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Latin -que suffix in romance languages
In Latin the suffix -que can be used to mean "and". For example:
Fames sitisque (Hunger and thirst)
Are there any modern Romance languages that use the suffix -que or something similar to it?
OriginalOldMan
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What's the real need for an end-symbol in n-gram models?
There's a footnote in Jurafsky & Martin (2008, p.89) pointing out that, without an end-symbol, an n-gram model would not be "a true probability distribution". Even after seeking the paper they've referenced, I could not get the point. Here is the…
mcrisc
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The French of Shakespeare -- why does it seem so modern?
In Henry V, Shakesperean English is difficult to understand (even for modern native English speakers -- at least for me) without a good amount of help.
However, there are a few scenes conducted mostly or entirely in French, and to my surprise, these…
hunter
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Etymology of basic numerals (number words)
When speakers of a language coin words for one, two, three, four, etc., for the first time, where do they come up with the forms?
Are there any common methods used across language families?
Pirahã has words for "few" and "many". Numerous other…
Damian Yerrick
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What's a simple example of how Mongolian is radically dependent-marking?
In Johanna Nichols' book Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time, I came across the passage on page 146, where she asserts that Japanese, Mongolian, Dyirbal, and Yawelmani are all radically dependent-marking. Having studied a bit of Japanese, I can…
magnetar
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What are the Proto-Germanic words for sea, lake and a couple of others?
In Dutch "zee" means "sea" and "meer" means "lake", but in German "das Meer" means "sea" and "der See" means "lake".
Similarly, verbs like to want, to need, to have, to desire, etc. are all mixed up.
Who got it "wrong", and how did that happen?
Pepijn
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Descendants of Latin vs. Greek?
From Latin there descend half a dozen (or more) modern languages. Greek, by contrast, has simply changed over time but without branching into separate languages.
Why the difference? Both were spoken over pretty wide areas, after all, and I'd have…
user438
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What evidence is there against "nonsegmental" phonology?
What's the best evidence against a position like that expounded by e.g. Bob Port (or Ken Lodge, for you UK-based phon*ists), which essentially states that phonology (or whatever you want to call the cognitive/internal aspect of the…
Fred
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Why do PIE verbs have suffixes -m-, -s-, -t-, while personal pronouns have m-, t-, s-?
Usually it is assumed that in PIE the verb forms for the singular first, second, and third person are respectively -m-, -s-, -t- (cfr. Latin).
The personal pronouns, instead, have the second and third person inverted.
Why is this the case? I am no…
geodude
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What is the origin of the silent visual applause sign?
Using a silent visual applause by flapping one's hands instead of clapping is used by several communities: some deaf communities, some autistic communities and some buddhist communities. It would appear that autistic communities borrowed it from…
Panda
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8
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4 answers
What's the difference between [ɚ], [ɹ̩], and [əɹ]?
I've seen the "-er" sound in English (like in butter) transcribed in all three of the above ways, but I've heard there are subtle differences between them.
What are these differences, if there are any?
Joe Z.
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How different are Urdu and Hindi?
My family are Pakistani, but I never learned Urdu as a child. I'd like to learn a little, primarily as a means of keeping this part of my heritage alive. However, the pragmatist in me realizes that Hindi is a far more useful language (number of…
user3279453
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How can I embed language proficiency assessment within an unrelated experiment design?
I'm in the process of designing a self-paced-reading & a grammaticality-judgment-task experiment, which should be performed by second language learners. It is crucial to the study is how the subjects differ in their proficiency levels based on which…
Linguister
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How common is a topic particle beyond just Japanese and Korean?
Both Japanese and Korean are "topic-comment" languages and both have an explicit topic particle.
(I believe Chinese might be an example of a topic-comment language without a topic particle but I may be wrong.)
Which other languages have topic…
hippietrail
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What is the term for, and a list of, "continuous dialects"?
I remember reading that Portuguese and Spanish are really just extremes on a continuum of a dialects. That is, if one travels slowly from (for example) Madrid to Lisbon, one would note nothing more than subtle shifts in dialect the entire way, and…
BlueWhale
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