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Q&A

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

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80%
+6 −0
Is it really true that all Chinese words have one syllable?

I'm sure a lot of people have heard it before: the statement "All Chinese words are one syllable (or character)." And because someone is going to ask, no, this is not just a Western thought - my Ma...

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

62%
+3 −1
When do you use 'whom'?

I have two basic questions about the usage of 'whom': When and how do you use the word 'whom'? Can I just... not? Even after looking it up, I'm confused. I've never found an example given where r...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Moshi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by msh210‭

75%
+4 −0
How do Chinese people give their names in Japanese? (And vice versa)

So, I have a Chinese name. (Specifically, Mandarin, if that makes a difference). What are the common ways to give this name in Japanese? Should I approximate the Chinese reading, use the on'yomi re...

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

80%
+6 −0
Using adjectives that are related to taste for describing emotions

You might have seen that most of the adjectives that are related to taste are used to describe emotions. It is very common. Salty, sour, sweet, bitter etc. We use these adjectives to describe peopl...

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

75%
+4 −0
Has Japanese always had the polite "masu" form?

Japanese has what is known as the "polite form"/"masu form" and the "plain form". Notably, the two forms have completely different conjugations despite having the same meaning, differing only in po...

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

75%
+4 −0
How do linguists determine historical pronunciation?

There were two recent questions (here and here) about historical pronunications. I know that languages evolve in sound over time, but how do linguists determine what the original phonology was seve...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Sigma‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Moshi‭

80%
+10 −1
Why is it "pronunciation" and not "pronounciation"?

Generally speaking, when adding a suffix to a word in English, while the last letter(s) may undergo changes to accommodate the addition, the rest of the word is left unchanged. As examples in that ...

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

66%
+2 −0
How do I pronounce historical French correctly from times when the language was in transition?

I sing in a choir that performs medieval and renaissance music in several languages I don't otherwise speak. When we are unclear about pronunciation, we look for recordings from reputable performe...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by user8078‭

75%
+4 −0
How were ת & ט pronounced historically?

In Sephardi or Israeli Hebrew today, ט and ת are pronounced the same, at least to my non-native ear, something like /t/. In Ashkenazi Hebrew, on the other hand, sometimes ת is pronounced like ס (...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by msh210‭

77%
+5 −0
Is there a difference between when I should use "אוטו" vs "רכב"?

I speak Hebrew as a second language, and probably worse than most people expect - I live in Israel, but my Hebrew is still not that great. I ride with a cycling team, and one thing that we do is to...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mithical‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by deleted user

60%
+1 −0
What determines the present-tense form of a kal verb?

Most פָּעַל-construction verbs have the פּוֹעֵל form as the masculine singular present tense; for example, לָמַד→‎לוֹמֵד and צָבַע→‎צוֹבֵעַ. But some פָּעַל-construction verbs have the פָּעֵל form ...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by msh210‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭

77%
+5 −0
What is the Arabic "praise/censure grammar" (e.g. !ياله من رجل رائع) called in Arabic?

I'm trying to edit this question at Chinese Stack Exchange: Does Chinese have an equivalent to Arabic-style praising grammar (translates to 褒贬句)?. The user originally wrote: In Arabic we have a ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by becky82‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Medi1saif‭

62%
+3 −1
What explains Arabic "Greater Etymology"?

This article discusses "Greater Etymology" (الاشتقاق الكبير) in Arabic, which "recognizes the common meanings words with different base letters share," as opposed to "Lesser Etymology" (or morpholo...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by user53100‭  ·  edited 4y ago by user53100‭

75%
+4 −0
Why no "to"-infinitive in pual and huf'al?

One of the infinitives in Hebrew is translated "to [verb]" and starts with ל, l. For example, ללמוד, lilmod, "to learn", and להשאר, l'hishaer, "to remain"; it's used often. But two of the verb cons...

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

81%
+7 −0
Why is linguistics limited in how much it can look back in time?

I've often seen that "we can only look back in time a short distance in linguistics". What prevents linguistics from deducing information far in the past? Is this limit something that can be pushed...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by user53100‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

83%
+13 −1
Does English support three-word contractions?

In English certain pairs words can be contracted with an apostrophe, such as "I've" (I have). I don't know if there are strong rules for which words can be combined in this way and which can't. I...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Moshi‭

88%
+14 −0
Whence אֶת between partners' names?

The word אֶת /et/ is used with the following meanings: In Biblical Hebrew, it means "with". In modern Hebrew it survives, but only with a complement-of-the-preposition pronoun suffix: "with me", ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by David‭