Speaking in Tongues
Messages: 10,712 - Threads: 704
Jun 18, 2013 11:40 AM
iaxestupidquest...
last reply
Jun 18, 2013 11:40 AM
iaxestupidquest...
0 replies
15 views
Foreign language subtitles in the USA
Are there any movies for rent on Netflix that have subtitles in the original language?
What about for purchase that will play on a cheap North American DVD player?
Jun 18, 2013 6:55 AM
slug_guts
last reply
Jun 18, 2013 8:28 AM
nutraxfornerves
1 replies
36 views
job title sought
a long time ago, i met someone, who worked as something like a 'personal international courier'. his job involved delivering envelopes, packets and parcels to individuals and companies around the world. he said that he was seldom at home, and flew around the world to pretty much every country there is to deliver important documents and stuff.
now i am looking for a job change and wondered, from the description above, what such a job would be called and who might be an employer of such 'personal delivery international couriers'. is there a job title for such folks at all? who would need such a person?
(the living and working branch did not seem suitable for this post, neither did any of the others, hence I am posting this here).
many thanks.
Jun 17, 2013 3:49 AM
gor
last reply
Jun 17, 2013 7:40 PM
NorthAmerican
3 replies
116 views
arabic question
is this MSA or which dialect is it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=THIL8-sdazw#at=72
tks
Edited by: gor
Judging Translations
So I believe it's a fairly universal standard, than when translating a piece of writing from Language A to Language B, you should get a native speaker or Language B to do the translation. With their fluidity in their native tongue, they'll be in a better position to write something comprehensible and interesting in Language B.
But who's in a better position to judge whether or not the translation has been done well? A native speaker of Language B, who can better judge how clear and well-written the resulting translation is? Or a native speaker of Language A, who can better judge whether or not the subtleties of meaning and language in the original have been preserved or hinted at in the translation?
Jun 14, 2013 5:29 AM
NorthAmerican
last reply
Jun 18, 2013 3:35 AM
VinnyD
21 replies
592 views
Islam's call to prayer: at what times of day and night?
In a television adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Appointment with Death," which takes place in the Middle East, one short scene shows Hercule Poirot in bed with pillows pressed against his ears as we hear what I think is Islam's call to prayer. I know that the call to prayer is issued five times a day, but I don't know at what hour the last call rings out. Is it so late that it might disturb people who have gone to bed?
The scene reminded me that here in Chicago one hardly hears church bells anymore. At many Catholic churches the first Mass on Sunday was at 8 a.m., and bells rang out five or ten minutes before to announce it. In deference to neighbors, those churches rarely ring their bells until the time of a later Mass, maybe at 10 a.m.
Jun 12, 2013 3:06 PM
nutraxfornerves
last reply
Jun 17, 2013 8:14 PM
TexasTea
5 replies
217 views
Learning Spanish
This just came through on LP's Facebook feed. I have no idea how good it is.
Want to learn Spanish, but just what you need to help you on your next trip? Introducing Fluent Road, a new online language course tailored specifically to the needs of travellers. Try it for free today at http://www.fluentroad.com/
Nutrax
The plural of anecdote is not data.
Jun 11, 2013 9:58 AM
NorthAmerican
last reply
Jun 12, 2013 9:45 PM
NorthAmerican
9 replies
364 views
Song lyrics changed to suit the times
"If you're blue and you don't know where to go to, why don't you go where fashion sits, puttin' on the Ritz...."
I was surprised to discover just yesterday, in searching YouTube for the version of "Puttin' on the Ritz" performed in the movie "Young Frankenstein" by Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, that those are not the original lyrics.
I came across a clip from the 1930 movie in which the song was introduced by Harry Richman; the lyrics were not "where fashion sits," but "where Harlem flits." There are references to every Lulu-Belle and her swell, fifteen dollars and spending every dime on a good time, and, a couple of minutes into the production, a troupe of black dancers struts on stage, the men in shiny top hats and clown-like striped pants. I guess that was considered innocent entertainment back then, but it looks pretty offensive now. I'm glad that times have changed.
