#syntax reading

[mtul-c]

Common Combinations and their Usage in C - Part 2

Structure of Unions: Whenever you need different data types to be stored in the same memory. Saves memory space and provides flexibility in handling different data types. Ex: Used for HW configuration where each member in the union corresponds to a specific HW configuration, in protocol parsing, each member in the union can be used to perform specific operations such as parsed, processed etc… on…

[synticity]

the three linguistics papers to read about singular they (morphosyntax)

Bjorkman, B. M. (2017). Singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in English. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics, 2(1). Open access link

Konnelly, L., & Cowper, E. (2020). Gender diversity and morphosyntax: An account of singular they. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics, 5(1). open access link

Conrod, K. (2022). Abolishing gender on D. Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 67(3), 216-241. Open access link

in chronological order because these papers are all basically responding to each other; this papers focus on the (morpho)syntax and semantics of english singular 'they' referring to specific people (like they/them pronoun-users).

if you like posts like this, let me know! i'll give "three linguistics papers to read about (topic)" every once in a while based on interest

[iislak-mewu]

Īslak Mèwu intro post

Shishīkwa prana!¹ Welcome, travellers! I'll try and keep this post friendly and readable to non-linguists, I just wanna infodump about my language lol. This post has gotten a little long though, so apologies! Hopefully it serves well to give you a feel of it <3

¹/ɕiˈɕiə̯kʋa pʁaˈna/ PL~foreigner.PAT welcome

Consider this a formal introduction post to the conlang (constructed language) i've been making for like, over a year now at this point? on and off, mostly off tho lmao. The vast majority of stuff i've made is the grammar (this is very much my favourite area of langs lol, closely followed by the phonetics side of things), and as a result i really don't have many words or actual forms for things lol

Īslak Mèwu² (lit. valley's language) (or just Īsla for short) is a language spoken by the fictional Rūsawlitwā³ people. While the majority of them are a vertical transhumance culture, living in valleys and farming cattle (herders move the flock up and down the mountains in line with the seasons, while the majority of people live permenantly in the village), some groups have moved further afoot and are living in a more settled way in towns and cities in neighbouring regions.

²/iɐ̯ˈsla-k mɛˈʋu/ valley-GEN language (lit. "valley's language") ³/ʀuɐ̯-ˌsaʋli-ˈtˠaː/ cow-herd-AGN (lit. "cow-herders")

I'll start with Īsla's sounds, then give a (not-so-brief) tour of the grammar.

Phonology / sounds

Īsla has the following consonants: (If you don't recognise these symbols, you can find and listen to them here. You won't find ˠ in there, but it makes things sound more "dark".)

Īsla has eight short vowels, /i e ɛ a y ø u o/, along with the long vowels /iɐ̯, uɐ̯, iː, yː, uː, eː, aː/ and the rather distinctive syllabic fricatives /ʝ̩, ɣ̩ʷ, ɣ̩~ɦ̩/. These syllabic fricatives are high pitch, and often realised instead as breathy voiced vowels depending on dialect.

The syllable structure is (C)(C)V(C). Stress is assigned to the last "heaviest" syllable.

I am currently in the middle of reworking the past maybe 100 years of sound shifts, so this is subject to change (especially the vowel system)

Grammar

For the linguistics nerds among us, Īslak Mèwu is a synthetic language that features noun incorperation, a pretty free word order, 3 grammatical genders, split-S alignment, converbs, a shitty verb agreement system that will likely fall out of use in a generation or two (role marking is mostly done by the case system and emphatic pronouns), and TAM is typically marked via auxiliary verbs (tbf these are a lot more irregular so you do get decent verb agreement thru this). I'll explain these features briefly and how they work in Īsla:

Noun incorperation is a process where nouns and verbs are put together (compounded) into one word. We kinda have this in English - think about mountain-climbing, berry picking, horse riding, dishwashing, etc. In Īsla, this is MUCH more common than in English - this is used for basically every conventional activity. Natives talk about dinner-eating, sheet-changing, cow-chasing, dust-sweeping, fish-chopping, etc. These aren't always obvious from the words they're made of though! "whisky-swimming" actually means "to have thrown, to have deliberately lost a game", named for drinking games where people deliberately lose for the aim of getting drunk.

