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1500 questions
7
votes
1 answer
Indistinguishability of [f] and [s] on phone - citation?
I have long felt that [f] and [s] are hard to tell apart on the phone, especially when spelling out words letter by letter. As a non linguist (but audio engineer) it seems to me that the frequencies required to distinguish them are usually higher…
Sideshow Bob
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7
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1 answer
Dictionary of atypical syllabication
I am a literacy researcher looking to create an add on package in R that offers quantitative methods for discourse analysis. I am creating a function for taking a chunk of text and measuring the syllables per word so
x <- c('dog', 'cat', 'pony',…
Tyler Rinker
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7
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4 answers
What language takes the longest to text?
It takes X seconds for the average English user to send an average-length text message via phone.
What language is the most effort-intensive to text? How about to write? Is there one language that is best adapted to "the keyboard" or the touchpad…
samthebrand
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2 answers
Are there any online databases of kinship terms across languages?
Related to a question at ELU, I am interested in doing a comparative analysis of kinship terms in various languages. What would help me with this is an inventory of terms for individual languages.
There are online explanations of different systems,…
Mitch
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7
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4 answers
Does any linguist honestly believe that nouns and verbs are not universals?
Does any serious scholar really believe that some languages have no distinction between verbs and nouns?
Wikipedia pages suggest this. I studied physics, so linguistics is not my field at all.
Question What's the global difference between nouns and…
user8144
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7
votes
2 answers
Does anyone know the name of this form of wordplay?
In his book "Humorous English," Evan Esar writes,
"The blended compound is the fusion of two compounds, with the terminal word of one being the same or similar to the initial word of the other. By such telescoping ... one's adopted country becomes…
inkd
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7
votes
2 answers
Producing sounds that are not used in one's mother tongue
Why is it that someone who is fully capable of producing a sound foreign to their own language has trouble using that sound in languages that do use it?
For example, let's say that an English speaker can perfectly pronounce the alveolar trill [r].…
Robert
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7
votes
2 answers
Infinitive verbs in syntax tree
I am just a little curious about the construction of syntactic trees when they involve infinitives in English. Basically, I want to know what role does the the "to" play? I don't think it is like a prepositional, as it normally would be. An…
Bennett
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7
votes
1 answer
List of minimal pairs in Turkish
Is anyone aware of a resource (web-based or in print) providing a comprehensive list of minimal pairs in Turkish?
Kelly
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7
votes
1 answer
Thematic roles in some languages
I have a question about semantic roles in Latin and Russian.
Latin
Quibusdam […] sudor erumpit.
someone. DAT.PL sweat. NOM.SG come out.PRES.3SG.
‘Some people start sweating.’
Russian:
U nego poshel pot.
with…
Alex B.
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7
votes
2 answers
Can the term "gerund" be linguistically defined?
The Wikipedia entry for gerund starts with a list that shows how the term is applied to various languages. And we can see that what the term actually means depends a lot on the specific language we are referring to. For example, it can be a verbal…
Otavio Macedo
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7
votes
3 answers
Head directionality parameter and adpositions in Finnish
As I understand from the principles and parameters theory, all parameters are binary. In particular, the head directionality parameter can be set to either "head-first" or "head-last". The setting of one value or the other determines, among other…
Otavio Macedo
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7
votes
3 answers
What's the difference between structural and generative linguistics?
It seems to me that generative linguistics presupposes the structuralist tradition. Are there any major differences between these two methods?
RECURSIVE FARTS
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6
votes
2 answers
What is a theta role?
What is a theta role? Is it the same as a thematic role?
And what does it mean for a theta role to be undischarged/unsaturated? I came across these terms in a syntax paper. It seems like both undischarged/unsaturated were referring to the same…
user325
6
votes
3 answers
Are there any other rules for adjective order?
At the English Language and Usage Stackexchange site, the question was asked What is the rule for adjective order? and the answer boiled down to:
(article) + number + judgement/attitude + size + age + color + origin + material + purpose +…
Mitch
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