Language & Grammar discussion

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Streams of Consciousness > Wruth's Writings and Art

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message 201: by Ruth (last edited Dec 28, 2009 11:12AM) (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
My father, who was 7 when he came here from Sicily, never spoke a word of Sicilian or Italian at home when I was a kid. Neither did all my aunts and uncles, at least in my presence. They were products of the day when the melting pot meant to really melt into American culture.

My Italian came from the classroom and my teacher was Florentine. You're right, David, Sicilian is often considered a separate language. Sometimes it seems to me all you've got to do is tack on a bunch of U's.







message 202: by Savvy (new)

Savvy  (savvysuzdolcefarniente) | 1458 comments David wrote: "Lu sicilianu, not Italian, really. "Italian" is really Tuscan, a dialect that is taught in school as the official language of the Italian state. Sardinian, Sicilian, Veneziano, Furlan, among others..."

Va bene...grazie Davide!


message 203: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Nuts, this thread is going nuts. hahahahahha


message 204: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
The only thing worse than an ocker accent is a kiwi one!


message 205: by Carol (last edited Dec 31, 2009 01:10AM) (new)

Carol | 10410 comments I think all accents are endearing so there.


message 206: by Savvy (new)

Savvy  (savvysuzdolcefarniente) | 1458 comments Gabi wrote: "It depends upon what they are trying to say!"

Well Gabi, I've heard some pretty heated Italian when tempers flared and even though every word was Italian, it lost it's charm!


message 207: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
carol (akittykat) wrote: "I think all accents are endearing so there."

One of the first things that attracted me to my husband was his charming little accent. Now, after being married to him for over 36 years, I can't hear it any more!


message 208: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Same here Ruth. Mine had a slight English accent mixed with his Pakistani accent. Now it has disappeared. He went to Pakistan and his relatives told him not to talk when he was out in the markets, because his American accent was so pronounced.


message 209: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Gabi wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Rained like mad during the night, drumming away on the skylight above our bed. But this is what it looks like this morning.

"

That is such a gorgeous view! What are we looking a..."


The view from my house. That's the Pacific Ocean.



message 210: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Throw me a note in a bottle.


message 211: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
This group is all about notes in bottles, but more reliable:-)


message 212: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
Down the hall to the right.....green bedspread.


message 213: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments When I use the computer , sometimes it feels like I am casting a bottle into the sea. I write something and think I save it, only to not find it again.


message 214: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Just as well. Most of us write a lot of mud before se find gold. It's when the gold escapes us that we fish for bottles.


message 215: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Yes that is true. Sometimes I wish I could edit my spoken word like I do my written. I have hoof and mouth disease. It comes and goes.


message 216: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Truth be told, we all forgot stuff in younger daze, too. Was anyone worried about oldtimey disease then? Nah.


message 217: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Forgetfulness comes around more often for me though, I think it is because certain things are no longer important.


message 218: by David (new)

David | 4568 comments A note in a bottle, from a singer whose voice shatters glass?


message 219: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments I thought I should send you a note in a bottle. Or at least a postcard from the edge.


message 220: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
So here on the So Cal coast we're being told to stay off the beaches.

This is what I picked up off the Orange County Register's website:

"The National Weather Service says that the tsunami could add 1-2 feet of height to local waves at about 12:10 p.m., and that a second tsunami wave could do the same about 15-20 minutes later. Today’s wave forecast, before the tsunami, called for 2′ to 4′ waves, with occasional sets to 6′.

The tsunami advisory issued for Southern California says, “Dangerous currents and surges are possible in harbors and bays. This threat is expected to begin around 12:02 p.m. PST today (in La Jolla). Coastal residents are advised to stay out of the water … off the beach … and away from harbors and marinas. Wave heights and currents are amplified by irregular shoreline and difficult to predict. The initial wave may not the the largest. Later waves may be larger. Mariners in water deeper than 600 feet should not be affected."

I probably won't be able to see a thing. I'm about a mile inland, and on a hill. There are pretty high cliffs along the beach near where I live, so while we have a big view of the ocean, we don't see the surf area at all.

