Saturday, April 17, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Looking for a word describing what you are asking for in a trade

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 09:32 AM PDT

For example, if I want to trade my widget for someone else's trinket, I would refer to the widget as my "offer". What word could I use to describe the trinket, the item I hope to receive? The most appropriate word I can think of so far is the "ask". Are there any other words I should consider?

I would prefer a single word instead of a compound-word or phrase, but would still be curious to learn about them.

Sirius the Dog Star shines brightly

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 08:22 AM PDT

If I wanted to refer to the magnitude (brightness) of Sirius, would "Sirius's magnitude" be a (the?) correct form for placing the ending 's' and apostrophe? I always get confused about possessive forms of words already ending in an 's.'

Minimizing the Number of Syllables when Pronouncing Years

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 08:08 AM PDT

Question

Do native English speakers minimize the number of syllables when they pronounce years?

Furthermore, is there linguistics/psychology literature on this phenomenon?

Observations

Here is a table showing how I pronounce some years (I don't know how to render into the IPA, but I hope this is clear enough).

Year Pronounced (R) Pedantic (E) (E - R)
1701 seventeen-o-one (5) one thousand seven hundred one (8) 3
1777 seventeen-seventy-seven (8) one thousand seven hundred seventy seven (12) 4
1901 nineteen-o-one (4) one thousand nine hundred one (7) 3
1999 nineteen-ninety-nine (5) one thousand nine hundred ninety nine (9) 4
2000 two-thousand (3) two thousand (3) 0
2001 two-thousand-one (4) two thousand one (4) 0
2007 two-thousand-seven (5) two thousand seven (5) 0
2009 two-thousand-nine (4) two thousand nine (4) 0
2010 twenty-ten (3) two thousand ten (4) 1
2011 twenty-eleven (5) two thousand eleven (6) 1
2020 twenty-twenty (4) two thousand twenty (5) 1

Year is a numeral representation of a year, Pronounced is how I pronounce the year, Pedantic shows how I would pronounce the number formally, (numbers in parentheses) show my count for the number of syllables in each word. (E - R) shows the difference between the number of syllables in the pedantic and pronounced cases, representing how many syllables I avoid pronouncing by taking a shortcut. Notice that (E - R) is always greater than or equal to zero.

In each row, the way I pronounce a year appears to be near the lowest possible number of syllables that still communicates the number. An exception is 1777. I could save one syllable by saying "one seven seven seven"—seven syllables instead of eight.

I do not pronounce 2009 as "twenty-o-nine," but that pronunciation does not seem bad since it has the same number of syllables as "two-thousand-nine."

Some Comments and Prior Reading

I noticed this at the transitions between the 2000, 2010, and 2020 decades; and currently the "minimizing syllables" hypothesis is my best guess for why I often hear years pronounced differently.

An article that discussed how years in the first decades (00s) remarked on differences between American English and British English pronunciation, but the majority of its focus was whether the term 'aughts' was used historically[1]

... Americans living at the turn of the century referred to individual years as "aughts," meaning zero, as in "nineteen aught one," "nineteen aught two," etc.

"Nineteen aught one" and "Nineteen o one" have the same number of syllables by my count.

A Macmillan Dictionary Blog post speculated on how we might pronounce years that haven't occurred yet (e.g. 2100, 2101), and claimed (without citing) a BBC newsreaders poll that people usually pronounced 2009 as "twenty oh nine," then concluded:[2]

As for why this way of saying years arose in the first place, I suspect it is simply because it is easier and quicker – try saying 1777 both ways to see what I mean.

There are a few previous English Language & Usage StackExchange posts that deal with similar topics:

... but neither fit the 'minimize syllables' portion.

The accepted answer to What are the rules for pronunciation of years in English? deals with this, but doesn't cite sources.

Footnotes

Using "sunset" and similar words outside the Solar System

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 07:38 AM PDT

Is it acceptable to use the words sunset, sunlight, and even simply sun in the context of the local star, when the setting is a star system outside our own?

Furthermore, what about using the above in a (science) fiction setting where the Sun is not known in context (for example, the galaxy far, far away of Star Wars)?

Are there accepted alternatives which would be organically understood by readers? For example, the word starlight implies the light at night, while a word like Alpha-Centauri-A-light is rather clunky.

Can "raise a point" and "make a point" mean the same thing generally?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 07:29 AM PDT

I personally think "to raise a point" means "to mention some point of interest" while "to make a point" means "to state or demonstrate something of particular interest" but I'm in a conversation with someone insisting both mean the latter to them.

Which non-American English dialects (or possibly even regional American dialects) abide by this other person's usage of those two idioms?

