Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with language

Are you a man or woman?

Foci for Analysis — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:20:44 -0800

When did adults in Western countries decrease using man/woman when speaking about themselves, e.g. describing their gender? How came this to be? In Western countries, it's very rare to hear an adult say that he/she is a man/woman when describing himself/herself. Instead, synonyms such as boy/girl, guy/gal, etc are used. For example, take a look at a couple of user profiles here at Mefi - including mine! - and it's obvious that man/woman are rarely used.

When did this change occur? Or maybe it's always been like this? How does it look in other, non-western, cultures? And how about where you live?

need a library for text classification

chexov — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:17:29 -0800

I need to be able to automatically identify language (English, Japaneese, Russian, etc ... ) in which a particular blog-post has been written. (lang attribute might or might not be available). Few years ago I came across a library for RSS feeds that was doing roughly what I need - can not find it anymore though.

Is "shonk" antisemitic?

Fiasco da Gama — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:45:03 -0800

Is or was the word "shonky" antisemitic? Australians use the word "shonky" and "shonk" to mean, respectively poor quality or questionable goods/practices, and those who trade in them.
I've heard two versions of its history; first that the word used to have antisemitic overtones and was nineteenth-century slang for "Jew", in much the same way as "shyster" retains its ethnic meaning, and second that it's a Yiddish import into English.
For me, Google yields only poor quality, questionable results. Is there anyone who can shed some light on this?

canis lupus whatisthis?

harhailla.harhaluuossa — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:02:44 -0800

What is the origin of the cross-linguistic "kutt"-like root for dog? The word for dog in Hungarian is kutya. In Hindi/Urdu it is kutta. I assumed Hungarian had borrowed from Romani, which shares vocabulary with the North Indian languages. But this is not likely since the Romani of that region has a very different word for dog.

Further, I came upon this site, which, if you search on the page for "kutya" will give you a list of very similar words for dog in Slavic, Caucasian, Afro-Asiatic and other languages.

You can also look at item 72 here if you read Bulgarian, or just follow Cyrillic.

I paid close attention this morning to the mongrel waifs that hang around my street, and find it hard to believe that onomatopoeia is responsible. One may have been making a "kuch" like sound but I think he was throwing something up. Dogs were domesticated quite some time ago, but is it conceivable that one place, perhaps known for breeding dogs many thousand years ago, contributed the word to other languages?

I'm foxed. Explain.

Alphabet Efficiency

ecab — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:53:00 -0800

Are any writing systems or alphabets more efficient, in the sense that they are more readable, than others? What is the most efficient? I currently work in an office where the primary day-to-day working language is Arabic, which of course has a different alphabet than my native language.

On a page of written English, I can quickly scan and find any particular word I am looking for. I can't do this in Arabic, at least not very quickly. Obviously, this is because I don't know Arabic nearly as well as I know English and because I haven't been exposed to reading Arabic for more than a few years.

Still, watching my coworkers pore over Arabic pages with the same fluidity I read similar English pages has caused me to wonder whether, say, I am faster in English than my coworker is in Arabic. More specifically, I wonder whether there are certain alphabets or writing systems that lend themselves to faster or more efficient reading. That is, can readers of language X read faster, find words faster, etc. than readers of language Y, environmental, educational, and other factors being equal?

Relatedly, are phonetic languages more efficient than character based languages? And, has the evolution of writing systems generally moved in the direction of more efficient and quicker reading?

Oh Google, Where Art Thou?

Holly — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:25:09 -0800

I recently set up a language learning blog on Typepad which I am still developing, and to which there are very few visitors as yet and no inbound links. And now (sob) Google has dropped me. Though the first few days have been indexed, nothing I've posted over the past 3/4 days comes up on Google. Do they crawl so irregularly? In a fit of enthusiasm I also signed up for Google Sitemaps a few days ago, which I now sense I shouldn't have done so early. So (a) why might Google have apparently dropped the site and is there any way of concretely finding out and (b) is it possible to remove a verified site from Google sitemaps and then rejoin Sitemaps at a later date, when the site has more inbound links of the kind Google loves? Thanks for any light you may shed.

super-size it to a triple tense for $1

davejay — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:10:34 -0800

Grammar Filter: what is the English equivalent to the "Double Future Tense"? For a few years, I've had a work computer with a name generated by the IT department's random computer name generator, called "doublefuture". When I ssh into my boxes, I like to have a quote relevant to the machine name. For my "doublefuture" box, I did a bit of searching and found this:

"The Double Future Tense signifies that, at a future time spoken of, the action will still be Future."

