?

Description : Does the apache Indian language have a way of expressing a deontic modal like should not?

Last Answer : There is. However, the fonts available here do not allow the letters needed to post it. There are also several dialects, the one I know is pronounced something like “sha-nine”

Description : Can infra-human primates acquire language?

Last Answer : If Washoe signed that he loved me and also wanted ice cream, that’s good enough. Interesting question, though.

Description : Why is it called a "watch"?

Last Answer : Maybe because people watch them, as in watch the clock. It makes as good a sense to me as any explanation.

Description : Differences between Northern Californa and the Northeastern US?

Last Answer : I imagine that at least one major difference is that the population density difference between Northern California and the Northeastern US means that people are a lot less tense in, say, Sacramento, than in New York City.

Description : Is there any regional or class variation in the British pronunciation of the "intrusive R"?

Last Answer : I don’t know much about the class boundaries, but every single Brit I have ever heard speak uses the intrusive r. Even people from other cultures who are educated in Britian do this. It’s funny to me. I use the intrusive r to practice my British accents. Yes. I practice British accents.

Description : What does "short end of the stick" really mean?

Last Answer : There are all manner of theories, but most of the more likely seeming are those that are to do with a lever or fulcrum, as in carrying/moving a load, or in old style farmer's scales. If it ... buying the produce shortened one end, he could make the seller appear to be providing less than he was.

Description : What the hell are colored memes?

Last Answer : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme Hows that? :D The kind of memes ive seen are the ones in which people make these little survey things with questions and every one draws on it…. example

Description : Proper nouns represent unique entities in the world around us - Why are there proper nouns with more than 25 or even 40 characters?

Last Answer : Just a snafu, imho, fubar.

Description : What do you believe is the most subtle 'form' of arrogance?

Last Answer : Believing a post online should have any kind of great effect on another person just because they will read it. That or “My child is an honor student” bumper stickers. Take your pick.

Description : Machine translation and a great many funny examples - When can we expect better results for the automatic translation of text from one language (e.g. English) into an other?

Last Answer : I'm going to contribute to an answer for the question in your title line. Google and Facebook both have crowdsourced translations going on, that is to say, they allow humans to translate ... and predictive intelligence will be seen much more often in the future across all sorts of fields.

Description : Where did the phrase "tongue-in-cheek" come from and what is it's meaning?

Last Answer : From Wikipedia: The OED’s earliest recorded use of the term was in a 1933 when a Times Literary Supplement review described Shooting the Bull as “a tongue-in-the-cheek march through newspaperdom”. It appeared in Webster’s Dictionary the following year.

Description : Is there some linguistic logic to whether a word uses an "-ent" or an "-ant" suffix?

Last Answer : Etymologically they have different sources: -ent is from Old French from the Latin suffix -ēns, -ent. -ant is from Old French from the Latin suffix -āns, -ant. It had to do with which class the Latin word was part of.

Description : Where can I find a complete list of spelling changes proposed by Noah Webster?

Last Answer : answer:This book should have what you are looking for: Micklethwait, David. Noah Webster and the American Dictionary. McFarland: Jefferson, NC. 2000. Since it is a recent book, it should be fairly ... it in the online catalogue of my college library which is a community college. Hope this helps.

Description : What is the opposite of "cherry picking"?

Last Answer : First you have to have an open mind yourself. Try to approach the subject with no perceived thoughts. Leave room for a little doubt even if in your own mind you are 90% sure based on your early ... . After you are sure of the consistency of your research you will be ready to relay your hypothesis.