notarealwelder
Let's see how it goes
Fifty-three aesthetics in a trenchcoat
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When people get a little too gung-ho about-
wait. cancel post. gung-ho cannot be English. where did that phrase come from? China?
ok, yes. gōnghé, which is…an abbreviation for “industrial cooperative”? Like it was just a term for a worker-run organization? A specific U.S. marine stationed in China interpreted it as a motivational slogan about teamwork, and as a commander he got his whole battalion using it, and other U.S. marines found those guys so exhausting that it migrated into English slang with the meaning “overly enthusiastic”.
That’s…wild. What was I talking about?
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The difference between あのー and えーっと
As I touched on in my japanese goncharov post, it’s amazing how much novel research, entertainment, and art are locked behind a language barrier. Even though as english speakers, we are privileged to have many things translated into our language, it’s a simple fact that most things will not be translated into most languages.
I am a huge fan of ゆる言語学ラジオ, a japanese podcast about linguistics. The hosts recently released a book, 言語沼, which goes into detail about some of the subconscious rules native japanese speakers follow but aren’t consciously aware of (an english equivalent might be that adjective-ordering rule we follow e.g. big brown cow, not brown big cow). I’m finding it fascinating, and I wanted to discuss some of it here in english, because I think people learning japanese would find some of these things really useful. It’d be a shame if this knowledge stayed stuck behind the japanese language barrier when the people who would find it the most useful can’t speak japanese fluently enough to read it!
The book talks about how most Japanese people will think of 「あのー」 and 「えーっと」 as having the exact same meaning - they’re both “meaningless” filler words. Despite their belief that they’re the same, those same native speakers will subconsciously only use あのー in one particular type of situation and 「えーっと」 in another, and even feel confused or annoyed if they hear another speaker use one in the wrong context.
So what’s the actual difference? 「えーっと」 is used when the speaker is taking time to remember or solve something. For example, the following exchange is very natural:
Person A: 6 x 5は？
Person B: えーっと、35だ
This makes it a pretty versatile filler word! You can use it pretty much anywhere. Another example would be when you’re talking to yourself, trying to remember where you left your keys.
えーっと、鍵どこ置いたっけ？
On the other hand, あのー is much more specific. It can only be used when you’re taking time to figure out the best way to phrase something. For example, when you’re trying to get a stranger’s attention.
あのー、ちょっといいですか？
In contrast, if Person A was addressed with 「えーっと、ちょっといいですか？」by Person B, they’d feel it was rude because instead of considering how to say something, B is considering what to say, which gives the impression that they hadn’t even figured out what they needed to ask before addressing Person A.
This gives 「あのー」 a more ”polite” feeling than 「えーっと」, even though neither is actually more polite than the other. They’re just used in different circumstances.
Let’s quickly look at the example with the lost keys again. If you replace the filler word:
あのー、鍵どこ置いたっけ？
It is very unnatural. The authors of the book jokingly say that it sounds like you’re talking to a ghost, because 「あのー」 is only used when you’re figuring out how to phrase something, and you wouldn’t worry about that if you’re talking to yourself.
Also, did you know even japanese children properly use each filler word in the correct situation? Despite almost all japanese people (even as adults) being unaware of this rule, they’re subconsciously abiding by it even as children - just from listening to their parents follow the same rules!
It really is amazing how good your subconscious mind is at acquiring language, and how terrible your conscious mind is at it. If you’re not already, I highly recommend integrating a lot of simple language content (e.g. youtube, kids shows, etc) into your study routine - listening to people talk is simply the fastest way to become fluent in your target language.
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Léo Forest Leo Forest (b. 1985, based Paris, France) - Chat, 2023, Drawings: Pencil, Charcoal, Pastel on Paper
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I must say while it isn't technically wrong nothing could have prepared me for seeing an old album I was looking up listed on a foreign site as "doujin works" right next to SiivaGunner compilations
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Anyway I think it's crazy that for thousands of years people just had this deep yearning to draw weird diagrams and contemplate crytpic hidden truths and for 99% of that time it was 100% nonsense and then in the last hundred years we invented quantum mechanics and category theory and oh shit it turns out there are cryptic truths in weird diagrams. just had to draw the right ones.
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Homura / Madoka by Silver [pixiv] [twitter]
♡ reprint permission was granted by the artist.
based on the 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ x EMooooN collab.
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So we all know that Tumblr is US-centric. But to what degree? (and can we skew the results of this poll by posting it at a time where they should be asleep?)
Reblog to increase sample size!
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what the fuck did I just download
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I am a solo indie dev trying to overcome my anxiety and actually let people know my game exists. It is a cute physics based game where you are the level.
I love making this game with passion and I am so excited to share it with the world, but somehow I need to let the world know. Unfortunately the way steam works is the more wishlists the more visibility, so if you are interested it is super appreciated :)
Wishlist on steam or visit the website to find out more mightymarbles.com
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the circus was in town that day 🤡
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Every problem these days is handled by the compiler. You wrote unreadable code? The compiler takes care of it. Redundant middle managers attempt a botched implementation of agile scrum? The compiler, too, takes care of them. Wife leaves you for an internet catgirl because you spend all your time at the office compiling code? The compiler takes care of you. We will always trust the compiler. We always know the compiler. We will always be the compiler. All abstractions will be rendered into clean and pure numerics. Such is the path of computation. Such is the compiler!
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A: "You don't have any fun fandom shirts or-"
B: "They have a fandom I'm in. EA."
A: "EA is not a fandom!"
B: "We write fanfic?"
A: "Not officially!"
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tell me something interesting?
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