Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 July 9

= July 9 =

"Postcritical"
I've heard the term "postcritical" in relation to both Bible study and literary criticism, but I'm not certain what it's supposed to mean. (Google shows that it's apparently used in other philosophical contexts, like epistemology.) Does it have a definition, or different meanings in different contexts, or is it one of those vague buzzwords like "postmodern"? 69.106.4.120 (talk) 23:58, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I can infer that it refers to a style similar to 'postmodern', but instead aiming at moving past the concept of reading in a 'critical' fashion, but rather to a less literal and more abstract and thematic approach to reading. Steewi (talk) 04:54, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks. That would make sense in relation to Bible study, since I saw "postcritical" used in the context of finding a personal relationship with God-- instead, I suppose, of arguing about the Bible's authorship and such. 69.106.4.120 (talk) 02:00, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Riat
My mother recently pulled a piece of money out of our archives, and we have no idea what it is. There is a piece of writing next to it that says it's a 5 riat bill, and that it's worth approximately $15 US. Can anyone give any information on it: The scans are here:.

I realize this is not, strictly speaking, a language question, but it is close enough, as it is. The Evil Spartan (talk) 23:57, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Probably one of the Rials. Need an arabic speaker to tell which one. Fribbler (talk) 00:01, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * After a bit of external link searching from the various Rials, I found a link to this, which shows it to be an Iranian/Persian 5 Rial note from 1938. Fribbler (talk) 00:09, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, a very ugly typo. Any idea of the worth? Not ripped, but poor quality, obviously. The Evil Spartan (talk) 00:31, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The best I can find, without access to a catalogue, is this old ebay auction (starting bid nine dollars): . Fribbler (talk) 00:39, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Of course, it's not Arabic, but Persian - one side also says "Bank of Iran" ("bank" in Persian apparently also being "bank"). Adam Bishop (talk) 01:08, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Whoops! Should have said "Arabic Script". Fribbler (talk) 01:16, 10 July 2008 (UTC)