Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2014 July 3

= July 3 =

watch that smile
In the following context from the novel "Lionel Asbo", what does "that smile" refer to? Is it the teacher's smile? "On the other hand, Squeers Free had in its staff an exceptional Learning Mentor---a Mr Vincent Tigg. What's going on with you, Desmond? You were always an idle little sod. Now you can't get enough of it. Well, what next? I fancy modern languages, sir. And history. And sociology. And astronomy. And... You can't study everything, you know. Yes I can. Renaissance boy, innit. ...You want to watch that smile, lad. All right. We'll see about you. Now off you go." Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.128.177.53 (talk) 08:41, 3 July 2014 (UTC)


 * The teacher would hardly be called "lad". That smile belongs to Desmond, the eager student. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:32, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
 * The point being that Tigg, as many authority figures are wont to do, is telling someone to "wipe that smile off your face" when he suspects that his comments are being taken less than seriously. ("Squeers Free" and "Vincent Tigg"—how Dickensian!) Deor (talk) 14:49, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed. If I recall my distant school days correctly, teachers were especially infuriated when they didn't understand the joke. Alansplodge (talk) 17:30, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Such teachers were trying to teach the students obedience. What they were really teaching the students was dishonesty. Although that could have been intentional. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:28, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

Mythical origin of Japanese
I was reading this article: Mythical origins of language and I wondered if there is in Japanese mythology some legend about the creation of the Japanese language. --151.41.156.175 (talk) 13:25, 3 July 2014 (UTC)


 * I haven't been able to find anything that says so, but see Kotodama, the Shinto concept that the Japanese language has its own spiritual force; Kotodama: the multi-faced Japanese myth of the spirit of language] has more detail than our article. Alansplodge (talk) 17:27, 3 July 2014 (UTC)