Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 April 17

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April 17

Meaning of late 19xx

Hello! If a article is written "late 1992", its meaning "the second half part of 1992 (July - December, 1992)", or only just refers to "Oct. Nov. Dec. 1992"? And "late 1900s" means 1908,09 or 1998,99?--Hidden of the only way (talk) 12:29, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

I would assume (without further information) that "late 1992" is Novemberish, and "late 1900s" means "1990-ish", but obviously the phrases are not very precise. -- Elphion (talk) 14:22, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

There must be a typo in that response, Elphion. :) ¦ Reisio (talk) 20:18, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

See a similar previous query: Latter part - second half of century

Information overload?

What is the term I am looking for? I saw in a movie or TV show somewhere at one time, where a company was being investigated for something and they were served a court order to provide certain information. They complied with the order by giving teh detectives ALL of their records and information in an attempt to bury the specific evidance that would tie them to the crime they were being investigated for. I remember them calling it by a specific term. I'm not looking for the phrase "needle in a haystack". Technical 13 (talk) 18:12, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Sounds like the pilot episode of Suits. — SMUconlaw (talk) 18:16, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

I like the phrase William van Winkle[1] coined(?): "data asphyxiation". Clarityfiend (talk) 19:20, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Chinese: Reading of name of deceased Boston Marathon bombing victim

What is the reading of Lu Lingzi 吕令子, a Boston Marathon victim?

The first character is Lǚ, and AFAIK the third is zǐ, but what is the second? It can be Líng, lǐng, or lìng Thanks, WhisperToMe (talk) 23:59, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Líng sounds the best. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 10:40, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

The given name "Lingzi" could well be a reference to the archaic term for a "good son" or "virtuous young man". If this is indeed the reference, then it is pronounced "lìng", which is also the pronunciation for the character when used in the most common sense of "order/command". I would go with "lìng". --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 13:49, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

The victim is a woman. — SMUconlaw (talk) 13:53, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

I know that, what's your point? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 08:48, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

I think Smu is trying to say that your rationale does not fit in here. "Good son" and "virtuous young man" -- are these the ideals of a woman? Nevertheless, the pronunciation still could be lìng, but for a different reason. I think lìng is too stressful and sounds more like a male's name. Líng sounds most feminine, although lǐng still is a possibility as the pronunciation is the same as Líng here. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 09:39, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Okay, if that is what SMU is trying to say, then it is simplistic and ignores actual naming practices both in China and around the world. Which is surprising given that SMU's user page indicates that they are a person of Chinese descent living in Singapore. That the phrase originally meant "good/virtuous son/young man" does not mean a parent would not consider it appropriate to apply it to a girl, especially since the character "子" can also be taken to mean "child" (of non-specific gender), or "you" (in archaic usage in a respectful register), or simply "respected person" (cf. "Confucius"). It also would not be the first time that a name originally associated with one gender has been used for a person of the opposite gender.

Your analysis assumes her parents chose her name purely on phonetic grounds with no regard to meaning, because the character means different things when using those pronunciations: Líng is an ancient place name, and has an archaic meaning of "to obey"; Lǐng means "ream", as in 500 sheets of paper. Both of these pronunciations are uncommon, and I can't begin to explain how unlikely it is that her parents named her "ream of paper". If they wanted to give her a name that sounds "nice" according to your analysis, they would have chosen a different character which is more commonly pronounced with the "nice" tone.

I maintain that, absent evidence of actual usage, the most likely pronunciation is "lìng", based both on meaning and the usual pronunciation of that character. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 11:47, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Barack Obama, though not exactly the Chinese expert, pronounced her name as "Líng Zi" at the Interstate Memorial Service in Boston. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 12:34, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

you must forgive Singaporeans' grasp of Chinese. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 12:34, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Yes, my point was that it seemed unlikely that Lu's parents would have chosen characters that have a male connotation for a daughter. But of course anything is possible. WhisperToMe, maybe what you could do is search for news videos from China or Taiwan about the event, and see how the name is pronounced by the newscasters. — SMUconlaw (talk) 13:25, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

After a bit of searching, I can confirm that PalaceGuard008 is correct: the pronunciation is "lìng", as indicated by this Chinese news report (0:17 and 0:49). — SMUconlaw (talk) 13:50, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Good find! So case closed I guess. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 14:00, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Thank you very much! WhisperToMe (talk) 15:15, 19 April 2013 (UTC)