Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 September 14

= September 14 =

PTSA
What does the word PTSA means. I know is called Parent-Teacher Association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Jet (talk) 03:22, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * The article you linked to seems to explain it pretty well. Is there something in particular you want clarified? -Elmer Clark 04:51, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Although both of the articles you linked to fail to explain what the abbreviation stands for, it is indeed a common abbreviation for Parent Teacher Student Association. --Lambiam 09:17, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Can we say that it's not a "word" in the first place? It's also not an "abbreviation".  It is another type of object, an "acronym".  Acronyms are constructed (usually) by taking the first letter of a multi-letter title or phrase.  "Association" is a word.  "ass'n" is an abbreviation of that word.  "PTSA" is an acronym of the whole title.  My favorite acronym is "TANSTAAFL". -66.55.10.178 14:56, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

segue not in oed
I have an old (~1980) copy of the concise oed, and an older (~1975) copy of the shorter version. The word segue, which has come into vogue recently, isn't in either. I'm sure the word must be older than the 1980s, so why does it not appear? Is it in current versions of major dictionaries, and is it listed in any recent source as a neologism? 203.221.126.156 05:46, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It is in the full version of the OED, although mostly treated as a technical musical term (which is why it may not have made the cut for the concise). The earliest figurative quote in the OED dates from 1972. FiggyBee 05:54, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * The word was not in the first edition of the OED but appears in volume IV of the supplement (published 1986) as a verb and a noun (although the noun is tagged ‘musical slang’. --Mathew5000 06:10, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It's in the 1983 Chambers, as a verb and a noun, and the origin is given as Italian. DuncanHill 14:31, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Questions in simple past tense
Hi Wikipedians,

The Wikipedia article on past tense gives 1) He walked to the store. and Did he walk to the store? as examples of simple past tense. Why does the question use the regular form walk instead of walked despite being in simple past tense? 219.95.184.214 13:56, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Because "walk" is actually an infinitive there, and past-tense inflection is expressed on the auxiliary verb ("Did", the past of "do). AnonMoos 14:26, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Which is why, on a side note, it can be confusing when learning another language - 'do' and 'be' are used in many instances to indicate tense which does not always happen in other languages and one of many reasons why translators such as Babelfish struggle with direct translations to and from English. Lanfear&#39;s Bane 15:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I am beginning to form a theory of complexity of language. Each modern language seems to have areas of complexity and simplicity which roughly even themselves out. Some languages have elaborate systems of noun and adjective declension, some have verbs with complex conjugation, some have elaborate systems of politeness and so on. English happens to have very little of the above, but it does have a lot of verb tenses using a lot of auxiliary verbs. "I will have been walking", for example... Add that to the idiosyncratic spelling and we find, messieurs, that this tongue is quite rough! SaundersW 15:39, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks! 219.95.184.122 12:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


 * In Shakespeare's time, the question would be Walked he to the store?. This form is still preferred with be, and optional with have (it's archaic in my dialect, though that doesn't always stop me).  —Tamfang 02:43, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Y
I've heard alot of arguments about this but is the letter "Y" a vowel? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.71.18.9 (talk) 20:01, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * In English there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the written letter and the sound it represents. The concept of a vowel is that of a sound. When the letter Y represents a sound like "i" (as in rhythm) then it is representing a vowel. When it is represents the sound at the start of "yak" it is a consonant. SaundersW 20:33, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * In French, the letter 'Y' (y grec) is usually a vowel, but can be a semi-consonne (semi-consonant), for instance in yeux. In German and Spanish, as in English, 'Y' (ypsilon, y griega) is either a vowel or a consonant, but it's only used in German in foreign words or names. Xn4 22:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * In other words, Y is a (written) letter, not a (spoken) sound, hence neither a consonant nor a vowel. In writing, it can represent either a vowel or a consonant. —Daniel Šebesta {chat | contribs} 23:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)