Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2010 October 18

= October 18 =

Request for translation: English to Thai
how will i translate good afternoon everyone i am maxine padilla in thai language —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.193.13.240 (talk) 00:47, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Google gives this: สวัสดีทุกคนฉัน Maxine Padilla, but you should wait for a human translator who might come along. Rimush (talk) 10:23, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I would not trust Google translate for even the simplest sentences. In my experience it almost never produces a natural sentence in the target language, and often produces garbage. 01:19, 19 October 2010 (UTC). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.135.26.143 (talk)

How to pronounce Mettā?
As in the article, Mettā, I've searched the article and google and I am unable to find how to pronounce the word Mettā. Are you ready for IPv6? (talk) 03:10, 18 October 2010 (UTC)


 * See the Pali article. Pali words are pronounced as they are written. The a is long (pronounced ah).--Shantavira|feed me 05:58, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Function pointer
The question has been moved to the Computing reference desk.

Hindi
i want to read in hindi,how could be it possible? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kinngkumar.10 (talk • contribs) 18:13, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * A good way to start would be to take a class in Hindi or buy a Hindi textbook. r ʨ anaɢ (talk) 18:16, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Are you an Urdu speaker? If so, then someone here (though not me) might have some advice specific to your situation. Lfh (talk) 20:19, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Are you asking whether you can read Wikipedia articles in Hindi? There's no tool for viewing English Wikipedia pages in other languages, but there is a Hindi Wikipedia at hi:wikipedia.   Ka renjc 22:05, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * You can try tradukka for online translation of sentences. Gil_mo (talk) 13:15, 19 October 2010 (UTC)
 * See Hindi page at UPenn. -- Wavelength (talk) 23:01, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Yo maricón
It's not uncommon these days to hear American gays, especially the studiedly edgy, self-applying terms of opprobrium like "faggot" and "homo". I'm curious as to whether Spanish-speaking gays do the same with "maricón". Apparently they sometimes do, as in the movie Cachorro, but is that worldwide, or a peninsular thing, or a left-wing thing, or what?

As a free bonus question, I would like to know if "maricón" is truly comparable, in despective force, with the word "faggot", or if it is closer to "poofter" or "swish" or something. I've talked to a lot of different Spanish-speakers and they all seem to disagree about that. My intuition is that it's a more playful term than "faggot", less steeped in murderous imagery, more associated with outward effeminacy than with sexual deviancy. But my intuition may be wrong. L ANTZY T ALK 21:29, 18 October 2010 (UTC)


 * At one time in the US, "faggot" or "fag" did mean an "unmanly" man. As George Carlin once said about his old neighborhood, "a faggot was someone who wouldn't go downtown and help beat up queers". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:55, 18 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Having been to more than a few soccer matches in southern Spain I can confirm that there 'maricón' is definitely a term of insult. When shouted by thousands in conjunction with a player's name it has a lasting impression! Richard Avery (talk) 14:34, 19 October 2010 (UTC)


 * There could be some regional discrepancies. In Argentina, the term marica or maricón has more or less the past connotation Bugs describes of faggot. It certainly can be used to describe homosexuality, but uttering the word onto a soccer player (in Argentina, again) is nothing compared to saying trolo or puto, which are really the two basic rude Rioplatense terms for (male) homosexuals. Pallida  Mors  22:01, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I wonder what the etymoloy of maricón is. If it's somehow connected with the female name "Maria", its usage would be almost perfectly translated by this one old-fashioned term for an unmanly man, "sissy Mary". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:32, 21 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Hum, that's precisely the etymological association of marica (hence, maricón) given by the RAE. Pallida  Mors  08:41, 21 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Excellent reference. Perhaps the Spanish equivalent of Entymology Online. "Sissy" itself, if it's still used (probably diminutive of "sister"), implies weak or cowardly or unmanly. I gather that's how your hypothetical soccer player would take it, as opposed to the way he would take stronger terminology. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:29, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, he he. Sorry for going a bit off-topic, but I can't resist the temptation of commenting the Lamelagate, especially since it fits perfectly your point. Erik Lamela, a soccer player from River Plate (how strange!?), has referred in the past days about a strong foul [here a photo, showing some blood], complaining that the referee failed to call the foul. The player has ever since been accused of cowardice, one player having expressed that footballers act as girls; even another used the verb mariconear (e.g. being maricón, or here, acting effeminately). Besides, his last name doesn't help much, meaning "suck (it)". That's not too masculine :P Pallida  Mors  23:20, 21 October 2010 (UTC)