-- excerpted from "Cherokee Tenses", Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate, January 27, 1829

Today, suddenly, I found myself trying to figure out if such a tense exists in the English language, and I'm coming up short. I'm also curious a bit about other languages as well, but as I only speak English, that's my primary question.

Romance language learning for speakers of Spanish

Kosh — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:04:33 -0800

What are the best books/tools for speakers of Spanish interested in learning other Romance languages? I'm a native speaker of English, but I have decent fluency in Spanish, enough that I can communicate well, understand Spanish-language media, read novels, etc. I would like to learn other Romance languages (I have a smidgen of experience with French, but that's it), and I was thinking it'd be more efficient to learn them with Spanish as the base rather than English, given that Spanish is much closer to the other varieties of Romance than English is, and I already know it well. That said, I'm a U.S. resident, and it's kind of hard to find materials for speakers of Spanish looking to learn other Romance languages... most of the stuff in the U.S., naturally, caters to learning English, and I don't really know where to search outside of the Anglo areas of the web. I was wondering if any Spanish speakers could recommend me books on learning Italian/French/Portuguese aimed at Spanish speakers and good places to buy them from, so that I have a better idea of what to look for. (I know of the Assimil books, but the company wants 90 euro just for shipping from Spain for a 20 euro book.)

Cramming Russian on the Trans-Siberian

pcameron — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:12:10 -0800

I'll be taking the Trans-Siberian from Beijing to Moscow, leaving next Saturday. I'd like to spend my five days on the train doing a cram course and learning as much basic Russian as I can. I already know the alphabet, and some very basic phrases (ie. "where is the metro?"). Are there any good online courses I can print out and take with me? Ideally I would like to be able to hold a very, very basic conversation at the end of my trip, though I don't know if that is realistic.

No more than vs. not more than

Arasithil — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:01:33 -0800

What is the difference between "no more than" and "not more than"? A friend of mine who is learning English (Japanese is her native language) brought me this question, and I couldn't come up with a satisfactory explanation.

The example she gave was:
"Mr. Smith wrote no more than ten letters."
"Mr. Smith wrote not more than ten letters."

I feel that there is some difference in nuance, but I can't quite put it into words (and as a native speaker, my limited grammar education isn't doing much to help - the closest I can come is that "not" is only ever an adverb, while "no" has somewhat broader applicability?).

Specific situations where only one of the two would be correct would also help a lot.

Thank you very much!

English as a foreign language.

stackhaus23 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:07:29 -0800

What's the best way to teach conversational English to a Polish person with currently only very minimal English skills? My girlfriend is taking art classes with a Polish artist in exchange for conversational English lessons, although she doesn't speak Polish herself. What is the best way to teach conversational English to someone with only minimal vocabulary? Has anyone else had any similar experiences? Thanks in advance!

Interesting language dichotomy

zaebiz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:35:57 -0800

LanguageFilter : What is the most common word for "cars" in Spanish and in Portugese? Is it coches or carros? What is the difference between the two words and what are their etymologies?

Is my kid an ancient hebrew good luck charm?

Gucky — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:41:34 -0800

A few years back, an older Israeli man told me that my daughter's name, Kameya, meant "good luck charm" in ancient Hebrew. Was he just pulling my leg? We made up the name based on her godfather's name (Kamehameha) which supposedly means "very very powerful" in Hawaiian. We've since learned from random people who comment on it that it's a town in Japan and similar to the equivalent of "manually" or "with hands" in Tagalog.

But only this one gentleman commented about the Hebrew, saying it was three letters. But I have yet to find a way to Google for ancient hebrew.

