User talk:Benjaminb

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[edit] Welcome!

Hello, Benjaminb, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome!  -- Zanimum

[edit] Pig Latin

Hey, I started the Template:User pig thing, but I don't mind if you do whatever you want on the templates. I think that having it split up is the right thing to do; however, I'll admit that the whole thing is kind of a joke, so feel free to do whatever you want. (Whatever you do/don't do, please keep the Template:User_pig-0, as there does need to be one for those who don't speak Pig Latin.) Oh-ay, and-ay elcomew-ay to-ay ikipediaw-ay. Matt Yeager 00:26, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Hi Matt, thanks for the note. I think I'll leave it just like it is (keeping the changes I made on Template:User pig), so I'll keep all the others, including Template:User pig-0. Also, I think I'll try putting a link to it on the Wikipedia:Babel page, we'll see if anyone deletes it. Did you ever try putting it on there? Avehay ayay eatgray ayday.  –Benjamin  (talk)  23:19, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
Aha! I see you a'r'dy put it on there. Anksthay Attmay.  –Benjamin  (talk)  23:23, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
Since there's links to all the Pig Latin templates on the Wikipedia:Babel page, I'm going to go ahead and redo the others too, to make them more aesthetically pleasing.  –Benjamin  (talk)  16:22, 21 October 2005 (UTC)
Hey, thanks for the help. (Oh, and by the way--when someone sends you a message and you reply to that, you usually want to respond on that person's talk page, so that they'll easily see your response.) Gain-ay... ank-thay uo-yay. Matt Yeager 01:42, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Category:Texas mountains

Hi Benjaminb. I am recommending the new Category:Texas mountains for deletion. The existing category, Category:Mountains of Texas follows the naming conventions of Wikipedia:WikiProject Mountains, so there is no need for your redirect. The other categories named "State mountains" need to be renamed. Mike Dillon 01:37, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Image:Quercus stellata.jpg

Hi Benjamin - nice pic you added at Post oak, but I'm not convinced it is that species (compare e.g. [1]), I suspect from the very irregular leaf shape it may be a hybrid (possibly between Post oak and Texas live oak). - MPF 00:53, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Hi Ben - thanks for the note; being deciduous doesn't necessarily rule out an evergreen oak as one parent, though it does make it rather less likely. The reason I'm thinking it is a hybrid is the mixture of slightly lobed leaves, leaves with lobes on one side but not the other, etc; this sort of "split personality" is more frequent in hybrids (I've seen it happen in other known-parentage hybrid oaks). Another hybrid option is with Chinkapin oak (Quercus muhlenbergii, which is mapped as being in your area of Texas). Have a go at pushing it through this oak identification key at Flora of North America and see where it comes out. I gave it a go from the photo, but couldn't get a definite answer as some questions need a magnifying glass to look at hairs on the underside of the leaves! - MPF 18:59, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] About Koine vs Modern Greek

You asked me:

Can most speakers of Modern Greek understand Koine Greek, and if so, how different are the two dialects?

First, let me say this. By Koine, most people mean the Greek found in Greek texts (by non-atticizing authors) from around 300 BC to around 300AD. Now, that's six centuries during which Greek was undergoing major rapid changes in phonology, lexicon and syntax.

So we need to be a bit careful when we compare Modern Greek to texts from that period. I believe that 95% of Greeks understand around 90% of any text of the New Testament or LXX Koine.

On the other hand, maybe there is around 75% mutual intelligibility between modern Greek and the early hellenistic texts (hellenistic philosophers like Epicurus, Epictetos etc.).

