Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2015 March 9

= March 9 =

life dealt them a different hand
Would you please teach me the meaning of 'life dealt them a different hand' in the following passage? 114.153.60.109 (talk) 00:40, 9 March 2015 (UTC)dengen After saying hello to Hillary and me, she went out into the crowd to shake hands with her fellow countrymen, who were obviously happy to see her. During the little time I had spent with Charles and Diana, I liked them both and wished that life had dealt them a different hand.--Bill Clinton, My Life: The Presidential Years, p.176.
 * In playing card games, the collection of cards a person holds is called a "hand". The process of passing out the playing cards for a game is called "dealing" (past tense "dealt").  To be dealt a hand in playing card games is to have cards passed out to you.  Since the success in the game depends a lot on the cards you have in your hand, the passage is being used metaphorically.  Bill wishes that Diana and Charles had more success in their marriage, and is using the metaphor of the card game to express that: had the situations around their marriage been different (that is, had they been "dealt a different hand") they're lives would have been happier.  I hope that helps!  -- Jayron 32 01:12, 9 March 2015 (UTC)


 * It could be interpreted a bit more broadly, as wishing they weren't royals, as presumably the pressures related to that destroyed their marriage. StuRat (talk) 19:23, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Which language is this ?
which language they are speaking ? and what is this girl saying repeatably ? NSFW clip182.190.183.49 (talk) 08:43, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Russian. For anyone about to click on that link, it's a porn video. I didn't watch it long enough to hear the girl say anything, but I heard the man speak what I believe is Russian right at the beginning. I am AGFing here, but I am borderline suspicious that this is not a serious question. However, people in Pakistan (where the OP's IP geolocates to) may have different tastes in viewing material. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 09:33, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I clearly mentioned NSFW to avoid any trouble. I do need to confirm what is being said. No this is not a joke. 182.190.183.49 (talk) 10:36, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but you must understand, we are academics here, not wankers. I should like to request that you do not ask about porn here again. We have better things to do with our hands. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 13:51, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Bjorn yes, porn no? μηδείς (talk) 16:25, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * we are academics here, not wankers. Speak for yourself!! &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  16:37, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Well, maybe some are both. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 16:45, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Please provide some translation instead of deciding who is who. As for me I'm a retried Wikipedian who doesn't edit wikipedia anymore, instead help Law enforcement agencies. 39.63.39.130 (talk) 13:15, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Law enforcement agencies employ translators and interpreters. I work as such, and have been doing so for 12 years. If this is for your job, then you shouldn't have to ask here. If this is for your personal enjoyment, you actually just shouldn't ask here. It's a teen rape video. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 14:46, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Now here is cultural difference, in this part of the world some jobs vacancy are not filled. due to many reasons, cost being one of them. Had been for some personal enjoyment I could have asked in relevant forum i.e some site which discuss pornography etc. 39.63.39.130 (talk) 17:26, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * What is the relevance of job vacancies not being filled, and why are you writing on here to show us a video of an underage girl being raped? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 20:02, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * ✅ This was helpful with MQM case. Next time we will hire a proper translator. http://tribune.com.pk/story/853170/mqm-party-worker-admits-sector-incharge-started-baldia-factory-ablaze/  Please remember the wikipedia rules WP:NPA so don't attack someone personally next time. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3AReference_desk%2FLanguage&diff=650804500&oldid=650803556 39.62.124.98 (talk) 10:31, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Comparative Grammar of the Uralic Languages
There was a book I used to get repeatedly from the library many many moons ago with a title similar to the one in the title of this post, and I am trying to find out who the author is. I think it was [someone] Borg, or something or other. Can anyone help? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 09:45, 9 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Björn Collinder, Comparative Grammar of the Uralic Languages. Stockholm, 1960.? Not to be confused with Björn Borg :o)--Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 09:56, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * That is exactly the one. Thank you. And yes, I was thinking of the tennis player's name when trying to remember. Thank you. I must have got my brain links mixed up. :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 10:51, 9 March 2015 (UTC)


