Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

General Q&A about specific languages, language in general, and linguistics.

Filters (None)
71%
+3 −0
Vietnamese lệnh and Thai เลย

If I understand correctly both Vietnamese lệnh ("ley") and Thai เลย ("l'ey") are vague in both languages in the sense that they can have various meanings which depend on context but generally used ...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by deleted user  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

50%
+2 −2
How did 'less than' semantically shift to mean 'if not'?

What semantic notions underlie less than and IF NOT? How did less than semantically shift to mean IF NOT in at least these 5 languages? Just edit this post if you pine to add other languages with t...

3 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 4mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

75%
+7 −1
'Caution' and 'cautious' with ʃ or ʒ?

I know some people pronounce caution with an /ʃ/ and others with a /ʒ/, and the same is true of cautious. I wonder if anyone can provide information on who says each (by region, time, etc.).

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

62%
+3 −1
"Us neither" - Is it valid?

Recently, I read the phrase "Us neither", and for some reason it irked me. I don't know why though, since I can't immediately say what exactly is wrong with it. Logically, "Me neither" and "Neither...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Moshi‭

83%
+8 −0
Why does the dollar sign precede the number in English?

In English, at least in USA, people write $3 and mean three dollars (rather than dollars three), while other units are written after the number; no c99, h13, min22, '5, etc. to be seen. Why is it $...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by tommi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

66%
+4 −1
What is a good translation for "waypoint" into Catalan?

I am reading some texts about routes for running. They explain interesting routes and allow getting the GPS track. Also, there is the option to modify the GPS track by adding waypoints. Now I wan...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by fedorqui‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Peter Taylor‭

75%
+7 −1
Order of pronouns

In an examination in my country (India) I had a multiple choice question on the order of pronouns. Q: Please try to remember when I, you and my wife were talking there. Options: A. you, I and ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Severus Snape‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Severus Snape‭

57%
+2 −1
Why do only certain letters have an ending form in Hebrew? [duplicate]

There's a list of certain letters in Hebrew that have a different form if they're at the end of a word - much like capital letters at the beginning of a sentence in English, but only for specific l...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mithical‭  ·  edited 3y ago by msh210‭

50%
+1 −1
How does backwardation semantically relate to "backward"?

What semantic notions underlie any sense of 'backwardness' (like "backward" or "backwards"), with the meaning of 'backwardation' below? Etymonline overlooked this term. OED is too brusque and doesn...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by tommi‭

62%
+3 −1
Difference between Hindi verbs that ends with "a", "e" and "i"

I can speak/understand/write/read many Indian languages but my grammar is not good in all those languages which I have learnt later. I have typed using English text here for brevity. Let's say I h...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Severus Snape‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Severus Snape‭

77%
+5 −0
Should we use "por que" or "porque" in "las autoridades se sentían estafadas *por que* se escaparan"?

I read this sentence in a book ("La Guerra Civil española", by Paul Preston): La tortura explicaba el gran número de suicidios que se registraban en las cárceles, y las autoridades, que se sentí...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by fedorqui‭

75%
+7 −1
Etymology of "ohyra"?

I'm wondering about the origin of the Swedish word ohyra (vermin). Someone humorously suggested that this would be because vermin are unwanted guests not paying rent (hyra), though they had no sour...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Lundin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by tommi‭

61%
+6 −3
How did “-able” semantically shift to mean “requiring”?

Etymonline on "-able" doesn't expound the origin of "requiring". -able common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 3y ago by PSTH‭

50%
+2 −2
How can a problem or puzzle be analogized as a knot?

An ESL student was asking about the quotation below at my school, but I don't know how to expound or simplify to her that "A problem or puzzle can be thought of as a knot." Any ideas? She knows wha...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jordan‭

50%
+2 −2
What semantic notions underlie "gasket" with "little gird, maidservant"?

I see that Etymonline warns of gasket's uncertain origin, but I still pine to understand this possible etymology. I know little about sailing, and Wikipedia annunciates: gaskets are lengths of r...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by PSTH‭

70%
+5 −1
Why word future events in the present?

If you're around tomorrow, stop by. I'll eat when I'm hungry. She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes. You're around tomorrow, I'm hungry, and she comes are describing fu...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

72%
+6 −1
What is the difference between 'u heeft' and 'u hebt'?

When conjugating 'hebben' I can see both forms, are they the same, or is only one of them correct? Is there a regional difference between the two?

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Peter‭  ·  edited 4y ago by msh210‭

77%
+5 −0
Why past tense in imaginative play in Finnish?

