| British Cultural Norms |
[May. 13th, 2008|06:30 pm] |
I've looked through the culture tags and came up empty handed...
I was wondering if any Americans here can share their experiences with learning British cultural norms. And to the Brits, what cultural norms have you had to teach to Americans you know, or experiences in which you've seen Americans or non-Brits struggle with British norms?
In my sociology class my teacher (an American who was at the time engaged to a Brit) brought up the examples of:
- Not knowing he was supposed to bag his own groceries.
- Learning that you don't tip in pubs.
Also, have you made (or witnessed) any faux pas that have made you quickly come to realize what the British cultural norm would be for that particular situation? |
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| getting jumpy in Russian |
[May. 13th, 2008|06:30 pm] |
Can anyone help me out with translating an occasional phrase into Russian for use in fiction?
At the moment, I'm looking for an expression that would be translated as "jumpy" or "nervous", as in slightly inclined to paranoia. The speaker is an older woman, and she's talking about a man. A colloquial expression would be wonderful, but it has to be a term that would have been in use 20 or 30 years ago; current slang would be anachronistic.
Many, many thanks! |
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| good book? |
[May. 13th, 2008|05:36 pm] |
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Hi. With finals almost over, I'm looking forward to reading whatever I want. I'd love to read a good linguistic/language related book, but nothing too dense or intellectual (don't make me think after finals). Does anybody have any recommendations for an interesting language related book that is an enjoyable read? Something I could pick up at Barnes & Noble or something? |
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| Ayuda con tarea |
[May. 13th, 2008|04:24 pm] |
Tengo un ensayo por mi clase de Espanol. Tengo imaginar que soy la jefa de una compania y debo contratar a una persona para un puesto important. Me ensayo es un poco necio. Necesito la ayuda de un corrector por erros con la gramtica.
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[May. 13th, 2008|06:59 pm] |
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| Encyclopedia Dramatica |
[May. 13th, 2008|04:17 pm] |
After a series of random internet clicking, I ended up on ED's page on Wikipedia. There's a section all in Hebrew, and I'd really like to know what it says... so if anyone could help, I'd appreciate it!
( Cut to be kind )
Here's the link: http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Wikipedia |
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| OED Equivalents in other languages |
[May. 13th, 2008|04:52 pm] |
Hello Linguaphiles,
Anyone want to recommend OED equivalents in other languages? I would like to find etymological and historical evolutions of words for Portuguese in European Portuguese, and a separate volume for French in European French. Any ideas where I may find and purchase such volumes? I browsed fnac.com without any luck.
Best to all,
isa |
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| Multiple "or"'s: commas or not? |
[May. 14th, 2008|12:01 am] |
"In the event the defendant declines to submit necessary information to the relevant agency(,) or fails to submit it within the prescribed period(,) or significantly obstructs the investigation..."
To be or not to be? To comma or not to comma? :)))) |
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| Por Vs Para |
[May. 13th, 2008|11:09 am] |
I am in Spanish 102 and having a hard time with the use of "por" and "para". Here is the particular exercise I am having trouble with. It was fill in the blank with por or para and I filled in what I thought was right but some of them I was really just guessing by what sounded more right and I still need help on the rules. Are there any sites with excersises for this? Or if you have any hints to help me remember, any advice is appreciated :)
Excuse my lazy accents ;)
Viaje' (1) por avio'n desde Bogota' y llegue' a Caracas el Mi'ercoles. El jueves salinos (2) para Maracaibo (3) por la man~ana. Pague' (4) por los servicios del gui'a con mi tarjeta de cre'dito. Desde Maracaibo hable' (5) por tele'fono con mis tias en la isla Margarita. Ahora estoy (6) para salir otra vez (7) para Caracas. (8) Por ser febrero hace buen tiempo. (9) Para lo general me gusta Venezuela. Te ves en una semana. Es todo (10) para ahora.
So please let me know if I got any wrong, which ones and why it should be por or para because I am really lost!
Thank you in advance ^_^ |
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| Ancient Greek Help? |
[May. 13th, 2008|01:29 pm] |
I'm trying to translate the insult "seaweed brain" into Ancient Greek. I... have tried several dictionaries, and I can't find any entry for seaweed. In modern Greek I think it would be "fyki myalo" if I'm not mistaken?
I don't know anything about Greek, so I'm kind of at a loss.
Greek letters with transliteration would be wonderful, please. |
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| emergency french correction! |
[May. 13th, 2008|06:27 pm] |
Hey all of you, I just heard about an opportunity to submit a poem about my current study abroad experience at a party in an hour, and I would LOVE it if someone would clean up the gravest of my errors so that it at least sounds presentable, anyone care to help? I didn't have much time to write it and have even less to correct it...I guess I'm mainly wondering about the de + infinitive stuff, and if the phrase "sinon déjà, t'inquiètes pas, il reste deux semaines" works or not. Anyone care to lend a helping main? Merci beaucoup!!! Disregard the accents, I'm using a crappy-as-hell computer/keyboard and don't have time.
