Messages: 66,438 - Threads: 3,302
posted
01-Dec-2009 00:19
by:
AndrewSmith »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 05:21
by:
TonyK »
2
replies
,
47
views
because they're too busy stalking women joggers in west London.
I love misrelated participles in news stories. According to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8386167.stm
"Police are looking for a naked cyclist stalking women joggers in west London. "
posted
30-Nov-2009 23:54
by:
stormboy »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 23:54
by:
stormboy »
0
replies
,
28
views
From the Radio Free Europe website:
Moldovan Government Switches To 'Romanian' Language On Websites
28 November 2009
CHISINAU -- In a sign of growing rapprochement with neighboring EU-member Romania, Moldova's government has changed the language signs on all of its websites from "Moldovan" (MD) to "Romanian" (RO), RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.
The Moldovan Constitution states that the official language of the country is "Moldovan," although most linguists say the language spoken in Moldova does not differ enough Romanian to be considered a different language.
The new pro-Western government has said it will try to amend the constitution in the future to remove the "Moldovan language" concept.
The term "Moldovan language" was coined by the Soviets after th...
more »
posted
30-Nov-2009 23:25
by:
stormboy »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 11:34
by:
VinnyD »
1
replies
,
48
views
From this week's edition of The Economist:
The du und du waltz
The complex etiquette of du and Sie in Germany
“AT 2.12 our work was finished. At 2.15 we called each other Horst and Guido. This is the beginning of a great friendship.” That is how Guido Westerwelle, the Free Democratic leader in Germany’s coalition government, broke the news that he and Horst Seehofer of the Christian Social Union would henceforth address each other by the familiar du rather than the formal Sie. Since Mr Seehofer had called Mr Westerwelle a crybaby just weeks earlier, it was a touching reconciliation. But how much warmth does the intimate du convey?
It used to be so simple. Relatives, friends, children and dogs were du; everyone else was Sie. The offer of du, usually by an older interlocutor, was not made lightly. But this formula has become scrambled during the past 40 years. Germany i...
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posted
30-Nov-2009 18:02
by:
Lonelier_Planet »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 20:33
by:
Riesling »
1
replies
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69
views
After World War 2 German-speaking East Prussia was partitioned between the Soviet Union and Poland, and most of its German population was expelled.
Before that, did East Prussians speak with a distinctive accent or use vocabulary/grammatical structures that were particular to that area of Germany?
In other words, in the early 1940s would it have been possible for other German speakers to identify people from East Prussia by their accent(s) or dialect expressions?
posted
30-Nov-2009 17:20
by:
Myanmarbound »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 11:34
by:
shilgia »
10
replies
,
123
views
They don't object if I go to one wine tasting but if I go to two or more wine tastings the red ink comes out.
What should I be writing instead?
posted
30-Nov-2009 15:41
by:
james_in_footsc... »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 04:48
by:
nutraxfornerves »
3
replies
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93
views
How do you reply politely when someone says you speak a language well?
For example, if a German tells you you speak German well, what do you say? Do you just say 'Danke', or do you say it isn't true? (And what should you say exactly?)
It would be interesting to hear about different languages ...
posted
30-Nov-2009 07:54
by:
mathilda »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 07:54
by:
mathilda »
0
replies
,
25
views
´which language is the word "cafrande" and what does it mean?
it is a website where you can listen to kurdish, caucasian, armenian, balkan and turkish music
posted
30-Nov-2009 03:03
by:
mathilda »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 04:41
by:
mathilda »
4
replies
,
95
views
of what origin is brian molko's surname?
he is scottish but of american and italian/french origin
posted
30-Nov-2009 01:32
by:
mathilda »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 10:05
by:
tonya001 »
5
replies
,
139
views
Is there any etymological relation between French "dieu" (god) and English "day"?
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking i...
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posted
29-Nov-2009 09:23
by:
VinnyD »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 00:05
by:
stormboy »
6
replies
,
159
views
posted
28-Nov-2009 14:09
by:
qingdao_aborigi... »
last reply
28-Nov-2009 21:33
by:
qingdao_aborigi... »
2
replies
,
91
views
I want to make the new season of Bruce Shaw's Chinese, I have made some vides on Chinese Character
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnZE0pZiXmk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiwKXX6HlHw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rw8S9ahey8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rw8S9ahey8
I am not sure if they are useful for guys who want to learn Chinese. Or do you have any ideas to promote my videos? Thanks.
Bruce Shaw
posted
28-Nov-2009 13:51
by:
Lonelier_Planet »
last reply
30-Nov-2009 02:48
by:
VinnyD »
3
replies
,
141
views
...speak English well?
I know his French was good enough to study in Paris when he was training as a neurologist, and I know that when he was in his fifties he was invited to lecture in the United States. Did he deliver those lectures in English, or was there a translator?
posted
28-Nov-2009 04:25
by:
bjd »
last reply
01-Dec-2009 09:39
by:
NorthAmerican »
27
replies
,
459
views
French compound place names are always written with a hyphen. For example, Trifoullis-les-Oies. This is not the case in English, as far as I know.
I just did a translation from French to English that contained names of churches and places. The museum curator whose text it is is complaining that I left out the hyphens, even though I kept the French name. For example, I said Saint Etienne Cathedral, instead of St Stephen's Cathedral, since I feel that whoever buys this book might look on a map to go to the cathedral and will find it written as Saint-Etienne and not Saint Stephen's. However, I did not include the hyphen of Saint-Etienne Cathedral.
Any opinions? She just called me and I said I was trying to get some expert opinion.
posted
28-Nov-2009 02:03
by:
keppiezbt »
last reply
29-Nov-2009 17:51
by:
keppiezbt »
11
replies
,
236
views
Learning a language overseas can be great but sometimes its better not to learn the language.
Here's why:
http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/learn-a-foreign-language/
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