#//confused; confusing language

[ikuzeminna]

I need your help with a hypothesis!

For context: My linguistics professor and I got into a discussion after a test she did with us, and I was of the opinion that the reason for the results was different from the one she offered, so she encouraged me to test my theory.

What I need

All you need to do is draw a coffee cup (with a handle, not the disposable stuff) and then answer three questions.

I don't need to see the coffee cup. You can draw it wherever you like; on a piece of paper, digitally, in the sand, on a foggy window. Anything works. It does not have to be good. A doodle is fine.

You have to draw the coffee cup before you see the questions. This is very important. If you decide to help me with this, please doodle the coffee cup before you keep reading.

Assuming you have drawn the coffee cup, I now need you to answer these three questions:

On which side did you draw the handle?

Are you right-handed or left-handed?

Do you primarily write using the Latin alphabet or a different one? (please specify which)

More context

Most people will draw the handle on the right side. My professor says it's because most people are right-handed, so they draw the handle in the direction that would be comfortable for them to pick up.

I said drawing it on the right side just felt more comfortable to my hand and argued it's probably because we write a bunch of letters like that. B, b, D, P, p, R all look like a tiny "handle on the right side" and are all a straight line followed by a round one (so "cup first, handle second," like most people draw cups). The Latin alphabet doesn't have letters like that that face the other way, except maybe d, depending on how you write it, so it makes sense to me that people writing mostly Latin letters would go with the handle on the right side.

Which means that I need to know what Asians, Arabs and Greeks do and if the distribution of left and right sides of handles differs from the Latin alphabet group. Cyrillic seems to favor right, too, though it'd be interesting to see if there are differences.

If there are, my theory is right. Doubly so if there is a sizeable increase in a group whose alphabet has letters that benefit the left side choice.

So feel free to spread this to as many people as you like and put the answers in the comments or the tags of a reblog. The more answers I get, the better I can assess whose theory is better.

Thank you for your help!

[tis-i-german-potato]

What is a bonbon?

I was listening to an american podcast and they were talking about bonbons being chocolates which - as a german - confused me, so I decided to look it up.

Apparently the word bonbon in english means what we call Praline??? Huh????

So now I am asking once more: Tumblr what is a bonbon to you?

A: a type of hard candy

B: a type of chocolate

[oobbbear]

I want to post this here too because I’ve seen it happen a few times

Please understand that there are cultural differences and language differences, if you see this happening let the person clarify what they meant, that person might just not be familiar with words the western side of the internet use

[satsuha]

11/23 is いい兄さんの日 (good older brother day) in japan 💐

[astracora]

someone's probably pointed this out cause i'm not browsing tags but

Caleb's flower is hydrangea.

Not only a flower that changes colour in differing soil (Caleb is a chameleon or changes who is is depending on the person he's talking to or where he is?)

But the meanings are;

One sided/obsessive love, heartlessness, frigidity/coldness, apology, family and gratitude.

[m4g0hun]

lost child

[corviiids]

as part of my pitch re: this post please see below my original concept donut steal for an "if phoenix wright had to catch kira death note" au. best regards

more about this, probably:

this is probably the last case of the game where it transpires that all the other apparent murders in the game have been somehow set up as part of kira's master plan (kira has found creative ways to get around the fact that you can't use the death note to force one person to kill another person and also around rule 10 of the death note that a written death cannot cause other deaths. if you have further queries regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me via email best regards)

framing L involves setting up an elaborate murder scene with preset evidence where L is in precisely the wrong spot at the wrong time. L of course anticipated this

the detective character is soichiro, but the real detective character for most of the game is his son light who is a very helpful young man and in fact is the one making most of the contributions

L is ostensibly a detective character too but he mostly just shows up, licks some evidence, blinks at you, and fades out. until he gets arrested

the prosecutor is still miles edgeworth. consider the following:

edgeworth: we have security footage of the defendant holding the murder weapon, at the time of the murder, standing directly in front of the victim, using the weapon on the victim, and then the victim dies

phoenix: okay... but... what if there was a magic notebook

[bookwyrminspiration]

constantly torn between "i wish I could magically learn this language immediately and speak it perfectly" and "part of language acquisition is the process, and learning it immediately wouldn't have as much meaning or significance to me"

[andsewingishalfthebattle]

Novice sewing pattern: Cut out shapes. Line up the little triangles on the edges. Stitch edges together. We've also included step-by-step assembly instructions with illustrations.

Novice knitting pattern: yOU MUSt uNDerstANd thE SECret cOdE CO67 (73, 87, 93) BO44 (63, 76, 90) 28 (32, 34) slip first pw repeat 7x K to end *kl (pl) 42 * until 13" (13, 13, 15) join new at 30 pl for 17 rows ssk 27 k2tog mattress lengthwise BO and sacrifice a goat to the knitting gods. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT "INSTRUCTIONS," I JUST GAVE THEM TO YOU

[neostellarjpg]

they trade shitty comics

[aurantiumred]

leo bringing up random trios and piper instantly responding "US!" with no hesitation (jason is so confused he's never interacted with the internet)

"We bare bears!"

"Us!"

"... pardon?"

[leidila]

Did I read that right ???

[indecisiveavocado]

Some notes on the name Palestine

TL;DR: Palestine is a colonialist name from a group trying to deny an indigenous group's indigenousness as part of a genocidal campaign. It may have acquired other meanings, but the etymology is still linked tightly to that, and it still carries that past with it. Anyone who considers themselves pro-indigenous should not use the term.

