In this thread we discuss subtle or complicated mistakes in English.
Talking about food is often different than talking about other things in English. A common mistake that people make is mistaking the singular for the plural in an "I like" sentence. This changes the meaning to talking about liking food instead of feelings. "I like cats" means 「猫が好き」, but "I like cat" can mean 「猫を食べることが好き」. The "I like [food]" phrase is often applied to animals, in which case the animal noun is always singular. Some animals have food nouns, for example "beef", "pork", "veal", "mutton", "venison". It would be strange or rude to say "I like cow" or "I like pig" instead of "I like beef" or "I like pork". Saying "I like pig" would be like 「豚が好き」 but "I like pork would be like 「豚肉が好き」.
Speaking of food: I often hear non-native speakers say "fruits," but we almost never say this in English (except in the phrase"fruits and vegetables"). It is usually "fruit"--I like fruit, fruit-filled pastry, fruit-flavored drink, fruit basket, buy some fruit, etc.
That some words are fixed on plural or singular is pretty confusing, as with "news" - even though you are talking about one single event that is reported on, or "pants" (or even "one pair of pants") when you talk about just one piece of clothing.
Fortunately, these cases are rare to come by, but it's still weird. Is there some rule to this?
Not really, but in the case of "pants" (and, off the top of my head, "scissors"), the idea is that the thing is made up of two similar parts - the two legs. So you have "one pant leg" and "one pair of pants".
This probably made more sense back when the word was introduced.
あめりかじんのともだちがほしいです。
MSNメッセンジャーのアドレスをおしえてください。
>>5
Wow, I can't believe I understood that. I feel so proud that my almost 3 years of Japanese classes have paid off.
I'm going to take a crack at it...
"It's good to have an American friend.
Please leave/tell me your MSN Messenger address."
I'm still not good with verbs... "おしえて"... Hmmm...
>>7 is Shii
>>6
No, it's
'I want [would like to have an] American friend.
Please tell me your MSN messenger address'
Ha! And I had only 2 years of Japanese classes!
>>4 is correct. Things which are made of two identical parts are almost always plural: "scissors", "binoculars", "pants", "glasses", "headphones", etc. Also some things which come in pairs are also usually plural but can be singular, eg "shoes", "socks".
"News" is not actually plural, it is a mass noun like "water" or "air". It only looks plural.
My teacher told me that NEWS comes from "North, East, West, South". So I believe it's something like an acronym. Isn't it true?
> "News" is not actually plural, it is a mass noun like "water" or "air". It only looks plural.
I believe you are mistaken:
Main Entry: news
Pronunciation: 'nüz, 'nyüz
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=news
Depends on what you understand "actual" to mean.
>>11
That is incorrect. Most of the time, when someone derives an acronym from a word, they are just making it up.
That's called a "folk etymology", by the way.
Another one is FUCK -> Fornication Under Consent of King
The commonly accepted acronym for that is NSEW (North South East West) anyway.
Oxford English Dictionary:
Special use of plural of NEW n., after Middle French nouvelles (see NOVEL n.), or classical Latin nova new things, in post-classical Latin also news (from late 13th cent. in British sources), use as noun of neuter plural of novus new (cf. classical Latin res nova (feminine singular) a new development, a fresh turn of events). Cf. later NOVEL n.
The synonymous Dutch nieuws (16th cent. as het nieuws 'the news') probably originated in Middle Dutch and early modern Dutch constructions with the genitive singular, as iet nieuws, wat nieuws, etc.; cf. similar uses in English at NEW n. 1a.
I. Simple uses.
1. New things, novelties. Obs.
2. a. With pl. concord. Tidings; reports or accounts of recent (esp. important or interesting) events or occurrences, brought or coming to one as new information. Now arch. and Indian English.
b. With sing. concord. Newly received (now esp. published or broadcast) information about recent events or matters of topical, local, or personal interest.
c. A person, thing, or place regarded as worthy of discussion or of reporting by the media. Freq. to be news. 3. As a count noun: a piece or item of news.
