English questions

[foxcatdog]

I've noticed another oddity in "Canadian" Raising in my lect - snark and snarky lack raising, unlike practically all other instances of /ɑr/ before a fortis obstruent.

Is this a badass situation all over again. I don't think hollywood movies are particularly fond of the term snarky but i don't watch many movies.

[Travis B.]

Speaking of English oddities, I have noticed that I actually do not have a classic weak vowel merger. While I have merged most cases of unstressed /ə ɪ/ to either [ə] or [ɘ] or syllabicizing a following consonant with a distribution such that there is no phonemic contrast between them, unstressed /oʊ/ reduced to a schwa does not merge with them; e.g. there is phot[ə]graph when if this were merely /ə/ or /ɪ/ historically it should have become [ɘ] given its environment.

[WarpedWartWars]

Speaking of English oddities, I have noticed that I actually do not have a classic weak vowel merger. While I have merged most cases of unstressed /ə ɪ/ to either [ə] or [ɘ] or syllabicizing a following consonant with a distribution such that there is no phonemic contrast between them, unstressed /oʊ/ reduced to a schwa does not merge with them; e.g. there is phot[ə]graph when if this were merely /ə/ or /ɪ/ historically it should have become [ɘ] given its environment.

I'm not sure exactly what that is, but it did remind me that I have a lot of unlaxed and unstressed vowels--[ɪ] in Hel[ɪ]n, [o] in phot[o]graph, [ʌ] in [ʌ]go, etc.

[azhong]

My Questions following the correction.

...an old, gray thermos bottle made of a plastic shell/casing/covering[1] and a mercury-coated inside, its cap the shape of a monk’s hat;

1. "made of" generally refers to the composition of the entire object. So I might describe a thermos as "made of plastic and metal", but if I'm going to get more specific about the composition of each component, I'd phrase it differently. Either it's a plastic thermos with a metallic[*] coating or a metal thermos with a plastic cover.
[*] Are you sure it's "mercury"? This generally isn't used in the manufacture of anything that will be holding food or drink because it's toxic to humans.

Well, AFAIK, the old thermos mentioned here is made of plastic as a cover at its outer layer to protect its glass inner layer (and between the two layers is a near-vacuum air layer). On the outer surface of the glass layer which contacts not the liquid but the vacuum layer, mercury is coated many years ago but is replaced with silver now. (I've googled and found this English website, which proves my impression. BTW, a thermos made in Japan with this construction could remain the temperature better and was very popular in Taiwan around the mid-century last century. Weren't they imported into America?)

Q: So, is "cover" the word I need, to name the outer layer of a thermos? In Chinese we say 外殼 (literally "outer shell") or 外層("outer layer").

Q: How about if,
an old, gray thermos bottle made of* with a plastic cover and a mercury-coated inside inner layer, its cap the shape of a monk’s hat cap/one*[/b]
* Maybe cap is better than "hat". A hat has a rim brim but a cap can have none, right?

...such a shabby, small chamber full of dust mites was also able to hazily evoke his enchanting imagination[3] of calling a prostitute in a strange place.

3. "Imagination" is abstract and generally non-countable except when referring to the imaginative powers of an individual, e.g. "You have a wild imagination", so you need some other word here. I'm not sure what, though, because I can't tell what's being evoked. Is this a fantasy of something which hasn't happened or is it a memory?

Ya, I think "fantasy" is the word I need. He was imagining something hasn't happened. And thank you for your help.

fantasy: a pleasant situation that you enjoy thinking about but is unlikely to happen, or the activity of imagining things like this; 幻想, 想像
imagination: the ability to form pictures in the mind; 想像力

Q: I've revised the phrase. Is it natural to you? Does it give a main focus on the unclearness of the screen (regardless of the channels)? Thank you.
the small TV, ..., the screen of which showed liquid, fuzzy figures of human shapes, which differed as you switched the channel.

[Linguoboy]

Well, AFAIK, the old thermos mentioned here is made of plastic as a cover at its outer layer to protect its glass inner layer (and between the two layers is a near-vacuum air layer). On the outer surface of the glass layer which contacts not the liquid but the vacuum layer, mercury is coated many years ago but is replaced with silver now. (I've googled and found this English website, which proves my impression. BTW, a thermos made in Japan with this construction could remain the temperature better and was very popular in Taiwan around the mid-century last century. Weren't they imported into America?)

