Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 August 22

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

August 22

Japanese translation?

I'm staying in a dormitory in Japan (Kansai area). Today, when I got home from work, (about 6.30pm) the dorm manager said something that sounded vaguely like go kai ri. He also held his hand up out which looked like he was waving (so I waved back) but I figure he could have been holding up five fingers. I can't figure out if he was trying to tell me something or if he was just saying hello, or what. Google translate didn't help me.

Does anyone have any clue what he meant and how I should have replied?

Thanks. 110.3.247.175 (talk) 09:45, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Search "Japanese hand gestures" in Google or your search engine of choice. Is this a student dormitory? See if there's an orientation manual, a bilingual phrasebook (preferably illustrated). Inquire with the concierge staff whether they could arrange a Big Sibling or similar sort of local hospitality to help you handle the ropes. -- Deborahjay (talk) 10:56, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Okaeri is the shortened form of Okaerinasai and means "welcome back". It is derived from Kaeru - to return. Effovex (talk) 13:30, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Also, I guess the proper answer would have been Tadaima "I'm back" - although normally Okaeri would be given in answer to Tadaima. Effovex (talk) 14:25, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, that makes sense. 110.3.247.175 (talk) 13:55, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

The weather is nice.

In the sentence, "It's a nice weather." , why is the article a necessary? I know that "It's nice weather." is incorrect but I can't explain why. Thank you.203.228.255.210 (talk) 12:24, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

I would says it's the other way round: "It's a nice weather" is not idiomatic. "It's nice weather" on its own is also slightly strange, but people often say things like "there's going to be nice weather at the weekend." The word "weather" usually behaves as a mass noun. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:02, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Andrew is right. There are very few contexts in which you could use "weather" as a count noun - the only one I can think of at the moment is in the idiom "in all weathers" (which is a set phrase where "all" cannot be substituted by other quantifiers). --ColinFine (talk) 13:56, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

As the others have implied, "It's nice weather" is the correct form. "It's a nice weather" is not a sentence native speakers would utter. Marco polo (talk) 14:27, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Google found me this, so maybe there are some dialects where "a nice weather" is possible. Perhaps the questioner could tell us where they saw or heard the expression? AndrewWTaylor (talk) 14:43, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Like Italian-English! "It's-a me, Mario!" MChesterMC (talk) 08:23, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

"'At's-a good!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:03, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

how do you pronounce ɦ ?

Just how do you pronounce [ɦ]? Double sharp (talk) 15:53, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

ɦ has its own article. I can't listen to it, but the sidebar has the sound. Do you need something more? Effovex (talk) 16:48, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

I can listen to the sound file, and if I didn't already know what [ɦ] sounds like, that audio file wouldn't help me at all. Aɴɢʀ (talk) 18:16, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Right on, Angr. That sound file makes as much sense as "voiced glottal fricative". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 00:44, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

Haven't listened to the sound file, but I don't think that [ɦ] can usually be pronounced in isolation -- it's generally just a pronunciation of a vowel with breathiness, but without devoicing it. AnonMoos (talk) 02:25, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

It appears that I have been misled by the description of it as being voiced. :-) I think I'm getting closer...is this the right sound? Because I'm pretty sure I'm following the instruction at Breathy voice and am still not getting that exact sound. For now, trying to imitate that sound is just giving me radicals like [ʜ] (and perhaps [ʢ]). Double sharp (talk) 13:08, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

The pronunciation we have in the article sounds like a stroke-ridden man asking for his tablets or something. Loool. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 13:11, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

Huge LOL! Bonkers! Who recorded that one? I think it's like the h in Spanish. It doesn't have a sound unless it comes with another letter/vowel. Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 18:50, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

Not really, that's orthographical (and I would claim that in hi, hu, it's the vowel that creates the sound, not the h). It's possible to make [h] alone, right? (At least I think I can do that.) If it is, then I see no reason why [ɦ] alone would be unpronounceable, though maybe a vocalic context like [aɦa] might help greatly?! Double sharp (talk) 15:41, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

Pronouncing "[h] alone" is just expelling breath without vibrating the vocal cords. But to pronounce [ɦ] you need to vibrate the vocal cords, and if you're vibrating your vocal cords and expelling breath through an unobstructed vocal tract, then you're pretty much pronouncing a vowel... AnonMoos (talk)`

Plural or not?

• I got some opportunities for part-time job
• I got some opportunities for part-time jobs

Which one is correct? (or both are wrong?)

Based on what English grammar? - Justin545 (talk) 20:03, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

The first one needs to have "a" before "part-time". Put that in, and it's on a par with the second. It depends on the context though. If you're looking for a job for yourself, you'd probably choose "for a part-time job", because presumably you only need one job. But if you're like an employment consultant, you might be looking for as many opportunities as possible to tell your clients about, and then you'd be talking about "for part-time jobs". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:10, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Yes, though I find "some opportunities (plural) for a part-time job (singular)" a bit odd, and would probably say "for part-time jobs" even though I was only looking to get one job. --ColinFine (talk) 20:15, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Thank you guys. I'm always confused by the similar issues. It's sort of empirical and I can't find out the rules at all. - Justin545 (talk) 20:23, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

In the former case you have to add the indefinite article "a" because job is a count noun and the rules say that count nouns generally require an article or a determiner when they are singular.

Re the context, "I got some opportunities for part-time jobs" could imply that you were considering various different jobs, and might even be interested in taking more than one job, although not necessarily, which is basically what Jack and Colin have said. "I got some opportunities for a part-time job" definitely says that you were looking for one job, and had a selection of possible vacancies to choose from. - Karenjc 21:08, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, Karenjc! - Justin545 (talk) 04:40, 23 August 2013 (UTC)