Twenty Somethings

[boutrosboutros]

well, it is a learner's dictionary... so, while it explains what an octopus or a dog or a table is, that can still be difficult to understand for someone learning english. i suppose. then again, no pictures for words such as "justice" or "picaresque novel"...

Yeah, "justice" is hard to draw. A scale maybe. Or Judge Dredd. Or the guillotine.

So English isn't your first language? What is? German?

 

[ShinigamiSama]

my dictionary says octopusses. it also has a neat picture.

they must have changed it
I know them as octopi
and playdapi
oh well

 

[Munachi]

yes, german.

well my dictionary isn't new though. i bought it ... wait... in 1997 maybe?

 

[ShinigamiSama]

yes, german.

well my dictionary isn't new though. i bought it ... wait... in 1997 maybe?

german eh?
die eier von satan

no - its a song
Tool - Die Eier von Satan

 

[Munachi]

hartgekocht?

 

[ShinigamiSama]

hartgekocht?

nein?

I actualy dont know much german
strudle
deuchland
schanpps
lager


thats about it

 

[Munachi]

hehe... you need to work on the spelling though... argh, four a.m. again. that happens every day. at about midnight i think to turn the computer off, but then...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

hehe... you need to work on the spelling though... argh, four a.m. again. that happens every day. at about midnight i think to turn the computer off, but then...

lol
poor thing
but yes
I dont spell well in non-phonentic languages
especialy ones I dont know
anyways...
I assume good night?
if so
-hug'n'kiss-
if not
hug'n'kiss anyways

 

[Munachi]

yes, lots easier in phonetic languages like english... hehe...

good night... sleep well whenever it is four a.m. where you are...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

yes, lots easier in phonetic languages like english... hehe...

good night... sleep well whenever it is four a.m. where you are...

english isn't very phonentic once you get passed basic words though
then you have american/real spelling and such

and I thought you were the one going to bed?

 

[Munachi]

i was . and now i will again... but phonetic spelling has little to do with whether it is a basic word or not, and english is kind of known for not being very phonetic at all in its spelling... (or do you mean something different?)

 

[ShinigamiSama]

i was . and now i will again... but phonetic spelling has little to do with whether it is a basic word or not, and english is kind of known for not being very phonetic at all in its spelling... (or do you mean something different?)

I ment basic words
like
yes
no
maybe
hi
hello
preen
sodomy

they're all spelt the way they sound
but neighbour
antidisestablishmentaryism
think I spelt that one wrong lol

are weird ones

but anyways
nigh nigh
-hug-

 

[HybridCrow]

Slightly offtopic, but is MyOwnWay lurking the forum again? Haven't seen that sexy body in a long while. Wonder if she eloped and had 10 kids and lives in a mansion married to a rich guy? lol

Uh... if that was true, I wonder if her body is still as beautiful as the first time I saw her.

 

[Munachi]

I ment basic words
like
yes
no
maybe
hi
hello
preen
sodomy

they're all spelt the way they sound
but neighbour
antidisestablishmentaryism
think I spelt that one wrong lol

are weird ones

but anyways
nigh nigh
-hug-

actually, i still disagree...

just look at these three words: like, yes, maybe. and look at the letter "e" in these words. in the first case, you don't pronounce it at all. in the second case, it is a sound equivalent to the german short "e" (i can't really do IPA so I jsut can compare it like that), and in the third case it is a sound equivalent to the german long "i" - so its three different sounds for one letter. now, you could say that you still see its pronounciation due to position in the word an surrounding letters, but in "like" and "maybe" it's in both cases in the end, following after a consonant. maybe it's the "ik" in "like" that makes the "e" sound disappear, but considering the confusion "Nike" causes for a lot of people, that isn't very sure... so, i am not sure, if someone who for some reason didn't know these words, and just came across them in a text, would know how to pronounce them.

other "basic" words that cause eben more confusion, might be these:

tough enough through though hiccough cough etc. - some of them are very basic vocabulary. yet, if you didn't know them and came across them in a text, i don't think there would be any way to determine how to pronounce them...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

actually, i still disagree...

just look at these three words: like, yes, maybe. and look at the letter "e" in these words. in the first case, you don't pronounce it at all. in the second case, it is a sound equivalent to the german short "e" (i can't really do IPA so I jsut can compare it like that), and in the third case it is a sound equivalent to the german long "i" - so its three different sounds for one letter. now, you could say that you still see its pronounciation due to position in the word an surrounding letters, but in "like" and "maybe" it's in both cases in the end, following after a consonant. maybe it's the "ik" in "like" that makes the "e" sound disappear, but considering the confusion "Nike" causes for a lot of people, that isn't very sure... so, i am not sure, if someone who for some reason didn't know these words, and just came across them in a text, would know how to pronounce them.

other "basic" words that cause eben more confusion, might be these:

tough enough through though hiccough cough etc. - some of them are very basic vocabulary. yet, if you didn't know them and came across them in a text, i don't think there would be any way to determine how to pronounce them...