When playing house with a child, they say things like "Nyt se meni nukkumaan." when they mean that I should have the toy I am playing with go to bed. Similar use of the simple past / imperfect tens...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by tommi‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by viäränlaenen‭

40%
+2 −4
How can a prepositional phrase shift to become a verb?

I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for agree (v.) below unsettles me. a gré is a prepositional phrase, correct? If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a ve...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

33%
+0 −2
What semantic notions underlie 'privity' with 'privity of contract'?

The OED 3 ed, June 2007 defines b. privity of contract n. the limitation of a contractual relationship to the two parties making the contract, which prevents any action at law by an interested...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Moshi‭

50%
+2 −2
How did 'equity' semantically shift to mean 'Assets — Liabilities'?

I ask about Equity = Assets — Liabilities here, not its meaning as stock. See Personal Finance For Canadians For Dummies (2018), p 468. equity: In the real-estate world, this term refers to the...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

86%
+11 −0
Why was Spanish the only Romance language to lose the initial "F" in Latin words?

Going through the History of the Spanish language article in Wikipedia, I read the section Latin f- to Spanish h- to null some interesting insight: F was almost always initial in Latin words, an...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by fedorqui‭  ·  edited 4y ago by ArtOfCode‭

42%
+1 −2
Why is my Danglish pronunciation much better than Danish?

For background, there exists a stereotypical Danish pronunciation of English. "Danglish" can also mean other things, but this is what I am referring to, here. I lived one year in Denmark and can r...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by tommi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jordan‭

66%
+4 −1
Etymology of "son of a gun"

What's the origin of the expression "son of a gun"? This comic explains a possible origin: British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by hkotsubo‭  ·  edited 4y ago by hkotsubo‭

66%
+2 −0
Why are kinship terms typical examples of inalienablity but not meronomy?

According to Chappell & McGregor (1996: 4) there are four typical types of inalienably possessed nouns: spatial relationships such as the ’top’ or ’front’ of something physical parts, espec...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by curiousdannii‭  ·  edited 4y ago by curiousdannii‭

83%
+8 −0
Does Japanese have pronouns?

It is often said that Japanese doesn't really have a pronoun word class, such as in the Wikipedia article on Japanese Grammar: Although many grammars and textbooks mention pronouns (代名詞 daimeish...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by curiousdannii‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

77%
+5 −0
Are there any examples of neopronouns for non-binary or third gender people being fully incorporated into a language's grammar?

Many non-binary people now request that new third person pronouns (neopronouns) be used to refer to them, for example xe or ze. These have not been widely used by English speakers yet, but it's sti...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by curiousdannii‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Conrado‭

75%
+7 −1
What drives the complexity of a language?

Looking at English, its complexity seems to have been in constant decrease. For example, in the past, there were conjugations and a separate informal form of “you” (”thou”); all in all, the languag...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by celtschk‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

57%
+2 −1
How did 'consideration' shift to signify grounds and the act of deliberation, then inducer of a grant or promise?

        The name of Consideration appears only about the beginning of the sixteenth century, and we do not know by what steps it became a settled term of art. The word seems to have gone throug...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 3y ago by PSTH‭

71%
+3 −0
Why do certain Hebrew letters have alternate final forms?

Five Hebrew letters -- כ‎, מ‎, נ‎, צ‎, and פ‎ -- have different forms when at the end of a word. I have heard that this is true for certain letters in Arabic too, though I don't know if they're th...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Moshi‭

40%
+2 −4
How did « re » + « partir » compound to 🡲 "repartee", which means "rejoinder"?

In French, « partir » means "to (de)part". What semantic notions underlie « re » + « partir » 🡺 with the 2020 AD English meaning of repartee (i.e. riposting))? (de)parting and replying don't see...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

42%
+1 −2
How did "re" + "join" semantically compound to mean "riposte"?

In French, « joindre » means "to join". What semantic notions underlie « joindre » with the 2020 English "rejoin", which means to riposte? How did rejoindre shift to signify the 2020 English "rej...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 3y ago by PSTH‭

62%
+3 −1
How did 'the better to —' semantically shift to mean 'So as to — better'?

I screenshot Collins and Lexico. Let's treat this like a math problem. How exactly does "the better to —" = 'So as to — better'? Please show all steps between these two expressions.

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Moshi‭

70%
+5 −1
Why is the ـً in "شُكْرًا" and others pronounced?

Why is the -an in "شُكْرًا" (shukran) pronounced? I've heard it pronounced this way in Modern Standard Arabic and in colloquial. In both, I'd usually expect the -an to not be pronounced, especiall...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by user53100‭  ·  edited 4y ago by user53100‭

75%
+4 −0
What does "unused root" mean?