Grammatical gender. Like in French, German, etc. Īsla has 3 of them, and verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and determiners (think English "some", "most", "the", etc) "agree" with nouns in gender. Case markers merge with the gender markers.

Auxiliary verbs are little "helping" verbs that convey grammatical info alongside a more meaningful verb. English has these - "I will do X", "I should do X", "i have done X". Īsla verbs operate in basically the same way, but they come after the main verb, not before:

/niəsɛ sˠɣ̩mˈmuːs-a ɫʋin/ 3M.SG:ERG cook_dinner-NOMIN 3M.SG.IMP "He should cook dinner" /niəsɛ sˠɣ̩mˈmuːs-a tˠʋo/ 3M.SG:ERG cook_dinner-NOMIN 3M.LOC.COP "He is cooking dinner (for a while)" (lit. "He is in cooking dinner")

Case marking: Like in languages like German or Finnish. Little suffixes added to words to show what their role is in the sentence. In Īsla, the cases are the agentive case (do-ers), patientive case (things that have things done to them), genitive case (possessors), dative case (recipients of things, destinations, also used for expressing opinions as in "to me, X is cool"), the locative case (locations), and ablative case (sources and instruments).

Split-S alignment. ohhhhhh boy. this is FAR too complex of a topic to properly get into in an intro post like this, but the short of it that, Īsla just, can't make up its mind about what case to mark Ss with? For ease of writing, I'm gonna use "S" to refer to the only noun in an intransitive sentence (e.g. in "he walks", S is "he", but in "he hits him", there is no S, because this is a transitive sentence)

In Īsla, the main verb chooses what case the S should be in. There are two (main) categories of this:

"Unaccusative verbs" - S is marked with the "patientive" case (the case given to e.g. "person" in "i chase the person") /ˈtaːmu-∅ miɐ̯ˈlij/ person-PATIENTIVE lie "the person is lying down"

"Unergative verbs" - S is marked with the "agentive" case (the case given to e.g. "person" in "the person chases me") /ˈtaːmy jeˈiɐ̯s/ person:AGENTIVE walk "the person walks"

However, this case preference is overridden by most auxiliary verbs. For example /ʀom/, the inchoative auxiliary (="to begin Xing"), demands an agentive S: /ˈtaːmy ˈmiɐ̯lja ʀom/ person:AGENTIVE lie-NOMIN 3N.SG.INCH "the person starts lying down" /miɐ̯ˈlij/ "to be lying down" is typically unaccusative, but the presence of the inchoative auxiliary means that /taːmu/ is marked with the agentive case, rather than the patientive case as in the earlier example.

On the other end of that, /xe/, the past tense auxiliary, demands a patientive S: /ˈtaːmu jeˈiɐ̯s =xe/ person-PATIENTIVE walk =3N.SG.PAST "the person walked" This is the opposite thing - "walk" suggests an agentive S, but /xe/ overrides that.

The actual system is ofc more complicated than this, but this is enough for a quick overview.

I'm gonna stop talking here, before I make a post so long no one will want to read it, but there's absolutely more posts coming! …when i can fit them in between coursework and the adhd distractableness ofc. Hopefully this has given you a decent feel for the language, and please send asks about stuff if you're interested!! (i hope i've explained things ok) There's a lot I didn't touch on here, and a lotta detail I've left out, and I'd love an excuse to talk more about this stuff <3

[lemongogo]

[beauleifu]

So you've written a one-shot of flirty!reader X Syntax, but what about a reverse? Syntax is very flirty and makes semi-suggestive remarks. Meanwhile, the reader is bright red the whole time and has no idea how to respond to all this intimate attention. Maybe Syntax pins the reader to the wall, presses his body close, tickling their neck with his hot breath.

so its taken me literally forever to get back to this request and im SO sorry but! if you still check out my blog you'll find it here :3

Probably shorter than my normal oneshots but its midnight and i finished all my duties for the night~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FLIRTY!SYNTAX X READER

Lego Monkie Kid

Context: Boredom should be a crime at this point. Huntsman is out on a mission, and you'd set a table for two to welcome Syntax's return from his own personal errand. Despite your anticipation for another innocent night of soft glances and sweet nothings, your idiot has something else in mind~

TW: Suggestive, plenty of flirting/fluff

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

It honestly looks perfect.

