Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 June 16

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June 16

FYI ~ List of common phrases in various languages has been put up for AfD. --Chris S. 00:10, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

GOOD NOON

Here in the Philippines, the expression "Good noon!" is never used at all, unlike Good morning, Good afternoon, and Good evening/night. Is this expression used in some parts of the US or UK? I heard that such expression may be used if the clock strikes exactly 12 noon, but the moment the clock hits 12:01, it's automatically afternoon; therefore, the expression "Good noon!" is inappropriate. Please clarify. Thank you very much.

I have lived for 27 years in the UK and five years in the US, and I have never once heard anyone say this. Marnanel 02:32, 16 June 2007 (UTC)~

I used it just this week in the US. However, I meant it as sort of a joke—it feels awkward to tell someone "good afternoon" when it's like 12:05. The Jade Knight 05:01, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Why? It expresses a wish that the afternoon, then beginning, will be a good one; not an assertion that it has been. —Tamfang 02:54, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

In my case, I associate it with the immediate present—a sort of "I hope you're having a good ____". This would also explain why people in foul moods respond "what's so good about it?" or people in good moods may respond "it is, isn't it?" The Jade Knight 09:05, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Here in the states, I only heard it when either used jokingly or as an abbreviation for "good afternoon." --Chris S. 04:21, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard it as an abbreviation for "good afternoon". Once or twice I may have used it myself when the time was exactly noon, but I would have meant it as a joke, as there is no such expression that I know. --Anonymous, June 16, 04:34 (UTC).

In Australia, we use "good day" when it's in the middle of the day. I've never heard "good noon" Storeye 09:07, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

I have spent some time in the US, the UK (well, England and Scotland), Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most of the Caribbean. I have never heard "Good noon". Bielle 22:46, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

The only person I could imagine ever saying this is Marshal Will Kane. Clarityfiend 01:30, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Tamfang. It's a wish for the person's immediate short-term future, not any kind of statement about the present. I sometimes say "good afternoon" even when I know it's only 11:50 am, because 10 minutes of good will seems a little mean. I've never heard "good noon", and if anybody said it to me, I'd either assume they were joking, or, because their wish for my wellbeing was confined to a single moment of time, I'd conclude they were actually being extremely frugal with their benificence, and I'd treat them accordingly and end the conversation forthwith. -- JackofOz 06:54, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Very interesting post. I used to think that "good afternoon" was both a statement about the present and a desire for the person to continue having a good afternoon. But, when you think about it, what the sentence really means is just "Hi!" or something of the kind. As the article on greeting states, "greeting is a way for humans to intentionally communicate awareness of each others presence, to show attention to, and/or to affirm or suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other." I think "good afternoon" is just a way of communicating that you are in contact with another person and that you are a friend (as in not an enemy). A.Z. 23:48, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

I can think of various contexts where the friendship or enmity of the person being addressed has nothing to do with it. I agree that, at face value, it's usually just the standard way of acknowledging that you've noticed the person; and it can also be used as a way of ending your interaction with the person - but the subconscious sub-text is that you're wishing them well, and not just for the immediate moment. In Australia, we're apparently notorious for saying "good day", or just "g'day", which is said at any time of the day, and avoids the necessity of having to check one's watch. In the good old days, people used to say "good morrow", which I suppose means "I hope tomorrow is a good day for you" - it certainly could not have been interpreted as a statement about the present moment. Neither could "farewell" or "goodbye", both of which are hopes for the person's positive future. I can't see that a greeting such as "good morning" or "good afternoon", spoken on first encountering a person, is markedly different in intent from "good bye" when leaving them. But "good noon" - now, that's an entirely different animal. -- JackofOz 02:15, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

In most languages of my acquaintance, the words for tomorrow and morning are closely related, and I took good morrow to be an archaic or dialect equivalent of good morning. —Tamfang 09:14, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

The reason this saying is probably not very prevalent is becuase not many people want to wish another person to have a good events between the 60 seconds after 11:59 and before 12:01. It's only 60 seconds, after all. --67.177.170.96 22:07, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Welll, etymologically it's an hour (in the midafternoon). —Tamfang 08:56, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Strange word orders

Given that we already have an article on V2 word order, I was wondering if there is such a thing as V1 or V3 word order (as distinct from VSO/VOS or SOV/OSV).--Estrellador* 07:42, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Looking for a quote

I'm looking for a quote, something about being an individual and history not remembering people who go with the crowd. Thanks. --124.180.37.239 15:04, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

How about this: from quotation reference

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." (George Bernard Shaw) SaundersW 18:36, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

"It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that." —G. H. Hardy (Tamfang 02:57, 17 June 2007 (UTC))

Edgar Allan Poe

Hello. Most of Poe's short stories are terror and horror. The protagonist instead of the antagonist often seems deranged. Why did Poe write so many stories of this kind? --Mayfare 15:45, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

This is more a question for the Humanities section of the Reference desk.  --Lambiam^Talk 16:36, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

There is some speculation that this may be a sign of his own mental instability, much as Vincent van Gogh's paintings were. StuRat 01:17, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Latin Translation, Please

What can you do with "Dirigo et Defendo"? It is apparently a family motto. Thanks for your help. Bielle 22:40, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

"I lead and I defend" seems to be the most plausible to me. Martinp23 23:08, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

If you want to use cognates for both, maybe "I direct and I defend". Marnanel 04:39, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

There is not much to rally around in that motto, is there? Thanks for your help, Mart and Marnanel.