I agree. The different cultures and languages of this world are that varied that is nearly impossible, or at least very difficult, to have a deep look on them.
I have always been interested in Japanese culture and I read books and some stuff on the topic. But, I am not going to lie, language is a barrier regarding to understand Japanese people. Yet, I think it is worthy to at least have a look, without the necessity of being an expert.
On the other hand, I am currently having a big interest in Greek culture and Balkan history. So, I appreciate your help to make me learn news things. Nonetheless, language and phonetics are still issues for me... the use of Albanian consonants seem to be complex, but worthy to try!

We do not have umlaut in the vowels and our consonants are not so expressive. With the exception of the double RR, in perro. :smile:

Yes it could be a name of last name, probably in Kosovo — TheMadMan

Interesting!

I think I am saying "interesting" a lot when I interact with you by the way! :lol:

From an english POV yes but for us silent letters don't exist, we pronounce everything. — TheMadMan

So, you pronounce each vowel or consonant in the words, right? The phonology in Albanian seems to be interesting, indeed!

J itself is pronounced as Y in you, without the G it would be pronounced Yika. — TheMadMan

I see. :up:

Also fyi Gjika is not a word in Albanian. — TheMadMan

Exactly. I have read somewhere that Gjika is a name or last name. When I searched Gjika yesterday in Google, it appeared different people from Albania. So, I guess that such a noun is related to persons and not objects.

Thank you for your response!

The only influence Greek phonetics might have had is in southern Albania. The dialect there is very different from the rest, especially north. — TheMadMan

I understand. I guess dialects are a curious topic in most countries of the world. We have the same debate in Spain. For example: In cities like Madrid or Valladolid, they tend to speak in a neutral phonetic, but as much as you go further to the south, the accent switches drastically. I do not see it as a problem, but it could be a barrier in communication.

Gjika is pronounced more like Jika than Gika.
We pronouce G - Gëh as in Game.
And Gj as J in Jacket. — TheMadMan

Oh, wow! I was wrong. The G is silent not the J in the word Gjika. I believe that I have the sound in my mind and I can give it a try and pronounce the word!

But I would bet that literacy was more influenced by Latin. Since after 3rd century A.D Albania became very much influenced by the roman Catholicism. — TheMadMan

The Spanish vocabulary too, indeed! We had both Greek and Latin influences in our syntax, lexicon and phonetics. But I guess the latter is the one which has been used the most in the development of our language. Yet, another interesting fact: Spanish uses the letter "Y" from Greek, but Catalan uses "i" from Latin. I think they sound equally but the grammar is obviously different.

Hello again, :smile:
I have read interesting data regarding to our conversation that we had two days ago.

The paper is about a brief review on Greek language, syntax and its evolution. The author says:

...But the presence of the ancient Greek language is not surprising. There were languages in the Balkans of the Illyrian and Thracian groups that would not be attested for centuries, if ever. The modern survivor is Albanian, which does not emerge into history until the end of the Middle Ages (mentioned, 1284; attested, 1464), yet which cannot have been anywhere else all that time, while bearing the influence of surrounding languages on it. As in Anatolia, the speakers of unattested indigenous languages become literate by learning Greek. But the matter is largely speculative.

A good and interesting example regarding to the pronunciation of vowels: The name "Ghicas": (Gjika)

In Albanian it is written as "Gjika", but it is pronounced with just a G because Modern Greek γκ is used to write "g" as a stop. Like omitting the J. So, we have to pronounce it like saying "ghicas"

Is this correct? How much the Greek phonology have influenced in Albanian pronunciation? :smile:

My mood of this morning.

It has passed a while since the last time I have heard this iconic song for melancholics.

Anyone agree????? — Noble Dust

I like it, good song and bass!

My pleasure, I would ask for you to return the favor but 7 years of watching telenovelas when I was a kid already did that. — TheMadMan

:rofl: :up:

I can assume that you could understand me if you listen me speaking!

What was challenging for me about Spanish was that when I went to learn it, all the French I ever learned decided to come out in place of Spanish. I didn't even realize I remembered any French, but there it was. :grin: — frank

Did French came out in place of Spanish because of words or sounds? What an interesting thought indeed. As a Spaniard, I consider French a complex and different language from mine. Yet, Portuguese, Italian and even Greek are similar in pronunciation. It is true that Greek vocabulary is very different from Spanish one, but we speak so similar. It is not the same case regarding French: they have a different vocabulary and complex sounds in vowels and accents.