There are some offshore rocks in front of our house, I'll be watching the water level on those.


message 221: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments My son and daughter called asking about the tsunami. Have not heard or seen anything yet. I am glad I am not at work today. I am sure the siren is going off. We are about 2 blocks from the beach at work.

My son said there was 12 feet of water on Warner Ave. I can't find it. I don't know what channel he was watching.


message 222: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
Has there been an earthquake in California? I just woke up....


message 223: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
There's been an 8.8 off the coast of Chili, Debbie. There are tsunami warnings all around the Pacific. This includes NZ and Australia. Look out your window, do you see water coming?


message 224: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
I was just catching up on Facebook Ruth.....our local coastal settlement (Castlepoint....45 minutes drive away) was evacuated at 4am our time! That's 5 hours ago....one of my facebook friends has poted this link....
http://www.geonet.org.nz/tsunami/inde...
Looks like there has been some activity at Castlepoint!


message 225: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Aha.

So now we need our Australian Contingent to report in.

It should be hitting here right now. Can't see anything, but it's raining like hell.


message 226: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments We have murky sunlight in Santa Ana. No rain now, we had some earlier.


message 227: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
All clear in Massachusetts.


message 228: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Seems to me someone is not clear at all in Massachusetts.


message 229: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Wait a minute. A rock just washed ashore in Plymouth.

(Kidding. Hope all threats of Sue Nami are greatly exaggerated. They're unpredictable things, I read.)


message 230: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
It's just in case.....it's also called 'butt-covering'. The Chatham Islands got a one and a half metre swell last I heard, but they were still expecting later waves in to be larger.....


message 231: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments We are suppose to have 9' swells this evening.


message 232: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments I am not going to go measure so you will spare everyone's' sensibilities in the Outer Banks and the Inner Banks as well.


message 233: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
What? Hyperbole? Sounds like our weathermen.


message 234: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Southern California


message 235: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
....which is on the western side.....I am awake now!!


message 236: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Can we put Sue Nami to bed now?


message 237: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
I'm not sure what Carol meant by that. When I hear "Outer Banks," I think North Carolina.


message 238: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Don't pay me no mind, I have no mind.


message 239: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Will you join me for tea?


message 240: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Gabi wrote:My husband is so p....d off with this kind of media and Government hype. All kinds of beach activities were called off so an 8" wave could come in. Who would be able to see it?




From now on I am listening to Gabi. She predicts tsunamis better.


message 241: by Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness (new)

Debbie (sardonicprincessofcheerfulness) | 6389 comments Mod
But better safe than sorry....I would probably err on the side of caution if I was an events organiser too....


message 242: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Earthquake! Just now. Baja, near Mexicali. 6.9 Longest quake I've ever felt. Long enough for us to gather in the hall and wonder if/when it was going to stop.


message 243: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Yea I am still shaking. I was home alone it makes it infinitely more scary.


message 244: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
Yes, 6.9 is pretty good-sized. But it was centered over 300 miles from here. It wasn't strong here at all, just long. Very long. Rolling and gentle.


message 245: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments I guess we were on the upswing. We had heavy rolling. My husband was in Mission Viejo. They sent everyone outside .


message 246: by Ruth (new)

Ruth | 16546 comments Mod
NYTimes says it lasted about 60 seconds. That seems right to me. It wasn't nearly as scary as the 1992 Landers quake, though. During that one I lived in Redlands, and I absolutely thought the house was going to break.


message 247: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments Yes that was a bad one. I hurt my back during that one . My upper half went one way and the lower went another way.

Today I was sitting on a rolling chair watching a movie. It was the original Inglorious Bastards and there were explosions and I thought gee my desk is shaking from the movie. then it dawned on me after I started rolling away. My son said people are trapped on rides in Disneyland. I can't get the TV to work without a better antenna.


message 248: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
Lots of earthquakes lately. Is the earth pissed?


message 249: by Carol (new)

Carol | 10410 comments My house is rolling again but not as long. It makes you a bit nauseous. Like vertigo.


message 250: by Ken, Moderator (new)

Ken | 18714 comments Mod
It's probably more fun after a few wines.


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