You take a step back to admire the setup; a cheesy yet simple table set for two, with an elegant tablecloth and a few candles oozing molten wax. Anyone would appreciate the effort - you'd even taken the time to fold the napkins elegantly enough to elevate the look of your tablescape.

Perhaps it's a testament to how much you'd missed your idiot. Sure, Syntax's absence had only spanned 10 hours (yes you were counting), but you were clingy like that.

No, too clingy was impossible. Syntax is just as affection starved as you are.

Sighing in reverie, you settle on one of the chairs, chin resting on your palm. Absent fingers drummed on your cheek, and you let yourself daydream for a minute. The spider gang really had to decide that today, of all days, was the prime time to complete some missions they'd been avoiding. Huntsman finally went out to trade with a partnering demon; he'd been talking about it all week, leading you to chaste him for procrastinating. Or perhaps it was merely a cover story and he's currently visiting Sandy at the moment.

The Spider Queen, Zhizhu, and Goliath, had both taken their respective adventures on opposite sides of Megapolis. You knew better than to pry in the Queen's affairs, but Goliath had decided to restock on supplies like food and toiletries.

Simple things. You appreciate him for that dearly.

Yes, it's your money he's spending, but it's time out of your day that he relieved you of, so perhaps the financial aspect of it doesn't matter.

Ah, and that brings you to your dearly beloved scientist.

Syntax didn't want to go, let's get that out of the way. But Zhizhu convinced the spider demon to pay his old lab a visit in order to collect some old blueprints and research documents to further aid in his current projects. Those of which are too important to divulge with you, yet it's nothing personal.

He said he'd be back soon.

Instinctively, you glance towards the clock, the dull ticking a constant background noise in the apartment. It's soothing- a sound you know you'd miss if you had to move out.

6:45p.m..

You're about to let out possibly the deepest, most disappointment sigh known to man, when the jingle of keys fills the air. Perking up like a dog who'd scented nearby prey, you glance towards the apartment door, watching as it swings open to reveal a slumped character dressed in a familiar black lab coat over a dark turtleneck.

Gods, if you had a tail, it would be wagging.

"Syntax!" You gasp, sliding off the chair to approach him. The scientist's head tilts up, sharp eyes scanning the vicinity before landing on your figure. The way he softens and relaxes at the sight of you is something you'll forever cherish.

"Evening, darling." The gentle murmur washes over you, causing butterflies to swell in your belly. He accepts your hug, raising an arm to wrap around your shoulders, pulling you in as you fall into his side hug. "Missed me, I gather?" Syntax hums, eyes twinkling with amusement and fondness. He looks tired, if the shadows under his eyes have anything to say about it, but otherwise all right. It's a sight you never, ever want to become unfamiliar. Fuck, it's almost shameful how addicting his presence has become.

Huffing, you nuzzle his chest, content to burrow further into the warmth of his embrace, breathing in the ashen, vanilla scent that clings to his clothes, and a smell that's all uniquely his own.

"Yeah. Everyone was out today which gave me nobody to pester and nothing to do."

"Oh, how dulce. Aren't you a little ray of sunshine."

"A lonely ray of sunshine," you huff.

Syntax catches the whine in your tone, but doesn't comment on it. Rather, he closes the door behind him with a soft click! and turns his attention to you. The faint, dull thump of his bag being set down on the couch reaches your ears before both his arms encase your smaller frame. As he rests his chin atop your head, an uncontrollable smile filters the weariness out of your expression.

"Long day?"

The scientist merely hums, a soft rumble that vibrates in his chest. Lazy hands trace mindless patterns on your back, following the curve of your spine and giving you shivers. Oh, that's not fair. "Very long. Had an encounter with an old lab partner."

"Oh?" You cock an eyebrow, tilting your head to free your face. Soft eyes explore his visage of tired affection, the way those luminous, acid green eyes roam your features. It's tempting. "Do tell~"

Syntax quirks a brow. His grip tightens around you momentarily, his voice dipping a few octaves. "They were an ex, mind you."