( POEM ) |
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| all the many deutsch dialects |
[May. 13th, 2008|11:15 am] |
i keep hearing many different things regarding this issue, so someone please enlighten me :]
is it true that if i were to go to the northern cities of Germany, i would be hearing a form of the German language that was very different from that spoken in the southern cities of Germany? and does the same apply to the east/west cities, as well as the German spoken in Austria? I have heard that for sure, the German in Switzerland is markedly distinct, but I had really thought that in Germany at least, the language was fairly homogenous. is the standard, or 'high' German, considered the most proper or formal, whereas another type is considered the colloquial spoken form?
i'm considering going to Munich or Frankfurt in September with my mom, maybe there is a better city we should look into visiting if we want a really good exposure to the language? (at least, that's what i'm into, i think she's more into the shopping!)
thanks guys :) |
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| Fic: Titles |
[May. 13th, 2008|01:38 am] |
Title: This Title, Like Arthur Dent’s Brain, Is Taking a Rain Check
Rating: PG-13? I've never quite gotten the hang of ratings.
Pairing: Ford/Arthur
Words: 1761
Summary: Ford has given this a great deal of thought.
Disclaimer: Is it really necessary to point out that I am not Douglas Adams? Is that what people really need? (I'm not even English and I don't even look like a Douglas.)
A/N: Inspired by a short bit of text in an ad for a web comic, of all things. I didn’t think to note which web comic at the time. The title is inspired by my failure at coming up with good titles. Oh, and this is going to be continued. As soon as I finish writing the next part.
( I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there actually is a drink out there that tastes like blueberry syrup. ) |
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| Tagalog translation? |
[May. 12th, 2008|06:26 pm] |
Hi there! I absolutely adore this song, "Limang Dipang Tao." My partner is Filipino and he's explained the song to me and even defined a couple words. I've asked him to do a full-on translation but odds are he won't get around to it...
I would be so eternally grateful if someone with a little too much time on his or her hands would translate the lyrics for me. Pretty please?
( lyrics )
I believe it's by Ryan Cayabyab but I've never heard the original version. The band Barbie's Cradle does a delightful rendition and they have a delightful video. Here it is:
ENJOY, and SALAMAT! |
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| ayuda de tarea! |
[May. 12th, 2008|05:39 pm] |
| [ | .miens |
| |  okay | ] |
Hola! Estoy escribiendo un ensayo sobre mi niñez.
Si quiero decir: "My mother raised my sisters, Amanda and Molly, and me," is this correct?: "Mi madre nos criaba mis hermanas, Amanda y Molly, y yo."
Also, there are multiple words for "county" in the online dictionary. Which is the right one to use for "LA County." I have la comarca.
gracias! |
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| Berekeré |
[May. 12th, 2008|06:17 pm] |
Hello everyone!
A friend of mine sent me this song a long time ago, and I love the sound of it but can't really catch most of the lyrics as I don't quite speak Portuguese. Does anybody know this song and feel like transcribing what lyrics they can? Google gave me squat.
I could send it to you, too, if you feel confident in your Portuguese lyric comprehension skills.
Thanks very much!
Oh, right, it's Berekeré by Geraldo Azevedo. I guess that's an important part, eh? |
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| Art! |
[May. 12th, 2008|05:17 pm] |
I drew angsty Ford. I'm really proud of this one :D
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| Car hire in the US |
[May. 12th, 2008|09:07 pm] |
Three friends and I are visiting the US next month for a friend's wedding. As part of our visit, we're going to be driving from Minneapolis to Boston, with a stop in Chicago. We've got most of the details for the overall trip worked out, but we're just at the point of fixing up the car hire.
What car hire companies would people recommend we go with, based on wanting to pick a car up at Minneapolis/St Paul airport, and drop it off at Boston Logan up to 11 days later? (Flexibility about the drop-off is useful, because although we'll be in Boston at most 7 days after leaving Minneapolis, we may want to hang onto the car to do a little touring and visiting in MA.) At the moment we're looking at Budget, but they seem a little costly to me.
Thoughts or tips?
Edited to add: As there will be four of us with cases, we'll need something with reasonable trunk/boot capacity. The Budget cars my friend came up with did not seem to include station wagons/estate cars. (There were SUVs, of course.) Is that typical? |
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| Rare Photo Monday |
[May. 12th, 2008|01:14 pm] |
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| Singehebhuye |
[May. 13th, 2008|12:52 am] |
| [ | .miens |
| |  baffled | ] |
Phew. Just finished phoneticising 17 lists of names from a vast range of languages to be read out at graduation ceremonies. A mammoth linguaphilic task. There was, however, one name that totally baffled me, and that was Singehebhuye. It was the third part of a three part name, and Google seems to think the second part (which I won't put in here for confidentiality reasons) is Estonian. For want of any brighter ideas, I found an online Estonian pronunciation guide and came up with something based on that (on the grounds that it's better my struggling profs say something when this name turns up), but to be honest, I wouldn't put any money on my efforts being right.
Any clues? Anyone? Estonian speakers?? |
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