How to read arrow key input in the ANSI way?

[Dik T. Winter]

> > > My words were, IIRC, "terminfo is part of curses". That its
> > > historical origins are separate matters little [and in any case,
> > > i'm not sure it's true. termcap existed independently of curses,
> > > but i think terminfo was developed as part of curses as a
> > > replacement for termcap]

> >
> > Eh, no. If I remember right, termcap was first developed at Berkeley
> > for use with the editor vi and for release in BSD Unix. A later
> > development was curses, built on top of termcap, also for BSD Unix,
> > most games used it... AT&T took curses and expanded it, but at the
> > same time developed terminfo as a replacement for termcap, it was
> > released in System V (or was it already in System III?).

>
> Eh? What did i say that this contradicts?

You said it was developed as part of curses, that is false. I remember
that originally on System V you had to link with *both* -lterminfo and
-lcurses (and on BSD with -ltermcap and -lcurses).

 

[Michael Wojcik]

I think it's common enough that we have to classify it as a dialect
difference. Whether we should encourage those users to change to
facilitate communication in an international forum is another question.

A more interesting question, to my mind, is why this idiom seems to
be common among certain groups of speakers. A little Google
searching found it being used by a (self-identified) native speaker
of Mexican Spanish, and also a suggestion that Spanish speakers may
employ it because of the Spanish cognate "duda", which can be used
idiomatically in this fashion. I'm curious to know whether there's
similar motivation among the Indian users of this construction.

I haven't found any specific claims yet, though, and it's purely
an academic question for me (and I'm a rather impure academic).

I've decided to not do so. I've can understand well enough, so I leave
it alone.

I agree, in the general case, though it may be worth slipping in a
comment sometimes when posting an otherwise topical response. I am
neither a proscriptivist nor a descriptionist, when it comes to
English usage (because I recognize that usage is neither mandated by
authority nor undifferentiated), but I do believe that it may be
helpful at times to politely alert speakers to usage which is not
idiomatic for the majority of their audience.

--
Michael Wojcik (e-mail address removed)

This is a "rubbering action game," a 2D platformer where you control a
girl equipped with an elastic rope with a fishing hook at the end.
-- review of _Umihara Kawase Shun_ for the Sony Playstation

 

[Alok Singhal]

A more interesting question, to my mind, is why this idiom seems to be
common among certain groups of speakers. A little Google searching
found it being used by a (self-identified) native speaker of Mexican
Spanish, and also a suggestion that Spanish speakers may employ it
because of the Spanish cognate "duda", which can be used idiomatically
in this fashion. I'm curious to know whether there's similar motivation
among the Indian users of this construction.

This *might* be because we Indians use "koi shaq?" to mean "any
questions?" ("koi" = any). "Shaq" primarily means "doubt", but can also
mean "question" as in the sentence above.

But I am not sure if that is the correct explanation. I have heard "koi
shaq ya sawal?" (again, meaning "any questions?") used at a lot of places
too, and "sawal" has only one meaning: question. (For the sake of
completeness, "ya" means "or").

-Alok

 

[Keith Thompson]

This *might* be because we Indians use "koi shaq?" to mean "any
questions?" ("koi" = any). "Shaq" primarily means "doubt", but can also
mean "question" as in the sentence above.

But I am not sure if that is the correct explanation. I have heard "koi
shaq ya sawal?" (again, meaning "any questions?") used at a lot of places
too, and "sawal" has only one meaning: question. (For the sake of
completeness, "ya" means "or").

Which language is that? I understand that India has something like 15
official languages. (I think the primary one is Hindi, but I don't
want to assume.)

 

[Paramesh]

Which language is that?
Hindi

I understand that India has something like 15 official languages.
Yes.

(I think the primary one is Hindi, but I don't

want to assume.)
True.


Paramesh.

 

[Keith Thompson]

want to assume.)
True.

<WAY_WAY_OT>
Q: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks only one language?
A: American.
</WAY_WAY_OT>