The thing is, "sillycone" isn't a part of the dialects of large parts of the Midwest and South (or any other region), while this particular pronunciation of "nuclear" is.
I could give a fuck about how Bush pronounces things, although you will find that the way he pronounces "nuclear" is a prevalent pronunciation in much of the South and Midwest. The thread started with someone implying that Bush was stupid because he pronounced nuclear "incorrectly." Except the point you are missing is that this pronunciation is part of several American dialects. So if you have proof that it is not part of a dialect, not a regional variation in English, that is what you need to say in order to advance your point. Just saying it doesn't make it so. I live somewhere where it is pronounced that way, because of our dialect. I'm not sure how to prove that to you, but if you will take me as an honest person, I don't see how you can miss that point. Bigotry is bad in and of itself - I'm not trying to say that anyone has reached a level of murderous bigotry in this thread. Melodrama schmelodrama. People are insulting my region, and me, implying that we are unintelligent because of the way we speak. If you can't understand that I have answered your question three times, I'm not sure how to make it any clearer! I'll ignore your vailed insults for now, giving you the benefit of the doubt that you actually want to have a conversation>
you should re-learn the alphabet and whoever taught you to read should be fired.
But stop insulting me and my neighbors and family!
It's not a great injustice, but fucks who fancy themselves as superior have lead to pretty much every major human catastrophe on our fair green globe, so I don't think it's grandiose to lament bigotry wherever you find it. The link between this, and the same kind of bigotry that caused slavery, the Indian massacres, concentration camps, etc. are lost on you and these other people, and that is sad.
Unfortunately for your argument, it isn't. It's a mispronounciation that deseparately wants the legitimacy of being viewed as a dialect. Evidence is that George W. Bush didn't have such unusual pronounciations for any other words. If he did, I'd be far more inclined to believe it's just an accent or dialect.
Come down to Missouri, and tell that to the 90% of the population that pronounce it that way. Believe me, it's not because we don't know how to spell it, or because we don't know that people from other regions pronounce it differently. I am guessing you are the sheltered one, if you don't know about the dialects of the states in our nation...
Oh, and PS, it is very much a difference in dialect. Dialect is defined as "A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists." (The American Heritage Dictionary)
You should hear me talk, and you might change your opinion a bit. Ever hear of "Missouri Mud-Mouth?" What I'm trying to say is that the way people speak doesn't make them ignorant, and lumping everyone who pronounces nuclear a certain way together with Bush is a huge travesty. You underestimate the people you are describing.
Language is organic. I find it absurd to think of any dialect as a mutilation - it serves its purpose about as well as any other dialect.
Television dispelling ignorance: now that's one I haven't heard before! It's funny, I meet a lot of people who have trouble understanding people from the surrounding counties and the southern part of the state, or who have trouble understanding certain groups of Black people around here. I don't get it. Every linguistic nuance in speech is as salt to me. And I've never found any group of people with any dialect to be more ignorant than any other, although there are plenty who feel defeated by being put down for the way they speak, and their are plenty who put others down for the way they speak (and believe me, a lot of these people weren't that bright themselves).
I was born in Missouri, my family is from Virginia, and I've been all over this country from California to Texas to Massachusetts to North Carolina to New York to Montana and lots of places in between. I love the people of this country, and I wish people wouldn't be so divisive when it comes to those from other regions. It's truly sad. The South, the North, the Midwest, the East, the West all have their treasures and things to be proud of. It's sad that so many people are ignorant of this fact, and use any opportunity to put others down. (I am guessing it comes from some arrogant, deep-seated insecurity, but I am no psychologist.)
Wow. Great modding, you knee-jerk, bigoted fucks. I'd like to say that I have learned about a darker side of humanity today, but sadly it is all too prevalent. It's not even surprising anymore. I just hope people whose wills aren't as strong don't let people like these fucks and the moderators so far tell them they are inferior because of who they are, where they are from, or how they speak. You'd think this country would have learned something from the Civil Rights Movement, the divisive nature of our politicians, our entrenched socio-economic differences, but the larger, abstract concepts involved in Liberty, Equality, Independence, and Community are apparently lost on many, even among the more educated Slashdot crowd. Y'all have truly disgraced yourselves, Slashdot, and those who would call you brother. A shame! You would think we would have gotten past more of this in the last 50 to 100 years, but I guess some people never learn what it truly means to be a free and reasoned person.
arbitrary geopolitical territory automagically awesomer than the one next to it.
