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The Dragons' Roost
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• • • The Once-a-Day • • •
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Main Mix Playlist
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Who Killed The Electric Car??? -- The Movie
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Joe Biden
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Would you drive this car for dating with ur girl?
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LeftWingNutZ
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The Moon
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Musky Mythology
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Australia has Disappeared
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Radio Paradise sounding better recently
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Neil Young
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Country Up The Bumpkin
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Ask an Atheist
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Afghanistan
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Science in the News
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The Abortion Wars
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Index »
Radio Paradise/General »
General Discussion »
Little known information... maybe even facts
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Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 64, 65, 66, 67 Next |
(former member)
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Posted:
May 30, 2009 - 2:22pm |
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I'm big in Japan
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rachlan
Location: nyc Gender:
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Posted:
May 30, 2009 - 7:23am |
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the term nerd was invented by Dr. Seuss ... in his 1950 book, "If I Ran the Zoo."
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justin_thyme
Location: Windward O`ahu, Hawai`i Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 1:20pm |
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FYI, Derek Bickerton's not just a gifted linguist and author; he's also the proud father of two famous sons: Ashley Bickerton, an astoundingly talented and successful mixed-media artist, and James Bickerton, a Honolulu superlawyer whose skillful advocacy on environmental, free speech, and community issues has been instrumental in preserving our quality of life here in Hawaii. (Ash and Jim are also amazing surfers . . . they travel all over the world chasing the best waves.)
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justin_thyme
Location: Windward O`ahu, Hawai`i Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:56pm |
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Lazy8 wrote: Thanks, I now have the perfect gift for somebody! You're very welcome. It's a great read . . . that "somebody" will really enjoy it!
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Talalala
Location: Ã
rhus, Denmark Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:55pm |
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justin_thyme wrote:Speaking of languages: I recently finished re-reading Bastard Tongues by linguist Derek Bickerton. It's a fascinating and very entertaining exploration of the evolution of creole languages around the world — as much an adventure story as anything else. I heartily recommend it! Here's the Amazon link in case anyone's interested. I'll have to check that out! I read his book Language and Species when I was in college and really enjoyed it.. He is a good writer, too. Keeps you engaged.
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Lazy8
Location: The Gallatin Valley of Montana Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:44pm |
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justin_thyme wrote:Speaking of languages: I recently finished re-reading Bastard Tongues by linguist Derek Bickerton. It's a fascinating and very entertaining exploration of the evolution of creole languages around the world — as much an adventure story as anything else. I heartily recommend it! Here's the Amazon link in case anyone's interested. Thanks, I now have the perfect gift for somebody!
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justin_thyme
Location: Windward O`ahu, Hawai`i Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:16pm |
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Lazy8 wrote: Languages tend to get simpler as they get older . . . .
Speaking of languages: I recently finished re-reading Bastard Tongues by linguist Derek Bickerton. It's a fascinating and very entertaining exploration of the evolution of creole languages around the world — as much an adventure story as anything else. I heartily recommend it! Here's the Amazon link in case anyone's interested.
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Talalala
Location: Ã
rhus, Denmark Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:04pm |
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JustineFromWyoming wrote:Eating all this English toffee won't make me any less sleepy.
Sooooo wish I could help you!
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JustineFromWyomi...
Location: Teetering on the edge of Avenue D Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:01pm |
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Eating all this English toffee won't make me any less sleepy.
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 2, 2008 - 4:43am |
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Lazy8 wrote: Languages tend to get simpler as they get older, and the bits that fall off are the ones that carry no information. Like gender.
Not true with the lexicon for any given modern language, for example, which tends to get bigger and more complex as time goes by. English itself is a famous example. Why, we have a word for everything. And some modern languages are quite conservative grammatically, like Lithuanian, which proudly boasts all seven of the original Indo-European noun cases (wow, an instrumental case?!). Lithuanian also has the richest participle system of all I-E languages, with participles derived from all tenses with distinct active and passive forms, and several gerund forms. Sounds exhausting. Linguistic evolution isn't simply a progress from complexity to simplicity or vice versa; change can work in many different ways, some of them producing greater complexity, or leaving past complexity in place.
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winter
Location: in exile, as always Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:57pm |
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Lazy8 wrote: Languages tend to get simpler as they get older, and the bits that fall off are the ones that carry no information. Like gender.
Numbering systems tend to get simpler too—counting in Mandarin is much simpler than in English, which is simpler than French.
