Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2006 August 25

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Editing

1. Does a comma follow: So, Now, and Later?
2. Is Patriarch and Patriarchate in caps? I belive it is.
3. And, is it eastwards or eastward.

1. Whether a comma follows So/Now/Later depends on the rest of the sentence. By themselves they don't require a comma: "So you think you're smart, huh?" / "Now we shall see what is in here." In "So, as we have seen, this is not an explanation." the comma after so is the first of the pair of commas offsetting the non-restrictive clause "as we have seen". One could instead use dashes: "So – as we have seen – this is not an explanation." or a parenthesis: "So (as we have seen) this is not an explanation."
2. As a high title in Christian churches, it is customarily capitalized, and particularly so if followed by a proper name: "Patriarch Karekin II Kazanjian of Constantinople". If used in the sense of a man who has authority over a family, it is usually not capitalized: "Jacob was the third Biblical patriarch, after Abraham and Isaac."
3. As an adjective, it is "eastward": "It points in the eastward direction." As an adverb, you can use either: "No-one knows why they decided to move further eastward(s)." --Lambiam^Talk 00:05, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

But what do you mean by "Patriarch and Patriarch "? JackofOz 02:26, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

patriarchate, sorry.

Also are these words supposed to be hyphened? I think it looks better when the e-e/u words are.

Re-established

Re-conquered

Re-conquer

Pre-empt

Re-unification

re-declared

Re-dividing

These are words in their own right. The only reason you might consider a hyphen is to ensure they're not mispronounced, which is only a risk if the second part starts with a vowel. Otherwise, no hyphen is necessary. JackofOz 03:24, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Hyphenation is not necessary even with the e-e/e-u words, because the conventions of English orthography do not permit confusion over the pronounciation.

Specifically, ree- is always pronounced beginning [ɹi], so the decision whether to pronounce the second e seperately can be deferred while the following letters are read; similarly, the only words where initial reu- is not pronounced with two syllables are special cases like Reuters. Cases where a hyphen or other aid are necessary include "naïve" and "co-operate", which could otherwise be read rhyming with "nave" and "recuperate" resp.

n.b.: "naïve" must be spelt with a diaræsis, not a hyphen, because the initial na- is not a prefix; some orthographies spell "coöperate" with a diaræsis as well. EdC 10:45, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Generally, you don't put a comma before "and". Jameswilson 23:29, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

That depends on your preference. See serial comma. "Here lies John Doe, a lawyer and a good man." Is that one person or three? AEuSoes1 15:12, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

French words pertaining to Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

I am looking for French language words pertaining to the field of Landscape Architecture. Where can I look up words I don't know, in a language I can't read. Is there some encyclopedia or dictionary with on-line instructions written in English so that I can look up French words and termonology used in the study of Landscape Architecture. How many different ways do Francophiles refer to horticulture, garden design, or architecture? Any advice is greatly appreciated. DDS68.252.111.69 02:42, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

This book may help. I'm not certain that it has these things in it, but the Arabic version does, so I can assume that this one does also. -LambaJan 04:07, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

sick of my neighbor's cock waking me every morning.

Aeolian harp contains the dubious clause "A stiff rod will perform." Is it legitimate? If so, what is it called when we say soumething outrageous like that as part of a normal sentence, meaning something else?

"Double entendre" comes to mind – in this case perhaps unintentional. --Lambiam^Talk 16:03, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Freudian slip? EdC 14:45, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

connaisseurs

Is this a legitimate English spelling? Rmhermen 20:03, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

That's how you spell it in French and it's a french loanword. Funny, I can't find it on the English section of my French/English dictionary. AEuSoes1 20:56, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

But is it an English spelling or should I correct it? Rmhermen 20:58, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

The English spelling is connoisseurs, which apparently is a former French spelling (OED).--Shantavira 21:01, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Language

You have almost all languages but not Hebreu Why? Regards J.A.

Hebreu? Or did you mean Hebrew? Daniel Šebesta (talk • contribs) 23:37, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

For the article on Hebrew (Hebreu), see Hebrew language. For the Hebrew-language Wikipedia, see he.wikipedia.org. -- the GREAT Gavini 06:08, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Dispute on page

I've already filed an RFC, but I figured there would be some linguist lounge lizards hanging around here. There is a dispute at Talk:International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Worldwide_View, and a third opinion would be appreciated. Thank you. 22:07, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Try the mediation cabal too. That's their job. — [Mac Davis] (talk)

If what you want it literally a third opinion, why not try Wikipedia: Third Opinion? It might fit the bill. ;-) Anchoress 00:05, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

WP:3O usually takes about two or three weeks to get a response. I've looked into Mediation Cabal, but I don't want to create a seperate case for one issue about notability. The ikiroid (talk·desk·Advise me) 01:33, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Does it? I've only use it once and I got an answer in 2 days. Have you gotten help yet? If not, maybe you should try it. Anchoress 23:45, 26 August 2006 (UTC)