Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2024 January 17

= January 17 =

succession vs accession
Are both "succeeded to the throne" and "acceded to the throne" correct? Is there a difference between them?

I see the first used at https://www.royal.uk/accession. Kk.urban (talk) 19:40, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
 * succession implies coming after an earlier holder. You cannot succeed to a newly created throne. accession does not imply an earlier holder. --Error (talk) 20:21, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
 * They only seem to mean the same because there is generally only one occupant of a given throne and a new occupant is rarely the first. --Lambiam 06:42, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
 * With a bit of tongue-in-cheek, "acceding to the throne" is the act of sitting down on the chair, and "succeeding to the throne" means doing that after the previous occupant has left it. Charles III succeeded his mother at the instant she died, and acceded at the same time; the latter was formalised in the UK during this ceremony. Bazza (talk) 10:21, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

Dutch phrase "ga je gang"
The Dutch phrase "ga je gang" (literally "go your going") is usually translated as "go ahead". Is it only used if there is motion implied: "Going to the store to get me a six-pack -- Go ahead", or may it be used even if there's no motion implied (just like the English phrase may): "Going to drink me a six-pack -- Go right ahead"? Thanks. 178.51.15.36 (talk) 21:23, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
 * That's all very interesting, but where's the question? 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 22:38, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I'd forgot the question mark. Sorry about that. Just fixed that. The question is right before the question mark. Thanks. 178.51.15.36 (talk) 23:52, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
 * If you mean that the phrase could also be used figuratively, it does indeed seem like that. I found one example on Dutch Wikipedia where it was used as an encouragement for users to dare contributing with their own edits; Wikipedia:Voel je vrij en ga je gang (Wikipedia: Feel free and go ahead). 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 01:55, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Wiktionary confirms this. GalacticShoe (talk) 03:55, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Native Dutch speaker here. "Ga je gang" is a colloquial permission or encouragement to perform some action. Whether this action involves some movement is irrelevant. Usually it doesn't. Wiktionary mentions 5 senses for the word "gang" and senses 2 and 3 are often used figuratively. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:16, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks y'all. 178.51.15.36 (talk) 14:53, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

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