User talk:Mendel
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Confused? For two days I was known as User:RichL.
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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Angela. 03:36, Mar 27, 2004 (UTC)
Thanks for the neat bookmarklet, very useful. Erik Zachte
Hi Mendel. All edits from RichL have now been reattributed to you. Regards — Kate Turner | Talk 09:05, 2004 Sep 5 (UTC)
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Mancow
Thanks for your help with the Mancow article. The original Regan link was driving me nuts since it linked to a disambig page that had nothing to do with the book. --Viriditas 05:27, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- No problem. I saw it go by in recent changes and was as puzzled as you were as to why it was there, and then had a hunch :-) — mendel ☎ 20:25, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC)
Folk etymology
"Regarding this change (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Folk_etymology&curid=11709&diff=0&oldid=0) -- I'm not sure a couple of those aren't folk etymologies. A misunderstanding of the root of "poll" in "poll tax" changed the meaning of the word in the United States just like a misunderstanding of "cater" in "catercorner" gave "kitty-corner". I agree that "welsh rabbit" doesn't belong but suspect that "welsh rarebit" then does. — mendel ☎ 00:18, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)"
- Hmm, I thought it was folk etymology only when the word itself changes (a modification to the word or phrase), but if it also means that if the meaning of the word changes then I would include that in the definition and put back those examples. (from Special:Contributions/67.180.61.179)
fake etymology/minor edits
Re: your comment: I've been building pages up in small bits, which is an idiosyncratic way to work, but it's resulted in some rather complete and solid articles (see Fender Telecaster). I didn't realize about the preview function. That seems a better way to work.
Apropos fake etymology, there was one factual error (which I changed), and a shortage of verified statements to counter the false ones listed. It certainly does the piece no harm to say that each example is false. I see it as a stylistic decision, and one that I'll take a further look at, but ultimately one that depends on how the piece flows from top to bottom.
By coincidence, I did a quick stub for Clamato today. It somehow grew out of a rewrite for pork rind. -auto movil
Canadian Wikipedians
Hi! You should join the: Wikipedia:Canadian wikipedians' notice board Samaritan 09:48, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) (from somewhere in Ontario; via VfD)
Mendel, we tangle.
Linguists and laymen have different needs and thoughts here. Thanks for sparring, btw. First thing is, the 'Agincourt' ref is super-extra-false. Beyond that, the def. for 'folk etymology,' as distinct from 'fake' etc., is difficult. It's a technical linguistic term.
I'd defer to my linguist pals, but they're scarce since they got their doctorates and scattered, toward jobs. I have to speak as an ordinary gome (q.v.).
Ain't worth a fight, man. We're all looking out to make articles better. One gives, one takes.
Folk/Fake Etymology
I was surprised to find Clamato in your to-do list after I'd just written an entry. A total coincidence. I don't know what else is on your watchlist, but mine is full of musical equipment, aquatic animals, rude words, food, and religious topics. (Many of the pieces I've done are anonymous; I only fairly recently set up an account.)
I'm honestly stumped by that line in folk etymology. It was twisty to begin with, and anything I do to it seems to compound the problem.
Folk and fake etymologies are clearly distinct, but what's the salient difference? Auto movil
With all due respect, Mendel, you're pushing your distinction between folk etymology and fake etymology. You seem to see fake etymology everywhere! Personally, I spent some twenty years studying linguistics and never heard a professor discuss fake etymology. You changed two references to folk etymology that I had introduced to fake etymology (in Georgia (country) and Cimmerians). I don't really care that much, because I'll admit fake etymology sounds more descriptive, although I consider it less scientific and less appropriate to those cases. And, by the way, why the heck does Popular etymology redirect to fake etymology when it is in fact a synonym of folk etymology? Pasquale 01:52, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- All right, I read your reply and, OK, I am convinced. I understand your point. But then, why say fake etymology and make such a big deal of it, as if it were some kind of linguistic phenomenon, when you could simply say "an incorrect etymology" or "a wrong etymology" or "an invented etymology" or "a phoney etymology"? And, by the way, I suspect the majority of etymologies given under List of country name etymologies, List of subnational name etymologies, and other such Wikipedia articles, would fit those descriptions. Pasquale 18:40, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
See my answer to your latest reply on my talk page. Pasquale 01:17, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)
So, Mendel, here's what. As far as Popular etymology is concerned, clearly a lot of people use this term in the sense of folk etymology rather than of fake etymology (see, for example, Anatolia where a clear case of folk etymology is referred to). What you could do is create a disambiguation page under Popular etymology, explaining that it can refer to either folk etymology or fake etymology, and adding brief explanations and links to both. Pasquale 00:23, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Clamato
I have to admit being one of those people who actually like Clamato, but it's a generational thing in that my parents used to buy it. Plus, it's such an unlikely, even archaic sort of product that it's hard not to have an ironic affection for it. One imagines a clam-shucking plant in the '30s that needed to find a use for their vats of excess clam liquid. Or maybe a clam truck and a tomato truck collided one day, and the drivers, after arguing to a standstill, sighed and broke out the juice glasses and celery sticks. If the truth is that someone devised it on purpose, simply thinking it would be a good idea, that's almost too weird to fathom.
Am checking online sources for a cogent linguistic definition of folk etymology. I'll check back if/when I find something useful. Auto movil 00:35, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
PGG
What, did I see you remove my PGG extract?? How unfroody! Thank god I'm on wikibreak. ;-) --[[User:Valmi|Valmi ✒]] 22:36, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Speculation
Hi Rich, I want to make some updates to Speculation and related articles, but a contribution of yours has got me stumped:
- "Speculation is one of three market roles in western financial markets, distinct from hedging and arbitrage."
Do you have a source for that definition of exactly 3 "market roles"? I cannot find it outside of Wikipedia, and I see market roles as being basically "buyer" and "seller". Maybe it's there because of a merge of 3 sources, but I'd like to know if it was ever formalized as such in economic theory. Thanks for any info, and congrats for all your edits. Lawrence Lavigne 07:42, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)
EFnet #perlhelp #irchelp
Hey, you're not mendel from #perlhelp and #irchelp, are you? User:Project2501a
- Yeah, we've met a bunch of times. my nick is Dmi on EFnet :D I'm on #c and #unixhelp along with #perlhelp :D Project2501a 09:15, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Ottawa Wikipedia Meetup
Hey, just a quick note to let you know there is an Ottawa Wikipedia Meetup (http://wikipedia.meetup.com/41/) coming up this Saturday @ 2pm. If you can make it, please drop by the Meetup website and RSVP. If you can't, join up anyway, so you can find out about future Ottawa Wikipedia Meetups! (http://wikipedia.meetup.com/41/) --Spinboy 20:51, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
New Wikiproject
Hi there, just a quick note to let you know that we've started a new wikiproject! WikiProject Ottawa aims to expand the amount of articles in Ottawa, and of the articles that are there, take them from stubs to something worthy of being a feature article. We hope you'll stop by and sign up! --Spinboy 03:46, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)