Messages

1

English & Linguistics / Word Usage Pet peeve

« on: October 11, 2005, 09:57:29 PM »

I guess I've forgotten what trisyllabic shortening is.  I thought it was when photograph becomes phoTAWgraphy.  Psychology==>psychoLAWgical and so forth.  Is that just antepenultimate stress, plain and simple?

2

English & Linguistics / Word Usage Pet peeve

« on: October 11, 2005, 07:15:19 PM »

The extra syllable probably has something to do with wanting to preserve the stress pattern of prevent despite trisyllabic shortening.  I'll have to think it through.  No, I guess that doesn't make sense.

3

English & Linguistics / Word Usage Pet peeve

« on: October 11, 2005, 02:47:35 PM »

Getting back to Processes, Latin nouns come in declensions not conjugations.  But there are five declensions.  I was only really familiar with the first three, which were basically Fminine ending in a, masculine ending in us, and Neuter ending in um.  

About.com informs me that 4th declension is ending in us, but with a u root instead.  Manus, hand, is such a word.  The plural posessive (genitive) is mannum instead of *manorum.  

5th declension ends in es.  Fides, Spes, Res are all 5th declension nouns.  I can't believe I forgot that.

4

English & Linguistics / Odd

« on: October 10, 2005, 03:16:37 PM »

You want some weird names?  I got your weird names.

Asman.

Arsht.

Blam.

Bier.  Not sure if it's the beverage or the funeral burning goody.

Peckar

Worsencroft

Lifshits

There are plenty more in the just sounds weird variety, but I thought I'd restrict myself to the ones that sort of mean something in English.  I know, I'm going to the special hell.

5

English & Linguistics / Odd

« on: October 10, 2005, 03:06:19 PM »

Depends on whether cod meant to them what it means (will mean?) to Jayne.  It could be a very crude boast, of a sort.