Off topic: A couple of minutes' relaxation Thread poster: Phil Hand
| Phil Hand China Local time: 21:30 Chinese to English
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Just as a break from the Sturm und Drang of the native thread, a cartoon that I hope we may all vehemently disagree about just as much.
If things are too quiet, try asking a couple of friends whether "a couple" should always mean "two". As with the question of how many spaces should go after a period, it can turn acrimonious surprisingly fast unless all three of them agree.
Personally, I think it's disgraceful. Call himself a native speaker! Obviously handful allows of up to ten. Pah. | | | Alex Lago Spain Local time: 15:30 English to Spanish + ...
Very good.
I would like to add "some" .
However I did think the "how many spaces after a period controversy", had ended along with typewriters. | | | Mailand Local time: 15:30 Member (2009) Italian to German + ... Nice this .... | Jun 28, 2012 |
in German we have "ein Paar" (which is always 2) and "ein paar" which can be anything from 2 to .... let´s say 5 - but then, some argue that if it´s 2 than it should be "ein Paar", others will state that "ein Paar" is always two things complementing each other, as in "ein Paar Schuhe" ... That´s language for you: always open to discussion | | | LEXpert United States Local time: 08:30 Member (2008) Croatian to English + ... A handful of wisdom... | Jun 28, 2012 |
Phil Hand wrote:
Personally, I think it's disgraceful. Call himself a native speaker! Obviously handful allows of up to ten. Pah.
Wouldn't it take generally two handfuls to make it to ten? Interesting point about that one - I also just assumed that "handful" was derived from countability on the fingers (i.e, one handful ~5), but more logically it would refer to what can (figuratively) be held in the hand, which is open to wide interpretation, depending on the size of the item and, of course, the size of the hand.
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Phil Hand China Local time: 21:30 Chinese to English TOPIC STARTER I have no idea where my understanding of these words come from | Jun 28, 2012 |
But I have very strong feelings about what they mean! It's not logical at all, and I'm sure other people have equally strong feelings, but different meanings. One of life's little oddities | | | Dave Bindon Greece Local time: 16:30 Greek to English In memoriam I totally disagree | Jun 28, 2012 |
Phil Hand wrote:
But I have very strong feelings about what they mean! It's not logical at all, and I'm sure other people have equally strong feelings, but different meanings. One of life's little oddities
Don't be so riduculous! Your meanings - whatever they may be - are completely wrong. Mine, of course, are the correct ones. | | | | There is no moderator assigned specifically to this forum. To report site rules violations or get help, please contact site staff » A couple of minutes' relaxation Protemos translation business management system |
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