Friday, March 25, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

What word (sound) can be used when a sword pierces through ground?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:21 PM PDT

I was reading a manhua where the guy pierces his sword through the ground (like when you stab someone) the SFX translates to Boom but it doesn't go well with the scene. Can anyone tell me what sound (word) can be used for it?

Is 'peasant' generally considered derogatory?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 08:23 PM PDT

Is peasant when used in general to describe a modern socioeconomic class considered to be derogatory?

Apparently there is no issue when talking about European history...

I read in the Brtitannica online

peasant, any member of a class of persons who till the soil as small landowners or as agricultural labourers. The term peasant originally referred to small-scale agriculturalists in Europe in historic times, but many other societies, both past and present, have had a peasant class.

Here in Latin-America, approximately 60% of the population come from families squatting and often squabbling over a parcel of land mostly insufficient to provide sustenance for a family any larger that 4 or 5 people. [Hence the constant migration to the North...]

In Spanish, we often call these people campesinos...not when addressing them face to face, but in discussion of the people in terms of economic classes. Some people say this is a derogatory form of

field hand

(which describes workers who work the fields, but would not include those owning their own land.)

This could be an insult...the most famous example I can think of is from the de Palma film*.

Is 'peasant' usually considered derogatory when discussing the socioeconomic class?

Or is it just obsolete in this usage?

*Scarface (1983)

Are these same meaning? Write off the inflation = head off the inflation? [closed]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 05:16 PM PDT

While many economists are willing to write off the inflation as temporary with soaring used auto and truck prices contributing a large component,

Demonstrative pronoun doubt [migrated]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 04:14 PM PDT

Solutions in this category focus on mental health and mental diseases, primarily using AR/VR technology to conduct different kinds of therapy. Some examples of this include behavioural therapy, done by BehaVR, or treatments for Autism, ADHD, and other disorders; something that Floreo Tech focuses on.

I wrote the above paragraph, and had a doubt about the "Some examples of this" part. For some reason, using "these" feels wrong. My intention is that the "this" refers to the latter part of the sentence, i.e. examples of "primarily using AR/VR technology to conduct different kinds of therapy".

Is this correct?

"Sought for" at the end of a sentence

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:12 PM PDT

Does anyone know if "sought for" can be used at the end of a clause, phrase, or sentence, even if "for" might be redundant? I'm not speaking of "sought for [something]", but "sought for" as an ending (with a period or comma only).

Is 'Me no want no drama' a grammatically correct sentence? [closed]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 01:17 PM PDT

If not, how come this sentence is used in lyrics wrote by an american rapper?

Do you hear me callin'? Do you hear me callin'? Me no want no drama. Not a fighter, a lover. Do you hear me callin'? Do you hear me callin'? Me no want no drama. I just want you, my darling.

Above is the part of the song in which the sentence is used.

adj + as + pronoun + to be verb + verb can anyone explain? [migrated]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 12:16 PM PDT

I see an example in 504 essential words that I've never seen before.

the sentence structure is little bit strange for me.

Can anyone explain the definition and meaning

"Unaccustomed as he was to exercise,..."

And what is the difference with:

"he was unaccustomed to exercise"

Word for life originating on Earth [closed]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:07 AM PDT

What would a word be for life originating on Earth? I think something like 'Earthian' or 'Terran' would be adequate.

Is "thus forth" valid English, and if so, what does it mean?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:06 AM PDT

Is "thus forth" valid English, and if so, what does it mean? Searching through Google, this can be found in place of therefore and thenceforth/henceforth, but I don't see any specific dictionary definitions.

Does the letter "é" exist or not in English? [duplicate]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 01:16 PM PDT

When we write in English, what alphabet should be used to represent all the words of standard English?

Are ASCII codes enough to represent all the English words?

Say, the word "café" is it English standard? If yes, should we count the é letter as the English standard one?

Single noun/phrase to denote transfer across levels of formality of language

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 12:16 AM PDT

Question: What is the name of the quality denoting the formality/colloquialism of and/or amount of jargon in language?

Context: I am writing a review for a paper in which authors developed a model that, taking informal descriptions as input, outputs formal names of the entities described.

Examples:

He said he was feeling tired and then... --> Mr. X reportedly complained of fatigue before the accident.

Doc, I really struggle to breathe --> Patient was admitted with mild dyspnea.