French has a further disadvantage: l'Académie Française. The French language actually has a sort of governing body that decides what is French and what isn't, a sure-fire way to freeze the evolution of the language and doom it to the dustbin of history in a few centuries. Assuming anyone pays it any attention.
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Lazy8
Location: The Gallatin Valley of Montana Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:52pm |
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dionysius wrote:Latin? Three genders but no articles. Closely related to Greek, three genders with articles. Lithuanian has strongly inflected noun system, like those ancient languages, but with no article. Icelandic uses only postfixed definite articles. English, with a developed system of definite and indefinite article, is more sophisticated than most languages. Try to have a Russian speaker make a quick and easy distinction between "a (any) banana lassi" and "the (one under discussion) banana lassi" and you'll get my point. That Frenchman was un homme complètement fou!
And I am aware that articles are weakened demonstratives, but demonstratives (like the Latin ille which yields Spanish el) are not used like articles in these languages!
Languages tend to get simpler as they get older, and the bits that fall off are the ones that carry no information. Like gender. Numbering systems tend to get simpler too—counting in Mandarin is much simpler than in English, which is simpler than French. French has a further disadvantage: l'Académie Française. The French language actually has a sort of governing body that decides what is French and what isn't, a sure-fire way to freeze the evolution of the language and doom it to the dustbin of history in a few centuries. Assuming anyone pays it any attention.
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musik_knut
Location: Third Stone From The Sun Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:41pm |
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Most people can not chew gum while simutaneously slapping their ass with both hands.
If someone offers to slap your ass while you chew gum, call the authorities.
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BlueHeronDruid
Location: Заебани сме луѓе
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:46pm |
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The current temperature at Newark Liberty Airport gate A18 is in the low 120's F.
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phineas
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:25pm |
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Isabeau wrote:I consider it boorish to look under a chair to see what gender it is. Chairs the world over appreciate this!
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phineas
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:23pm |
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dionysius wrote:
Latin? Three genders but no articles. Closely related to Greek, three genders with articles. Lithuanian has strongly inflected noun system, like those ancient languages, but with no article. Icelandic uses only postfixed definite articles. English, with a developed system of definite and indefinite article, is more sophisticated than most languages. Try to have a Russian speaker make a quick and easy distinction between "a (any) banana lassi" and "the (one under discussion) banana lassi" and you'll get my point. That Frenchman was un homme complètement fou!
And I am aware that articles are weakened demonstratives, but demonstratives (like the Latin ille which yields Spanish el) are not used like articles in these languages!
And crazy, too!
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:09pm |
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Welly wrote:Billy G has a soft spot for Librarians And who wouldn't?
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Welly
Location: Lotusland Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:08pm |
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Billy G has a soft spot for Librarians
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:05pm |
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phineas wrote: Years ago, in Nepal, I sat next at a table next to a group of travellers, among them a Frenchman who was declaiming loudly that, because there is no 'gender' in English, "It is a baby language... THE butter, THE chair..." I wish I had been quick enough to ask if he thought, then, that French must be an adolescent language (2 genders), compared to, say, German with three. And would that in turn make Mandarin, which doesn't even use definite articles, an embryonic language.
But no, I just ordered a banana lassi and some toast...
Latin? Three genders but no articles. Closely related to Greek, three genders with articles. Lithuanian has strongly inflected noun system, like those ancient languages, but with no article. Icelandic uses only postfixed definite articles. English, with a developed system of definite and indefinite article, is more sophisticated than most languages. Try to have a Russian speaker make a quick and easy distinction between "a (any) banana lassi" and "the (one under discussion) banana lassi" and you'll get my point. That Frenchman was un homme complètement fou! And I am aware that articles are weakened demonstratives, but demonstratives (like the Latin ille which yields Spanish el) are not used like articles in these languages!
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AliGator
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Posted:
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:59pm |
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phineas wrote: Years ago, in Nepal, I sat next at a table next to a group of travellers, among them a Frenchman who was declaiming loudly that, because there is no 'gender' in English, "It is a baby language... THE butter, THE chair..." I wish I had been quick enough to ask if he thought, then, that French must be an adolescent language (2 genders), compared to, say, German with three. And would that in turn make Mandarin, which doesn't even use definite articles, an embryonic language.
But no, I just ordered a banana lassi and some toast...
My ex, who's French as you may know, used to say English was a primitive language for the exact same reason.
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