#or science instead of english

[yackers]

so secondary school is ages 11 to 16 and you spend these five years basically working towards your gcse exams. these are a set of exams taken in the summer of year 11 (when you’re 15/16) in most subjects and you tend do go on study leave for these and only come into school to take them.

then in years 12 & 13 you attend 6th form which is usually either at the same school you’ve been going to or at a separate college for just those two years. you spend these two years working towards your a-level exams, which you take in the summer of year 13 (aged 17/18) and once again these are usually on study leave, but for a boarding school study leaves would only really be possible for local students so they’d probably all just stay at school and continue to have classes between exams. these exams (maybe 2 each per school subject) are usually in like may and june so my best guess would be that tor took place after these so that they are all fully done with school so like end of june early july. after that, in a fancier school like theirs there’d probably then be a leaver’s ball. results day is on like the second week of august where you either have your results posted to you, emailed to you or you pick them up in person depending on your availability so no you’re not in school for it

VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR MY BRIT MOOTS: how do your final exams work for secondary? like, is there a final exam result day?? are you still in classes when this happens? honestly if you’re willing, please just explain your whole secondary education system <3

[karamazovanon]

controversial opinion maybe but it BEWILDERS me when people (mostly americans ime) genuinely seriously with their whole chest complain about how impossibly hard russian names are. like. do a single google search. i don't see how you can comprehend that charles = chuck and margaret = peggy but can't fathom that rodion = rodya. how is this such a huge barrier of entry for people

[dkniade]

Wriothesley and Neuvillette: Accents in Pronunciation and Phonetic Spelling of Names in Hanzi and Katakana

Feat. Tartaglia, Kazuha, Kokomi, Wriothesley, and Neuvillette, from Genshin Impact

(Listing characters like this is usually for reader-inserts yet here we are! Let’s have them sit in a circle and introduce their names or something haha— Just kidding.)

I initially wanted to deduce approximate name pronunciations for Wriothesley (in English) and Neuvillette (in French) based on how their names are written in Chinese and Japanese. I started with Italian and Japanese examples to show how phonetic stylization in Japanese (katakana) and Chinese (hanzi) work, but I ended up asking a French-speaking friend instead. I also included “approximate guides” to clarify the official English dub’s pronunciations for comparison purposes, but will not be doing “approximate guides” for the Chinese or Japanese dubs.

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Please note that while this does talk about pronunciation, each accent varies and each language has phonetic restrictions, thus I’m not claiming that there’s one single “correct” pronunciation, but rather proximity to the root language. I’m also not criticizing the voice actors as I understand they’re often told to pronounce names in certain ways due to the voice directors.

I can speak Mandarin Chinese, some Japanese, and a bit of French. I know some very basic phonetics in general, but I don’t speak Italian. (That point will soon be relevant). In this post, when I say Chinese, I mean Mandarin. The French pronunciation is thanks to my French-speaking friend Exanguine Hart (exanguine_hart on Instagram).

In-game pronunciations are taken from the respective “Hello” voicelines except for Neuvillette’s name (which is from the 4.0 quest dialogue) and Wriothesley’s name (which I did not find an in-game pronunciation for), in addition to their Japanese and Chinese illustrated character introductions. For simplicity’s sake, however, I will refer to names from official non-game media as “in-game”. (Since I’m only doing the pronunciation of their names and no plot details I doubt it’ll be a spoiler…? I don’t know the plot myself anyway.)

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Something interesting:

The good thing about Genshin Impact having Chinese and Japanese voiceover/subtitles is that in terms of character name pronunciation, (non-Chinese & non-Japanese) names are typically written phonetically and not by their original spelling. Meaning even if the official English pronunciation is not as close, there’s a higher chance that the Chinese and Japanese phonetic pronunciations are closer to the original language.

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Every character in Chinese hanzi and Japanese katakana (Japanese phonetic writing system for non-Japanese words) has one syllable. In other words, four hanzi or katakana characters = four syllables in Mandarin or Japanese.

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CELESTIAL NARWAL CHAPTER:

Italian: Tartaglia* (approx. “tar-TA-lia” or “tar-TA-iya”)

In-game Chinese: 达达利亚 / Dadaliya

In-game Japanese: タルタリヤ / Tarutariya**

In-game English: Tartaglia (approx. “Tar-TA-glee-ya”)

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*His name comes from one of the stock characters in the (I believe…) early form of Italian theater, the Commedia Dell’arte. Of course the pronunciation varies a bit depending on the accent… The former opera singer/video game music enthusiast MarcoMeatball pronounces it in Italian in his reaction video about Tartaglia (and his boss themes). Again, I don’t speak Italian… Please correct me if there are inaccuracies about this.

