Questions tagged [discussion]
The question you're asking is designed to solicit opinions or best-practices on a particular topic, with the goal of reaching community consensus.
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questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Is there a reference/archive of English verbs and their argument structure (± their theta roles)?
Is there a reference/archive of English verbs and their argument structure? That is to say, how many and what categories of arguments they require. And maybe even their theta roles? I don't expect ...
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Etymology of words in translations
Maybe this should be in linguistics but I'll try here...
I have had this idea for a long time but productivity has never been part of my character. I'll take full credit of the idea and I am willing ...
- 101
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Request to reopen "Resistance decreases with temperature"
"Resistance decreases with temperature". How to interpret this sentence? doesn't seem like an unreasonable question to ask on ELU, but it's been summarily closed with the "justification&...
- 138k
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Book recommendation about languages from the linguist's perspective
Not sure if book recommendations are allowed, but I'm looking for a reference book that contains details about a wide variety of languages, written for linguists. For example, let's say I wanted to ...
- 429
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Why are questions in SE ELU closed because they are "opinion-based"
I am a non-native speaker of English.
When I do not understand a word (because I have never seen it before for instance), I look it up in a dictionary. The dictionary will give me the meaning and ...
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traditional versus modern grammar book
Am I correct in describing A Student's Introduction to English Grammar by E. Huddleston and G. K. Pullum as modern grammar? It makes a distinction between complements and adjuncts, for example.
If ...
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Reference for the history of the English alphabet
I am looking for a text or book that discusses the history of the English alphabet, as in, how the shapes of the alphabet came to be, why certain sounds are associated with certain letters, and how ...
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Are there any resources for 18th and 19th Century English Grammar?
I recently asked a question regarding archaic English grammar and one of the comments recommended that I make a resource request here on the Meta.
I'm looking for any books or websites that ...
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How to avoid an "opinion based" question regarding listening comprehension?
As a non-native English speaker I pronounce "bomb", "climb", "thumb" etc... with a clear B at the end. I know I shouldn't, but it's automatic.
So, I was interested in ...
- 353
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Why was a question about the origin and meaning of a phrase closed because the origin is known?
Note: The question in question has been reopened.
The question 'What’s the origin/meaning of “from belt buckle to shoe sole”?' was closed because
Mr Biden consistently gives the origin - his uncle. ...
- 32.4k
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Was the question "etc. etc. usage" closed correctly?
This question was closed as being "opinion-based". But I thought that usage questions were on-topic for this site. After all, the asker says "Is there any rule…", not "How do ...
- 977
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Criteria specific dictionaries use to decide on ordering of different senses of a given headword
It's fairly common knowledge that OED lists senses of a given headword in the chronological order research has found printed evidence for: it is a historical dictionary.
Equally conveniently, the ...
- 76.8k
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Search engine for English idioms?
I am looking for a resources which can provide related English idioms/phrases. For instance, if I were looking up 'to help out', I would find 'to pitch in', etc. Does any such resources exist online (...
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This question asking for a gender neutral alternative should be reopend
Gender neutral alternative to Sir/Madam
It's odd that it was closed.
It's a very specific question, and given typical everyday context.
If you disagree - would like to clarify why it is opinion ...
- 10.9k
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Not all "whom" questions are interchangeable duplicates
I can understand the impulse to vote to close any new question about the use of whom as a duplicate, since most of them are. However, I don't think that any two questions about whom are necessarily ...
- 77.7k
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Another request to reconsider a question marked as a duplicate
The question What would you say vs. How would you say has been marked as a duplicate of How do you call..? vs. What do you call…?. They can only be duplicates if say and call are grammatically and ...
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Not even close to a duplicate
I see here question about duplicates that it is OK to post here when one's question is falsely marked duplicate.
This is the case with my question “I was late, and so I got fired.” Can we use two ...
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Is there some reverse IPA dictionary for English?
I see that the word "query" is pronounced:
/ˈkwɪəri/
I was wondering whether there is any word in English that sounds:
/ˈkwiri/
Is there some kind of reverse pronunciation lookup resource online?
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Question marked duplicate when it isn't (in my opinion)
I asked this question with very specific examples of people describing what they like using redundant adjectives (specifically things like "I like well-written books" or "I like tasty food"). I'm ...
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Is this question really a SWR?
This one: 1920's terms for parents/children
It doesnt strike me as a single word request, and since it's a new user, they probably haven't figured it out yet. To me, SWR means questions like '...
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Advice for a book for English Syntax
I want a book for English Syntax, I want you to know that I am an elementary student of English Language and I have finished the book "Essential Grammar in Use (A self study reference and practice ...
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Should we migrate this (closed) duplicate question to ELL?
The question Word to describe the list of people that I have a crush, love, and lust was closed here as Primarily Opinion Based. Meanwhile, the asker cross-posted the nearly identical question to ...
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Can we change the linked-to question here, folks?
This question here was rightly closed as a duplicate:
Which is grammatically correct: "There is tea and juice" or "There are tea and juice"?
It has currently been linked to the ...
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Can we reopen Word for the best way to move from point A to point B?
I cast the fifth VTC on Word for the best way to move from point A to B? without reading all the comments. To my dismay, the OP had provided context in a comment I overlooked. (Oh, the guilt!) I ...
- 26.2k
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What is the dividing line between a low-rep user and a high-rep user in negating/not negating upvotes when his account is closed?
A high-rep user recently closed his account, with no effect on my rep. (I am sorry to see him go.) I know that he gave me at least several upvotes and at least one acceptance. When low-rep users ...