Often when I search for the origins and meanings of certain words in Tanach, I'll come across something like Strong's saying that it's from or probably from an "unused root". For example: What e...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Harel13‭  ·  edited 4y ago by msh210‭

77%
+5 −0
Is "estar de buenas" a widespread way to say "to be in a good mood"?

Recently I read in Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish that the phrase "estar de buenas" is a common way to say something like "to be in a good mood." I've found a bit of evidence of this online in...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Nathaniel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by fedorqui‭

77%
+5 −0
What does "se" mean in Micah 6:8, "Ya se te ha declarado..."?

What is the purpose of "se" in the following text from Micah 6:8 (Nueva Versión Internacional)? ¡Ya se te ha declarado lo que es bueno! Ya se te ha dicho lo que de ti espera el Señor It doesn't s...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Nathaniel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DonielF‭

80%
+6 −0
Why are there different suffixes for people of different countries in English?

I never thought about it too much until now, but in Hebrew, the only suffix, if I'm not mistaken, to refer to a person from a country is to add the letter Yod to the end of the name of the country ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Harel13‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Moshi‭

77%
+5 −0
~ません versus ~ないです

As far as my knowledge of Japanese goes, there are two ways to form polite negative forms of verbs, the direct conjugation ~ません and the plain negative conjugation ~ない with です added. Take for insta...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Moshi‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Moshi‭

66%
+2 −0
Icelandic patronymic pronunciation

I find the pronunciation of Icelandic highly regular and predictable on the whole, but male patronymics continue to puzzle me. The suffix "-son" is consistently pronounced with an initial /ʃ/ rath...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Lundin‭

75%
+4 −0
Is Swedish more conservative than Danish and Norwegians?

I have read somewhere that Swedish is more conservative than the other continental North Germanic languages, Norwegian and Danish. Clearly Icelandic is more conservative then these all. But is the ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by tommi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

81%
+7 −0
What is the origin (etymology) of the word مسدس (pistol)?

In Arabic the word مُسَدَّس refers to pistol when an arm is meant (see here on wikipedia). But it also refers to a hexagon (see here on wikipedia) -also سداسي أضلاع or سداسي- as it is a description...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Medi1saif‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Moshi‭

66%
+2 −0
Primary clause uses singular, subordinate co-reference is plural, what verb to use in English?

I sometimes find myself writing sentences with subordinate clauses where there is number mismatch between the primary and subordinate clauses. For example: The oath he swore, those words about se...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Moshi‭

50%
+3 −3
What is "these gentry" in Marxist writing?

In George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language", he refers to "[t]he jargon peculiar to Marxist writing (hyena, hangman, cannibal, petty bourgeois, these gentry, lackey, flunkey, mad d...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

72%
+6 −1
Why is “timbre” pronounced “tamber”?

One thing that’s always bothered me about the musical term timbre is its pronunciation. The word begs to be pronounced “timber,” yet it’s widely pronounced “tamber” instead. I understand the etymol...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by DonielF‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by user8078‭

75%
+4 −0
What is the Thai word for plurally numerical answer expectancy?

I know that in Thai language, if someone asks a numeric question and expects an answer which is plurally numerical (two or more objects), it is common to add some special word to the question. I wo...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by deleted user  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

66%
+2 −0
Structures like "skulle gjort" and "skulle gjøre"

I have mostly self-learned Norwegian without much emphasis on grammar. Occasionally I see expressions like "skulle gjort", sometimes with "gjort" replaced by another verb. I would expect to see the...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by tommi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Lundin‭

71%
+3 −0
Which spelling -if any- of ar-Rahmaan is more correct "الرحمن" or "الرحمان"?

The noun ar-Rahmaan and its adjective rahmaan are pronounced with a prolongation of the letter alif between the last two letters meem and noon, nevertheless it is common that people with the name '...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Medi1saif‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by nobodyImportant‭

75%
+4 −0
Does al-Asma'i's poem "صوت صفير البلبل" (the sound of the whistle of the bulbul) has a story to tell?

There's this famous story about al-Asma'i الأصمعي challenging the caliph abu Ja'afar al-Mansur أبو جعفر المنصور by composing a poem that is difficult to memorize, as the caliph himself used to memo...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Medi1saif‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Medi1saif‭

72%
+6 −1
Why "sommaren är kommen" rather than "sommaren har kommit" in Swedish?

I have seen the phrase sommaren är kommen. What grammatical form is this and how is it correct? I thought it should rather be sommaren har kommit, for summer has arrived (literally: summer has co...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by gerrit‭  ·  last activity 3mo ago by Monica Cellio‭