Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2011 March 23

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March 23

Quarantania

Is the name of Mount Quarantania derived from the Italian "quarantana" (a period of forty days) or from the ML. "quarantena"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by LShecut2nd (talk • contribs) 00:59, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

From the article Quarantania, I'm having a great deal of difficulty understanding whether it's meant to begin with [kw], ordinary [k], or Semitic "emphatic" q. I was under the vague impression that "Quarantania" was a spelling variation of Carantania... AnonMoos (talk) 03:41, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

It must ultimately be from Latin "quadraginta", as Jesus was fasting for forty days and nights in the desert at the time ("quadraginta" is in the Latin Vulgate text). The mountain itself is not named in the Bible, but "Quarantina" probably comes from medieval Italian or French pilgrims/crusaders. Adam Bishop (talk) 04:03, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Japanese recognition of simplified Chinese characters

Is it easier for Japanese people (those who have not studied any Chinese) to glean some meaning from Chinese texts written in traditional characters as opposed to simplified characters? Does it make much of a difference? 86.179.113.221 (talk) 03:50, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

See Simplified Chinese characters#Comparison with Japanese simplification.

—Wavelength (talk) 05:36, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm already aware of those facts, but I'm not sure how much difference it makes in practice to the intelligibility of written Chinese to Japanese speakers. 86.160.222.55 (talk) 12:37, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

"Computer codes"

I've been curious for a long time about the habit of journalists (especially) using the term "computer codes" to refer to computer programs (see e.g. this). If the word "code" is to be used, I feel that the term should be "computer code", and that "codes" is some kind of a mistake, based on a confusion between computer programming and cryptography, or access codes, or something like that. I've never been 100% sure though... What do others think? 86.179.113.221 (talk) 04:08, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Good day. Although opinion and fact blur a bit on this RD when it comes to usage, I'd note: "The reference desk does not answer requests for opinions or predictions about future events. Do not start a debate; please seek an internet forum instead." -- the Great Gavini 05:29, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

If this troubles you then assume the question asks "is this correct?" 86.160.222.55 (talk) 12:39, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

In the 1950s, the process of implementing abstract algorithms into specific assembly-language instructions was commonly known as "coding", and the terms "coding" or "source code" (as a non-pluralized mass noun, however) are still sometimes used. "Computer codes" in the plural would much more often refer to various character sets (such as ASCII, Unicode etc.), rather to software source... AnonMoos (talk) 06:51, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

See Autocode, Autocoder for old programming languages which claimed to do 1950's style "coding" automatically... AnonMoos (talk) 15:25, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

The plural "codes" used quite a lot in scientific circles, especially in fields like physics where they were already programming computers before computer science was an established field. It might even be the case that some journalists picked up the usage from scientists that they interviewed, but I have no evidence for that. 130.188.8.12 (talk) 08:05, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

I'd have to see some examples of this usage, because it is not something I've come across. --LarryMac | Talk 11:51, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

See the link that I provided. 86.160.222.55 (talk) 12:34, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

The Jargon File has a relevant entry. Marnanel (talk) 14:32, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Latin American Spanish and noun plurals

Do words like "ordenadors" (instead of "ordenadores") appear in Latin American Spanish? I've never heard of it, but I'm asking because of this. Nadando (talk) 05:41, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

No way, surely some typo/vandalism?. It is indeed the plural Galician form for ordenador. Catalan has ordinadors. Pallida  Mors 05:55, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

flute mask

Reading about culture of Oceania I came across such item as 'flute mask'. I can't make out what is a flute mask. Flute is a musical instrument. Why does it need a mask? OK. They say it is to prevent it from touching by uninitiated persons. But how can the flute be played with some mask on it? Thank you. 188.35.19.57 (talk) 15:36, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

I think the exact specifics vary from group to group, but often these flutes were sacred, and their usage was reserved for initiations of males. Females, or the uninitiated as you put it, were not only not allowed to touch the flute, they also weren't allowed to see the flute. I'm still looking for a good scholarly overview, but so far all I found were snippets from museum sites. I couldn't even find a description of the flutes or how exactly they were used or played, who played them, what they sounded like, etc. ---Sluzzelin talk 20:02, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Health care/Healthcare

I've seen both used. Even health-care! Using British English, which variant should I use when discussing American health care? 80.213.11.105 (talk) 16:19, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

My advice would be to check your dictionary and use whichever variant it prefers. The concept is the same on both sides of the Atlantic, so you shouldn't use a different variant when referring to American healthcare than you would referring to British healthcare. (Although my preferred variant is a single word, yours need not be.) Marco polo (talk) 17:29, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Alternatively, you could just ask yourself what imbues said dictionary (if "your dictionary" is a meaningful concept for you, given that you may have multiple or no preferred dictionaries) with the authority to prescribe whether a compound word is written as one or not, and choose a spelling you prefer, possibly even the maybe slightly subversive (!) spelling health-care. You may have your own favourite theories on the role of etymology, popular use, books (including dictionaries), the usage of editors in your favourite books, your education, what you perceive to be pleasing to the eye, etc., in writing. -- the Great Gavini 04:54, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

I suppose you could create your own style sheet with your preferred spellings for various terms. Without some kind of guide, you are likely to spell the word inconsistently, which is not the worst thing that ever happened. On the other hand, such inconsistency looks unprofessional or undisciplined. What professional editors do, to ensure consistency and to save themselves the effort of recording their preferences for every term that has more than one possible variant, is to choose a dictionary and defer to it. Ideally, you want to compare dictionaries and choose one that suits you and that you generally respect, but choosing a dictionary and relying on it is not about submitting to authority. It is more about convenience and letting others do some of the work for you. Marco polo (talk) 15:24, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

MEDIUM OF VANASTHALI

IS VANASTHALI ENGLISH MEDIUM OR HINDI MEDIUM? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.64.154 (talk) 17:36, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

According to the FAQ page of Banasthali Vidyapith's own website: "Medium of instruction in school education is mainly Hindi. In Higher Education both English and Hindi are used as medium of instruction." [1] (If I misinterpreted your question, please clarify). ---Sluzzelin talk 19:04, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

It's a relief that Sluzzelin knew what the OP was asking about. I first read the question to be one about a medium called Vanasthali. Astronaut (talk) 04:00, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

There's an article Vanasthali, but it didn't seem to be relevant... AnonMoos (talk)

Jason Zebehazy

I would like to know who this person is. He supposedly is the author of many famous quotes, but does he actually exist? I would like to include one of his quotes in my wedding ceremony and therefore have been searching for some information about him.Lnmuntz (talk) 23:37, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

A Google search yields nothing but a single page of quotation sites, with none of those, at a cursory glance, offering any biographical information about him even where they are structured to do so. Furthermore, all of the quotes I read during that search were unfamiliar to this moderately well read, middle-aged individual, and all seemed rather trite and/or unoriginal in a general sense, such that any averagely intelligent person could plausibly have come up with them, so I personally wouldn't rate them as "famous" - your mileage may differ.

I suspect therefore that the name was invented in order to make spoof entries on one or more of the quotation sites (perhaps as a copyright trap, perhaps for other reasons), and that no such person exists. That said, it is essentially impossible to prove that someone doesn't exist; it is possible, if unlikely, for someone to have no internet presence; and the name could be the pseudonym, invented for these particular "quotes", of a real person better known by their real name. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.201.110.155 (talk) 01:49, 24 March 2011 (UTC)