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Aisha
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Aisha » 2016-06-23, 15:22

what means of that word?take one's time?

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby linguoboy » 2016-06-23, 15:48

Aisha wrote:What does it means of that word? to say "take one's time"?

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_one%27s_time
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby kuЫК » 2016-06-24, 6:38

A question about articles from a person whose native languge doesn't have them.
There's a the? frase Are you going to choose the wine? What is the logic behind the definite article here?
As I understand it, the a? definite article refers to a common context. If I ask a person which wine they are going to choose, then I haven't known which wine they are going to choose, there's no specific wine in our common context, therefore it should be a wine. But since there's the wine in the correct sentence, there should have been a mistake in my reasoning. And I can't see what that mistake is. :(

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Bubulus » 2016-06-24, 11:10

kuЫК wrote:A question about articles from a person whose native languge doesn't have them.
There's a the? frase Are you going to choose the wine? What is the logic behind the definite article here?
As I understand it, the a? definite article refers to a common context. If I ask a person which wine they are going to choose, then I haven't known which wine they are going to choose, there's no specific wine in our common context, therefore it should be a wine. But since there's the wine in the correct sentence, there should have been a mistake in my reasoning. And I can't see what that mistake is. :(

I think this has to do with expected resources in a setting being often part of the common context too. When I say "expected resources", I mean things that you can possibly assume are given in a context. For example, a party typically has food and music, and therefore you can assume these two and start talking about "the food" and "the music" from the beginning:

    A: I went to a party last night.
    B: How was the food?
    A: Was actually very good, and all of it home-made.

And yes, as for your hesitation with the articles there, you should say "the phrase" and "the definite article" in these cases. So you're clearly getting the hang of this. :)
Last edited by Bubulus on 2016-06-24, 11:17, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Bubulus » 2016-06-24, 11:17

Oh, as for your specific question, similarly, dinners, especially formal ones, often (but not always of course) have wine. Saying "Are you going to choose the wine?" therefore implies that you expect the wine.

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby linguoboy » 2016-06-24, 16:04

kuЫК wrote:As I understand it, the a? definite article refers to a common context. If I ask a person which wine they are going to choose, then I haven't known which wine they are going to choose, there's no specific wine in our common context, therefore it should be a wine. But since there's the wine in the correct sentence, there should have been a mistake in my reasoning. And I can't see what that mistake is. :(

"Definite" doesn't mean the same thing as "specific" anyway. After all, English has a (formal) usage where a definite article is used generically, e.g. "The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates[.]"
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Osias » 2016-07-13, 22:40

linguoboy wrote:This may be more of an Indian English question than a generic English question per se, but the other night I was passing the local jamatkhana and overheard part of an argument. A woman yelled at an older man, "I respect you as an elder but don't put the finger!" I don't know any idiomatic interpretation for put the finger in English, so the sentence makes no sense to me. Can anyone help?

If you translate it literally to portuguese it gives "por o dedo", an idiom for "to interfere". It would make sense in the context.
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Keystone » 2016-07-14, 13:33

johnklepac wrote:I've never heard "dead presidents" used in an actual conversation, although it's certainly a creative phrase and I wouldn't mind if it caught on. You sometimes hear "benjamins" for $100 bills, and (jovially) "Hamiltons" for $10s in a certain Lonely Island song.

There are more rare slang terms than just what Dormouse mentioned (although those are used too), though, like:
green
greenbacks
paper
stacks
bling-bling
bread
cheddar
moolah


"Dead presidents" to signify money is common in rap music. Beyond Eminem, Nas back in the day and Kendrick Lamar now both have songs that use that phrase. There are definitely others as well, but those are two high-profile examples that I know about.
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby razlem » 2016-08-25, 21:39

There's a word I'm looking for, but I can't seem to find or think of. It means roughly 'obligate' in the context of:

"To claim this [] a litany of documentation"

The sense isn't as stark as "requires", and "obligates" doesn't sound right. Any thoughts?
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby vijayjohn » 2016-08-27, 15:42

linguoboy wrote:This may be more of an Indian English question than a generic English question per se, but the other night I was passing the local jamatkhana and overheard part of an argument. A woman yelled at an older man, "I respect you as an elder but don't put the finger!" I don't know any idiomatic interpretation for put the finger in English, so the sentence makes no sense to me. Can anyone help?

Sorry for not responding to this (much) sooner, but I'm not sure I can tell without knowing the broader context. However, I could see Indians using put the finger to mean 'give someone the finger' in a context like this.
razlem wrote:There's a word I'm looking for, but I can't seem to find or think of. It means roughly 'obligate' in the context of:

"To claim this [] a litany of documentation"

The sense isn't as stark as "requires", and "obligates" doesn't sound right. Any thoughts?