You said that, not me. Take pride in where you are from. It doesn't diminish the pride others should feel for where they are from. But, I think you have shown your own bigotry, anyway: What makes American English, or any of its dialects inferior to British English or any of its dialects? Does British English (in so much as it is even a homogeneous set of modes of speech: it is far less so than you are implying) communicate ideas more accurately? (No.) Does it express a wider variety of ideas? (No.) Does it increase more the virtue of those who speak it? (No.) I think you would be hard pressed to find any language in the developed world, and probably even most of the undeveloped world that expresses fewer ideas, expresses ideas less clearly, etc. than any other language. And, I'm going to assume you aren't denigrating Afrikaans for racial reasons. It's a strange example to use, to say the least.
So superficially changing the way you act is not ignorant, because people will have bigoted notions about you? "Ignorant is as ignorant does" is a true statement, but it shows your own prejudice to assume that speaking with a regional dialect is "as ignorant does." Shame on you! Show some pride in your origins!
Like I said, I don't even care about GW and Palin. I didn't and wouldn't vote for them. But it is patently false to call regional dialects "contrived populism." That may be a problem in our country, but the fact that you think someone who speaks differently from you is somehow inferior or contrived, is a bit unnerving. What is not "concise, careful, and wise" about speaking the way you were brought up to speak, the way those around you speak, and loving one's home place? Nothing. They are not mutually exclusive - that is a great fallacy in our nation. I'm proud to be a Missourian, proud to speak like a Missourian, and I have no problem evaluating the ideas people express regardless of how they speak. Looking down on people for the way the speak is elitism, plain and simple.
I'm replying to flame-baiting you idiots, not the other way around. I like how you can say some bigoted piece of shit sentence and when someone defends themselves and their region/dialect/whatever, they are labeled as malicious rabble-rousers. What a fucking failure in moderated discussion.
You are wrong my friend, very wrong. For example, Missourians have plenty of different pronunciations when compared to the North East, the South, California, the other Midwestern states, etc. Here in Missouri, many people say "nookyuler" 9or whoever you want to phoneticize it). We also have pronunciations such as "Da-ad" for "dad," "Missour-uh," and we drop are G's as often as the East and West Coasters use the term "fly-over states." (Another example of elitist BS.) There ain't nothin' wrong with th' way we speak.
I'm not trying to say GW was an intelligent person. (Are any politicians very bright? You'd have to do a lot to convince me.) I'm saying he wasn't an idiot because of his accent. I hate elitist crap like that. And frankly, it is sad you can't see the inherent prejudice and ignorance in statements such as the one we are discussing. It upsets me, but I get some satisfaction when I see arrogant people get intellectually sucker-punched when they underestimate "us poor country folk" and end up showing who is the real idiot. I'm not directing that at you, I'm sure it's just an honest mistake on your part, but again, you have an ill-conceived notion that has no basis in reality.
Right, because people with different accents from you are automatically unintelligent. Elitist bastard! But, I suppose it's OK to insult large swaths of the US population because you hate GW. Hur hur hur. Good one.
A wireless version would make an awesome home theater control device - especially if it could be programmed to morph to match the service you're using at the moment. It would be neat to have it change automatically from a video remote, to a game pad, to audio control w/ EQ, to keyboard for email and social media, to slider for lighting control, etc.
One step closer to the death of our current, inefficient control devices? I like the idea of devices that morph to fit the domain of the program they are controlling. On the other hand, this isn't that much different from a touch-screen emulating a keyboard... probably more sturdy, though.
Hopefully, one more (prototypical) nail in the coffin of windowing systems and carpal tunnel inducing interface devices.
Probably a good thing! I would bet it's just a cookie, but I have no wish to circumvent the rules here. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to figure out how to get around it, but they put it in place for a good reason, I'm sure.
It probably is a good thing, but if it was allowed I wouldn't feel that bad about some tongue-in-cheek moderation plus anonymous raspberrying (all in good fun mind you). I could see it being abused - but it would be pretty sad to commandeer a Slashdot comment section for personal gain, especially since there couldn't be much (personal or otherwise) profit in it at all!
Because we are losing the fabric on which our communities have been based on, and replacing it with an ultra-materialistic future where few ever have to leave their house or interact with people in person, jobs and products become homogenized, and the people who are best in a position to serve their community are unable to because of the artificially low prices of online retailers (which I can only assume will cause economic and social problems when the alternatives to online shopping have been removed - see Wal*Mart, for example).
I'm not a Luddite, and I even use Amazon fairly frequently, and I know this is a bit of a slippery-slope argument, but it is not one without merit. We are destroying our past without coming up with decent alternatives for the future.
