Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2006 November 28

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November 28

Farewell

I need to give an official farewell in a minor exaggerated way.70.136.89.0 03:43, 28 November 2006 (UTC

And?--Light current 03:16, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

(ellipsis) And could you language experts give me some help..70.136.89.0 03:43, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Please sign your post using four tildes, like this: ~~~~. -THB 03:30, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Is this to co-workers when you're quitting a job, breaking up with your boyfriend, saying goodbye to your sister when you're going on a six-week cruise? -THB 03:48, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

old friends that don't really care 70.136.89.0 05:57, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Give each of them a small, thoughtfully chosen gift, sure to please the recipient, to remember you by, and explain the purpose of the gift. -THB 06:14, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

"Screw you guys, I'm going home." Vespine 05:37, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

"I bid thee farewell" seems to fit your stated criteria. It's difficult to answer your question as you're so reluctant to explain yourself. If you give us more information, we might be able to contrive something more suitable. --Dweller 09:09, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Latin

What are the Latin words for 'Yes' and 'No'?--Light current 03:29, 28 November 2006 (UTC) Any examples would be good.--Light current 03:34, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

It's not that simple and depends upon the context. -THB 03:33, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. My understanding is you'd be more likely to repeat the verb (Q: Esne stultus? A: Sum.). You can say "ita vero" for an emphatic yes (like "Exactly!") or "minime" for the negative equivalent, but this wouldn't be the normal way to respond to a question. -Elmer Clark 03:37, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Is this why you could never get a straight yes or no out of the Romans?8-)--Light current 03:40, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Veritas non est. -THB 04:00, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Sed solo in vino. CCLemon-安部さん万歳！ 06:57, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Previous cautions are in order, though I can think of some Classical Latin phrases of affirmation (ita est, certe, vero, etc.). Cicero's Academica has the phrase, "Answer yes or no!" as aut etiam aut non (see the dictionary s.v. non, a few lines from the end of the article). For a medieval book whose title shows the ancestors of the words used for "yes" and "no" in Italian and Spanish, see Sic et Non. Wareh 18:42, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Holland

What does the name mean if anything?--Light current 06:45, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

From our page: Holland is derived from holt land ("wooded land"). Is that correct?--Light current 06:49, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

It is the etymology given by the Online Etymology Dictionary, except that the latter qualifies it with "probably".  --Lambiam^Talk 09:04, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I have always found that a very strange etymology, considering that Holland (the north western part of the Netherlands) was largely swamps and dunes until people started changing the landscape. DirkvdM 07:27, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Internet

Is there a word for the action of using a wireless LAN card, but actually using someone else's connection (for example, a neighbour, or someone who lives in the vicinity, a library, or whatever)? I've just spent a few weeks travelling around, and was only able to use the internet by doing this, and I want to explain it succinctly (i.e. in a single word) on my blog. Up until now I've been using words like 'sky-jack', 'wi-fi jack', and stuff, but they sound more like I'm stopping the owner of the connection from using their own connection, and that's not what it is. CCLemon-安部さん万歳！ 06:55, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Piggyback? See also Wardriving#Confusion with piggybacking. --Kusunose 07:41, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

That, or just stealing.--Andrew c 14:31, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Eh! Eh! Kahm down! It's not stealing, as far as I know. It's "borrowing" available services, whilst not causing any problems for the original owner. Thanks for the help, though, guys. CCLemon-安部さん万歳！ 11:45, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

The word "wardriving" usually refers to the act of seeking out unprotected wireless networks; this could perhaps describe what you mean. --Doubleplusungood 03:45, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

correct english usage

Which of the following is the correct usage?
1) "We'll support when your busiess is raring to take wings" or "We'll support you when your business is raring to take wing"?
2) "Savour success of many dimensions" or "Savour success in many dimensions"?

1. Incomprehensible to most English speakers. Avoid the obscure word "raring" except in the idiom "raring to go". Also "take wing" is a questionable idiom, since it is taken to mean "to depart" and doesn't necessarily mean anything positive. 2. I don't understand what you are trying to say. Probably not a good sign if this is for promotional use. Notinasnaid 10:05, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd guess "support you" and "success of", but the writing appears contrived. 惑乱 分からん 13:02, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd think 'Success in' is more likely. Both are viable phrases, but mean different things. 'Savour success of many dimensions' to me implies the dimensions are being successful. 'Savour success in many dimensions' implies the savouring is being done in many dimensions, or that you have achieved success in many dimensions, and are now savouring it. This last meaning seems most likely to me, but some context would help. Skittle 14:46, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Skittle. You might also want to put quotation marks around 'raring to take wing' to identify this as an expression. StuRat 06:14, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

can you translate this imporatnt piece of information?

salam Agha Reza....manam ye Saat daram too maye haye saate shoma ....tarhe vasatesh fargh mikone .... age moshtarisho dari 500 Euro hazeram befroosham ...kharje Postesham ba ham kenar miaym .... montazere javabet hastam

Which language is it? Persian? 惑乱 分からん 13:00, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

It looks a bit Indonesian, but isn't, so my bet is Tagalog. DirkvdM 07:29, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

The language guesser thinks that it's Swahili. There are a couple people at Wikipedia:Translators_available#Swahili-to-English who might be able to help. Philbert^2.71828 17:48, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

It's certainly not Swahili. I'm pretty sure it's Indo-Iranian and I think on the Iranian side, but I wouldn't like to commit myself further than that. --ColinFine 00:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

English terms (from Spanish)

Does anyone know if these English translations (of Spanish terms) are ok? Many thanks in advance if anyone can correct/confirm :-) 1. título de propiedad = title deed 2. escritura pública = public deeds* (*and is this always plural in English for Nº2 whilst singular for Nº1?, "public deed" sounded strange but in Spanish "escritura pública" is singular). Gracias, ==Alex==

I think escritura is more like "document". -THB 01:12, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

It's fine to use "deed" in the singular in English. -Elmer Clark 01:38, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Ecothical

I would like to add the word I invented below to Wikipedia is there a section for invented words...?