I've been having fever on an off for the past few days --> Has been experiencing intermittent fever.

Is there a single term that captures the notion that language might have different level of formalism and/or level of field-specific terminology?

What I am currently considering writing: "[the model presented] performs entity linking across the language register and ...". I might even have to say "sociolinguistic language register" as register is an often-abused word in computer science, and I would rather keep it simple.

Does anyone happen to have an insight on this?

Can a Thought be Alienable?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:11 PM PDT

I have been doing some research around Alienable and Inalienable Nouns, and it seems to me something like "a thought" could be considered an alienable noun.

Alienable here means, something which can have its ownership transferred, or not be owned at all. Clear examples: money, a shoe.

Because the concept of "a thought" isn't necessarily owned by anyone. Is this correct?

Take the phrase "Now that's a thought.", would the thought in that sentence be considered alienable or inalienable?

Edit

An inalienable noun is something which A) cannot be transferred B) Must be owned, and C) Has an unbreakable relationship with the person who owns it. For example, your generally your thoughts are inalienable, because it's not possible for you to give them to someone else, and it's not possible for them to occur without you, the possessor.

What's the difference between completed actions in the past and single completed actions in the past? [migrated]

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:19 AM PDT

What is the difference between completed actions and single completed actions ? We often use the past simple tense for single completed events and past tenses , and we use the past continuous for temporary or interrupted actions . So why don't we just say ** completed actions in the past ** rather than ** single ** completed actions in the past ?

What is the OK antonym?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 12:47 PM PDT

I try to translate a web application, and if a specific condition is meet we have to write

x < y : OK

I mean, when "x<y", the "OK", means "all correct", the KO means "you should fix something, is not good like this", in a short message

So, for the "KO" what word should be used?

Variants:

  • x > y: KO!
  • x > y: NOK!
  • ??? what other short abbreviation/word of English "standard" could be used in that context?
  • Are there differences in en-US vs en-UK?

NB

The best thesaurus suggested antonym is "bad"/"BAD", but maybe are the better options?

What is Dickens’ “fly-catcher”?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:56 PM PDT

This is a passage from Dickens' Little Dorrit, chapter 11. Emphasised words relate to the question below.

'Ah Heaven, then,' said she. 'When the boat came up from Lyons, and brought the news that the devil was actually let loose at Marseilles, some fly-catchers swallowed it. But I? No, not I.'

'Madame, you are always right,' returned the tall Swiss. 'Doubtless you were enraged against that man, madame?'

'Ay, yes, then!' cried the landlady, raising her eyes from her work, opening them very wide, and tossing her head on one side. 'Naturally, yes.'

'He was a bad subject.'

'He was a wicked wretch,' said the landlady, 'and well merited what he had the good fortune to escape. So much the worse.'

What does the term fly-catchers above mean?

Also: what does it mean to say "well merited what he had the good fortune to escape"? What is well merited here? The good fortune? If he was a wicked wretch then why his escape is well merited. Please help.

I fail to understand the meaning of the above sentences.

negating contractions in Jane Austen

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:07 AM PDT

The novels of Jane Austen frequently contain constructions of the form

auxiliary verb not

which today are forbidden. We have

Didn't you like it?

Did you not like it?

but

*Did not you like it?

Do we have any evidence as to whether she was accurately reporting speech, or whether this was then the orthography for what we write as didn't, don't, etc.?

This is related to this question and to this paper by Zwicky and Pullum mentioned there, but those assume that the given construction is forbidden, whereas here we see it used.

Some arbitrary examples from Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (posthumous, 1818):

Pride and Prejudice

ch. 5
"did not I mention it to you?"

ch. 6
"they called here afterwards, did not they?"

ch. 10
"Do not you, Darcy?"

ch. 12
"would not it be better for Captain Benwick"

Persuasion

ch. 7
"why should not I?"

ch. 9
"would not it be better"

ch. 12
"Do not you, Anne?"
"did not you hear, did not his servant say"

ch. 23
"What should not you mind?"

When and where did the phrase "Blue alert" originate?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 04:04 PM PDT

I've been trying to figure out where and when the phrase "blue alert" was first used. I know it has multiple meanings and I also found a reference to its origin, but I need to dig deeper.

I found the following information here: https://www.theidioms.com/blue-alert/

It is generally accepted that blue alert was officially coined in Texas back in 2008. It is designed specifically to refer to an imminent threat against law enforcement personnel in the area. It is an alert that is usually issued when a suspect is still at large and a police officer has been either injured, killed, or is currently under threat.

