Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Language/2006 July 29

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[edit] correct, legal right, right side

In English, of course, the word "right" can mean "correct," "something you are legally entitled to" or "the side opposite the left." I've noticed a similar phenomenon in other Indo-European languages. For example, in Czech, správný means "correct," právo means "a legal right" and vpravo means "on the right." In French, droit means "legal right," while droite means "the right side" (directionally).

What's up with this? -- Mwalcoff 00:03, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

It comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "reg", which refers to correctness. The name of the direction comes from the fact that the right hand has historically been considered the "proper" hand, and if something was "on your right", that implied you were bestowing honor upon it (acknowledging its "rightness"). Note also that the word "sinister" originally meant "left". Long story short, all of these words come from a very old root, and have therefore taken on a variety of loosely-connected meanings. --π! 00:12, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Very adroitly and dexterously put! ;) Grutness...wha? 07:35, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Because of its relation to handedness, the connotation affects non-Indo-European languages/cultures as well, such as Korean. (This must be one of the more FAQ here at the desk.) Wikipeditor 00:59, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Might this have something to do with wiping one's bottom with the left hand? DirkvdM 04:19, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
...and therefore eating with the right. Possibly. It's worth noting that the Chinese logograms for left and right are hand/work and hand/mouth combinations. Grutness...wha? 07:35, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

After several edit conflicts:

This also may come from ye olden days in England when a less important person would have to walk to the left of a more important offical when taking a stroll down the street, as so the important offical would have a much lower likelyhood of having buckets of feces and urine dumped onto him from the windows of buildings above --69.138.61.168 20:29, 30 July 2006 (UTC).
Er, no. HenryFlower 20:59, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
Edit conflicts? Look at the dates. Did you maybe click 'edit' at the top of the page in stead of 'edit' at the top right of this thread? DirkvdM 06:45, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
No, the problem was that I would hit 'save page', and like the impatient fool I was, hit it again after it took more than about 30 seconds to load, somehow this created an edit conflict between me and, somewhat strangely and ironically, myself. --69.138.61.168 07:42, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
Ah, yes, been there myself too. Having a conflict with yourself, is that Multi User Disorder? DirkvdM 07:05, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pre-Columbian or pre-Columbian

Fellow editors: Help me decide between "It was pre-Columbian art" and "It was Pre-Columbian art". Thanks, Madman 01:58, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

The first. The word "pre-Columbian" is not a proper noun. - Nunh-huh 02:00, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Hmm. Neither is "Rococco" or "Ordovician" (or "Precambrian)," but they're capitalized. I think it comes down to a distinction between specific, named concepts and generic, descriptive ones. If you're saying in a general way that the art was from a period before Columbus, use lower-case "pre"; if there is a specific period denoted as "Pre-Columbian", (like "Rococco" or "Pueblo II"), use that". Is there? · rodii · 02:35, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Hrmph. As someone whose ancestors probably included several Ordovicians I protest! Similarly, why isn't it Pre-Cambrian? it's either named after Wales or after the Cambrian, both of which are proper nouns. Grutness...wha? 07:43, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
When "pre-Columbian" is used in an article, it generally is used in the same sense of "pre-conquest" or "pre-Hispanic", rather than to name a specific period. In fact, I'm not sure there formally is one named "Pre-Columbian").
So, it's "pre-Columbian" or "pre-Hispanic" if the words are used to merely denote that "whatever-it-is" was created in the era before Columbus landed. I'll try that. Thanks, Madman 03:21, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
I think Pre-Columbian denotes the specific group of people's art, whereas pre-Columbian means are from before-Columbian.

[edit] poetry

can u tell me about poetry related to the three realms of the earth ie land ,water, air,,and aslo about any rituals or festivals or legends regarding this i'd preffer it to be regarding india .

could you eplain this statement 2 me "thediversity of environment that exists in the world,which supports life"

(This question is being tackled on the Humanities Desk. Please note that double posting will not get you a quicker or a better answer.)--Shantavira 14:21, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
What is this, the eighth time you've posted this question? I agree with Shantavira's first answer, the one that's gone now (lol), but also, it might encourage people to take your repeated posting more seriously if it seemed as though you were making some progress on your own, in the 2-day gaps that have separated the numerous times you've spammed the boards. I don't want to seem mean, I don't want to make you feel bad, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels less like helping you ever time I see this query posted anew, with no apparent work or insight on your part.--Anchoress 14:25, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

the topics that i have sound mindboggling 2 me and im asking these questions after a lot of searching and googling but the results i get r usually rather irrelevant,or else i wouldnt be asking 4 help and please i was not spamming i was just trying 2 get a better reply from u , cuz i thought that u had ignored my query

Do people that write like this realize how illiterate they sound? · rodii · 13:56, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
Unless they are a troll, probably not. This is the English wikipedia, is there a texting wikipedia? It takes me ages to read the above posts and leaves me unlikely (even if I was able) to answer. -- SGBailey 22:52, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
it was hard 4 me 2 read your ?. It make me want 2 smash my monitor. Please lrn to writ in a langage I can undrstand. --69.138.61.168 21:17, 1 August 2006 (UTC)