On the other hand, if French comes out while learning Spanish, I recommend you to check Catalan whenever you have free time to do so. Catalan is a mix of both Spanish and French and maybe you could like it.

They sound more like...: — TheMadMan

Thank you for helping me to understand them and how to pronounce it. Another thing that I learned today!

My guess is some chinese dialect — TheMadMan

Yes, I agree. Regarding Chinese dialects we have to add another complex task: the ability for recognizing the ideograms! if I cannot read an ideogram, it would impossible to replicate the sound in mind...

mmmm... Grammar and conjugation could be challenging since it is complex in an unfamiliar way.
Syntax I think its simpler, vocabulary its a lot of new unfamiliar words. — TheMadMan

I understand. It is challenging because it has both unfamiliar words and grammar.

Unusual letters to pronounce might be: C Ç Ë Nj Zh, although it would depend on one's native language. — TheMadMan

I think rather than one's native language is one's consciousness of those sounds. My guess is that my awareness holds some of the sounds of your example, because I believe that I can replicate some of them:
C: "cé"
Ç: "s" or the similar sound of a S.
Ë: É a vowel with big pronunciation.
Nj: I do not know how to pronounce it, the sound of these consonants are not in my mind when they are together!
Zh: Like "ch"

Im not sure if this is a fact but from our experience, it seems like we can imitate any sound and intonation of other languages with little effort. — TheMadMan

Some consonants that are not a common use in other vocabularies can be complex to pronounce. For example: "Nj" or Polish/Czech words and vocabulary. They are full of consonants and only few vowels. It is interesting because I guess we should to analyse each language and then conclude which one is more complex to replicate.

What do you mean? — TheMadMan

I mean: Albanian seems to do not have big issues in phonology because the sounds correspond with the words, vowels and consonants. But, is your language complex in other areas? Like gender endings, conjugation, vocabulary and its syntax, etc... I am Spanish. How difficult would learning Albanian be for me?
To be more specific, as an Albanian, you are used to the sounds of the words of your language since you were a kid. Would it be a struggle for a foreigner who is learning Albanian to replicate these sounds?

I agree with you, Frank. Learning from mimicking sounds when we are children is important because it helps us to learn one of the most difficult things: language.

Yet, this advantage can be a struggle too when you are learning another language with different sounds and pronunciations. This is when the difficulty starts. For example: In Spanish we pronounce the double "rr" in perro (dog) using a hard accent in the consonant, like if we say arrrrrrrrrre you ok this morning?
When you are used to specific sounds, it can be a struggle when you switch to another language, but the main paradox of this topic is the fact that we usually learn these "rules" unconsciously!

As an Albanian we have zero pronunciation problems since how we write a word is 100% the same as you say it.
The question "how do you spell it" doesn't exist. — TheMadMan

Interesting!

But, do you have any issue or struggle related to grammar or syntax? It seems that spelling is not so important in Albanian, but what about the other uses in your vocabulary?

People who can do that are people who have learned English from exposure mainly instead of rules of grammar. — TheMadMan

Yes, I agree. But, despite they would have skills in detecting vowels and consonants, maybe they would have grammatical mistakes. Here we are to find an equilibrium when we learn a language. Well, it depends in the language too.

Baden, thank you for your answer. I am aware that you have knowledge of linguistics, so I appreciate your opinion.

I like what you posted: "it is know-how not know-that", and yes, we have to look at each case or student. I don't want to consider the pronunciation as a "problem" but a struggle or even frustration. When I was in high school, I had to read in class paragraphs about different topics in English. I remember that one of those paragraphs started with the following word: "schedule". I didn't even know how to start reading it because the "sche" was not in my consciousness. One of the girls in the class said (that she ended up studying linguists later on) said that I had "phonemic deafness" and that's why it was impossible to me to pronounce "schedule" due to the lack of finding the sound of the consonants in my awareness.

Hello Hallucinogen!

Interesting OP, and I have already seen that some other users commented on mythology. This is what came to my mind firstly. Nevertheless, I think we cannot consider mythology or polytheism as religious diversity. Yes, they do have different deities representing their beliefs, but with a common "root" and excluding the rest of the groups who were different from them.

What I know as a school with religious diversity is the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in Spain.
Its many works of art and architecture are the product of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was called "La Convivencia", It claims that in the different Moorish Iberian kingdoms, the Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative peace.