Well. He could've told you that up front.

Head tilting, you knit your brows together and frown, deciding to play along. "Okay, don't tell."

"What if I want to? They were such a charmer, I distinctly remember the look in their eyes upon glimpsing the hickey you left on my neck," Syntax continues despite your words. Suddenly, his grip on you becomes too tight to wriggle out of. Gods, he knows you too well, knows that this is the exact moment you'd try to disentangle yourself from him, but not this time. With a soft chuckle, Syntax lets his head fall forward, dipping into the curve of your neck. "Their jealousy almost rivals yours at best, my love."

You manage a soft squeak, eyes flicking wide, body instinctively trying to slip away but to no avail. His hot breath on your neck sends shivers up your spine, yet your head tilts to the side despite your best efforts to hold firm.

"Oh?" You whisper, fingertips beginning to tremble, and you grip his shirt tightly. "Mocking me, are you?"

"Would you rather I praise you?"

A gentle kiss is pressed to your neck. The feeling makes your heart leap right out of your chest, the warmth of his lips churning up a rapid rubatosis within your mind.

You can hear your own heart pounding; surely Syntax can by now, too.

At your lack of response, Syntax lets out a dark, thoughtful hum. Slowly, he guides you backwards, hands sliding down your spine to settle firmly on your hips. When the hard surface of the counter presses against your back, reality comes crashing down on you and your thoughts return. Messy and scrambled, heated and intense.

He'd gotten to you.

"I'd rather you shut up-" You manage briefly, attempting to push him away. Yet all you manage to do is press a hand to his chest, and that inclines Syntax to raise an eyebrow.

It seems he's contemplating on having mercy. His thumbs absently stroke your hips, lidded eyes scanning your expression. A frisson of heat hits you hard and fast at the intimate behavior. In the end, though, the smirk on his face is answer enough, and he leans down so he's eye level with you.

Gods, he's insufferable. "I could shut you up with a kiss?" Syntax offers.

At this point, you can't make eye contact. "Syntax-"

"Shh." Syntax gently presses his forehead to yours, eyes never leaving your face. It's quiet. Until he rumbles, "You're so lovely, darling. Just let me look at you."

At that, the breath just leaves you. (Y/N) is gone, the lights have turned off in your mind. He'd struck you dumb with words alone. Clearly he's acknowledged your attempt at an intimate dinner, but the look in his eyes tells you he has other plans. A soft smile dawns on his lips, ones that you ache to kiss, to run your thumb over. But he's being so affectionate and flirty that your mind is short circuiting.

Syntax is taking his damn time. Acid green eyes scanning your face, full of nothing but adoration and love for you. And yet, at the same time it feels like he's teasing you with the silent intimacy. As if he knows how much this is affecting you.

Yeah. The soft smirk plastered on his face let's you know he's absolutely relishing in your awkwardness.

"You're not breathing."

The comment is airy, casual. His eyebrows lift.

You grimace, expelling a sharp breath through your nose, refusing to back down now and avert eyes. Syntax catches this, and gladly accepts the challenge.

He hums, lifting a hand to trace the shape of your jawline, tilting your chin up. "There we go. So quiet, little bird. Won't you sing?" The scientist leans down, ghosting a kiss against the corner of your lips, letting it linger. You can feel him smile against your cheek, relishing in the way your breath hitches. You push, and he only pulls you closer.

"I made- um. I made dinner," you whisper, a weak attempt to change the topic.

It's almost a defense mechanism when you can't handle intimacy.

When you can't handle receiving affection.

Syntax pauses, eyes sliding to the table, and he nods briefly. "I noticed," he mutters, his tone still deep. Almost hungry- but not for food. His hands slide lower, hooking under your thighs, and in a swift moment he lifts you up to sit on the counter.

"Wha- Syntax!" You yelp, instinctively wrapping your arms around his neck. He chuckles, loving how sensitive you are.

"Yes~?"

He's teasing.

Again.

Your brow furrows as Syntax nuzzles into the crook of your neck once more, littering the soft skin with little kisses and nips. He's being so gentle with it, too, in a way that makes it impossible to reprimand him. Your lips part to deliver a sharp retort, but suddenly he murmurs against your neck, sweet nothings that melt you to your very core.