Suggests?

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby razlem » 2016-08-27, 18:30

vijayjohn wrote:Suggests?


Something more like "obligates one to find", without the absolute connotation of "requiring" it.
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Unknown » 2016-10-03, 1:43

linguoboy wrote:
kuЫК wrote:As I understand it, the a? definite article refers to a common context. If I ask a person which wine they are going to choose, then I haven't known which wine they are going to choose, there's no specific wine in our common context, therefore it should be a wine. But since there's the wine in the correct sentence, there should have been a mistake in my reasoning. And I can't see what that mistake is. :(

"Definite" doesn't mean the same thing as "specific" anyway. After all, English has a (formal) usage where a definite article is used generically, e.g. "The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates[.]"


Just to add, around here at least, "definite" implies something that is guaranteed. A "definite" answer - An answer that you know is guaranteed without any doubt. "Specific" refers to a particular thing. A "specific" answer - Not just any kind of answer.

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby linguoboy » 2016-10-03, 4:40

Cesare M. wrote:Just to add, around here at least, "definite" implies something that is guaranteed. A "definite" answer - An answer that you know is guaranteed without any doubt. "Specific" refers to a particular thing. A "specific" answer - Not just any kind of answer.

That's not really relevant to the definition of these terms within a linguistic context.
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Unknown » 2016-10-03, 12:47

linguoboy wrote:That's not really relevant to the definition of these terms within a linguistic context.


OK, I just thought I'd add that as you said that "specific" and "definite" don't mean the same thing. Apologies for the misunderstanding.

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Car » 2016-10-27, 20:30

Can anyone tell me what kind of accent this is? Thanks!

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Please correct my mistakes!

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby OyVey » 2016-10-27, 21:23

I think it's a Midwestern accent, but with really exaggerated and hilarious entonation.
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Dormouse559 » 2016-10-28, 2:19

It's a Yosemite Sam accent. :P
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby linguoboy » 2016-10-28, 2:45

When I am World Despot and can ban any words and phrases I want, one of them will be "Midwestern accent". People use as if it means something, but it doesn't. Several dialect zones include the Midwest, but they all extend outside of it as well. (My "Midwestern accent" includes the pin-pen merger and "y'all".)

In any case, this is not any variety of "Midwestern" accent; it's Southern. Some giveaways:

1. [ɪ] in ten. (The pin-pen merger, which extends into Southern Midland.)
2. [e] in bench (part of the Southern Shift).
3. Fronting of /ow/ (e.g. opening).
4. Lowering of the first element in /ey/ (e.g. eight)
5. Slight draw in back.
6. No cot-caught merger.

Deletion of /w/ in quarter is found in the informal English of several American varieties, but using it unabashedly in this sort of context strikes me as a pretty Southern trait. Really, only features (2) and (5) in the list above are exclusively Southern. (I have (1), (4), (6) and occasionally (3) in my own non-Southern speech).

Dormouse559 wrote:It's a Yosemite Sam accent. :P

Which is an exaggerated form of Texas accent. (After some sleuthing online, I'm pretty sure the announcer in the clip is John Paul Stevenson, a Texas native. My first guess was that he was local to Memphis, but apparently he's just lived there for some years.)
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Re: Discussion Group

Postby Car » 2016-10-28, 13:35

Thank you guys, especially linguoboy for the deep analysis!
Please correct my mistakes!

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Re: Discussion Group

Postby OyVey » 2016-10-28, 18:07

linguoboy wrote:When I am World Despot and can ban any words and phrases I want, one of them will be "Midwestern accent". People use as if it means something, but it doesn't. Several dialect zones include the Midwest, but they all extend outside of it as well. (My "Midwestern accent" includes the pin-pen merger and "y'all".)

In any case, this is not any variety of "Midwestern" accent; it's Southern. Some giveaways:

1. [ɪ] in ten. (The pin-pen merger, which extends into Southern Midland.)
2. [e] in bench (part of the Southern Shift).
3. Fronting of /ow/ (e.g. opening).
4. Lowering of the first element in /ey/ (e.g. eight)
5. Slight draw in back.
6. No cot-caught merger.

Deletion of /w/ in quarter is found in the informal English of several American varieties, but using it unabashedly in this sort of context strikes me as a pretty Southern trait. Really, only features (2) and (5) in the list above are exclusively Southern. (I have (1), (4), (6) and occasionally (3) in my own non-Southern speech).

Hmm. I guess I'm not good at recognizing different accents. It's surprising though, that you say "y'all". I didn't think that was used in Chicago, which is in the North. Or are you originally from somewhere else?

EDIT: I see, you grew up in Saint Louis. Can you post a link of someone from there speaking? It would be interesting to hear.
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