Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2014 April 29

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April 29

year-era

What's with adjectives of the form 1977-era or 1930s-era (both of which I've seen in the past day or so)? I say "adjectives" because they're never used (without the hyphen) as independent noun phrases. Does 1930s-era politics or 1977-era Freddie Mercury catsuit [yes, that's something I really saw written] mean something different from 1930s politics or 1977 Freddie Mercury catsuit? Does the shorter form make some people nervous? —Tamfang (talk) 03:38, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

I think they're trying to say "around 1977" as opposed to "exactly 1977". "Era" seems like too broad of a time period, though. I'd say "circa 1977". StuRat (talk) 05:21, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

the meaning of "zap the fire out of a person"

Would you please let me know the meaning of "zap the fire out of him" in the following passage?122.19.123.34 (talk) 08:57, 29 April 2014 (UTC)shiratani

    Wow, Barney thought to himself, "God bless us every one!" Good for Maury. They 
  didn't zap the fire out of him.
    This looked like it was going to be a helluva New Year, especially if the letter
  he was about to write got a favorable response.---Erich Segal, Doctors, p.270.

"Fire" means something like enthusiasm or excitement about something. So if he's had the fire zapped out of him, it means that someone has taken away that enthusiasm somehow. --Viennese Waltz 09:34, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Maury had just come out of a psychiatric hospital, so I suspect that zap may allude to electro-convulsive therapy. DuncanHill (talk) 12:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Request: Transcribe Japanese sentences at the top of a page in a PDF file

In this document: http://www.ojs.unam.mx/index.php/cronicas/article/viewFile/17312/16505

Would someone mind transcribing the Japanese sentences at the very top of page 260 (in PDF: 24 of 28), right before the 3. I want to help source a sentence about a Yokohama artist who helped direct the making of a mural at the Liceo Mexicano Japones. To me, the Japanese looks blurry but I hope somebody can figure it out.

The equivalent Spanish sentences (a translation from Japanese to Spanish): "Dentro de algunos ejemplos finalmente realizados, existe una pintura sobre el muro exterior del gimnasio del Liceo Mexicano Japonés realizada en colaboración con veinte alumnos mexicanos del Liceo y catorce niños visitantes de Japón bajo la dirección de la artista Teiko Nishimori, quien radica en Yokohama."

Thanks WhisperToMe (talk) 12:14, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

• If this is her official website ( http://www.nishimori-world.com/nishimori/index.html ) (please check to make sure it's the same person!) Teiko Nishimori's kanji is 西森禎子 WhisperToMe (talk) 16:33, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

実現した例は少ないが、例えば1987年に日本メキシコ学院の体育館外壁を横浜在住の美術作家西森禎子の指導でメキシコ人生徒20名と日本から訪れた児童14名による合作壁画などがある。Oda Mari (talk) 17:16, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you! WhisperToMe (talk) 17:23, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Talking a lot but is fake sounding

You know those people who talk a lot to complete strangers or people they just met, but they sound really fake, the things they are saying just sound so artificial, like the only reason why they are talking is to "fill the air with chatter" to avoid awkward silence, but the stuff they are saying is just completely inane. Is there a word for this kind of thing? I was thinking garrulous, but it doesn't really mean "fake sounding".

An example of what I mean usually comes from politicians when they are "out and about" talking to "every day joes" and pretending to be invested in their lives when you know that they don't really care and they are trying too hard. It's kind of like bad acting or overacting. See the following video with Anthony Wiener to illustrate my point (up until he gets into a fight, at which point the tone in his voice indicates that he really does care about the stuff that he's saying and is invested).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIawS_t_ZNk ScienceApe (talk) 12:58, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Prattle. --Jayron32 13:05, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Bullshit 196.214.78.114 (talk) 14:22, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

I like that article. 196.214.78.114 (talk) 14:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Also perhaps small talk A: "Hey neighbor, how are you?" B:"Not bad, how about yourself?" A:"Pretty good, but I hope it doesn't rain today!" etc etc. This may sound more or less "fake", and usually has low information content, but engaging in small talk is often considered a polite social norm. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:03, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

See Extraversion and introversion. If you are an introvert like me, or even something short of an extreme extravert, this kind of behavior makes no sense and seems ridiculous. However, an extreme extravert feels a need to talk and interact with others, even if there is no other reason for the talk, and even if there is nothing real to talk about. To such a person, the talk and interaction are their own reward and need no other purpose. Marco polo (talk) 15:07, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

