The castle, Ballenstedt, Hartz, Germany between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900. Views of Germany

#Ballenstedt #Hartz #Germany #ViewsofGermany #European #BALLENSTEDTAH #German #English #CastleBallenstedt #theHarzMountains #SchlossBallenstedt #photography #historicalPhotos #photochrom

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002713763/

Alt...

The image depicts a historical castle nestled on an elevated terrain, surrounded by dense greenery and trees. The architecture is traditional European with multiple chimneys protruding from the roof of what appears to be several interconnected buildings. A prominent feature includes a tower with a conical roof at its highest point. In front of the castle lies a line of mature trees that seem well-maintained, likely part of a formal landscape design. The overall setting suggests an idyllic and serene environment typical for castles in Germany during the late 19th or early 20th century. The image has a vintage look with faded colors indicative of old photographs taken using photochrom processes. It is labeled "8186, P.Z - SCHLOSS BALLENSTEDT A.H," which translates from German to English as "Castle Ballenstedt in the Harz Mountains." The mention suggests that this castle may be Schloss Ballenstedt located in Germany's Hartz mountain region. Further information about this image can be found on a website specializing in historical photographs, likely related to photochrom prints produced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This particular photograph captures not only an architectural monument but also offers insights into how such sites were perceived artistically through photographic media of that era. The castle's design features include multiple windows with a [...]

Il Tempo: Mondiali, dal gol "con" la spider cam alla simulazione di Embolo: le polemiche della notte americana

"Non c'è dubbio che la palla abbia colpito qualcosa, è molto strano", si è limitato a dire il Ct Solbakken nel post partita. Il Var non ha richiamato l'arbitro Turpin, perché il sensore presente all'interno della sfera non ha rilevato alcun contatto. Per questo la Fifa ha preso le difese del team arbitrale: "Prima del gol dell'Inghilterra al 45'+2 contro la Norvegia, il sensore del pallone non ha rilevato alcun picco nel 'battito del pallone' mentre questo era in volo.
Non vi è quindi alcuna prova che il pallone abbia toccato il cavo sospeso, modificando la propria traiettoria". La serata a Miami di Turpin è stata impegnativa, a prescindere dal 'caso spidercam'. Prima ha annullato il gol a Heggem per una spinta evidente di Haaland su Anderson, poi ha tolto al Var un rigore assegnato precedentemente all'Inghilterra per un contatto tra Bobb e Spence. Risultato finale: 2-1 per gli inglesi e tante polemiche.
Proteste anche sull'altro campo, a Kansas City, dove la Svizzera - battuta 3-1 ai supplementari - è rimasta in 10 nel secondo tempo contro l'Argentina a causa di un doppio giallo rifilato a Embolo. Al 69' un presunto sgambetto di Paredes sullo svizzero - già ammonito - porta al giallo ai danni dell'argentino. L'ex Juventus e Roma protesta e il fischietto portoghese Pinheiro va a rivedere il contatto al Var notando una netta simulazione di Embolo, che viene ammonito per la seconda volta.

World Cup, from the “with” goal and the spider cam to Embolo’s simulation: the controversies of the American night.

“There’s no doubt the ball hit something; it’s very strange,” CT Solbakken limited himself to saying after the match. VAR did not summon referee Turpin because the sensor inside the sphere didn't detect any contact. For this reason, FIFA defended the officiating team: “Before England’s goal in the 45'+2 against Norway, the ball’s sensor did not register any spike in ‘ball-beat’ while it was in flight. There is therefore no proof that the ball touched the suspended cable, changing its trajectory.” Turpin’s evening in Miami was challenging, regardless of the ‘spidercam’ case. He initially disallowed Heggem's goal for an obvious push by Haaland on Anderson, then took back a penalty previously awarded to England for contact between Bobb and Spence. Final score: 2-1 to the English and many controversies.

Protests also arose on the other field, in Kansas City, where Switzerland – defeated 3-1 after extra time – remained down to ten players in the second half against Argentina due to a double yellow card given to Embolo. In the 69th minute, a suspected trip by Paredes on the Swiss – already cautioned – resulted in a yellow card for the Argentinian. The former Juventus and Roma player protests, and Portuguese referee Pinheiro reviews the contact at VAR noting a clear simulation by Embolo, who is cautioned for a second time.

#WorldCup #American #CTSolbakken #Turpin #England #Norway #Miami #Heggem #Haaland #Anderson #Spence #English #KansasCity #Switzerland #Argentina #Paredes #Swiss #Argentinian #Juventus #Portuguese #Pinheiro #second

https://www.iltempo.it/sport/2026/07/12/news/mondiali-inghilterra-norvegia-svizzera-argentina-calcio-polemiche-gol-48519502/

I thought of a useful analogy for how Chinese uses "counting words" (the technical term is "classifier").

In English we have countable nouns (e.g. a chair, two chairs) and uncountable nouns (e.g. water, for which you have to specify a unit to express a quantity, such as a drop of water or many buckets of water).

Chinese basically just treats all nouns as uncountable. Makes sense since it doesn't really pluralize nouns either. If you need to specify a quantity, you use a classifier word as a unit. (The "of" is left out.) So if you want to talk about chairs in general you say "chair", and if you want a specific chair or specific number of them you basically say "this one unit [of] chair" or "five unit[s] [of] chair".

The classifier changes for the item type, but this is just like how we would say buckets of water but not buckets of books (unless you really were putting books in buckets for some reason); for books we would talk about volumes.