Convivencia: "living together"

The first time I listened to it, I just called it "jazz" like anyone else I guess. Because I am not so familiar with technical words and I am event an expert on jazz. But, somehow, the first time you listen to the album, you feel is something different and you like it and enjoy it. To be honest, I discovered that the album is considered as "nu" jazz and "acid" jazz because of Wikipedia. :joke:

I happy to know you liked it. Cheers!

Glad to hear that cannabis helped your mother! Wonderful. I love hearing the stories of people helped by it. The more we look, the more we seem to find concerning cannabis. — 0 thru 9

Exactly. This is the main point we should approach. Show the sceptics the positive effects of Cannabis when they are treated for medical purposes. It has been proven that it can help people out, but a lot of bureaucracy from the state considers its use illegal and even clinical investigation. Crazy!

The big paradox here is the fact that maintaining marijuana as illegal doesn't remove the percentage of criminality or drug dependence. To be honest, I do not see the clue of maintaining this plant in the darkness of criminal organisations.

Physically, it reduces pain and inflammation from exercise. Someone trying to take the CBD flowers away from me would be like trying to take a bone away from a hungry dog lol. — 0 thru 9

Sorry for delaying my response to your post! My bad! Yesterday, I was very busy...

Anyway, Anyway, I agree with you in the fact that CBD can help to reduce pain. We were debating on psychological issues, but I forgot to mention the relevance of reducing the pain in both bones and muscles. I have met a lot of people who smoked weed to reduce insufferable pain.

When you go to hospital, most of the doctors prescribe you some pills and stuff with the aim to reduce the pain. Yet, those medications tend to be insufficient with the pass of months and years. For example: I remember that my mother always suffered a big pain in her back. In the first chance, they prescribed her pills and chemical stuff, but she ended up taking Cannabis sativa pills and everything went better off.

Another hypocrisy from the part of the "system", they do not prescribe marijuana natural pills or tabs, but they recommend to take pills and chemical products that destroy your liver!

Rather than debating on the existence of time travel, we already had a discussion regarding the paradox if time travel would exist after all.
If you are interested, here is the thread: Time Travel Paradoxes

Poetry.

Poem of the Deep Song, Gypsy Ballads by Federico García Lorca.

Sun The First. Maria Nefeli. Orientations by Odysseas Elytis.

Was that the biggest dose or milligrams that they had for sale? And I’m curious if it had both CBD and THC. Anyway, glad that it was relaxing! — 0 thru 9

Yes, I think it is the biggest dose. Just 320 milligrams. It does not contain THC, only CBD. I agree with you that maybe the point of the manufacturer was not provoking hallucinations, but reducing anxiety. I think it does make people more relaxed, but the Passiflora is an important component in these gummies as well.

I took another one in the morning, and I feel very good. Not stressed or anxious. I feel chilled like relaxed on a couch reading a book. I have never smoked weed, but I guess the feeling is similar but with more notorious effects.

I bought it at my local pharmacy. They said it is a "new natural" remedy for anxiety. It is true that Passiflora is a good choice to mixing up with Cannabis Sativa. Yet, it doesn't cause effects of hallucinations or borderline. When you ingest one of these gummies you feel relaxed and "chill" but it is not a big deal I guess. I took two gummies today and it was okay, but I am anticipating that, sooner or later, I will need more doses because they just work as a supplement. They do not have the real power that they should usually have.

:up:

The effects of the gummy faded away quicker than I expected. I needed to take another one, and I feel relaxed and calm again. I think the reasonable portion is around 2 or 3 gummies per day, because one seems to be insufficient! :chin:

Hello friend,

I decided to buy the tabs of Cannabis today. We talked about this some days ago or maybe weeks! Anyway, it is a worthy acquisition. For just 7.95 €, there are rational amount of tabs/gummies.
On the other hand, these gummies are made of "Cannabis Sativa oil" and Passiflora. It is a pure natural composition. It hasn't even sugar on it. You can take 2 - 4 gummies per day. It says that it also works as a dietary supplement.

I just took one gummy. I feel calm and relaxed. It is okay to start with a low quantity at the beginning. Well, I think it was a good purchase and I am happy now. Just another component to all the pills I take in my daytime.

Cheers. :party:

No I didn't. I showed that the argument which purports to show that switching is rational commits a mathematical fallacy, and that there is no rational reason to switch. — Michael

Ok! I see this dilemma and your arguments clearer now. :up:

and

First of all, thank you both for your interesting arguments. I am following them as much as I can understand the OP started by Michael.

I think the main substance of this dilemma is discerning on if it is "rational" or "not" switching one of the envelopes when you chose one already.
Michael showed to us arguments when switching is rational.