**His voice actor pronounces the タル part in his name in such a way that the two phonemes join into one and the name is moreso three syllables.

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In comparison, it could be hard to tell how to read a Japanese name from kanji since Japanese kanji often have more than one reading. And often how it’s read in Chinese is either somewhat or very different from Japanese, depending on which Japanese reading it is (on’yomi or kun’yomi).

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SLEEPING DRAGON CHAPTER:

In-game Japanese: 珊瑚宮心海 / Sangonomiya Kokomi (approx. “Sahn-goh-NOH-mi-ya Koh-koh-MI”)

In-game English: Sangonomiya Kokomi

Alternate Japanese*: 珊瑚宮心海 / Sangomiya Shinkai

In-game Chinese reading: 珊瑚宮心海 / Shanhugong Xinhai**

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JAPANESE MAPLE CHAPTER:

In-game Japanese: 楓原万葉 / Kaedehara Kazuha (approx. “KAE-deh-ha-rla KA-zu-ha”)

In-game English: Kaedehara Kazuha

Unofficial Alternate Japanese reading*: 楓原万葉 / Kaedehara Man’you

In-game Chinese: 枫原万叶 / Fengyuan Wanye***

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*and the one my Japanese keyboard recognizes to output the kanji…

**Chinese pinyin “x” approximately sounds like a light “sh”. Note that Shinkai and Xinhai sound similar, and Man’you and Wanye are also slightly similar compared to their official readings. This is because the alternate Japanese readings are in on’yomi which (to oversimplify it) is Japanese reading based on the Chinese reading back when the characters were first introduced in Japanese. If anyone can explain it better, feel free to elaborate…

***“Feng” ends in a nasal sound. The next syllable is “Yuan”. The “g” and “y” sounds are not connected in one sound.

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FONTAINE

Written with the help of some scenes from 4.0 for name pronunciation. Consulted Wikipedia about “Wriothesley” and asked my friend Exsanguine about “Neuvillette” instead. Here are some possible pronunciations:

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HELL’S GUARD DOG CHAPTER

English: Wriothesley (approx. “RYE-seh-slee”)*

In-Game Chinese: 莱欧斯利 / Laiousili

In-Game Japanese: リオセスリ / Riosesuri

Unofficial Japanese: ライセスリ/ Raisesuri

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*according to Wikipedia.

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IUDEX OF FONTAINE CHAPTER

French: Neuvillette* (approx. “nuh-vee-YET”)

In-Game English**: Neuvillette (approx. “NER-vi-let” or “Nur-vi-LET”)

Unofficial English***: Neuvillette (approx. “New-vil-LET”)

In-Game Chinese: 那维莱特 / Naweilaite

In-Game Japanese: ヌヴィレット/ Nuviretto

Unofficial Chinese****: 纳维耶特 / Naweiyete

Unofficial Japanese: ヌヴィエット / Nuvuietto

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*my French-speaking friend Exanguine’s guess

**First pronunciation is Lyney’s when the Traveler first meets Neuvillette. Second one’s Paimon’s in the same scene but only because she’s asking a question hence the upwards tone.

***My initial guess with my very limited French knowledge

****Both my unofficial Chinese and Japanese stylizations are based off of the French pronunciation

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Summary of Some Possible Pronunciations

CELESTIAL NARWHAL CHAPTER

Italian: Tartaglia (approx. “Tar-TAH-lya”)

In-game English: Tartaglia (approx. “Tar-TAH-glee-ya”)

In-game Chinese: 达达利亚 (Dadaliya)

In-game Japanese: タルタリヤ (Tarutariya)

SLEEPING DRAGON CHAPTER

Japanese reading: 珊瑚宮心海 (Sangonomiya Kokomi)

In-game English: Sangonomiya Kokomi

Alternate Japanese reading: 珊瑚宮心海 (Sangomiya Shinkai)

In-game Chinese reading: 珊瑚宮心海 (Shanhugong Xinhai)

JAPANESE MAPLE CHAPTER

In-game Japanese reading: 楓原万葉 (Kaedehara Kazuha)

Alternate Japanese reading: 楓原万葉 (Kaedehara Man’you)

In-game Chinese reading: 枫原万叶 (Fengyuan Wanye)

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HELL’S GUARD DOG CHAPTER

English: Wriothesley (approx. “RYE-seh-slee”)