- 26.2k
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Is this an Acceptable Site to ask about Linguistics?
I am wondering whether English Language & Usage is an acceptable place to discuss topics of linguistics.
Corpus linguistics questions (e.g. "Is the English conformity with Zipf's Law unique or ...
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Popularity of questions regarding the terminology of food and other aspects of gastronomy
I have noticed that many questions, answers and comments on this site involve the popular and specialized terminology of food, restaurants and gastronomy. I have also noticed that some are deemed off-...
- 3,947
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Blog as Canonical Repository
TL;DR Let's use the EL&U blog as our repository for canonical posts.
UPDATE: the site's blog was closed some time after this post was made (it has since been archived on Meta). The blog is ...
- 38.2k
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How to respond to duplicate suggestion when I feel no edit is needed?
I have a question that is suggested as a duplicate and says I should edit the question to make it non-duplicative. If I feel it is not a dup, but I feel the question already, as written, is not a dup,...
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What are the criteria for being eligible to vote in a moderator election?
Can any member vote, or is there a Reputation and/or other eligibility prerequisite?
I think I've been a member for more than a year, yet I never got an election notification.
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Do answers get blanked if they receive down votes?
I'm not used to getting a great deal of downvoting on my answers but I have negative 3 on this one.
Please help me understand “humbler wall”
That's not a problem. People disagree and they are ...
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Are either of these "Dungeons and Dragons"-related questions, good questions?
Is this a good question?
"Did "Dungeons and Dragons" give a new meaning to the word "Dungeon"? If so, what meaning was it?"
or would a better question be:
"How did the meaning of "Dungeons" in "...
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Please reconsider the closing of this question and reopen it for a response that actually answers the question
Look at the question that was asked here and not sufficiently answered: What is the difference between "phonetic" and "phonemic"?
The question is asking whether there is a ...
user133865
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Rewording a question's title and removing the duplicate flag
How can I best handle the following as SE:
I would like to reword this question's title because as the discussion and answers evolved I realized the focus of the question resolved in a different ...
- 836
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Do we really need to distinguish between the tags "countable-nouns" and "uncountable-nouns"?
It seems to me that most of the questions about the one topic will also be related to the other. So why not have a single overarching tag like count-noncount or countability, and make countable-nouns ...
- 77.7k
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Please vote to reopen the "facebook" etymology question
Origin of the word "facebook"?
Research is included now (close reason was lack of research) and it is a good question with good answers.
OP didn't directly asked the origin of "Facebook" (...
- 59.1k
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Do word/phrase requests need to say what word class they want?
Taking this recent question as an example, word/phrase request questions frequently get answers for many different word classes. It has several verbs and adjectives, and 'tooth and nail' would be an ...
- 5,667
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Question is on hold - should it be? What is considered a "general reference"?
My question is put on hold for being off-topic: How do I pronounce the name "Aurelius"?
Since I wasn't exactly sure what the "general reference" reason actually is (When looking at the Help ...
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Seeking for penmanship advice
Before criticizing my post being in the wrong section or whatsoever, I want to say: within my knowledge, I judged this to be the most reliable platform for this question.
If I am banned from the ...
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How to review a long-winded, overly chatty question
In the review queue, I was faced with this question I skipped it, but would like to know how others would deal with it.
It seems very chatty and it takes a long time to get to the point.
Should I ...
- 3,691
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More subscriber information would be helpful
Lots of regular contributors have provided very little or no information about themselves. It is helpful to know a questioner's first language, as often a language group will make consistently similar ...
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Word Frequency on the Web
I was wondering if anyone is aware of a similar service to Google Ngram for words used on the web.
To clarify, I'm not looking for the frequency of search terms used on the web (i.e.Google Trends) ...
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'grammatically (in)correct' ... potentially conflicting meanings
'Is . . . grammatically correct?' or a variant is a commonly asked question on the site.
Though most people seeking to give a reasonable response often give answers such as 'This is not a question of ...
- 76.8k
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Follow-up notifications for comments posted on others' posts
When we leave comments on others' posts, we don't get the follow-up notifications unless we have been tagged. But I think that we should get the notifications even if we are not tagged so as to follow ...
- 1,410
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Why were my comments deleted?
All the comments I made under the questions referenced in Wordreference cross-posting have been deleted. Why?
- 30.7k
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Where does the anonymous feedback go to?
When viewing ELU as an anonymous user, you can provide feedback on the usefulness of an answer by clicking on Yes or No buttons. I'm curious as to where this feedback goes and if it is used in any ...
- 30.7k
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Help us call for proposals for the SE Fellowship on your blog, site or listserv
The SE Research Support and Fellowship Program launched recently with our very own experienced and highly respected users reviewing fellowship applications.
To make the program a success, we need ...
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Should not most of the CW questions be closed, or locked?
There are 88 CW questions; of those, 75 questions are not closed.
Should not they be closed, or locked? As I can see, there are many questions that should not be asked, basing on the FAQ, as they are ...
- 58.6k
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What's the best way to format quotes within quotes?
If the source you are quoting itself contains a quote, how would do you format it? You can double up the greater-than signs (>>), but I don't find this sort of double quote clear or pleasing on ...
- 13k
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Can we seek correction/suggestion for a statement of purpose (SOP)?
I went through the faq of english.stackexhange, however I did not see any instruction with regards to seeking help with SOPs. Can you tell if I can seek correction/suggestion for a statement of ...
user2532