You know, if it's not mandatory and someone can actually come up with a non-falsifiable way to do it (hahahaha), that's fine with me. I don't want to give out my "ID" to Slashdot or YouTube, for example, but it would be nice for things like eBay or etsy and other online retailers/merchants. It would also be pretty handy if you had the option to use it on certain sites like Slasdhot or YouTube or FaceBook or your personal/business web page so that it could be searchable and instantly allow you to give some level of confidence to people as to who you are.
Slashdot Mirror
The thing is, "sillycone" isn't a part of the dialects of large parts of the Midwest and South (or any other region), while this particular pronunciation of "nuclear" is.
That's real friendly of you. It's this kind of fraternity that makes America great.
you should re-learn the alphabet and whoever taught you to read should be fired.
But stop insulting me and my neighbors and family!
Unfortunately for your argument, it isn't. It's a mispronounciation that deseparately wants the legitimacy of being viewed as a dialect. Evidence is that George W. Bush didn't have such unusual pronounciations for any other words. If he did, I'd be far more inclined to believe it's just an accent or dialect.
Come down to Missouri, and tell that to the 90% of the population that pronounce it that way. Believe me, it's not because we don't know how to spell it, or because we don't know that people from other regions pronounce it differently. I am guessing you are the sheltered one, if you don't know about the dialects of the states in our nation...
Oh, and PS, it is very much a difference in dialect. Dialect is defined as "A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists." (The American Heritage Dictionary)
You should hear me talk, and you might change your opinion a bit. Ever hear of "Missouri Mud-Mouth?" What I'm trying to say is that the way people speak doesn't make them ignorant, and lumping everyone who pronounces nuclear a certain way together with Bush is a huge travesty. You underestimate the people you are describing.
Language is organic. I find it absurd to think of any dialect as a mutilation - it serves its purpose about as well as any other dialect.
Television dispelling ignorance: now that's one I haven't heard before! It's funny, I meet a lot of people who have trouble understanding people from the surrounding counties and the southern part of the state, or who have trouble understanding certain groups of Black people around here. I don't get it. Every linguistic nuance in speech is as salt to me. And I've never found any group of people with any dialect to be more ignorant than any other, although there are plenty who feel defeated by being put down for the way they speak, and their are plenty who put others down for the way they speak (and believe me, a lot of these people weren't that bright themselves).
Ah, I found your link quite interesting. Very colorful. Here are few from Missouri: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mostone/fun/slang.htm
I was born in Missouri, my family is from Virginia, and I've been all over this country from California to Texas to Massachusetts to North Carolina to New York to Montana and lots of places in between. I love the people of this country, and I wish people wouldn't be so divisive when it comes to those from other regions. It's truly sad. The South, the North, the Midwest, the East, the West all have their treasures and things to be proud of. It's sad that so many people are ignorant of this fact, and use any opportunity to put others down. (I am guessing it comes from some arrogant, deep-seated insecurity, but I am no psychologist.)
Wow. Great modding, you knee-jerk, bigoted fucks. I'd like to say that I have learned about a darker side of humanity today, but sadly it is all too prevalent. It's not even surprising anymore. I just hope people whose wills aren't as strong don't let people like these fucks and the moderators so far tell them they are inferior because of who they are, where they are from, or how they speak. You'd think this country would have learned something from the Civil Rights Movement, the divisive nature of our politicians, our entrenched socio-economic differences, but the larger, abstract concepts involved in Liberty, Equality, Independence, and Community are apparently lost on many, even among the more educated Slashdot crowd. Y'all have truly disgraced yourselves, Slashdot, and those who would call you brother. A shame! You would think we would have gotten past more of this in the last 50 to 100 years, but I guess some people never learn what it truly means to be a free and reasoned person.
arbitrary geopolitical territory automagically awesomer than the one next to it.
You said that, not me. Take pride in where you are from. It doesn't diminish the pride others should feel for where they are from. But, I think you have shown your own bigotry, anyway: What makes American English, or any of its dialects inferior to British English or any of its dialects? Does British English (in so much as it is even a homogeneous set of modes of speech: it is far less so than you are implying) communicate ideas more accurately? (No.) Does it express a wider variety of ideas? (No.) Does it increase more the virtue of those who speak it? (No.) I think you would be hard pressed to find any language in the developed world, and probably even most of the undeveloped world that expresses fewer ideas, expresses ideas less clearly, etc. than any other language. And, I'm going to assume you aren't denigrating Afrikaans for racial reasons. It's a strange example to use, to say the least.
So superficially changing the way you act is not ignorant, because people will have bigoted notions about you? "Ignorant is as ignorant does" is a true statement, but it shows your own prejudice to assume that speaking with a regional dialect is "as ignorant does." Shame on you! Show some pride in your origins!