#languages #Chinese #English

1/2 Wow. I’ve been on a Velvet Underground binge and just today learned from my former sister-in-law that she and my brother once socialized with Sterling Morrison who was a founding member of The Velvet Underground. According to one source, Sterling Morrison played the guitar solo on Pale Blue Eyes. He and my brother were enrolled at the same time in a PhD program in the English department at The University of Texas at Austin.

#VelvetUnderground #LouReed #Austin #Music #English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNSH8OdHx2A

Absolute pointless #curiosity: When you say the phrase "not you," how does the word Not come out?

• NoT means there's an actual "t" sound with a little plosive on that T
• No' means there's a glottal stop instead of a "t" sound, like the word ends without a consonant
• If it varies, choose the one that happens most often

These polls don't offer a lot of options so I've smooshed a lot of regions together; feel free to specify that or anything else not shown (e.g., different way of saying "not") in comments.

#language #regionalisms #english #dialect #poll

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Three Men in a Boat (Not To Mention The Dog)" (1889) by Jerome K. Jerome

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: Humor

Three young Englishmen in the late 1800s decide to spend a fortnight boating on the Thames for their health. And yet the book feels remarkably modern and is •astonishingly• funny.

A classic of English humor; I'm quite dismayed that I hadn't discovered it before now! It's one of the funniest books I've read in a long time (and I've read many funny books). I found myself laughing out loud quite often, and couldn't resist reading sections of it aloud.

It's astonishing that a book written 137 years ago should feel so modern. I hadn't realized that such dark humor had been •invented• back in 1889!

The occasional turns into more somber and lyrical prose are a bit jarring at first; they're quite reminiscent of "The Wind In the Willows" (1908) by Kenneth Grahame​, which was published 19 years later. But you soon get used to them. And the serious passages are quite brief, just sufficient to cleanse the palate (so to speak) before the next comic gem.

The illustrated EPUB editions at Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks are excellent and, of course, free. The illustrations are well-formatted, clear, and enhance the text. If you appreciate humor, you have no excuse for missing this book!

standardebooks.org/ebooks/jerome-k-jerome/three-men-in-a-boat

Incidentally, I "found" Three Men In a Boat via Robert A. Heinlein's "Have Space Suit - Will Travel". The protagonist's father is a fan. I'd read the book (Heinlein's that is) a dozen times before, easily - but I always assumed that "Three Men in a Boat" was fictional. For some reason while reading "Have Space Suit - Will Travel" out loud to my son, I found myself wondering if "Three Men in a Boat" was real; and Wikipedia soon set me right. I'm glad it did.

Oh, I almost neglected to mention: there's an audio book of "Three Men in a Boat" read by Hugh Laurie. A perfect choice, of course. It can be found in sections on YouTube, or, I presume, it can be purchased. But I must say that I laughed more when •reading• the book then while listening to it. I'm not quite sure why!

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #Humour #Classic #BookRecs #BookRecommendations #DailyBookRecs #QuasitBookRecs #English

@Quasit I would also urge you to consider science fiction writer Connie Willis's loving tribute/tie-in comic novel To Say Nothing of the Dog, in which a time traveller from the year 2053 gets sent back to 1888 England, by his bosses, both for time off and to recover an artefact that would be later destroyed in the Blitz.

Our protagonist, of course, ends up on a Thames boat journey with companions including a cat whose salvation from drowning nearly destroys the space/time continuum, sundry adventures, and happy outcomes -- along the way passing a certain very familiar boat with three men and a dog. It's a lovely romp, and a fitting tribute. Cosy fiction, brightly written.

Awarded:
Hugo Award for Best Novel (1999)
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1999)

#Books
#Bookstodon
#Humor
#Humour
#Bookrecs
#BookRecommendations
#DailyBookRecs
#English

40 Words You’ve Probably Been Using Wrong - And Some You’ve Been Correcting for No Reason
https://www.earthsattractions.com/words-that-dont-mean-what-you-think-they-mean/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=VioletaLore77bf%2Fmagazine%2FTrending+%26+News+That+Matters.+Interesting+Discoveries
I have always paid attention to language. I spent all four years of high school in a philology class, studied Latin throughout, and I am Romanian, so …
#language #english #culture

40 Words You’ve Probably Been Using Wrong - And Some You’ve Been Correcting for No Reason https://www.earthsattractions.com/words-that-dont-mean-what-you-think-they-mean/

#language #english #culture

Just saying.

#english #WorldCup

#askfedi #DuckDuckFedi
Why are people saying "looking forward"? My whole life I've heard "looking forward TO SMTH. Is this a regional difference? #english

🆕 blog! “This blog is written in en-GB”

Someone left a comment on my blog recently asking if I'd mind making my language more inclusive. They didn't get some of the cultural references I'd used and suggested it would be easier if I used tropes which were more globally known.

Here's the thing. No.

All my blog posts start with a simple declaration:

<!doctype html>
<html…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/this-blog-is-written-in-en-gb/
⸻
#blogging #English #language

🚨 NEW EPISODE 🚨

Think of this podcast as a kind of therapy session for people who speak English as a second (/third /fourth etc) language.

This week we call up Rob Watts of the wildly popular RobWords YouTube channel, to ask: Why is the English language so goddamn infuriating sometimes?

We're also talking about Armenia's election, and Dua Lipa's wedding.

https://www.europeanspodcast.com/all-episodes/every-quirk-of-the-english-language

#english #language #europe #armenia #italy #dualipa