Ecothical. A combination of the two words ecology and ethical using the prefix eco and dropping the e from ethical

Ecothical. adj. Being in accordance with accepted principles of environmental conservation.

Wikipedia is not the place for this. Try langmaker.com, Urban Dictionary or something... 惑乱 分からん 18:10, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

1) Assuming you care about such things, the Greek roots of the original words (oik- vs êth-) are incompatible.

2) Ordinary English pronunciation rules would put the stress on the styllable -COTH-, giving it a somewhat strange sound (to my ears, at least).

3) Wikipedia actually has a strict "no neologisms" policy. AnonMoos 18:11, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks..for your input.

would ecoethical work..with same definition..?

Well, it would probably be (roughly) understood, although I'd prefer a hyphen, "eco-ethical". 惑乱 分からん 19:24, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree.. "eco-ethical" is more distinctive and correct..would "ecoethical" be more useful as an internet address where short type is beneficial.

If you must, although I can't see it'd matter much... 惑乱 分からん 21:13, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I expect once a word is popular the hyphen would get dropped. ecoethical may have a future depending on its popularity and the temperature of the planet.

There are thousands of Google hits for "eco-ethical". How does the meaning differ from the simpler word "green"? -THB 01:10, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

For one thing, "eco-ethical" has only one meaning, while "green" has many (inexperienced, not properly aged, jealous, Irish, sick, the actual color, etc.). StuRat 06:09, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Anyway..so far we have discussed the word/non word but the description of the word/non word ecothical has some plus points..a new word for eco ethicalism is necessary in our warming planet. Dan alias lequi.

Having problem in writing in english

hello all, just wondering if anyone could help out in my report, I am asked to prepare a technical report on Bluetooth technology as being an IT student. The problem is that I am finding some diffulties in writing in english language,so kindly somebody recheck my final report which is around 1,500 words before I submit it. I will mail the report to anyone intrested in helping me. Thank you for any assistance in advance.Kim

Hey guyz, im not that bad, I just want someone to check the grammatical mistakes in my report.Kim

I'd be willing to help you out with that. Use the email user link (don't want to put a email address here). Good luck. --Wooty Woot? contribs 23:00, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, you can send it to me as well, my email address is my username @telus.net. Anchoress 23:05, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Supergrass?

I just ran across this line in an article: "based mainly around the evidence of so-called supergrass Mohammed Babar, who was found guilty of terrorist offences in the USA." What does supergrass mean? The BBC use it in a couple articles about the same person. Rmhermen 20:15, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Supergrass. --Shantavira 20:22, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

If I remember correctly the word "supergrass" was first used to describe informers to the UK security services on the identity of IRA members. Why the word "super" was used was simply because the actual informers were IRA members and could disclose the identities of many IRA activists. globalunity.co.uk

martial tradition

In the article on Haitian Revolution I wanted to refer to the start of the martial tradition there. The word martial cannot be linked to the meaning I want. I cannot think of another word. Not warlike, not solderlike, not military, not martial arts .... Do you have any good ideas? Maybe I will have to settle for military. Mattisse(talk) 20:25, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

You say what your meaning is NOT, but I do not understand what your meaning IS. When you say the start of the martial tradition, what do you mean? If there is a meaning which deserves an article then you can start one, or just red link one. Vespine 22:54, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

This is the phrase used in Haitian history articles to refer to the tradition of settling things by force while also implying that everyone (young men) have somewhat of a duty to participate in these insurrections or revolutions. It's not a formal duty like the draft but more of a tradition, like New Orleans martial parades. But in Haiti's case, they mean readily participating in extreme violence. Hope I'm making myself clear. Mattisse(talk) 23:51, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I think martial is correct, it's our problem if WP doesn't have an inclusive definition. But fief, liege, or militia might be close. Anchoress 23:58, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

It would work, militia, except it specifically says "organized" whereas in Haiti it's specifically not organized -- at best spontaneously organized. Mattisse(talk) 00:09, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

And the other suggestions imply a loyalty, but in Haiti one never knows. A duly elected president gets over thrown by rebellion. Mattisse(talk) 00:13, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

May I suggest that your first reply could be worked on, in that there you said what you wish to say (which is what you wish to say, is it not?) So you can rework it something like: "This may have been the start of the Haitian tradition of settling matters by force, and the phenomenon that young men seem to feel it a duty (or "that it is expected of young men," or whatever) to participate in insurrections or revolutions.(reference)" You are not bound to using the same sentence as the one presently in the article. Seejyb 00:35, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

That's an interesting idea. That's probably the way to go. This question asked here has helped me clarify my thinking, so I thank you! Sincerely, Mattisse(talk) 00:41, 29 November 2006 (UTC)