true
I'm used to them so I dont notice

also
known
now
noun

I can see how its confusing

but I get equaly if not more lost when I try to pronounce non-english words
so I guess it all works out

 

[Munachi]

well, yes and no... it's just different writing concepts... afaik there is no perfectly phonetic spelling for any language, but some are more than others... spanish, for example, is a lot closer to the one-letter-one-phonem (i wouldn't say one letter one sound, as the sounds for each phonem vary regionally, and also according to the surroundings of the sound)... french is already more difficult in that respect, english is, of the languages i have learned, the worst, though i don't think i have too many problems because i have been learning it for a long time, and read it a lot...

i guess the reason is that in english or french spelling is approached more in a historical sense, i.e. the pronounciation of a word changes with the time, but while some languages will adapt the spelling to the new pronunciation, it stays the same or similar in english (i am aware it changed some, but not to the same extent as probably the pronunciation has changed...) - one of the reasons for this, as i have heard, is the great variation there is in english. if you wanted to spell it "phonetically", there would always be the question "phonetically according to whom?" english in scottland or australia or the carribbean all sounds very different, but is written the same... if there was a reform to make it more phonetical, it would always favor one variety and disadvantage others... i guess...

but sorry for kind of threadjacking this thread with that stuff, i didn't want to bore anyone... i jsut get carried away at times...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

eh
we're twenty something and talking
I fail to see how its OT or hijacking

but
the closest languages I"ve seen to phoentic are Japanese and Cryllic
Japanese suffers because of the kanji thouhg

 

[Munachi]

um... what's cryllic?

i don't know any japanese, so i can't speak about that... what is kanji?

 

[ShinigamiSama]

um... what's cryllic?

i don't know any japanese, so i can't speak about that... what is kanji?

Kanji is the Japanese version of Manderin Writen

Cryllic is the Russian alphabit

 

[Munachi]

ah, you mean cyrillic... hehe that's not a language though, but an alphabet (since you said before, the closest languages you've seen...) actually not only in russian but quite a few slavic languages (usually those of peoples who are predominantly orthodox)... hm, there i guess it would depend on the language, the alphabet is probably fitting better for some langauges than others... (same happens with the latin alphabet - the reasons behind using it aren't always practical, but also have to do with cultural identification etc.)

 

[ShinigamiSama]

ah, you mean cyrillic... hehe that's not a language though, but an alphabet (since you said before, the closest languages you've seen...) actually not only in russian but quite a few slavic languages (usually those of peoples who are predominantly orthodox)... hm, there i guess it would depend on the language, the alphabet is probably fitting better for some langauges than others... (same happens with the latin alphabet - the reasons behind using it aren't always practical, but also have to do with cultural identification etc.)

meh
I dont know the russian word for russian
and I think cyrillic is sexy
but yeah
there is one 'perfect' language
I've forgotten its name
new alphabit, no grammatical errors, phoentic
to bad its not in use

 

[Munachi]

i can't write cyrrilic letters here (probably could via a word document, but too much effort) but i would guess the transkription is something like russkij... um...

you think the cyrillic writing is sexy? hm, didn't know any alphabet or writing system could be, hehe... but if so, i think arabic writing looks a lot cooler... and georgian, georgian is cool...

well it has been tried more than once to invent a "perfect" language that is completely regular... but i suppose if it really got into use, it would never stay that way. it's part of the "nature" of languages (or of the humans that use them) to change over time. esperanto, which by now has some native speakers (the children of esperanto-freaks, i would suppose), has also already developed slang, irregularities in spoken language, etc. ... it'll always happen...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

i can't write cyrrilic letters here (probably could via a word document, but too much effort) but i would guess the transkription is something like russkij... um...

you think the cyrillic writing is sexy? hm, didn't know any alphabet or writing system could be, hehe... but if so, i think arabic writing looks a lot cooler... and georgian, georgian is cool...

well it has been tried more than once to invent a "perfect" language that is completely regular... but i suppose if it really got into use, it would never stay that way. it's part of the "nature" of languages (or of the humans that use them) to change over time. esperanto, which by now has some native speakers (the children of esperanto-freaks, i would suppose), has also already developed slang, irregularities in spoken language, etc. ... it'll always happen...

eperanto was it..
but meh

I like the georgian because there is a letter 'shin'
and thats my nick

and I dont like arbic
iuno why, just seems sloppy to me

 

[Munachi]

hm, to me it looks mysterious (arabic... though, georgian too)... and it looks cool to see someone writing it...

anyway, today it got actually 5 a.m. (lucky me i have no class tomorrow, but then, i wanted to work on my transcriptions and go to the library, so i should get to bed)... so good night...

 

[ShinigamiSama]

hm, to me it looks mysterious (arabic... though, georgian too)... and it looks cool to see someone writing it...

anyway, today it got actually 5 a.m. (lucky me i have no class tomorrow, but then, i wanted to work on my transcriptions and go to the library, so i should get to bed)... so good night...

night hun