Obviously, it's a great story. And easier as an explanation than "Her godfather's parents honeymooned in Hawaii so they named their kids after Hawaiian royalty and then we named our daughter after him."

Anyone able to confirm or deny? Be able to point me to the letters which would comprise her name? Or even know that it also means, oh, foot fungus in German or something?

We stress the second syllable (Kuh-MAY-Yuh, since we have the flat short a of midwesterners and we're going for equivalent to Kamehameha). And yes, she has a normal middle name in case she hates it as a grownup.

How does one pronounce Oranje?

TheWhiteSkull — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:52:10 -0800

How can I support the Dutch? Now that France has been (shamefully) eliminated from Euro 2008, I'm firmly in the Orange camp. They're looking better than anything else out there, they seem to have remembered how to play total football since the World Cup, and RvP looks particularly sharp. My problem is that I speak no Dutch. How do I cheer for the Netherlands? Other than wearing orange, what else can I do?

What can you tell me about 'Poe(t)heory'?

0bvious — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:51:54 -0800

What can you tell me about 'Poe(t)heory'? I have found little online regarding Poetheory, but it seems to be interchangable with the title 'Theorypo'. How separate a distinction is it from merely 'postmodern theory and poetry'? What sources of info should I be seeking?

Marjorie Perloff and Peter Jaeger are names that crop up regarding poetheory. Anyone else you know of or any related disciplines/schools/concepts?

Thanks

¿Dónde está la biblioteca?

hwyengr — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:42:38 -0800

9 years of Spanish have proven worthless. How do I become a conversationalist? After moving to Los Angeles, I'm realizing that out of the 9 years of Spanish I took in middle/high school, the only skills I have left are knowing the first verse/chorus of Guantanamera (Yo soy un hombre sincero...) and conjugating regular present tense verbs. I still have quite a bit of vocabulary down, so I think my skills are above a Beginning Spanish course but below Intermediate.

Given that I live in LA and that the Yankee Peso will only allow foreign travel to Central/South America, should I start over and slog through the mundane details of the vocab and grammar, or, get in over my head with the Intermediate? How should I even start? I'm already watching Telemundo, but that just confuses me even more.

Is there a word for "tastes like it smells"?

finding.perdita — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:33:41 -0800

I've just started a wine tasting course, and someone asked whether there was an adjective that described a wine that tastes like it smells. The closest we could get was onomatopoeic, which obviously isn't the right word, but is similar in concept. If not in English, is there a word in any language? (I'm thinking that maybe there's a German word, as they're really good at creating new words by putting other words together) Or is "tastes like it smells" as good as it gets?

How can I read Windows in English on a Chinese computer?

catburger — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:15:01 -0800

I'm on a Chinese-language computer and want to use Windows XP and Windows Vista in English. How can I do this? I will also want to change the English back to Chinese, as I am setting up a program for my dear aunt. Thanks in advance!

career in language learning

mammary16 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:12:09 -0800

After a long period of soul-searching (and trying many different jobs), I've decided on a career path in language learning. After spending a year teaching abroad, and afterwards working in educational publishing and test development in the states, I've decided that I would like to work in language learning and language policy.

I have an almost academic interest in questions of linguistics (I have a double major in anthropology and english lit, and almost completed a linguistics major) and have a passion for learning languages and international travel.

I'm learning Russian and will be attending Moscow State for classes in advanced Russian in the fall of this year. I plan to also learn Arabic and Chinese in the near future.

I wouldn't want to focus purely on ESL, but rather on the theory and pedagogy of language acquisition in general. Additionally, I would like to be involved more specifically with online courseware, language learning software, and the intersection of classroom instruction with software.

Ideally I'd like to be able to do the following:

1. work for governments and non-governmental organizations in the U.S. and abroad in an educational policy role

and

2. have the opportunity to consult for large corporations to assist in developing language learning software and curricula

I have strong computer skills and have taken some programming classes, but I do not have any real work experience with programming, which may be an issue if I'd like to oversee these kinds of projects. How much of a problem would that be?