4. a. The newspapers; (rare) a newspaper. Obs.
b. Printing. A kind of paper used in manufacturing newspaper; newsprint.
c. A radio or television broadcast in which news is announced and sometimes discussed; (also) a newsreel. Usu. with the.II. Phrases.
5. a. no news: no novelty, nothing new. Obs.
b. colloq. this (also that, it) is news to me (him, her, etc.): 'I (he, etc.) did not know this (or that).' 6. In proverbs and proverbial expressions. Freq. in no news is good news and variants: without information to the contrary you can assume that all is well.
7. in the news: being reported by the news media; (hence) currently exciting public interest or speculation.
III. 8. Compounds. a. Objective, as newsbearer, -bringer, -broker, -carrier, collector, -crier, -dealer, -lover, reporter, seeker, -sender, teller; news-loving, -making (also as n.), seeking, -telling (also as n.), writing (also as n.) adjs.
b. General attrib., as news-crammed adj.; news article, blackout, -board, broadcast, bulletin, conference, coverage, day, editor, feature, film, item, magazine, -master, -matter, media, medium, messenger, office, page, report, scribe, shop, show, story, studio, summary, value, -whoop; news-greedy, -hungry, -thirsting adjs.
c. news anchor orig. U.S., a person who presents and coordinates a live television or radio news broadcast. news anchorman (orig. U.S.), a man working as a news anchor. news bee U.S. and Caribbean colloq., any large or noticeable insect, typically a bumble-bee, a beetle, or a hoverfly, whose appearance in a house or around a person is supposed, in popular folklore, to indicate that news of some kind will soon arrive. news-bell Eng. regional Obs., a ringing in the ears supposed to portend news. news boat, (a) a boat which puts out to passing vessels to receive and communicate news (now hist.); (b) a boat carrying journalists, camera crew, etc., in pursuit of a news story. newsbreak orig. U.S., a newsworthy item; spec. a story that has just broken, a newsflash. news bug U.S. and Caribbean colloq. = news bee. news butch U.S. colloq. = news butcher. news butcher U.S. colloq., a seller of newspapers, sweets, etc., on a train (cf. BUTCHER n. 3b). news cinema now hist., a cinema which shows a succession of short films, cartoons, and newsreels. newsdesk, the department of a newspaper office or broadcasting organization responsible for collecting and reporting the news. news-dick nonce-wd., a newspaper reporter. newsflash orig. U.S., a single item of important news broadcast separately from a news bulletin, often as an interruption to the scheduled programme. news fly U.S. colloq. = news bee. newsgatherer, a person who gathers news; (now) esp. one who researches news items or stories for publication or broadcast. newsgathering, (a) an expedition or visit made for the purpose of gathering news (obs.); (b) the occupation or work of a newsgatherer. newsgirl, (a) a girl who sells or delivers newspapers; (b) a female news reporter or journalist; (c) a female news-reader. newshawk colloq. (orig. U.S.), a newspaper reporter. news hawker now chiefly U.S., a person who sells newspapers in the street. news hole, the area of a newspaper or magazine that is available for news stories, after deduction of the area taken by adverts, pictures, etc.; (hence) the amount of airtime available in a news programme, channel, etc., for news broadcasting. newshound, (a) a person searching for news (obs.); (b) colloq. (orig. U.S.) a newspaper reporter. newsmaker chiefly N. Amer., (a) a journalist; (b) a newsworthy person or event. news management orig. U.S. Polit., manipulation of the media, esp. by press agents or publicists, to ensure favourable news coverage. news manager, (a) orig. and chiefly U.S., a person in charge of the presentation or compilation of news, esp. one employed by a newspaper, television station, etc., to manage its news room; (b) orig. U.S. Polit., a person employed to manipulate the media to ensure favourable news coverage of his or her clients; a spin doctor. news peg, a news story that forms the basis of an editorial, interview, cartoon, etc. newsperson orig. and chiefly U.S., a person employed in the news media, a journalist. news printing n. rare = NEWSPRINT n. newsreading n., the action of reading out the news on radio or television. news release chiefly N. Amer. = press release s.v. PRESS n.1 17b. newsroom, (a) a reading room specially set apart for newspapers (obs.); (b) an office in a newspaper or a broadcasting station where news is processed. news service, an organization which collects and supplies news items, usually to subscribers; (also) the facility provided by such an organization. news sheet, a printed sheet containing news; a simple form of newspaper; a newsletter. newsstand, a stand or stall for the sale of newspapers. news station, a television or radio news broadcasting station. news theatre now hist. = news cinema. news ticker now hist., a telegraphic machine which automatically prints the news on to a paper tape. news-vendor, a newspaper seller. newsweekly orig. and chiefly U.S., a newspaper or news magazine which is published weekly. newswork, the kind of composition or printing traditionally employed in newspapers.So "news" was originally plural, but is now treated as a singular noun ("with sing. concord") except in India ("with pl. concord").