In-Game Chinese: 莱欧斯利 / Laiousili

In-Game Japanese: リオセスリ / Riosesuri

Unofficial Japanese: ライセスリ/ Raisesuri

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IUDEX OF FONTAINE CHAPTER

French: Neuvillette

Unofficial English: Neuvillette

In-Game Chinese: 那维莱特 / Naweilaite

In-Game Japanese: ヌヴィレット/ Nuviretto

Unofficial Chinese: 纳维特 / Naweite

Unofficial Japanese: ヌヴィエット / Nuvuietto

[twelve-kinds-of-trouble]

why does the economy hate girls who hate maths </3 I am sorry but I am so so stupid

[calkale]

I got the exact same grade on my physics test im so tired, i asked about 3 questions on the test and the teacher was as clueless as i was

[ineffablehunter]

When I tell you tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life (!)

[phannibal]

three years in a row of intending to apply for grad school and still not having a clue what i want to do

[problemeule]

once again academically challenged by my academically challenging degree

[hazellight11]

Okay so I put this in tags but I need to say this in a reblog. This is a perfectly sensible way to write this for any math class above, like, middle school math. I won't argue with the last two sentences but if you're going into anything even remotely STEM-related, pemdas is the most basic thing to know. And i understand plenty of people don't use it day-to-day but please don't say "no sensible person" because that's just not true.

wanna see exactly HOW bad tumblr is at math so tell me

[the-halfling-prince]

I'm totally not having issues registering for classes I'm like sooooo fine and normal *I'm covered in blood head to toe, Carrie style*

[sneeg-snag]

wishing you luck on your final exam!! :3

fank u anon i have two (2) tests and one essay to re-write so im doing. FINE teehee GOOD LUCK ON URS IF YOU HAVE ANY!!!!!!!!!!!

[agentemo]

nowhere near a cute lil boop message so I'm over it but read tags for an epic prank my class pulled in 6th grade spoilers it doesn't go well the whole time

[autisticlee]

so many christian conservatives that hate/criticize science and don't believe in it because "it's not always right/it always changes/they don't know for sure/there's no solid proof/etc" sure do love to believe in their magical sky daddy they never saw with their own eyes but swear is real, just because mommy and daddy and the old bald man at church had told them this since they were babies.

just like much of the scientific theories they're talking about, this god also has no actual solid proof. no one knows for absolute sure that this magical being exists, or anything in the bible actually happened. this god, his son, and every other religious figure could be nothing more than a character in an ancient fictional fantasy novel the ancient people wrote for fun because they had nothing better to do. some say there's proof the "person" existed. but there's no proof they performed magic or had magical things happen to them. maybe the readers got so engrossed and obsessed that it took on this religious culture that persisted for centuries. (imagine if the twilight series took on this form and a religion about worshiping vampires emerged and people a few centuries from now though bella and edward are their original, very real existing, saviors and everyone worships them hoping to become a vampire. I remember seeing articles that thar series started getting religious cults around it. don't know if it was true of just male journalists hating that teenage girls enjoyed something —let's be honest, it was probably that.)

but if you say those things to conservatives, that there's no proof, that it could be nothing more than an ancient fantasy novel, they get so upset and defensive. they won't admit it. they come up with excuses. they turn around and point fingers instead. at least the science they hate for "having no proof" or being proven wrong always admits when it's wrong and is always trying to disprove *itself* in order to find the truth. it's based on theory and everyone should have learned about that in school, so i won't explain it. science, in general, is the study of trying to prove and disprove theories and gain evidence needed to reach a truth. it's ongoing. even these truths are usually accepted as things that can still expand and get rewritten as we learn more.

yet most christian conservatives are often over there saying those bad things about science, which actually realistically applies better to their sky daddy and his son's story. even the meanings of their bible change depending on the language/translation and who's interpreting it, with no solid proof one way or another. their religion is very stagnant. they have forbidden questioning it. they know it won't hold if you do.

they can't believe in science because there is never any concrete evidence, and scientists never know for sure....... yet at the same time, though they won't admit it, they truly don't even know if their magical god exists up in the clouds for sure. all they do is "believe" but "belief" is not proof, no matter how much they try telling you it is. but,,,,it only is if it's directed at their god. if it's belief in anything science? "no, you're brainwashed! it's all fake!"

they preach to you from a kid that you need to blindly believe and if you question it or don't believe hard enough, you get sent to hell to suffer. you're not allowed to think or choose for yourself! but they try really hard to make it look and feel like you're "choosing" it. it sounds very brainwashy to me. it FELT very brainwashy as a kid experiencing this, being foeced to go to church 2-3 times a week and a catholic school for 11 years. it's truly the opposite of what most conservatives preach and rant about. they're all about ~individualism and not being a sheep and free speech and freedom of choice~ and whatever else they yell about that is generally the opposite of how they actually live, lead, and raise their young.