I've been thinking that this would require a mix of an education MA and an applied linguistics MA - is that correct? I don't quite know where to begin.

Also, any recommendations for good schools for this kind of thing (U.S., but I’d also consider the U.K. or Singapore) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Buildings? Design? What's it called?

mulkey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:28:54 -0800

I can't remember the name of a phase of the building/design process. Help! I know there is a phase in designing and constructing a building where key individuals (architects, contractors, subs, engineers) sit down at a table and talk over the project and it's budget. Typically this is the time when everyone decides what they can live without and the building is pared down to meet the budget.

From what I understand this meeting can be contentious - and sometimes there are building attributes that architects will put in knowing they will be __(this meeting-ed)___ out.

What is this meeting called?

I can't remember the name. Of course google is no help if I don't even know what it's called!

Anyone? I'm hopeful that this'll be on the tip of someone else's tongue.

Gender Neutral Term for Aunt/Uncle

gleea — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:10:36 -0800

Searching for a gender neutral term for Aunt/Uncle? My partner is going to be an aunt for the first time (woohoo). We've been searching for a gender neutral name for her...without much luck. She would really like something that isn't just a term that someone made up, but rather one with at least a little history/meaning, for example a word that means both aunt and/or uncle in another language or something.

So far we've come up with Zii (Italian) and Oncles (French??)...but she'd like some more ideas...

Russian translation of document needed, please!

lungtaworld — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:06:40 -0800

?Russian? translation of this document required

Going beyond the textbook and the Language Lab

shirobara — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:40:24 -0800

What are your favorite online resources for learning, practicing or getting exposure to the languages you speak? I'm looking for things that go beyond a textbook and a couple of CDs: things like interactive tools and study materials, well-written blogs written in / about the language, and especially audio, video or reading materials that people learning the language might not be able to find easily. I'm interested in both resources designed for native speakers of that language that are accessible to people learning it and well-designed resources for people learning the language. For example, Librivox might be good for high-level English learners trying to improve their listening skills and vocabulary, while Pinyin Practice is for people just starting to learn Chinese pronunciation.

I'll start off with a few for Japanese that have helped me:
Real World Japanese: Listening practice using real-life situations, with three levels of difficulty for each situation.
Episodes of Atashin'chi: my host family loved this slice-of-life family show, and the language is pretty accessible for intermediate speakers. (No subtitles, too, so you can't "cheat")
Reading Tutor: a collection of paragraphs with links to definitions on the side, so you can click on an unknown word and see the definition (in English or Japanese) without a new window or an annoying popup. You can also use your own texts this way by using the "Dictionary Tool," or see a chart of all the kanji used in a text and which level of the JLPT they correspond to.

It's not Japanese, but I also really love the BBC languages site, with its engaging content for so many languages -- I've been using the French lessons to brush up, and it's a lot more fun than high-school French ever was...

I'd love to learn about great resources for as many languages as possible!

Nous respondons a vos soiree? NRVS?!

parmanparman — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:03:04 -0800

RSVP means "respondez sil vous plait", but when I respond to an RSVP, is there a French acronym that acts as the "We are responding" counterpart to RSVP?

Recommend Hindi language learning sites?

inbetweener — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:39:07 -0800

Can you recommend any intermediate level Hindi language learning resources online? I have a basic grounding in the Hindi language, having taken 2 years of evening courses in Hindi.

I can read Devanagari script without any problems. I originally learnt Hindi using Rupert Snell's "Teach Yourself Hindi" book, which is excellent. However, I stopped going to classes about a year ago so I need a way of keeping my Hindi up.

I want some intermediate level resources (preferably online) to improve and widen my Hindi. I've tried to read the BBC Hindi website, using the dictionary at shabdkosh.com to help me along, but the standard of the language is way beyond me.

I'm looking for some Hindi language learning sites that are of a lower intermediate level to get some practice and some tips. However, despite my attempts to find such sites I simply can't - I'm sure they must exist as I've found equivalent sites for less popular languages such as Tamil.

Any advice would be helpful - I can't afford (timewise or moneywise) to go to more classes at the moment.