"Missed you so much." A kiss is pressed to your jawline. "Can you imagine? Putting up with a past lover, wishing I had you in my arms..."

Syntax's hands tighten around your hips reflexively.

You gasp softly, eyes fluttering shut due to sheer overstimulation. Gods, your face is so red it burns. Words are useless; if you tried to speak you'd only embarrass yourself. Only his name is coherent on your tongue.

"Syntax . . ."

He purrs against your neck, pressing butterfly kisses all the way up to your lips. Pulling away, Syntax smirks. "Yes?"

You stare at him, cheeks burning impossibly red. "Nothing."

Those acid green eyes narrow to slits.

No, he missed you today. He wants your vulnerability, your softness. Your sloppy attempts at intimacy while he smothers you with affection he knows you struggle with handling. But he'll learn you out of your inexperience, Syntax is stubborn like that.

"Mm. Tell me more," the scientist chides, coaxing another soft gasp from your lips as his hands slide up to your waist. He loves having you up on the counter. You're more accessible that way.

"Or would you rather I shut you up with that kiss," he adds, smirking.

He's giving you a way out.

Swallowing, you nod desperately, leaning forward to capture his lips in a kiss- before Syntax leans back. Dark eyebrows shoot up, and he feigns disappointment.

"I believe my little songbird forgot how to ask nicely," he murmurs, waiting patiently.

Your eyes widen further, cheeks darkening to a rosy hue.

Oh, fuck him.

Absolutely fuck him.

He's not playing fair and he knows it.

"Syntax, please," you whisper, needing this. Needing a break from his teasing and tormenting, craving his touch more than anything. Being vulnerable can come after, surely. "Please just kiss me."

The spider demon waits for you to say the magic words, his expression softening. That signature smile tilts his lips upwards, and Syntax lets out a devious chuckle. Surely he won't make you suffer any longer, would he? He's merciful.

Indeed he is. Your breath is stolen as Syntax leans down, capturing your lips in a gentle, yet passionate kiss. Arms slide around your waist, holding you firmly against his larger frame as he tilts his head, chasing your lips, the gentle heat twisting your gut into a molten pit of pleasure. In that moment, you allow your eyes to close, a shaky sigh slipping out between kisses as you lose yourself in that moment. Dinner is utterly forgotten, yet part of you doesn't even care.

He's so nice, so warm, so perfect. The way he hums darkly against your lips sends sparks through your body like nothing else.

You could kiss this man forever. Your man.

Your idiot.

[hemaris]

i am once again asking you not to dunk on my english in the tags when u reblog something from me. or actually go ahead because i can't stop you but a little bit of awareness of the fact that we can't all be native speakers would be nice 😔✌️

[braininatankwithalaptop]

Fun fact about chants of sennaar,

If you replay the game on language settings that you don't speak you unlock translation puzzles 2.0

[coquelicoq]

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs fleuri du pavillon pâle et multiple des questions que l'on n'ose poser et qui attendent pour tomber le souffle du plus courageux. ("Le Café des Chasseurs", Daniel Boulanger)

my experience reading this sentence:

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs

makes sense. this is a full sentence.

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs fleuri du pavillon pâle

okay, maybe this makes sense? the silence particular to conspirators [which had] blossomed from the pale pavilion? kind of weird though...maybe it's related to the next part instead.

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs fleuri du pavillon pâle et multiple

what

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs fleuri du pavillon pâle et multiple des questions

WHAT????

richard coward translates this as

Beneath the pergola, convolvulus-like, the peculiar silence of the plotters spread over everything and over the six invalids, and the many questions that no one dared utter, and which waited to be asked for the breath of the bravest amongst them, fluttered above them like as many pale flags. (New Penguin Parallel Text Short Stories in French, p 115)

he also has an endnote after "courait" which reads

The subject of this verb is le silence particulier. Boulanger uses the inversion to convey stylistically the all-embracing secrecy of the meeting.

this is making me cuckoo. obviously the subject of courait is le silence particulier. what else could it possibly be!! that's the least confusing thing about the sentence!