Like I said, I don't even care about GW and Palin. I didn't and wouldn't vote for them. But it is patently false to call regional dialects "contrived populism." That may be a problem in our country, but the fact that you think someone who speaks differently from you is somehow inferior or contrived, is a bit unnerving. What is not "concise, careful, and wise" about speaking the way you were brought up to speak, the way those around you speak, and loving one's home place? Nothing. They are not mutually exclusive - that is a great fallacy in our nation. I'm proud to be a Missourian, proud to speak like a Missourian, and I have no problem evaluating the ideas people express regardless of how they speak. Looking down on people for the way the speak is elitism, plain and simple.
I'm replying to flame-baiting you idiots, not the other way around. I like how you can say some bigoted piece of shit sentence and when someone defends themselves and their region/dialect/whatever, they are labeled as malicious rabble-rousers. What a fucking failure in moderated discussion.
You are wrong my friend, very wrong. For example, Missourians have plenty of different pronunciations when compared to the North East, the South, California, the other Midwestern states, etc. Here in Missouri, many people say "nookyuler" 9or whoever you want to phoneticize it). We also have pronunciations such as "Da-ad" for "dad," "Missour-uh," and we drop are G's as often as the East and West Coasters use the term "fly-over states." (Another example of elitist BS.) There ain't nothin' wrong with th' way we speak.
I'm not trying to say GW was an intelligent person. (Are any politicians very bright? You'd have to do a lot to convince me.) I'm saying he wasn't an idiot because of his accent. I hate elitist crap like that. And frankly, it is sad you can't see the inherent prejudice and ignorance in statements such as the one we are discussing. It upsets me, but I get some satisfaction when I see arrogant people get intellectually sucker-punched when they underestimate "us poor country folk" and end up showing who is the real idiot. I'm not directing that at you, I'm sure it's just an honest mistake on your part, but again, you have an ill-conceived notion that has no basis in reality.
http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/missouri/missouri.htm
Right, because people with different accents from you are automatically unintelligent. Elitist bastard! But, I suppose it's OK to insult large swaths of the US population because you hate GW. Hur hur hur. Good one.
What is your problem with the touch pad :) ?
A wireless version would make an awesome home theater control device - especially if it could be programmed to morph to match the service you're using at the moment. It would be neat to have it change automatically from a video remote, to a game pad, to audio control w/ EQ, to keyboard for email and social media, to slider for lighting control, etc.
One step closer to the death of our current, inefficient control devices? I like the idea of devices that morph to fit the domain of the program they are controlling. On the other hand, this isn't that much different from a touch-screen emulating a keyboard... probably more sturdy, though.
Hopefully, one more (prototypical) nail in the coffin of windowing systems and carpal tunnel inducing interface devices.
Very good question. Hopefully someone will provide a meaningful answer...
It's not the kind of thing that could look great on a resume at all...
Thanks for not sharing any insight with us though :)
Probably a good thing! I would bet it's just a cookie, but I have no wish to circumvent the rules here. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to figure out how to get around it, but they put it in place for a good reason, I'm sure.
It probably is a good thing, but if it was allowed I wouldn't feel that bad about some tongue-in-cheek moderation plus anonymous raspberrying (all in good fun mind you). I could see it being abused - but it would be pretty sad to commandeer a Slashdot comment section for personal gain, especially since there couldn't be much (personal or otherwise) profit in it at all!
O dammit posting anonymously still undoes one's moderations XD
Woohoo for negative real wage growth in last 40 years!
Does anyone know why this would be a good idea?
Because we are losing the fabric on which our communities have been based on, and replacing it with an ultra-materialistic future where few ever have to leave their house or interact with people in person, jobs and products become homogenized, and the people who are best in a position to serve their community are unable to because of the artificially low prices of online retailers (which I can only assume will cause economic and social problems when the alternatives to online shopping have been removed - see Wal*Mart, for example).
I'm not a Luddite, and I even use Amazon fairly frequently, and I know this is a bit of a slippery-slope argument, but it is not one without merit. We are destroying our past without coming up with decent alternatives for the future.
You know, if it's not mandatory and someone can actually come up with a non-falsifiable way to do it (hahahaha), that's fine with me. I don't want to give out my "ID" to Slashdot or YouTube, for example, but it would be nice for things like eBay or etsy and other online retailers/merchants. It would also be pretty handy if you had the option to use it on certain sites like Slasdhot or YouTube or FaceBook or your personal/business web page so that it could be searchable and instantly allow you to give some level of confidence to people as to who you are.