By Numbers, Conversations

CalifJim wrote:I read somewhere that Mario Pei, the linguist, tried to learn a different language every year. He supposedly claimed that Vietnamese was the most difficult. CJ I disagree with the linguist Mario Pei not because I am a Vietnamese. It is because I have seen, in my...

SHALL AND WILL IT is unfortunate that the idiomatic use, while it comes by nature to southern Englishmen (who will find most of this section superfluous), is so complicated that those who are not to the manner born can hardly acquire it; and for them the section is in danger of being...

Analyse the formality of the article in SCMP It is indispensable for us to use an appropriate style when writing. There is no doubt that formal style should be practiced for newspaper as objectivity and impersonality are important. South China Morning Post is one of the most prevalent...

I agree completely with Nona. There's no difference between the expressions at all from the person who answers the "wrong number" unless the conversation continues. If you are the caller, you may say "Oh, I'm so sorry. Can I confirm, did I dial 123-456-7890?" You may hear "Yes, but there's no...

Thank you, Mr. M. In your answer you said "the post-colon portion elaborated the number of books on chaos theory" in regard to the following example sentence: We've had streams of books on chaos theory: no fewer that tweleve since 1988. My one possible foible is the fact that I try read the...

Don't drop the exercise on my account! It's quite possible that I am the victim of an occupational hazard: In my education in math and sciences and in my jobs in finance systems, I was usually in environments where everyone was continually abbreviating by dropping the "and"s, just because...

There are an infinite number of shadings between what you call a true "ch" and a distorted "sh" that sounds like "ch", so I think it's counterproductive to go down this path. Each utterance of these combinations is slightly different depending on the temporal spacing of the components t...

Hi, Further to our telephone conversation yesterday, please find the revised document for your reference. The quantities have been revise from 500pcs to 1000pcs and also the lot number added as per your requested. Please confirm the schedule to us. Further to our telephone conversation...

Further to our telephone conversation yesterday, please find the revised document for your reference. The quantities have been revise from 500pcs to 1000pcs and also the lot number added as per your requested. Please confirm the schedule to us.

Hi all,I have read this thread with interest as I am of British origins doing a PhD into Taiwanese students in the UK. I spent 2 years in Taiwan and 1 year in Mainland China researching this problem.I think one of the most obvious and disturbing points about this entire dialogue (aside from the...