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  • Showing only topics with the tag "english". Back to normal view
    1. How do I fix my (stupid) use of excessive punctuation?

      In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And...

      In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And sometimes I'll start a sentence with "and" when it doesn't need to be there. My comma use is wild and uncontrolled, but I feel it's a bit more controlled than these other marks.

      Importantly: I do not care how other people use punctuation.

      But I would like to try to fix, or perhaps just improve, my punctuation use. Like the way I just start a new paragraph at random.

      I feel like my posts are the same as those flyers that use 7 different fonts, with bolds and underlines and italics (and combinations of them), and with some words in red and some in green and some in black and there's no rhyme or reason to it.

      I do like a casual tone but I feel that I go far too far in the informal direction. English is my first, and my only, language. (I love Europe, but I am a bad European. "Please look after our star" we said, and most of us said it in English because most of us who said it don't know other European languages)

      Do you have any advice? I'd be interested to hear about books, or videos, or courses, or podcasts, or anything at all that can help. I'd even pay for this. But not Eats Shoots and Leaves please

      29 votes
    2. Where can I find translated Japanese light novels?

      I have dug around the net for a little while now, and other than direct purchase from Japan I am having trouble finding light novels. Specifically for several anime series I liked and want to read...

      I have dug around the net for a little while now, and other than direct purchase from Japan I am having trouble finding light novels. Specifically for several anime series I liked and want to read the originals for. Anyone know where I can find light novels in general for purchase or otherwise?

      12 votes
    3. Medieval Myth Busting - Arrows vs Armour 2, using historically accurate reproductions from time of the Battle of Agincourt (1415)

      ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - FULL MEDIEVAL ARMOUR TESTED Other extra videos in the series: ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - ARMOUR PLATE TESTS ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - MAIL TESTS ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - ARROWHEAD MATERIAL...

      ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - FULL MEDIEVAL ARMOUR TESTED

      Other extra videos in the series:
      ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - ARMOUR PLATE TESTS
      ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - MAIL TESTS
      ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 - ARROWHEAD MATERIAL TESTS

      And they have also created a website for the project now too:
      https://todtodeschini.com/youtube-projects/arrows-v-armour-2/

      Previous series of tests from a few years ago:
      https://tild.es/h3u

      6 votes
    4. Accent diversity is fascinating

      I committed an embarrassing gaffe today. I had ordered a keyboard online from a store from the Tyneside of north-eastern England: an area with a regional accent and dialect often referred to as...

      I committed an embarrassing gaffe today. I had ordered a keyboard online from a store from the Tyneside of north-eastern England: an area with a regional accent and dialect often referred to as ‘Geordie’. I habitually speak in a ‘home counties’ accent, which is sometimes regarded as a contemporary variety of received pronunciation (RP), though it sounds quite different to historical and conservative varieties of that accent. A salesman called me earlier to inform me that the keyboard I wanted was out of stock, but that they would be happy to refund me if I didn’t want to wait for new inventory. Seemingly between the accent difference and the poor audio quality inherent to phone calls I misinterpreted ‘keyboard’ as ‘cable’, insisting with increasing urgency that I have USB-C cables in plenty and that they needn’t worry about supplying one with the order. We both went about in circles for a few minutes until it dawned on me what I was doing, at which point intense embarrassment flushed over me. Oops!

      Accent diversity in Britain is rich and regional. It's not hard to place where someone grew up based on their accent. Would you consider your country to be diverse in accents? Even so, are there instances of accent discrimination?

      45 votes