Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 February 2

= February 2 =

Word for people with black hair
In english it is acceptable to call these people brunettes, but I can't help but think of someone with brown hair. Is there a specific term for people with black hair, not just dark hair? --The Dark Side 03:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I was interested enough to search the OED:black (as a noun), melanic or melanous (with racial connotation), noir(e) (from the French) night-haired or raven-haired (poetic). Most of these are pretty obscure; "raven-haired" is the only one I think in regular use.--Pharos 08:32, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't think it is "acceptable" to call someone with black hair a brunette, as this does mean brown hair.--Shantavira 09:23, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * However, in French, one would refer to a woman with very dark eyes and black hair as très brune. In this way the French brun does not correspond completely with the English brown (which is perhaps more like maron, but I'm never good at choosing colours for interior decorating!). You could think of the French brun(e) and its borrowed diminutive brunet(te) as equivalent to dark in English when speaking about a person's complexion. — Gareth Hughes 15:14, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Some people use "brownette" (obviously from the English word "brown") for people with brown hair, reserving "brunette" (from the French for "brown") for black hair. Personally I prefer to avoid the confusion by avoiding both words. --Anonymous, February 3, 2007, 21:48 (UTC).

I haven't heard the neologism "brownette" (ugh). A brunette is simply someone (normally a woman) with dark hair, as opposed to blondes and red-heads. Also, it seems to me the word would be restricted to Caucasians, among whom raven-black hair is somewhat of a rarity. --Paul D.

In at least some Spanish dialects, the word 'negro' can be used to refer to someone with black hair. I remember this because there was a report from the American media a while back reacting in shock was Hugo Chavez refered to a black individual in a crowd as "Negro", although apparently that is a common nickname for any idividual, regardless of ethnicity, with prominently black hair. 194.80.32.8 16:39, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Have full command over english language
I want to learn english somebody give me advise how to get full command over english language and grammer.thanx"""""
 * Read and listen lots of English and practice. You can start by staying away from abbreviated text messaging language use and netspeak. (You misspelled "thanks"). - 131.211.210.10 12:17, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Write and speak. Also, I guess no one really has "full command" over English, you should begin attempting to reach fluency for natural situations that might occur... (Geez, what a clumsy sentence...) 惑乱 分からん 16:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
 * A large part of how I learned English was from watching TV and listening to children's records (Yes, records; it's been awhile). I personally would recommend focusing on learning the vocabulary before the grammar. --Wirbelwind ヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:00, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
 * For reading material, I recommend reading what interests you as a topic, as long as it uses proper English. There is no point in struggling with classical English literature if it bores you. You will learn much more if you're interested and really want to understand what you are reading, whether it's a music magazine, science fiction, a book on cars, or Dickens. ---Sluzzelin 01:21, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

By all means, I agree with the above. This gives me a chance to quote (roughly) something I read in an old astronomy book, printed over a hundred years ago. I've just got to find it to give the exact quote, and give proper credit. It's something like this:

"A Greek grammer, written in Latin, will teach you Latin, not Greek."
 * BBC radio programmes are very good.They have many spoken word programmes,both colloquial English and so called "proper English"There is the World Service on the normal radio and a lot of programmes are accessable through your computer.Type in "BBC radio" on a search engine and you will find the various stations.hotclaws**== 08:11, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

In other words, you're better off reading anything in English, rather than reading about English. Good luck to you. Bunthorne 03:58, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

It sounds like you're not far off - though your question suggests that you need to pay more attention to punctuation87.102.8.103 17:07, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Verb agreement
21:06, 2 February 2007 (UTC)75.20.223.220What is the proper verb usage for the following sentence? The growth of tears struggles to recede. OR The growth of tears struggle to recede.
 * It should be "struggles", since "growth" is singular. The sentence doesn't really sound natural to me, though --Miskwito 21:25, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree. "Growth" is an inanimate property or process.  It can't struggle.  Marco polo 01:55, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


 * ...and neither "growth" nor "tears" recede, so it doesn't really make any sense in English. (Is this a translation of something?)--Shantavira 08:06, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


 * How about "I struggle to hold back my tears" or something? (or perhaps "fight" or "try", hmmm)... 惑乱 分からん 08:30, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi guys, how about letting poetry look for correct grammar rules ? As for sense, a growth never struggled before poetry decided it should. -- DLL .. T 11:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC)