Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2012 November 7

= November 7 =

Ma Dibos
Hi, do the words "Ma Dibos" mean anything to anyone? The context is

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mother%27s_Day&oldid=521729972#Bolivia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.146.108.247 (talk) 01:18, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Here is where the addition was made. The anon user has made few contributions, but they appear to be generally non-vandalistic. Still, Google gives me nothing meaningful for "Ma dibos", and as it lacks any sort of cite, I'd get rid of it.   --   Jack of Oz   [Talk]  05:11, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Looks like it's a term in Bengali for Mother's Day (it was meant for the Bangladesh section) .--Cam (talk) 14:36, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Which chinese language kept the most Middle Chinese vocabularies?
There are many chinese languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Amoy, Shanghainese, Hakka, Xiang, etc) spoken in China. Which modern chinese language is the closest to Middle Chinese in terms of vocabulary from the Tang and Song Dynasty literatures? Can you provide me with some reliable non-wikipedia sources? 173.32.167.251 (talk) 02:42, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You might find these resources helpful. A8875 (talk) 04:59, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Chinese help/File:說好普通話.png
In File:說好普通話.png the big Chinese characters are posted in the image description, but there are smaller characters. What are they? WhisperToMe (talk) 04:11, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * 丽水市语言文字工作委员会 友情提示
 * Brought to you by the Lishui Language and Character Commission
 * Why a municipal government would need its own linguistic department is something a westerner like me could never hope to understand.A8875 (talk) 04:52, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually, in its functional core, this is less of an inscrutable Asian mystery than it would appear, when we realize that standard Italian took years to become the prevalent language throughout what is now Italy, in Germany millions speak a language/dialect called Low German that is very distinct from the national language ("High German")...the list goes on. --96.246.56.98 (talk) 10:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks! WhisperToMe (talk) 06:02, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The usual translation of "语言文字工作委员会" seems to be "Language Work Committee."--Cam (talk) 14:22, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Their job is basically to suppress the local dialect and destroy local culture. When the revolution comes I trust they would also be lynched along with the Chengguan. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 21:27, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Question on Chinese.
楼顶天线颜色随选票变化.

"Roof-top antennas change color with the ballot."

Can anyone help me understand this line? What do roof-top antennas have to do with the election results? Is this some sort of idiomatic expression in Chinese?

Thanks

Duomillia (talk) 04:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I googled "antenna color election result" and got this. If you go to page 5 of your link you can see they're talking about the Empire State Building. A8875 (talk) 05:03, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * To explain a bit more: There was a gimmick whereby the rooftop antenna on top of the Empire State Building was turned into a giant bar graph to depict the results of the Presidential election. -- Jayron  32  05:21, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Are 'revelation' and 'revealment' synonyms?
Are 'revelation' and 'revealment' synonyms or is there some subtle distinction? I just read a document that said " ... should avoid the revealment of version numbers". Personally I would have written " ... should avoid the revelation of version numbers" or just " ... should avoid revealing version numbers" but it made me wonder whether there is some difference. -- Q Chris (talk) 10:54, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I would have said "..should avoid revealing version numbers", since "revelation" has either religious associations or connotations of a dramatic unveiling, while "revealment" is an obscure and infrequent word... AnonMoos (talk) 11:45, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I've never heard of "revealment", but The Merriam-Webster online dictionary says that the first known use was in 1584. Webster's 1828 English Dictionary says "REVE'ALMENT, n. The act of revealing. (Little used.)". Oxford Dictionaries online says "No exact results found for revealment in the dictionaries."; so it looks as though it's obsolete in British English. Alansplodge (talk) 13:23, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Agree 100% with Anon and Alan. "Revealment" will be understood since the -ment morpheme is productive but will sound odd.  See embiggen. μηδείς (talk) 16:27, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Wiktionary shows that at least one writer in the past appears to have used it as an antonym of concealment, which seems sensible. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 16:52, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Alan, just because a word is not included in a small dictionary doesn't mean that it is obsolete. The big Oxford includes cites from 1576 to 2001.  I agree that the word is less common, but it's far from obsolete, and useful in the quoted sentence.  I don't think it sounds particularly odd in that context (though "avoid revealing" or "avoid the revealing of" would be more common English.    D b f i r s   17:44, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well maybe, but I've still never heard of it. The links I gave were just about all that Google could find me. I haven't got a "hard" English dictionary to hand but my big Collins English-French dictionary doesn't include it. Alansplodge (talk) 02:19, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, I agree that it's not a common word and so is difficult to find on-line. I've just checked my single-volume Collins Millennium Edition dictionary and "revealment" is mentioned at the end of the "reveal" entry.    D b f i r s   09:06, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * EO doesn't recognize "revealment" as a word. It's interesting that "reveal" literally means "unveiling". "Revelation" typically has religious overtones. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:46, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Chinese questions
For Custody battle for Anna Mae He

The name 贺绍强: Is it Hè Shàoqiáng (I am assuming this one) or Hè Shàoqiǎng?

Thanks WhisperToMe (talk) 14:50, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I would expect the first. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 21:24, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Alright - that sounds plausible WhisperToMe (talk) 06:28, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Who composed an Ode to Spot?

 * Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
 * An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
 * Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
 * Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.


 * I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
 * A singular development of cat communications
 * That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
 * For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.


 * A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
 * You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
 * And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
 * It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.


 * O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
 * Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
 * And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
 * I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.''

' Ankh '. Morpork  16:08, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Data (Star Trek), in "Schisms (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" — which I have not seen, but great verse like that gets around. —Tamfang (talk) 17:01, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * But presumably AnkhMorpork wants to know who wrote the actual poem. The writer of the episode? Brent Spiner? Adam Bishop (talk) 22:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * A lot of fansites (and other sites) do attribute the poem to Brannon Braga, the writer of the episode, as suggested by Adam. I saw a lot of "it would be logical to assume"-type uncertainty though, and didn't find any official credit at first browse. ---Sluzzelin talk  23:29, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * The person credited for the script as a whole is, a fortiori, credited for every part of the script. Is there any reason to think the credit might be false? —Tamfang (talk) 23:50, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, I was interested in who actually wrote it, and if perhaps, they composed other poetry. ' Ankh '. Morpork  23:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The article Data (Star Trek) says "The poem was actually written by Clay Dale, the visual effects artist", but then has a "citation needed" tag. 86.146.106.216 (talk) 12:56, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Another citationless vote for Clay Dale on this page. Alansplodge (talk) 16:41, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Alcool Prohibition : "spoof-laws" ?
Hello learned ones ! While watching the 2012 documentary film by Ken Burns about Prohibition in the US, I failed to hear clearly the nick-name given then to those who enjoyed infringing the law : "spoof-laws" ? I didn't find anything near that in Wiktionary, nor in my Webster's ...Thanks beforehand for your enlightments. T.y. Arapaima (talk) 18:23, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Probably "scofflaws". Looie496 (talk) 18:26, 7 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Agreed. See scofflaw. StuRat (talk) 18:28, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Good neologism ! Thanks a lot ! Arapaima (talk) 08:32, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Is a word that's almost a century old really still a neologism? Roger (talk) 09:59, 10 November 2012 (UTC)