Maybe? I've literally never seen one before; most of the thermoses I've owned have been primarily metal with plastic covers.

From looking at ads for antique models, it seems that the most common term is "mercury glass thermos".

Q: So, is "cover" the word I need, to name the outer layer of a thermos? In Chinese we say 外殼 (literally "outer shell") or 外層("outer layer").

I would say it depends. "Cover" implies that it can be removed. "Outer shell" implies that it is hard, not soft or rubbery.

an old, gray thermos bottle made of* with a plastic cover and a mercury-coated inside inner layer, its cap the shape of a monk’s hat cap/one*[/b]
* Maybe cap is better than "hat". A hat has a rim but a cap can have none, right?

I would say the other way round. Hats and caps can both be *brim*less, but at least in contemporary American English "cap" generally implies a type of headgear with a visor (the most common type being a "baseball cap").

It's kind of moot, since Western monks don't wear distinctive hats but rather hoods, so this won't evoke the proper image for a Western reader. Maybe if you wrote "Buddhist monk's hat", but even that won't say anything to people who haven't seen mendicant Asian monks in traditional dress. You might be better off using an entirely different comparison.

Q: I've revised the phrase. Is it natural to you? Does it give a main focus on the unclearness of the screen (regardless of the channels)? Thank you.
the small TV, ..., the screen of which showed liquid, fuzzy figures of human shapes, which differed as you switched the channel.

"figures of human shapes" is redundant. Use either "human figures" or "human shapes".

[hwhatting]

I think when azhong talks about "cover" here, he means the outer casing.

[Linguoboy]

I think when azhong talks about "cover" here, he means the outer casing.

Looking at pictures of mercury glass thermoses online, it's hard for me to tell what kinds of coverings they have. Several seem to have wicker "covers" (which might even qualify as wicker "holders" if they provide a stable base that would otherwise be absent). Others have a hard plastic "casing" which seems to be inseparable from the glass portion. He didn't provide a brand or model name, though, so I don't know which of these corresponds to what he has in mind.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

I have some thoughts on this too, but my brain isn't cogitating properly right now.

[azhong]

Q: How are the two accessories named in English respectively (see "more"), the "inner cover" (on the right side of the picture, used to "fasten the thermos and prevent liquid running out") and the "outer cover" (lying next to the thermos, used as a cup)? (In the website I've read several expressions: Thermos Bottle Cover, Thermo Mug Stopper, Thermal Cup Lid, Vacuum Flask Cap. )

More: show

hwhatting: I think when azhong talks about "cover" here, he means the outer casing.

Linguoboy: Several [antique thermos] seem to have wicker "covers" (which might even qualify as wicker "holders" if they provide a stable base that would otherwise be absent). Others have a hard plastic "casing" which seems to be inseparable from the glass portion.

1. I think the word I needed is "casing" then, and thank you.
Of the thermos the casing is gray, the inner layer is glass coated with mercury, and the cap/top/lid has the shape of a Chinese monk's hat. (Let's skip the cultural gap in translating an article for now.)
2. I didn't ever see such wicker "holders"/covers" before. So it's also a kind of "cover"?

More: show

Q: Then my question is, is the term "a cover of a thermos" without more explanation possibly confusing because it might refer to "the cap on the bottle top" or "the wicker cover to hold the thermos"?

Q: Back to the four words, cover, lid, top and cap, they're somewhat synonyms to me according to the dictionary (See "more"). But I guess they can't be freely exchanged among some fixed expressions? I guess:
1. You won't call it a "top" if its position is not on the top.
2. You will call it a "cap" only if it has a the similar shape of a (swimming) cap, a police cap, etc.
3. Does a "lid" always imply something flat and with a piece-like shape, like an "eyelid" does?
4. The word "cover" seemingly can be very general and thus ambiguous...

More: show

cover: something that is put on or over something else, usually to protect it, to keep something in, etc.
lid: a cover on a container, that can be lifted up or removed
– a jar lid, a pod lid
– to put a lid on sth: to keep something under control and stop it from increasing
top: the cover or lid used to close a container or pen
– a pen top, a bottle top,
cap: a small lid or cover
– a lens cap, a bottle cap

Q: Is it proper to use the verb "screw" in,
The bottle top can't be tightly screwed and water leaks?
(It seems wrong according to the dictionary because one doesn’t use screws, the metal, nail-like things, when twisting the bottle top. What's the most natural verbs here?)

screw: v. to fasten something using a screw:
n. a thin, pointed piece of metal with a raised edge twisting round along its length and a flat top with a cut in it, used to join things together, especially pieces of wood

[Linguoboy]

Q: How are the two accessories named in English respectively (see "more"), the "inner cover" (on the right side of the picture, used to "fastenclose/seal the thermos and prevent liquid running out") and the "outer cover" (lying next to the thermos, used as a cup)? (In the website I've read several expressions: Thermos Bottle Cover, Thermo Mug Stopper, Thermal Cup Lid, Vacuum Flask Cap. )

If I had to differentiate the two, I would call the piece actually inserted into the bottle a "stopper" and the part that covers it a "cap".

