http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/prescriptive Questions tagged with 'prescriptive' at Ask MetaFilter. Fri, 26 Nov 2004 19:23:32 -0800 Fri, 26 Nov 2004 19:23:32 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/12213/Ukraine%2Dvs%2DThe%2DUkraine Ukraine vs. The Ukraine. Is the latter outdated now that Ukraine is an independent nation? Do Ukranians feel strongly about the difference? I hear people refer to it both ways. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2004:site.12213 Fri, 26 Nov 2004 19:23:32 -0800 descriptive etymology linguistics prescriptive ukraine usage hal incandenza http://ask.metafilter.com/9862/Can%2Dgenius%2Dbe%2Dused%2Das%2Dan%2Dadjective Can <i>genius</i> be used as adjective, as in this <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4">example from the BBC</a>: "Send Dave your genius idea."? If so, why? [<small><i>More Inside.</i></small>] Given the meanings of <a href="http://www.yourdictionary.net/genial.html">genial</a> in English, is there a way of translating the meaning of <i>genial</i> in the Romance languages? <br> <br> The standard application is to brilliant, genius-like creations by people who are anything but geniuses, often ironically, as in:<br> <br> "Neil Diamond's <i>I Am, I Said</i> is <i>(genial)</i>".<br> <br> <i>Genius-like</i> isn't really satisfactory and I would prefer a simple adjective to another noun, like <i>masterpiece</i>, much less <i>sheer genius</i>, <i>pure genius</i>, etc.<br> <br> Many thanks for any help you might give me. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2004:site.9862 Thu, 02 Sep 2004 00:28:30 -0800 descriptive etymology genius language linguistics prescriptive usage MiguelCardoso