 * There are three volumes, a dictionary, a grammar, and sketches. I can access them if you have a specific question, but they're worth getting, although out of print and quite costly. μηδείς (talk) 16:22, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Medeis, but I would really prefer a paper copy of all three. A digital version would be acceptable, but I do prefer paper. There is nothing better than a book you can physically hold. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 16:48, 9 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Oh, no, I am in total agreement, I'd want the physical books myself, not a digital copy. I was offering to look up (a very limited) something in my paper copies.  But they cost me about $500.00 on abebooks.com, which I think is now owned by amazon. Two books I would recommend you avoid are Abondolo's The Uralic Languages by Routledge. It says nothing about proto-Uralic; it merely provides separate chapters, and not all following the same format (each chapter focuses on the interests of the author), on individual existing languages. (Request it by inter-library loan before you buy it.)  I'd also totally avoid Marcantonio's The Uralic Language Family: Facts, Myths and Statistics which basically argues that the comparative method is invalid, and that Uralic can't be defined, because it shares some features with related families like Altaic and Indo-European. (Her point would be like declaring Germanic is invalid, since mein and "mine" have cognates in Slavic and Romance.) Feel free to email me any detailed questions.  And it is not an overview of Uralic, but Michael Fortescue's Relations Across the Bering Strait is well worth its price if you want deep comparisons.  (I am sure I have mentioned this before.) μηδείς (talk) 22:04, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

What is the Japanese title of this article?
I need a transcription of the title of the article that talks about the Little Angels International School in Tokyo: http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/Yomiuri29-12-2010.pdf

Thanks! WhisperToMe (talk) 12:44, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Ryuugaku Keiken no Oya 'Eigo Mi Ni Tsukete', and the rest of the sentence has been clipped off. Literally, in this way, it translates as 'Parent(s) with foreign study experience [probably 'say', though not indicated, as the sentence has been cut off on the .pdf provided] 'Learn English'. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 13:42, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the romaji! May I have the kanji too? WhisperToMe (talk) 14:22, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * 留学経験の親「英語身につけて」. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 16:51, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

May I also have the kanji of the titles of these articles? Thanks WhisperToMe (talk) 14:50, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/GlitterMag2010.pdf
 * http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/President_Baby_Nov-13-2010.pdf
 * For the first, it's ママ＆キズグリター, which is not kanji, but katakana. The second is プレジデントベービー, which is also katakana. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 16:58, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Thank you, Kagetora! Those gave me the Japanese names of the magazines. I looked through http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/GlitterMag2010.pdf and I found that the title I need is on page 2. I also found the article title at http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/President_Baby_Nov-13-2010.pdf is also in its page 2. What are the page 2 titles? WhisperToMe (talk) 23:26, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

I found a few more: Is it okay if I have the respective titles? WhisperToMe (talk) 00:14, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Page 2 of http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/sukusuku.pdf
 * Page 2 of http://www.angelsenglish.com/about/MediaC/kodomonojikan2007.pdf
 * The first is すくすくパラダイス and the second is こどもじかん. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 14:40, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Sorry for the late reply, . Anyway thanks for finding the Japanese names of the publications. I am still interested in the names of the particular articles with in the PDF files (those are on their respective page 2s) WhisperToMe (talk) 04:59, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

A Jest in Serious Earnest
voy:Wikivoyage:Joke articles/Time travel/British phrasebook