what is actually confusing is everything that happens after le silence particulier. fleuri is a past participle which i would think is acting as an adjective because there's no auxiliary. what's it modifying? silence? are we saying [le silence [particulier des comploteurs] [fleuri du pavillon pâle]]? and where is the pavillon pâle coming from? this is the first use of the word pavillon. the translator takes it as figurative language, which maybe it is, but i can't figure out what it's doing in the sentence because...

what the fuck is going on with multiple? if it's an adjective modifying pavillon, then shouldn't it (and pavillon!) be plural? like by definition?? the translator has clearly interpreted it this way by the inclusion of "many pale flags". however, i originally interpreted pavillon not as flag (flags have not been mentioned in the story at all so far) but as outbuilding, because on the previous page the pergola was described as having "murs aveugles" which the translator thought was odd because pergolas don't have walls, let alone windowless ones, so he thought maybe it was referring to an outbuilding. also, if multiple is somehow modifying pavillon despite the fact that they're both singular, everything up to and including multiple is a complete sentence. what is des questions and everything after it doing? that's a completely new noun phrase. what verb phrase is it part of?

at one point i was thinking, could multiple be a verb? but it would have to be a verb in the 3rd person singular present indicative (or i guess subjunctive), so it can't parallel courait. there are present indicative verbs in this sentence, but they're both in the subordinate clause after "des questions". the subject would either have to be le silence (which doesn't make sense because courait also has silence as the subject and is in the imparfait) or le pavillon, which doesn't make sense because there's an et in between pavillon and multiple.

i can't say the translation is incorrect because i don't understand the original sentence. but if i start from the translation and try to work backward, the biggest problem i run into isn't "many pale flags" (maybe le pavillon pâle et multiple could be a plural noun phrase stylistically?) but rather "fluttered". he's added a completely new main verb that doesn't exist in the original. and at first i was assuming that he was getting fluttered from fleuri somehow, but i can't make that make sense either semantically or syntactically which maybe is a skill issue, i don't know!!

if we try to line up the correspondences between original and translation by color:

Sous la pergola courait en liseron sur toutes choses et sur les six infirmes le silence particulier des comploteurs fleuri du pavillon pâle et multiple des questions que l'on n'ose poser et qui attendent pour tomber le souffle du plus courageux.

Beneath the pergola, convolvulus-like, the peculiar silence of the plotters spread over everything and over the six invalids, and the many questions that no one dared utter, and which waited to be asked for the breath of the bravest amongst them, fluttered above them like as many pale flags.

it does seem like fluttered and fleuri have to be related somehow. maybe fleuri is actually supposed to be fleurit (most of the story is in the passé simple)...but if des questions is the subject, it would have to be fleurirent because questions is plural. and it still seems pretty weird not to have a conjuction in the french (he's added "and" in the translation). and where did the "above them" come from in "fluttered above them"? i am losing my mind. what am i missing.

[exteenpopstar]

i don't like to do a lot of doomsaying about education but "whole language" approach to reading (which started in the 90s when i was in elementary school - i owe most of my reading/decoding ability to my dad teaching me pre-public school) replacing phonics is very scary and angry-making to me

[chicago-geniza]

Still need to figure out what makes this particular fanfiction so unsettling, so uncanny. It's like Patricia Highsmith spoke English as a foreign language and then wrote 85k of penetrating psychological prose about a minor character from Downton Abbey

[xuexishijian]

Multiple uses of 你

Aside from its normal use as the second-person pronoun, Mandarin 你 has several other meanings it can take on, depending on the context.

Normal (propositional) use: 你 refers to the addressee

我好像见过你。 'I seem to have seen you before.' (Biq 1991: 308)

Impersonal use: Doesn't refer to the addressee, but to a generic person (English and many other languages have this as well)

那些小孩子恼得叫你不能专心做事。 'Those children make such a noise, it makes you (me, one) unable to concentrate on work.' (Biq 1991: 309)

Speaker-oriented use: The speaker uses 你 to refer to themself or to a group associated with the speaker (note that the reverse situation can occur with 我 referring to the addressee)

Context: An actor discusses his experience with a director 他每次比如说我在演的是手，他会跟你讲这个应该怎么样。 'He gives comments when I am acting, he will tell you (me) how it should be.' (Hsiao 2011: 805) (Note the switch from 我 to 你: The speaker is inviting the listener to put themself in his situation.)