Which article do I have to use for 'uniform taste'?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 04:25 AM PDT

This is the sentence: The chef underlines the use of basic ingredients for a/X/the uniform taste.

The description of a woman's haircut

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:41 AM PDT

While reading a short story I met the description of a woman's haircut. That is here:

She had close-cut hair which stood up on the very top of her head exactly like a sea wave.

I can't imagine the picture: if her hair is very short, how can it be standing up on the top of her head?
If the hair's standing up 'like a sea wave' it should be much more longer, shouldn't it?
Is there any difference between a 'close-cut hair' and a 'short haircut'?

Thanks all for the answers!

In the following sentence, how many places with passive voice are there?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 04:01 AM PDT

Consider the sentence:

The matter reported by the news is prohibited by the law.

"is prohibited" is passive voice here, but what about "reported by the news"? Is it passive voice too?

I'm thinking if the phrase "the matter reported by the news" is a shortened version of "The matter, which is reported by the news". The latter is passive voice I suppose.

How do 'within' and 'which' form a relative pronoun clause?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:02 AM PDT

Routines offer a structure within which to prepare for performance.

I'm having trouble untangling the relative pronoun clause into a sentence of its own. At first glance, the two sentences combined seem to be simple. However, when attempted, there seems to be no subject for the relative pronoun clause.

Routines offer a structure.

Within the structure to prepare for performance. (lacks subject)

This has me questioning whether or not the original sentence is grammatically correct, which seems intuitively implausible. Any tips?

Are /t, p, k/ aspirated when they are at the start of a syllable after another syllable that ends in /s/?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 04:30 AM PDT

In English (native speakers' speech), voiceless plosives such as /t/, /p/ and /k/ are produced with a strong burst of air when they are in the start of a syllable before a vowel. That is called "aspiration". For example,

  • kill [kʰɪl]
  • tar [tʰɑː(r)]
  • pie [pʰaɪ]

But after a preceding /s/ in the same syllable, there is no aspiration:

  • skill [skɪl]
  • star [stɑː(r)]
  • spy [spaɪ]

Now there are words in English in which the /s/ is at the end of the first syllable and a voiceless plosive at the beginning of the next syllable:

  • whisper /ˈwɪs.pə(r)/
  • whiskey /ˈwɪs.ki/
  • sister /ˈsɪs.tə(r)/

It is clear that the syllable division is between the /s/ and /p/, /k/, /t/ in the above examples. The /p/, /k/ and /t/ are at the start of syllables and are expected to be aspirated since voiceless plosives are usually aspirated in that position. Nevertheless, whenever I aspirated those plosives, it feels like I'm overexaggerating.

My question is: are plosives at that position (in the start of a syllable after a syllable that ends with /s/) aspirated in native speakers' speech?

"behind the open door are hidden several differences". Is this grammatically correct? (Inversion+adverbial phrase of location+be verb)

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:41 AM PDT

Behind the open door are hidden several differences.

This seems to be an inversion of the sentence

Several differences are hidden behind the open door.

Both sound intuitively correct, but the former inverted sentence does not fit the general inversion pattern of 'adverbial phrase + verb + subject', since it also contains the complement, 'hidden'.

Is there an inversion sentence pattern that I'm missing? Or is the former sentence just plain wrong?

When using conjunctions in a question to connect two sentences, should I add a comma before the conjunction?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 02:17 AM PDT

When using conjunctions in a question to connect two sentences, should I add a comma before the conjunction?

For example,

Why did you leave me to be like this ,and disappear without a single trace?

Or,

Why did you leave me to be like this and disappear without a single trace?

Usage of 'fit' as tight

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 01:45 AM PDT

In Indian languages I have seen the usage of the word 'fit' as being used to imply something is too-tight. In a Gujarati the sentence would use the word 'fit' to describe a garment that is too tight when worn. "Its too 'fit' when I wear it" (spoken in a local language with 'fit' as the only English word).

I didn't think too much of this and dismissed it as an Indianism till I realized this word is used in the exact same way in Thai to describe the exact same thing.

This made me curious as to how in 2 similar but distant and different cultures a foreign word would get used to mean the exact same thing, while neither the local languages have this word nor does the word in the language of origin have this meaning.

(Reference for the Thai usage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3CyGvdky50&t=418s )

"Make an apology" vs "give an apology"

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 03:38 AM PDT

I've seen a BrE textbook stating that only one is correct ("give"). But I don't believe that to be true. Are both correct? Do they have different usage? Are there differences between AmE and BrE in this regard? Thanks!

"make an apology" "give an apology"

Word describing a distinct absence of intellectual curiosity?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 09:41 AM PDT

Is there any adjective that means "not intellectually curious", but which isn't simply the opposite of a more common word, like 'incurious' and 'uninterested'?