Most of the modern features of the language where already starting to take place in Koine Greek: a) Disapearance of the dual number; b) Reduced use of infinitival and participial phrase constructions (Modern Greek has no infinitives and a small number of participles per verb) c) Phasing out of the perfect tense (Modern Greek reinvented a new one using the auxiliary verb έχω). d) Phasing out of the optative mood (no longer exists in Modern Greek)

Yes I'd say that gospel koine is for Greeks as Shakespear is for native speakers of English. Maybe, attic greek (4th - 5th century BC) compares best with Chaucer's English (you need more training to understand it). Homeric Greek (7th-8th Century BC) is a harder nut to crack for the untrained native speaker of Greek, but still easier than, say, Beowulf is to the native speaker of English.

So it seems that Greek has changed less in 28 centuries than English has in 10. This is because in Greek, there was always a "proper" way of writing and talking (=the old way) and literacy was more widespread. So there was a lot of conservatism and resistance to change.

I hope this helps.Yannos 05:04, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Koine Greek pronunciation

Χαίρε, In learning Koine Greek, I am trying to pronounce it as authentically as possible for that time period. There is one word which I am unsure of its pronunciation, being υἱός. I am guessing that it would be pronounced [yˈʝos], seeing that the modern word is γιός, but I am unsure about the pronunciation of υι. Also, the system I am using for pronouncing Greek is outlined in this document: [2] (PDF). Does this system seem to be overall accurate? I read in the Koine Greek article that Η had already merged with Ι by the Koine period, but this system pronounces it as [e], distinct from Ι and Υ. Thanks for your help,  –Benjamin  (talk)  17:32, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

I like the system of pronunciation that you use for koine. It looks like a good compromise between accuracy and practicality. I readily understand it when I hear it. As for υι, this diphthong is different than all the others in two ways: 1) It is the only greek diphthong that isn't closing, and 2) It is rarer and only occurs before vowels as in υιός,μυία and notably in the perfect participle (feminine) of active voice verbs such as λελυκυία. I suspect that its second element must have included a glide. As for υιός the alternative spelling υός is found in some texts. It could have been pronounced like IPA [hyijos] in attic and [yijos] in koine. As for Η, the convergence towards Ι was probably very gradual and could not have been completed earlier than 200 AD in my humble opinion. The raising of EI towards I could have started around 350 BC (especially in pre-consonantal position) and this phenomenon left room for H to raise to where EI had been (around 1 AD?). From there, H went all the way up to I. Again, the Koine spans at least 6 centuries from 300 BC to 300 AD and was spoken all around the eastern mediteranean, so there must have been a continuum of possible pronunciations in space and timeYannos 03:32, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Texas Counties map

I saw your request on WP:Maps/Requested maps for a blank map showing the counties of Texas. I whipped up an Texas counties blank map.png using the colour scheme you mentioned. I hope this helps with your articles. --NormanEinstein 21:26, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Help with Translation

Hi, my name is Ricardo Ramírez, I'm from Colombia and I'm working in the article of Cúcuta. Can you help me to translate it from the Spanish Wikipedia?

  • Cúcuta - Spanish Wikipedia - Click [3]
  • Cúcuta - English Wikipedia - Click [4]

Thanks...

Ricardoramirezj ✍ 15:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Untagged image

An image you uploaded, Image:Parkercountyseal.png, was tagged with the {{coatofarms}} copyright tag. This tag was deleted because it does not actually specify the copyright status of the image. The image may need a more accurate copyright tag, or it may need to be deleted. If the image portrays a seal or emblem, it should be tagged as {{seal}}. If you have any questions, ask them at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. -- 13:51, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology of "Texas"

Hi Benjaminb. A long time ago, you added the Caddoan word táyshaʔ to the List of U.S. state name etymologies page. I've found a reference that gives the word as taysha, and I'm sure you're right that the Caddoan word does indeed have a final glottal stop...but I've been trying to add references to the article lately. Do you happen to know where you got that word from? Any reference would be great, if possible. Thanks, and take care, --Miskwito 20:31, 25 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Parkercountyseal.png

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[edit] AfD nomination of Gibberish (language game)

An editor has nominated Gibberish (language game), an article on which you have worked or that you created, for deletion. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also "What Wikipedia is not").

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