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Day: December 7, 2016
Why is there no Unicode Italic H?
Because it was already created elsewhere, as U+210E PLANCK CONSTANT ℎ. Unicode will not differentiate between the symbol for the Planck Constant, and a mathematical italicised lowercase h (which is what the Planck Constant is). Every character has a story #20: U+210e (PLANCK CONSTANT) Answered 2016-12-07 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/Why-is-there-no-Unicode-Italic-H/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
Is it possible to invent a word which would describe rule by the loudest?
Not δυνατότερο. One, because that’s Modern Greek, not Ancient; Two, because Modern Greek doesn’t have a distinct word for “loud”, it just uses the word for “strong”, dynatos. (In fact the OP’s form is “stronger, louder”.) Actually looking at Woodhouse’s English-Ancient Greek Dictionary, Ancient Greek isn’t much better. The words given for “loud” are literally: […]
In languages with formal/informal pronouns, do people explicitly tell you to switch pronouns?
Modern Greek speakers tend to squirm when addressed in the politeness plural, unless they are deliberately being high and mighty. The politeness plural connotes negative, not positive politeness to them, and emphasises social distance. Greeks don’t like social distance, they like being friendly and in your face. The exception these days would be officialdom and […]
Can learning Modern Greek be helpful for studying philosophy?
I dearly, earnestly, ardently want you to learn Modern Greek for the pop culture. But don’t do it to help you with Ancient Greek philosophy. You’ll trip over more false friends than you can shake a stick it. Meanings and connotations of words have changed over the millennia, and nowhere is getting the precise connotations […]