science doesn't do that to you. science is more forgiving. if you dont believe, go prove it wrong! yet they claim scientists are trying to "brainwash" everyone; if you listen to and believe science, you are being "brainwashed." but *they* aren't. no. they're definitely not brainwashed by their big benevolent sky daddy and his magical story book, who threatens to strike them down into the pits of hell to suffer if they get even the smallest inkling of questioning or doubt in their tiny brains.

hypocrites they are!

[stripe-conlon]

And I’m 30 and this was not a thing at my elementary and high schools during my schooling, nor during my 25 year old sister’s time as a student at said schools. She now teaches at our old elementary school and does have the drills so they only started there sometime between fall 2011 and fall 2020 which means they are at most, 11 years old and more likely 7 years old given the elementary and high school “drill for this” list are tied together.

Drop your age and country/state in the tags ☀️

This is probably super US centric but I’m still interested to see the results! Please don’t include weather drills in your response.

For those unaware, a lockdown drill is a drill schools will run to practice in the event of a danger to students and staff. This could be anything from a swarm of bees (happened at my elementary school) to an off-campus police presence or an active shooter event.

When I was in school we did lockdown drills only, the district I work in now does lockdowns and active shooter drills, but they’re conflated and the kids are taught to barricade during a lockdown when applicable.

[firefighting-idiot]

Im going to die, why is everything in my school's library about SCIENCE and not HUMANITIES -> goes to a more science focused university only because its the best in state for my major.

[a-book-of-creatures]

I think I stumbled upon some kind of ichthyological forbidden knowledge. Opened up a book of names that were never meant to be read.

You've probably heard of "can-opener smoothdream", right? It's practically a meme by now.

But the thing is, it's a deep-sea fish. And deep-sea fish have historically not had English names because nobody drops them into the conversation over a hot cuppa. Sure, there's generic stuff like hatchetfish and barreleye, but when you want to refer to the actual fish you're probably saying such euphonious phrases as Diretmus argenteus, Sternoptyx diaphana, or maybe even Opisthoproctus soleatus.

So whence "can-opener smoothdream"? Certainly no non-ichthyologist has ever used that name. It's not even a direct translation of the scientific name Chaenophryne longiceps - that would be "long-headed gape-toad". Which to me is even cooler than "can-opener smoothdream".

But I digress. The "dream" bit comes from the anglerfish family Oneirodidae, from oneiros, "dream", because those marvelous fishes look like they came out of a dream (Pietsch, 2009).

Note that Pietsch (2009), more or less the anglerfish bible, uses English names at the genus level only. So Chaenophryne is the smoothhead dreamers genus but no mention is made of "can-opener smoothdreams". So no luck there.

Wikipedia, root cause of a lot of misinformation, has this to say.

"Longhead dreamer" is a far more accurate name. And in fact, despite Wikipedia prioritizing "can-opener smoothdream" (because it's funny?), the links listed use "longhead dreamer" and "smoothhead dreamer" as the name and "can-opener smoothdream" as an alternative.

So. Again. Where did "can-opener smoothdream" come from?

The answer, as it turns out, lies with McAllister (1990).

In the book A List of the Fishes of Canada, ichthyologist D. E. McAllister sought out to list every single fish known to Canadian waters, providing both an English and a French name.

And when there wasn't an English name, like for most deep-sea fishes, he arbitrarily gave them a name. And his names "differ in many instances from the widely accepted names" (Holm, 1998)

This had varying results. This is his name for one of the netdevil anglerfishes.

The humpback anglerfish or blackdevil anglerfish becomes a werewolf (????).

This one is just confusing.

The white-spotted lanternfish or Rafinesque's lanternfish instead becomes...

And most embarrassingly, the Mediterranean spiderfish gets saddled with something that "violates the tenet of good taste" (Holm, 1998).

This then is the original source of "can-opener smoothdream". It was invented by an ichthyologist in 1990, and has seen little to no use outside of how bizarre the name is.

Maybe McAllister's goofier names will catch on. Who knows? They certainly aren't very popular in the scientific community though.

References

Holm, E. (1998) Encyclopedia of Canadian Fishes (review). The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 112, p. 174-175.

McAllister, D. E. (1990) A List of the Fishes of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa.

Pietsch, T. W. (2009) Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. University of California Press, Berkeley.