I found some ideas from the definition of incurious:

Lacking intellectual inquisitiveness or natural curiosity; uninterested.

But these tend to be opposites of more common words.

Are there any unique words to describe the quality of a pronounced absence of intellectual curiosity?

How can this situation be described in a word(or a concise phrase)?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 06:40 AM PDT

I would like to describe the funded project of someone incompetent who has failed to properly complete it mainly due to his incompetence but who has managed to present it in its failed state as a success even though it is essentially useless and bears little resemblance to the pre-agreed specifications of the project.

define "the dangerous age"

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 07:26 AM PDT

How many years-old is "the dangerous age"? Where does the term come from? (Google doesn't seem to know.)

"I've reached the dangerous age, and lady, I'm going to have fun."

X Minus One - Volpa - 8/29/1957 (episode 109) - 03:28 https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles/XMinusOne57-08-29109Volpla.mp3

"Superhands" vs "Super Hans" pronunciation

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 03:29 AM PDT

I've been watching Peep Show and I just discovered on the internet that the guy I thought was named "Superhands" is actually called "Super Hans".

Is it normal to confuse these two due to similarities in pronunciation? The 'd' is not silent in 'hands', is it? Or can they be phonetically equivalent in certain dialects?

one big of a [noun]

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:25 AM PDT

Asked to comment on the use of the phrase "one big of a question," I responded that it sounded totally off to me. I've always used a noun in the place of "big" here: one hell of a night, one humdinger of a lunch, one devil of a time, etc. Someone countered me with this link and the assertion that it indeed exists because it came up in the Google search. As far as I'm concerned, it's existence on Google doesn't automatically make it grammatical or acceptable, but I wonder if perhaps I'm missing something?

Which of these is the correct form?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:00 AM PDT

The equipment ....... delivered tomorrow afternoon.

A) will been B) will be

And I appreciate it if you explain the differences between the two of them.

What is the name of the poetic device where the author creates neologisms/malaprops to complete the rhyme?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 09:35 AM PDT

I just learned about slant rhyming where you use a distorted not quite rhyme. Emily Dickinson is noted or these. (I personally don't like these, as they distract. Much like trying to make a pun on Polish the nationality and polish to make shiny just because they are spelled the same way.)

But on the flip side, here are a few that go the other way. Forcing the rhyme to work by changing the word.

Ogden Nash:

Parsley is garsley

Bennett Cerf and the extended abbreviation.

There was a young lady from Del.   Who was most undoubtedly wel.   That to dress for a masque   Wasn't much of a tasque,   But she cried, 'What on earth will my fel.?'

Or you can just mangle the spelling to enforce the rhyme.

In New Orleans there dwelled a young Creole  Who when asked if her hair was all reole  Replied with a shrug  'Just give it a tug  And decide by the way that I squeole.'

What is this called?

Edit: A commenter asked if another answer fit. I said "The question there is very similar to mine, although the example is hard for me to parse as it's structure is odd. The answer is mostly slant rhyme lacking, the cleverness that the examples above have."

In the extended abbreviations example, Cerf does a fun wordplay. The abbreviations make the limerick scan correctly, but if you don't expand them the meaning doesn't make sense. And the other two expansions don't work as real words, but spoken aloud make perfect sense.

'Masque' is rhymed with 'tasque'. This is visual word play. Spoken it could just as well be mask and task. By using 'tasque', Cerf is adding a visual word play.

In the next one, the author uses exact rhyming spelling, but to make the rhyme subtly shifts the pronunciation. 'Reole' wouldn't be pronounced the same as 'real' but more like 'ree owl' where 'owl' is like 'bowl'. Similarly with 'squeole'.

Where slant rhyming comes across as being lazy and sloppy, this sort of thing is a humourous and clever form of wordplay.

Semantic sense of word ‘with’ in sentence

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 03:41 AM PDT

The sentence: "The midwife took 40 roubles for two months' board and attendance, 25 went to get the baby into the foundlings' hospital, and 40 the midwife borrowed to buy a cow with"

What sense does the word "with"(the last word in the sentence) have?

