<MSGID_1=3A153=2F716.0_22950ee1@fidonet.org>
From: alexander koryagin <koryagin@erec.ru>

Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 05.09.2013 23:52


 AH>> So where did these people buy it & who do they  know  who  owns  a
 AH>> truck/lorry? :-)

 ak>> Well,  they probably ordered it at some round the  clock  Internet
 ak>> shop. ;-)

 AH> Could be.  But while you know when the piano was delivered,  do you
 AH> know when it was ordered?  By my reckoning a  person  has  "bought"
 AH> something as soon as they've ordered it and/or agreed  to  pay  for
 AH> it.... :-)

   I agree that such a piano buying sounds not very  natural.  But  with
time passing it will sound better. In future, people will be able to buy
pianos like pizza, when delivery takes 10 minutes. ;-)

 ak>> Second,  IMHO,  a piano has a clear meaning -  a classic  acoustic
 ak>> piano.

 AH> That was the original definition,  and until fairly recently it was
 AH> the only one.  My (2001) OXFORD CANADIAN DICTIONARY also  includes,
 AH> however,  a second definition:  "an instrument operated in the same
 AH> way and producing the same tone by electronic  means".  I've  heard
 AH> similar usage around these parts.

   Well,  if the man could hear its annoying sound,  it means it was  an
acoustic one.  Else he could ask the players to use headphones,  and  he
would not have been so pathetic when speaking about war declaration. 

<skipped>
 AH> The above could be described as musicians' jargon & I don't  expect
 AH> others to follow  suit.  You  have  raised  an  interesting  point,
 AH> though.  As Roy commented elsewhere...  the English language is not
 AH> static & we must live with that.  OTOH it is, or in the right hands
 AH> *can* be,  a precise instrument which does not always benefit  from
 AH> people's attempts to democratize & modernize it.  In most  cases  I
 AH> can guess which dialect folks from across the pond are  using.  But
 AH> when you tell us you prefer to use USAian English,  I may then need
 AH> to ask for clarification as to what your concept of a piano  (e.g.)
 AH> might be.... :-)

   After thinking it over, I now agree,  that an electronic keyboard can
be made in such a way that it sounds like an acoustic piano  only.  BTW,
there  are  some  differences  between  a  keyboard-synthesizer  and  an
electronic piano.  A keyboard has simple electrical buttons,  whereas an
electronic piano has a complicated keyboard,  similar to real one  --  a
person who plays the electronic piano must feel weight of the keys;  the
keys can be stricken with a different force to  produce  both  loud  and
soft sounds. A simple keyboards-synthesizer cannot provide such things.

 ak>> In Russia,  this story is probably more vital --  the majority  of
 ak>> the Russian town population lives in blocks  of  flats.  They  are
 ak>> made of reinforced concrete and have poor sound insulation.

 AH> Many people in Vancouver & the surrounding suburbs live in  similar
 AH> places. We tend to refer to them as apartments or condominiums,

   Wow, what a word. ;=)

 AH> depending on whether the inhabitants rent or own  a  share  of  the
 AH> real estate. Either way I understand what you mean. When Dallas & I
 AH> resided in an "apartment block" we could hear what was going on  in
 AH> the bedroom next door...  we realized the lady upstairs  wore  high
 AH> heels... and we put a shag rug underneath the spinet. ;-)

   I read in my dictionary  that  "apartment  block"  is  from  American
English, and "block of flats" is British.

 ak>> As for Russian  punctuation  it  is  as  totalitarian  as  Russian
 ak>> grammar. AFAIR, we have no optional commas.

 AH> Ah.  That may explain why Russians tend to think in terms of  rules
 AH> WRT English & then  feel  frustrated  because  there  are  so  many
 AH> exceptions.  You guys seem to be very good at  analyzing  patterns,
 AH> however... an approach which works better for me. If you understand
 AH> why my ancestors might have said "You want beef?  I have cattle!" I
 AH> think you will see where I'm coming from. :-)

   No, I don't. Can you explain it?

Bye, Ardith!Alexander Koryagin
fido7.english-tutor 2013
--- ifmail v.2.15dev5.4
 * Origin: NPO RUSnet InterNetNews site (2:5020/400)