ブルース・ウイルス ジェラシック・パーク シュミレーション
>>17
Yes. Ex. "The news is depressing today." "I heard from the doctor, but the news isn't good."
>>11
More about fake etymologies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_etymology
Critical mistakes in my English pronunciation（藁
・Shit down please.
・I rub you.
・I sink so too.
・To she is to bleave.
・I went to the erection today.
・I'm learning English Glamour now.
-i like lice
-dairy conversation
-you speak english so first
>>22
I like rice ball but I don't like lice.
I'd have a dairy conversation any day...
Who likes ice cream?!
どなたか英語教えて
please,teach me english!
Bruce Willis!
>>27
"Bruce Willis" and "Bruce Virus " become the almost same pronunciations in Japanese.
Blue Three!
Jackie-can maybe?
Ooooooh! (oﾟ◇ﾟ)
Why iksn't Bruce Willis ブルース・ウイリス？ Why is it ブルース・ウイルス？
Probably because "Willis" has an "i" so if pronounced the way its spelled it becomes リ
No, I was asking why it wasn't ウイリス
>>34
maybe....
"Willis" is devided to popular English Word for Jnanese. That is (will + is)
Will＝ウイル
is ＝イズ
ウイルイズ ⇒ ウイルス（easy to pronounciate)
--------------------------------------------------
Virus ＝ヴィルス ⇒ウイルス（easy to pronounciate)
Then he became a kind of ill cause in Japan.
>>35
I was wondering about that. McAfee calls their Japanese product "Anti Willis". It should be BAIRASU.
The ancient Latin pronounciation is UIRUSU, but it means "poison". So, I think this might have been some prick of a Japanese scientist using his "knowledge of Latin" to mispronounce a word that has become quite distinct from its Latin meaning.
>>36
In Japan, there is a rule that the loan word should be pronounciate and write as possible as
original sound.(except Chinese 'cause we can read Chinease letter(Kanji) as Japanese way.)
However, it is not possible to do quite thoroughly because there are a lot of sounds that do
not exist in Japanese.
Therefore, the loan word in the country introduced first is written by the カタカナ（katakana)
as new Japanese word and pronounced.
About western medical jargon first took Holland then German at the dawn then U.S.A after WWⅡ.
But still pronunciation near German is a main current in medical jargon.
Therefore,ウイルス is a little bit popular than ビールス in Japan. Both available.
The nurse in Japan pronouncciates blood pulse（脈拍） for プルス not パルス.
But electrical engineer pronouncciates electrical purule for パルス not プルス.
For instance, in Japan everyone knows somewhere if it is pronounced Muenchen(ミュンヘェン）,
Zuelich（チューリッヒ）,Wien（ウイーン）in German style pronounciation, but more than 80% peoples
can't understand where it is if it is pronounced Munich（ミューニック）, Zurick（ズーリック）, Vienna
（ヴィエナ）in English styel.
＋ >>37
*Important notes to person in sphere of German.
If you come to Japan, you must not pronounciate the word "Bus(Omnibus)" before the lady in
German style.
Bruce Willis spotted!
http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=brucewillis5cc.jpg