  • Can someone confirm whether 2008 was the earliest recorded instance of this phrase? Did it make its first appearance in a newspaper or was it used in an online forum somewhere?

How do I ask a question in a sentence while referencing a quote?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 04:04 PM PDT

I am working on an assignment where you are supposed to ask Obama a question. I wanted to include the quote in the middle of my sentence and use that quote to help me ask my end question. I added a comma after the quote then asked my question. Is this correct (see below)?

I assume you consider yourself now retired. After you and Michelle "...slept late, ate leisurely dinners, went for long walks, swam in the ocean, took stock, replenished our friendship, rediscovered our love, and planned for a less eventful but hopefully no less satisfying second act.", Did you struggle to find a purpose excluding the standard post-presidency obligations?

Word Choice/Phrase: Alternate Term for “Little Opportunity”

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:03 PM PDT

I'm looking to use another word in place of "little opportunity," but can't seem to think of one. Any suggestions?

They left the country to escape the little opportunity.

Use of connectors and and prepositions with verbs

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 06:03 PM PDT

First question here, hope to not be making a mistake. I searched in the forum but I could not find something related (Probably due to my limited knowledge about English grammar terminology)

To put you all in context, today I delivered an essay for revision and there were two sentences which were considered wrong, these sentences were.

  • During the recent years there have been many reasons that have encouraged the people to travel.

(My teacher considered that the "the" was unnecessary)

  • During the last decades the costs associated with traveling have been reduced strongly giving to the consumers the opportunity ....

(They suggested that the sentence should be '... giving the consumers' instead of 'giving to the consumers'.)

Could you please tell me why I was wrong and which are the rules I should follow when using these 'connectors' to deal with nouns and subjects.

"I currently work at" vs "I'm working at"

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:03 PM PDT

I currently work at a grocery store.

I'm working at a grocery store.

What would be the correct tense to use when we're saying that we have a job but it's a temporary one.

What is the origin of the phrase "to cut someone down to size"?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 05:41 PM PDT

I am wondering how the phrase "to cut someone down to size" came to mean what it does. I'm not sure if it is true but I read somewhere that the origin of the phrase goes back to the Middle English story of King Arthur cutting off a giant's legs at the knees. Also, I don't know how common the phrase is in American English.

Can you please explain the use of “in what” in this sentence below?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

I couldn't figure out the grammatical role of "in what" in the sentence below. What does "in" refer to in this case? Can someone explain it please ?

Burroughs killed Vollmer in what he first admitted to and shortly thereafter denied as a drunken attempt at playing William Tell.

to have been vs. to be following past tense

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:08 PM PDT

Which of the following sentences is correct:

I was fortunate to have been selected for an award.

OR

I was fortunate to be selected for an award.

To be clear both event happened in the past, that is: I was fortunate 2 years ago when I was selected for the award... Thank you! Ferenc

Can I "denote X by Y" in a mathematics paper?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 01:00 PM PDT

It comes as no surprise that the word "denote" appears quite frequently in mathematics, mostly in the context where succinct notation is being introduced for some object.

As far as I understand, it's uncontroversial to say "Let N denote the set of positive integers".

However, that does not quite convey the intended meaning (at least for me): It's the speaker(s) who assign the meaning "the set of positive integers" to the symbol "N". This tempts many (myself included) to instead say:

"We denote the set of positive integers by/with N".

This is often criticised as incorrect, but I've also heard it being defended. So, is the latter usage correct?

Using "logging in" correctly

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 04:04 PM PDT

There are a lot of questions concerning the correct use if login, log in, etc.

When speaking directly to an use I would say

You can always change this permission by logging in in the internal download area [...]

because after the "logging in" I naturally would do a very short pause before continuing with an emphasis on "in the internal download area".

However when I wrote it down on the site I'm developing, I didn't like it. The double "in" seems wrong o to me but I don't know how to express that in better way. Could anyone help me here? What about "by logging into the internal"?

What is another phrase for one stop shop?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:00 PM PDT

I am writing a small description and need a phrase to highlight a range of services. Is there another phrase for "one stop shop" which is both catchy and apt?

Which is grammatically correct: "Let he who..." or "Let him who..."

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 02:09 PM PDT

  1. Let he who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.
  2. Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)