Hopefully covered most of the differences, any glaring omissions? ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 14:45, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Most of the differences with what, dear chap, old fellow me lad? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 18:41, 9 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The differences between International Standard English, and British RP English. :) ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 19:51, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as 'international standard English'. What International body regulates this? Is there one? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 00:43, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * As far as I can tell, people who talk about "International English" generally mean "not American English". They might occasionally have to include "not Canadian English", but that seems to be collateral damage. --Trovatore (talk) 01:09, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Ah. Well the intent of the phrasebook was pick up some notable differences between American/International English and the British equivalents. (That said there are some carefully added 'tounge-in cheek' entries :) ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 10:02, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * A standard does not always imply an identifiable authority. Who standardized the rules of bridge or poker or chess? —Tamfang (talk) 02:37, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Well, covering active errors rather than entries that could be improved, "blimey" should be "blimmin'" throughout, and "inn", "tavern", "one o'clock PM", "take a left", and "club soda" will instantly mark you out as an American. Tevildo (talk) 01:58, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I have had native londoners use, Turn left, take a left, Left at the 'monstrosity' (<grin.) interchangably. Also a massive tendency to navigate by pubs and tube stations :) ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 17:58, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Everyone in England uses pubs as markers to show which way to go. That's because we all know where they are. They advertise on the internet, so we can use them as guidance on our GPS. <font face="MV Boli" color="blue">KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 20:11, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * And naming a Tap after Farrah Fawcett then using the phrase "I'd tap that" will attract immediate attention as an American. <font face="MV Boli" color="blue">KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 16:12, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Very funny, but faucet predates Farrah by 500 years. &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  16:18, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Virtue names
Why are virtue names (i.e. Patience, Chastity, Faith, Hope, Esperanza) more often assigned to baby girls than baby boys (i.e. Will, Fidel)? In English-speaking countries, "Catherine" is unequivocally a feminine given name. In Spanish-speaking countries, "Catalina" is the Spanish variant of "Catherine", and I think a male variant can be made like so: "Catalino". 66.213.29.17 (talk) 22:50, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Because women generally like to have girls, so they give them names that reproduce their own hopes and virtues in their lives. <font face="MV Boli" color="blue">KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 00:48, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * to put it mildly. --jpgordon:==( o ) 01:19, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * My own mother wanted a girl baby when pregnant with me, so when born I was immediately a disappointment. As if it was my fault. I ended up being dressed as a girl for four years before mum could understand I was a boy. <font face="MV Boli" color="blue">KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 04:04, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * "Will" is short for "William". No one names his child "Volition".  Talk about cittion needed, what exactly is the question? μηδείς (talk) 01:21, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * "Victor" might be an example of an embodiment of an attribute, or virtue, in a name for a boy-child. Bus stop (talk) 01:39, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Not bad. Also "Vincent" and "Clement".  --Trovatore (talk) 03:30, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Pacifico, Prospero, Fortunato. --Trovatore (talk) 03:31, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Felix. --Trovatore (talk) 03:33, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Theodore, Theophilus. --Trovatore (talk) 03:46, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * My own name, Colin, apparently refers to the dove as a symbol of peace. Quite fitting, because my mother hasn't had any since I was born. <font face="MV Boli" color="blue">KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 03:49, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * The OP may find Given name interesting (many male names have origins we may not think of today e.g. Peter = "rock"). You may also enjoy Nominative determinism and its "Further reading" section. It doesn't explain "why" but has some theories about the consequences of name choice.--William Thweatt TalkContribs 05:09, 10 March 2015 (UTC)


 * One reason may be that the Romance languages (and I think other European languages) which have grammatical gender tend to have abstractions as feminine nouns. If your usual words for 'charity', 'grace', 'hope' etc. take feminine adjectives and pronouns, it is probably more natural to assign them to women when using them as names. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.146.172.252 (talk) 19:17, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * This is true in Latin specifically, which is where quite a few of these names come from [citation needed] shoy (reactions) 13:31, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * In Names and Naming Patterns in England, 1538-1700 (p. 181), Smith-Bannister associates the practice of using virtue names with Puritans and backs the OP's observation that such names are more commonly used for girls, but does not (as far as I can see) speculate on the reason for that. Perhaps a deeper dive into the book and its references, or Puritan history would help. Abecedare (talk) 19:43, 10 March 2015 (UTC)