i didn't want this
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06-28-2014, 01:18 AM
Quote:That's laughably incorrect. Where do you think our current usages of language come from? Nowhere? Language doesn't just change, it evolves, and it has to evolve from something. The fact of the matter is that "America" has been used in English to commonly refer to the USA for decades. Its persistence over time gives us a clue as to why we use it today, and it's better evidence of why I can say "America" to an English speaking counterpart and be assured that they'll recognize I'm talking about my country, the US. You honestly can't look at modern usages of language without looking where they've come from and how, over time, people did or didn't change their usage. If what you say is true, we would have no need for studying etymology, or even caring about it.People study it because it's interesting. It has no bearing on the language as it is today. You can absolutely understand a language better by studying how it reached it's current form, but it's not a necessity. Past usage of a language is a decent indicator of current usage, certainly, but it does not determine current usage. Language can, and does change at any time, and there's no way to predict how it will. So even if America referred exclusively to the country 10, 20 years ago (it didn't), that doesn't mean it still does now (it doesn't). Quote:and it's better evidence of why I can say "America" to an English speaking counterpart and be assured that they'll recognize I'm talking about my country, the US.You can't though. Most of the time, sure, people will understand perfectly. It's also safe a safe bet that every single person from the US will assume you're referring to the US when you say america. But it's simply not true that every english speaker every where will. Some might think you're talking about the continent(s), unless the context makes it clear that you're not. RachelB Wrote:People study it because it's interesting. It has no bearing on the language as it is today. You can absolutely understand a language better by studying how it reached it's current form, but it's not a necessity. Past usage of a language is a decent indicator of current usage, certainly, but it does not determine current usage. Language can, and does change at any time, and there's no way to predict how it will. People study it because it is relevant. If the history of words in irrelevant to the words we use today, how is the history of anything any different (art, science, human culture)? You only get to our current usage of language by evolving the past ones, adding new terms (a la Shakespeare, more contemporary, the Internet), or dropping deprecated terms, or changing meaning of existing words (see the meaning of decimate). Current linguistics is the result of what we've done to previous linguistics. Studying previous linguistics is an important aspect of understanding what kind of language you're speaking today. RachelB Wrote:So even if America referred exclusively to the country 10, 20 years ago (it didn't), that doesn't mean it still does now (it doesn't). Yeah, that's the thing, no one ever said it referred to the USA exclusively (at least not myself), just commonly. Please read for content. RachelB Wrote:You can't though. Most of the time, sure, people will understand perfectly. It's also safe a safe bet that every single person from the US will assume you're referring to the US when you say america. But it's simply not true that every english speaker every where will. Some might think you're talking about the continent(s), unless the context makes it clear that you're not. Again, please read for content. The statement is a generalization. I said it's better evidence, not perfect or absolute evidence that an English speaker will understand that I'm referring to the country. You're trying to make it seem as if I'm talking in exclusive terms. Read again. I'm not. 06-28-2014, 03:40 AM
Got mah i7 board back and it turns out it's a replacement and not a repair like the rep thought.
Got stuff to do to prep i.e. uninstall drivers and chipset drivers for current board to eliminate or minimize stability issues and conflicts. 06-28-2014, 04:45 AM
@AU: I ain´t pissed...
Rig 1: Windows 10 Home | AMD A6-1450 @ 600/1000/1400 MHz | AMD Radeon HD Graphics 8250 | 4GB RAM | HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11.
Rig 2: Windows 10 Pro | Intel Core i7-2640M @ 780/2800/3500 MHz | Intel HD 3000 Mobile | 8GB RAM | Dell Latitude 6320.
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