Metalinguistic use: Not used as a pronoun at all, 你 calls on the address to pay attention to the speaker's next point

Context: A and B are talking about the importance of education A: Once education is developed many more doctors can be trained. Uh, this is one point but if not, ah? B: This is medical education. A: 就是医药，对吗，你整个儿的学校也多了，诶，上小学上中学的人都多了，那么上医学院的人也多了。。。 A: 'Just medicine, surely, <NI> the number of schools on the whole increases, eh, the number of people going to grade schools and middle schools increases, then the number of people going to medical schools will increase, too...' (Biq 1991: 314-5)

I just think it's neat how this little pronoun can serve a variety of purposes, and it really goes to show just how creative speakers can be with the tools available to them in their language. I recently saw a presentation by a fellow grad student, Tian Xinhe, who formalized these uses of 你 from a theoretical syntax perspective. If anyone's interested in more details about that, I'd be happy to talk more. :) References & further reading:

Biq, Yung-O. (1991). The multiple uses of the second person singular pronoun ni in conversational Mandarin. Journal of Pragmatics, 16, 307-321.

Hsiao, Chi-hua. (2011). Personal pronoun interchanges in Mandarin Chinese conversation. Language Sciences, 33, 799–821.

史金生 & 王璐菲. (2022). 虚拟对话与立场构: “你”在互动中的移指用法 [Virtual dialogue and stance interpretation: The reference shift of "ni" in interaction.]. 中国语文, 6, 671–683.

Tian, Xinhe. (2025, March 28-29). The multi-functionality of the second person pronoun in Mandarin Chinese: a study on syntax-interaction interface [Conference presentation]. CHAMP3, Barcelona, Spain.

[lyrebirb]

I didn’t study until 5 pm thinking there were seven chapters…there’s 15…….exam is tomorrow

[lucapizzelles]

There were some mistakes in the original post which @sixteenthtryry pointed out, so I've edited this a bit! (a lot of the analysis was based on a small grammar thing that i misheard so :,,,D but still fun to me)

(Okay I spent like half an hour trying to find a specific post because brunosaderogatory made a post about how the Italian subs for Luca are different from the Italian dub, and also that the Italian subs are done by AI while the dub is actual human translators, but I can't find it. So jsyk that's the inspo for why-)

I've been transcribing the Italian dub for Luca and I noticed some really silly things already, but one in particular made me laugh/eyebrow raise/"jesus christ, Daniela."

In the lunch scene at the beginning of the movie Daniela says (parentheses are direct-ish translations (hence why it may seem a bit choppy). Disclaimer Italian is not my native language + I'm not super good at it, but I have some Spanish background + a friend who IS good at Italian that helped me translate):

English: Nope, nope! The end! Shut it down! [...] Well, the curious fish gets caught! We do not think, discuss, contemplate, or go anywhere near the surface. Got it?

Sub: No! No! Fine! Dacci un taglio! [...] Beh il pesce curioso viene pescato! Qui non si nomia, invoca, contempla, o sfiora mai e superficie. Intensi?

(No! No! The end! Give it a rest! [...] Well, the curious fish gets caught. We do not name, invoke, contemplate, or ever graze the surface. Understood?)

Dub: No! No! Fine! Dacci un taglio! [...] Sì, pesciolino curioso, finisce** in padella! Qui nessuno nomina, brama, invoca, contempla, o sfiora mai e superficie. Intesi? 

(No! No! The end! Give it a rest! [...] Yes, the curious fish finish in the pan! We do not name, invoke, yearn, contemplate, or ever graze the surface. Understood?)

under the cut for a crazy syntax analysis

**(said small grammar thing that I misheard, under the cut is analysis of if she had said "finisci" instead of "finisce," where it would have translated to a more direct "you" instead of being more general.)

A couple things I want to point out:

The sub is obviously a much more direct translation from English. Which is why the dub is important, there's certain nuances that non English speaking Italian readers of the sub wouldn't catch. And vice versa with a non Italian speaker reading English subs of the Italian dub. Namely, and you probably already saw it:

Daniela straight up tells Luca, directly speaking to and about him, that he, the curious fish, will be put into a pan if he goes near the surface. lmfao.