1. I think the word I needed is "casing" then, and thank you.
Of the thermos the casing is gray, the inner layer is glass coated with mercury

Or just "mercury glass".

2. I didn't ever see such wicker "holders"/covers" before. So it's also a kind of "cover"?...Then my question is, is the term "a cover of a thermos" without more explanation possibly confusing because it might refer to "the cap on the bottle top" or "the wicker cover to hold the thermos"?

Potentially, but "cover" is more likely to refer to something which covers most or all of the area of the thermos bottle rather than something which simply sits on top.

Q[/color]: Back to the four words, cover, lid, top and cap, they're somewhat synonyms to me according to the dictionary (See "more"). But I guess they can't be freely exchanged among some fixed expressions? I guess:
1. You won't call it a "top" if its position is not on the top.
2. You will call it a "cap" only if it has a the similar shape of a (swimming) cap, a police cap, etc.
3. Does a "lid" always imply something flat and with a piece-like shape, like an "eyelid" does?
4. The word "cover" seemingly can be very general and thus ambiguous...

"Top" is ambiguous. "The top of the thermos" could mean the top opening or the uppermost part of the bottle itself in addition to referring to a piece which is inserted bzw. placed on top.

"Lids" can be curved (look at the illustrations for "domed lid", for example), but it is generally a wider, flatter object than a "cap".

"Cover" is, indeed, the most general term. "Covers" in the plural, for instance, means "bedclothes" (because they "cover" you while you're in the bed).

Q: Is it proper to use the verb "screw" in,
The bottle top can't be tightly screwed and water leaks?
(It seems wrong according to the dictionary because one doesn’t use screws, the metal, nail-like things, when twisting the bottle top. What's the most natural verbs here?)

screw: v. to fasten something using a screw:
n. a thin, pointed piece of metal with a raised edge twisting round along its length and a flat top with a cut in it, used to join things together, especially pieces of wood

Which dictionary is this? "Screw" in English has the basic meaning of "helical inclined plane". The kind of metal fastener you buy in hardware stores is only one particular type of "screw". The kind of lid that screws into the top of a bottle is commonly called a "screwtop" and the action of inserting it is "screwing in".

[WarpedWartWars]

What might "lib-squashed" mean?

[bradrn]

What might "lib-squashed" mean?

Context please?

[WarpedWartWars]

Context please?

I have no context for it, other than that "lib" is short for "library".

[bradrn]

Context please?

I have no context for it, other than that "lib" is short for "library".

I mean, what was the sentence in which you saw the word?

[Ares Land]

Doesn't that refer to squash, the C compression library?

[WarpedWartWars]

I mean, what was the sentence in which you saw the word?

The sentence is "Lib-squashed".

Doesn't that refer to squash, the C compression library?

I have no clue what that is.

[Ares Land]

I mean, it could mean 'compressed', when talking about programming in C or something similar, I suppose. Though I never encountered that word myself.

[Travis B.]

It is traditional for C and C++ libraries, particularly on Unix-like systems, to have names of the form lib<name>, such as libc and libsdl2. Note though that normally these are written as one word, without a hyphen. Beyond this, though, we are just guessing, because you have provided no context at all.

[WarpedWartWars]

I mean, it could mean 'compressed', when talking about programming in C or something similar, I suppose. Though I never encountered that word myself.

It is traditional for C and C++ libraries, particularly on Unix-like systems, to have names of the form lib<name>, such as libc and libsdl2. Note though that normally these are written as one word, without a hyphen. Beyond this, though, we are just guessing, because you have provided no context at all.

I originally intended for it to be "Lib--squashed" (i.e., a squashed library) but I missed a hyphen.

[Raphael]

Are you sure that it's about libraries? It sounds to me like someone who is politically right-wing talking about "squashing" people whom they see as "libs".