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more »
The Data Matrix
No, we're not talking about NSA. We're talking about that square blotch filled with smaller squares, formally known as a data matrix. Though I can't recall ever hearing anyone call it that.
But then I can't recall ever hearing anyone call it anything. It's a common item that seems to lack a common name.
So let's coin one. I think blockcode is one good choice. It shadows barcode well, though with ckc in the middle it does look awkward. Maybe code square instead.
Other ideas?
Where to learn English?
Hi,
We have been talking a lot about moving to the UK for 1-2 years to improve our English.
But there are two issues:
1) The UK is extremely expensive, not only in London but also in the rest of the country.
2) The weather in the UK isn't exactly tropical :(
So I was wondering if any of you have some ideas for alternative places to learn English?
We would prefer that:
1) The local population speak English, so we are forced to use our English all the time and not just in the school, etc.
2) The cost of living is lower than in the UK.
3) That the weather is warm and nice (not necessarily, but it would be nice if we could wear shorts all day :)
Thanks a lot,
Mads
Is 'regime' a pejorative word?
I notice people on TT (usually Americans) calling certain governments 'regimes.'
Although by definition the word has no overtones, in British English usage at least it refers only to authoritarian governments - usually non-democratic.
So -
#1. would you call any government a regime, or only governments of which you disapproved?
#2. when talking about it to fellow-countrymen, would you call your own country's government a regime?
I'd really like to know.
Jun 6, 2013 10:26 PM
gor
last reply
Jun 8, 2013 8:02 AM
nutraxfornerves
5 replies
301 views
which english is it?
can you identify the narrators accent?
http://www.palitratv.ge/akhali-ambebi/politika/32044-thalibani-saqarthvelos-shurisdziebith-emuqreba-shokismomgvreli-video-youtube-dan.html
Jun 6, 2013 6:40 PM
Yersinia
last reply
Jun 10, 2013 9:46 AM
nutraxfornerves
13 replies
452 views
Bird dog
I was just drafting a message to the other moderators to say that I will keep a close eye on something that may or may not become a problem. I started to write that I will "bird dog" it, but it occurred to me that that phrase might be something that only Americans use. It means "watch closely."
If you are not American, would you understand this or use this wording?
I will bird dog it to see if it becomes a problem.
Yersinia, Thorn Tree Moderator
Duc ad me
In Framley Pasonage, Anthony Trollope says that some men "carry about with them a certain duc ad me which children recognize, and which in three minutes upsets all the barriers betweenfive and five-and-forty" (and which Mr Crawley, a stern clergyman, does not), however much he genuinely loves his children).
"Duc ad me" is Latin for "lead to me" but it must be an allusion to something. What?
Also: in trying to google for the answer, I kept coming across"Duc graecum ad me, et deabus gratias agam" = "Bring the Greek to me, and I will thank the goddesses." What is that from?
Edited by: the Duke of Omnium
Jun 6, 2013 12:01 PM
nutraxfornerves
last reply
Jun 11, 2013 1:34 AM
Count_Zero
3 replies
266 views
Maps Show Differences American English Pronunciation
_22 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From Each Other
(It's actually vocabulary as well as pronunciation. For example, what do you call a sweetened carbonated drink?)
See all the maps here
Nutrax
The plural of anecdote is not data.
Jun 5, 2013 3:52 AM
Lilith666
last reply
Jun 6, 2013 11:42 AM
nutraxfornerves
7 replies
332 views
Alphabet immitations
Saw yesterday a Greek restaurant here in my hometown where they had the words in Ukrainian Cyrillic, but they tried to make the letters look Greek on the signs outside the restaurant. Saw similar cases in western Europe where they made the Latin letters look Greek. We don't do that with Latin except in the case of an Irish pub, where they tried to make the Cyrillic letters look "Celtic"
Now of course the Greek, Cyrillic and Latin alphabets share a lot of similarities, so it made me wonder do they ever try in countries with for example the Arabic alphabet or in India, China etc where they have completely different charactersets to make things look Latin/Greek/Cyrillic.. I would be curious to see some photo's of that if anybody has a link.
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