Let's rewind. The word Palestine is related to "Philistine"; indeed, it comes from them. So who were they?

In short, a bunch of Greeks who created a syncretic culture in what is now, roughly, Gaza. They mixed with the native people, called Canaanites. (We don't know what they called themselves - Philistine itself derives from a Biblical term.)

They vanished pretty fast, and then, a while later, the Romans came.

The indigenous population rebelled too much, so they embarked on a campaign of genocide. They killed people, of course. But they also raped enough women that Judaism is matrilineal. They sold people as slaves, barred them from their holy city and capital, Jerusalem (which they renamed). They destroyed the Jewish holy temple, the Second Temple (there is now a mosque on top of it).

And then they tried to deny that the indigenous population was, in fact, indigenous. They renamed the region Syria Palestina. Why? Because Philistines weren't around anymore. They could pretend there weren't any indigenous people to displace.

Over time, that word, Palestina, moved. It moved to Arabic, where it became Filastin. It moved to English, where it became Palestine.

But the indigenous name for the region (except, arguably, for Gaza, give or take) has never been Palestine.

We don't know what the Neanderthals, the first group there, called it.

But we know what many of the indigenous people call it. Eretz Yisrael. Or, in English, the Land of Israel.

("But wait!" you say. "You just said that in Arabic it was Filastin. Palestinians are native and speak Arabic!"

But they didn't speak Arabic back then. Arabic came with the Arab conquerers (who Palestinians aren't super related to, FYI). Arabs spread vastly during the Islamic conquests, but before that, they were primarily a desert people, whose homeland corresponded to roughly Saudi Arabia, although it extended to places like Syria and Oman. There are majority-Arab countries and places today that range from Morocco to Mauritania, Sudan to Iraq, Egypt to (parts of) Iran. Arabs are not indigenous to any of those places, and neither is Arabic.)

You may not support the Roman genocide. I hope you don't. But you are still using a term European colonialists used to erase indigenous identity as they genocided them, and it still carries that baggage.

(If you refuse to call the region Israel, Canaan is also a fine term - although it may get you some weird looks.)

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

i find it very disorientating the way americans refer to uni as "school" (especially postgrad) because sometimes i'm talking to someone online and i'm trying to gauge their age (often if they're talking shit and i want to know how firmly to call them out on it) and they start talking about "school" and "homework" and I'm like. okay, they're sixteen, it's fine, i'll let them off

and then you find out they're 26 and a phd student or something

[puppetmaster13u]

Meme Prompts 14

[three-realms-archive]

Beware Sorcerer MC, the Kind.

Know it is a rare occasion, if you happen to see the Master of the Seven Avatars of Sin out without an escort. Whilst rare, it will be obvious – like a single dandelion seed twirling and carefree in the middle of a raging thunderstorm.

Like a thunderstorm, they are terrifying. Their bright, brilliant smiles – shining like the sun as they nonchalantly sidestep yet another carnivorous plant lashing out at them from the sidewalk; or as they wave hello to the gargoyle who spits on the heads of passers-by from where it is perched atop the local bakery; or as they gently chastise one of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld, as if scolding a child. It is a sight to behold indeed - when irritated demons on the street stop their bickering and straighten their ties as MC turns the corner, the bitterness in their hearts killed by an unwillingness to disappoint the realm’s most prized person.

‘Apprentice to Solomon the Wise. Master of the Seven Avatars of Sin.’

‘Sorcerer MC, the Kind,’ the Devildom calls them. Some say the title was a joke in passing from MC’s teacher - the wise sorcerer, Solomon - one day in the RAD lunch hall and it just stuck. Others say the title came from a demon they had helped, who saw it fit to spread word of their deeds. And some others say the title came from Crown Prince Diavolo, himself.

“What do you mean, beware MC, the Kind?!” You say, almost spitting out your tea as Diavolo hands you his D.D.D. There’s an article on screen, with ‘Beware Sorcerer MC, the Kind’ as it’s title; praising you as the central force behind Diavolo’s efforts for peace amongst the three realms. Problem is - as you continue to scroll through it - it seems to portray simple kindness as some kind of magic spell… with a particular warning to demon children to not sin in broad daylight lest ‘MC the Kind smite you with the curse of their forgiveness, like they often do in the hallowed walls of RAD’s mess hall.’

“Flattering,” Barbatos comments, refilling your tea cup before you can blink, “do you not think, MC?”

Diavolo nods, happily. “I agree with Barbatos.”

“Smite, guys.” You look up at the happy pair beaming at you – then look back at the article. You repeat this a few times, blinking slowly. “I… I just share my dessert sometimes at RAD - is that smiting? Lord Diavolo, have I been smiting?!”

“Such high praise, MC.” Barbatos grins. “This calls for the good tea cakes.”

“The good tea cakes – thank you, Barbatos! And the good Demonus! Our longest aged!

… You aren’t sure how to respond to how happy they are about this.

(this was fun to write. i wanted to think of mc gaining a reputation like solomon’s, since i like whenever them being a a sorcerer in their own right pops up. solomon’s the wise sorcerer - so mc being the kind sorcerer seemed fitting ahahaha)

(i had fun trying to to give mc the same reputation and respect and power but with the ‘kind’ title, and landed on demons being like ‘mc said i should apologise oh no what is this guilt must be a spell’)