According to our article, it is not that the talk is its own reward, it's that it is a form of bonding, and is used to gauge social position. Obviously not all people feel the same way about it, that's why I linked to social norm I wouldn't call myself an extreme extrovert, but I do see the value of chattering polite nonsense at my neighbors now and then. For instance, if I had never done that, I probably wouldn't get to borrow my neighbor's truck for free :) SemanticMantis (talk) 15:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Being polite and friendly to neighbors makes them feel good about both themselves and you. No harm in that. And as you say, it can be beneficial. "The love you take is equal to the love you make." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

• You'll occasionally run into people on the NYC subway who will come across initially as friendly, then you'll notice they speak in a word salad of run-on sentences that never seem to have a period or come to a point. These may be schizophrenics or manic-phase bipolars--they are definitely off their meds. This recent article about dream analysis and mental illness has a very interesting diagram comparing the reported dream structure of bipolars and schizophrenics in comparison to control subjects. In certain cases you do actually get the impression certain congressmen are at least borderline sufferers of such maladies. μηδείς (talk) 17:52, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

• Being able to come up with interesting small talk in any situation is a skill only a few possess. For example, when meeting with some "ordinary Joes" who put rivets into septic tanks, they might say "Wow, you folks must be doing a great job, because my septic tank has never leaked, and I sure would have noticed if it had !". I wonder if they have their aids prepare such remarks, in advance, for them to memorize, before visiting such a place. StuRat (talk) 18:14, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

I get that this has value for some people, and I wish them well, but to me and other introverts "interesting small talk" is an oxymoron. It looks more like a tedious habit than a skill. But now I see that extraverts win points with other extraverts for this kind of behavior. That makes sense. 67.17.193.162 (talk) 18:44, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

As a pervert I feel I am being unfairly left out of this discussion. Some of you may be twisted inwardly, and others outwardly, but you should not neglect us who are twisted to the side. μηδείς (talk) 22:19, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Hear, hear. InedibleHulk (talk) 07:35, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

Well, I consider myself to be an introvert, but I still admire those who can make entertaining small talk. When you get more into autism spectrum disorders, then perhaps you get people who not only aren't good at human interactions, but also see no point in them. StuRat (talk) 18:53, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Some people branded with the ASD label do not see their condition as a disorder. Rather, it is a different perspective on the world. People labeled as ASD often have gifts and strengths at least as valuable as the ability to babble in ways that entertain extraverts. 67.17.193.162 (talk) 19:58, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Well, it is provably true that lacking the ability to interact with people is quite limiting as far as making a living, accomplishing life goals, etc. For example, even if a person wants to lock himself in a lab and do pure research, he still needs to convince others to hire him and fund his research, work with lab assistants, etc., and that requires human interaction. Perhaps if their goal is just to live in a cabin off in the woods, and they inherited a million dollars, then they can manage to avoid all forms of human interaction.

At work I tried to follow a 5 minute rule. I would talk to people that long each day, but if they kept talking after that I'd make some excuse to leave the area. If I refused to talk to them at all, then they probably wouldn't help me when I asked for help on my project, but if I spent too much time each day talking with them, that would negatively impact my project, too. So, it's an optimization problem. StuRat (talk) 22:45, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Bloviation or nattering. OttawaAC (talk) 03:33, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Question about Polyglossia article and Liceo Mexicano Japones

In this article...

• Soejima, K (副島 健治). "メキシコの日本語教育" (Archive). Polyglossia 11, 185-197, 2006-03. 立命館アジア太平洋大学言語研究センター. (See CiNII)

How much does it talk about the Liceo Mexicano Japones (日墨学院/日本メキシコ学院)? How many paragraphs or lines? What does it say about the school? Is there a section about the school? Does the author, Soejima, have a connection to the LMJ in any way? Also, what is the given name of Mr./Ms./Mrs. Soejima?

Thanks! WhisperToMe (talk) 17:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

I can't read Japanese, however, this Polyglossia page shows his name as SOEJIMA Kenji. It seems Kenji is a name for boys.--Cam (talk) 21:25, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Very little. One sentence on page 2. そして今日においては「日本メキシコ学院」を挙げることができる. On page 4 and in a list on page 7. Oda Mari (talk) 09:32, 1 May 2014 (UTC)