English has what's called a "generic you," which you're probably implicitly aware of, just maybe didn't there's a term for it. English speakers like to replace saying "one" (as a pronoun) with "you." I asked my friend Alex about this, if Italian has a way to distinguish this "generic you," and they do and it's the normal way of saying it:

my friend (shoutout): "The 'understood' you is called the 'impassive si' in Italian. ie: 'you (understood/generic) don't eat eggs with ketchup' -> 'non si mangia le uova con ketchup.' The Italian translates DIRECTLY to 'one does not eat eggs with ketchup.' The way it's formed is by just putting 'si' in front of the lui/lei conjugation of whatever the verb is. (me: so they have a way of distinguishing it? what's more common?) The 'you' thing is a translation thing specifically for English people. When talking specifically to someone you use 2nd person conjugations. When talking about everyone or the "understood/generic someone" you use 'si' + 3rd person singular. The way we say 'one' in English, which seems too formal/isn't used often, is the exact opposite in Italian, essentially."

TLDR: Italian has a specific way of saying the "generic you," like how English has the pronoun "one," which is primarily used above saying "you (generic)."

In an informal setting like at a family lunch, Daniela would not be using a "generic you." There is a specific way to say "one will finish in the pan" and she doesn't say that. As my friend put it:

The use of "finisci" is specifically saying "YOU finish." It's the present, 2nd person tense of finire (to finish). In English, she just generally talks about any fish that is curious being "caught." The curious fish is implied to be Luca, but she doesn't really say it is.* The audience, understanding context, just picks that up, but if you (one) were a robot, one might not. In Italian she uses 'curious fish' as a title for Luca specifically, she is talking to him directly, the curious fish is EXPLICITLY him. Even a robot, lacking contextual skills, would get that, given the nature of the language and syntax used.

This whole thing is super instinctual, and we don't necessarily think about it when speaking or comprehending language. BUT it is a very fun thing from a syntax analysis/language localization perspective.

* also, it's a play on the proverb "curiosity killed the cat." Italian doesn't have this saying afaik, and if it has a similar one, then the translators chose not to use it. (unless the pan thing IS the Italian version, but iunnow, I doubt it, considering context)

And finally, a PAN?? Instead of just a generic "caught," she straight up tells him they'll eat him. damn.

She also specifically adds "yearns" when listing the things they don't do about the surface, something not present in neither the English version NOR the subs (of course). I just found that cool and silly and funny.

Sorry if I drilled in the finisci thing too much it's just like. HA that is so brutal. I love it.

[beauleifu]

Syntax: *looking in the mirror* Alright. Today, we're going to get out shit together.

Y/N: *walks in, waving* Sup?

Syntax: Goddamnit.

[stop-the-play]

> (Explore) "The remains of my meal?"

Yes. You take what is useful to you and leave the scattered remnants for me to weave into my being. Shards of glass on the cutting room floor.

I do not blame you for it. It is in your nature.

This one is exhaustion. It sought only life, and the universe told it life was the one thing it could not be allowed to possess. Whatever you gain from this, I am sure it will be an advocate for you.

Do not mourn it. It knew the freedom it desired, if only for a moment.

> (Explore) "What happened to the fairy? Can I bring it back?"

I'm sorry. There are some changes that cannot be undone, and some tears that can never be mended. This is not a place that is welcoming to what it was. The moment you brought it here, it was going to unravel.

I promise that it no longer hurts.

> (Explore) "Is this the end of the world?"

It is the end of something. I do not think it is the end of everything.

> (Explore) "What are you?"

I am scattered seeds in an empty bucket. What are you?

> (Explore) "Scattered seeds? What do you mean?"

Nothingness in potentia. A void waiting to be filled. I wish to be more.

Choices:

"What do you think I am?"

"I don't know what I am."

"I'm a person."

[pyjamacryptid]

I’m trying soooo hard not to rant to my friends about unfortunately common writing conceptions but I remember that I was once studying to become a literal editor, so I feel justified for a second, and then I’m back to staying my hand because this soap box feels like a face reveal! The face of pretension!!!! Lmao!!!