How did the meaning of "once more, anew" arise in "again"?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 12:54 AM PDT

Ayto doesn't expound where the late 14c. meaning of 'once more, anew' sprang from? Is "once more, anew" related to "in a direct line with, facing" or "in the opposite direction, back"?

again [OE]

The underlying etymological sense of again is 'in a direct line with, facing', hence 'opposite' and 'in the opposite direction, back' (its original meaning in Old English). It comes from a probable Germanic *gagin 'straight', which was the source of many compounds formed with on or in in various Germanic languages, such as Old Saxon angegin and Old Norse íg gegn. The Old English form was ongēan, which would have produced ayen in modern English; however, Norse-influenced forms with a hard g had spread over the whole country from northern areas by the 16th century. The meaning 'once more, anew' did not develop until the late 14th century. From Old English times until the late 16th century a prefix-less form gain was used in forming compounds. It carried a range of meanings, from 'against' to 'in return', but today survives only in gainsay.
      The notion of 'opposition' is carried through in against, which was formed in the 12th century from again and what was originally the genitive suffix -es, as in always and nowadays. The parasitic -t first appeared in the 14th century.

Word Origins (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 11 Right column.

Writing out scientific symbols

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 05:54 AM PDT

How should µeV be written out? Is it microelectronvolts? or microelectron-volts?

Is the /p/ aspirated in /pr/ combination in the beginning of a stressed syllable?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 02:44 AM PDT

In English the /p/ is generally aspirated (produced with a strong burst of air) when it comes in the start of a stressed syllable. For example, the /p/ in "pin" is aspirated (produced with a strong puff of air) in Native English speakers' speech: [pʰɪn]

Conversely, non-native English speakers don't usually have aspirated /p/'s on that position. So non-natives might pronounce it without a strong puff of air.

When Native English speakers may pronounce it with a strong puff of air: "pin" = [pʰɪn]. Non-natives: "pin" = [pɪn] (there may be a little aspiration but not strong enough)

I usually have aspirated /p/ on the start of stressed syllable (even though I sound unnatural but I still try). I listened to many words starting with /pr/ (stressed /pr/) but I can't tell apart [pʰr] and [pr]. I don't even know if P before R is aspirated or not.

When P is not in combination with another consonant, and is only before a vowel in stressed syllable, it is easy to tell the difference. But here the /p/ is in combination with /r/.

Do English speakers (native) aspirate the /p/ before /r/? If yes, where does your tongue move for the [r] after the aspiration?

Origin of the word "delete"

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 04:20 AM PDT

What is the history of the word "delete".

It's from Latin "deletus", but I wonder how and why this word was borrowed in English.

Usually, words directly borrowed in English are from religious, science, or law usage.

That's specially weird, as there doesn't seem to be descend words from "deletus" in French, Italian, etc...
Why only English? And Why English?

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/words_with_latin_roots_unique_english.shtml

To generalize, how most of those words came directly in English, and were forgotten by the Romance languages? Do they have something in common?

"...the person or body who..." vs. "...the person or body which..."

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 01:57 AM PDT

When referring to both natural and non-natural persons (i.e. organisations) at the same time, is it appropriate to use 'which' or 'who'?

For example:

1.

  • '... request the person or body who has the responsibility for this task..' or
  • '... request the person or body which has the responsibility for this task..'

2.

  • '...the person or body to whom the application was directed' or
  • '...the person or body to which the application was directed'

(There is a reason that 'person' precedes 'the body')

"Will" vs "would" in reported speech

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 08:47 AM PDT

Suppose today is 30th November. Today my friend (John) says to me on phone "I will definitely go to the market tomorrow".

Now if I want to report his speech just after a few hours on 30th November, "will" or "would", which one should I use? 

  • Hey mom, tomorrow I will be very busy. I will have to have got ready by 10:30 tomorrow. John told me that he would/will definitely go to the market tomorrow. I can't miss the chance going there with him.

The collective noun for cultures from different sites (blood, urine etc.)

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 01:48 AM PDT

What is the collective noun for microbiological cultures from different sites (blood, urine, feces etc.)? For example:

"Data on ___________ [cultures from different sites (blood, urine etc.)] were collected from the department of clinical microbiology."

single-letter translation from Greek letters to English letters?

Posted: 17 Apr 2021 08:23 AM PDT

Is there a well accepted way to represent each Greek letter using only one English letter?

I'm asking because I often needed to use English to represent Greek letters, e.g., when Greek font is absent. Of course, we have LaTex, and can use:

\alpha, \beta, ..., and so on

But that is rather long to write down. Is there a good single letter translation? For example

\alpha  -->   /a  \beta   -->   /b  \gamma  -->   /g  ...

Of course, this translation should respect the lineage between alphabets as much as possible. Searching about this, I found the ESL question Is there a reason behind the ordering of letters in the English alphabet?. The answers there do suggest that there is some correspondence/heritage between the two alphabets, and English alphabet has added letters such as W, U, J.

Also, there seems to be an ISO standard 843 for such translation, but certain Greek letters such as \psi require two English ones (ps).

Is there a standard for one-letter translation/representation from Greek to English letters?
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