Envelope A contains 10 € and Envelope B contains 20 €. Then, according to that dilemma, I have the chance to switch my first option and get the twice I suppose to get in my choice. So, I agree with Michael that it's always going to be a 1/2 probability.
Yet, this scenario only happens if I am expecting a value. I decide to switch the envelopes because I want to expect to double the amount that supposedly is in the envelope. Again, switching is rational or "worthy" because I am expecting a value.

But... What about the indifference on the amount of each envelope? For example: Let the amounts in the envelopes be X and 2X. Now by swapping, the player may gain X or lose X. So the potential gain is equal to the potential loss.

I agree in this point. It could exist the scenario where switching or not is meaningless to the participant if the expected value doesn't exists.

I am sorry If I were not clear in my point. What I intend to say is the fact that this paradox and dilemma only works if the participant expects a value or loss, but it could be indifferent whatever the amount and the action of switching is not motivated by an expected value.

A combination of “nu jazz” and “acid jazz”

"Why is a reactionary fuck like Trump so successful?", should be the question. — Benkei

Rather than the life conditions of each U.S. citizen, I think the success of Donald Trump is due to the mass media. Yes, I am aware that there are journalists out there who put criticism on him, but they are not notorious. FOX news holds a lot of power and monopolizes information. On the other hand, I remember some "famous" instagrammers or "influencers" cleaning up his image. (Kanye West, for example).
Trump is the creation of other people's businesses.

I'm just not interested in either reading or writing short stories. — T Clark

It is a pity... I personally think that you could make a good contribution when TPF opens up the short story contest. I enjoy this activity and it is one of the aspects I like the most on this site.
I expect that much from you because I am aware that you have imagination (I remember debating with you about Tao Te Ching verses), not like other members who are only focused on physics, maths, logic, science, etc...

Don't get me wrong: I respect their commitment, but I think imagination and literature are also important in our knowledge.

Thanks to you as well for starting this thread. :up: I am so interested.

I made a research in internet. There is an interesting link: Does cannabis cause or treat anxiety?

Some studies show that cannabis use can trigger symptoms of anxiety. However, other research shows cannabis, when used correctly, can be beneficial in treating anxiety symptoms.

There are limited human clinical trials that look at cannabis to treat anxiety. However, growing evidence, from animal studies to cannabis user surveys, suggests the drug could be effective. This is particularly the case when cannabis is in CBD oil form.
A 2015 review analyzed previous research into CBD oil, stating the vast majority of the research used animal models. However, based on these studies, CBD oil could potentially reduce several anxiety disorders.
A 2018 survey looked at cannabis use in easing the symptoms of depression and anxiety. It reveals that medical cannabis users reporteda 58% reduction in anxiety and stress.

This is the path we have to follow up! :flower:

Thanks Javi. There is a lot of mean spiritedness here and It's good to see you pointing it out. — T Clark

:up:

I also want to use your iconic thumb.

No loss at all, as far as I'm concerned. My opinion of him was a particularly low one. — universeness

Ranting on someone who no longer can post here...
Pretty humble from your side.

Cannabis and anxiety… — 0 thru 9

Interesting facts and I agree with your post.

I remembered you and this post in the morning when I was in the pharmacy. I saw a little box with tabs of Cannabis sativa. Like herbaceous resinous extract to be consumed by oral ingestion. It is cheap because the price of that box is 7.95 €, but I cannot remember the numbers of tabs which are included in it. Maybe there are around 25 or 30. It looked like worthy to purchase, but I hadn't read the proportion of THC and CBD. I think they are tabs for dietary supplements rather than sedative, analgesic, or anti-inflammatory.
Who knows? I think I can give it a try... And see what the effects are. Just 7.95 € is a good price, but at the same time, this is why I doubt for. Maybe because of being that cheap, it doesn't contain what a real tab of Cannabis should hold.

We have to keep moving forward to help people to reduce anxiety. Oh! Why aren't pharmacies allowed to sell Cannabis sativa or indica?

:flower:

The average person does not have an interest in governance, politics, and nationwide ideals. — L'éléphant

I agree, and I think this situation has emerged due to the continuous disappointments on politics and all what is related to governance, political theory, etc... I mean: it is not a generational issue but a dysfunctional praxis.

I think you have big expectations on people... what a terrible mistake.

Look! what a joke, just 1mg and the cost is around 20 or 25 € per pack. There are 50 gummies in.

Here in the USA, I’ve seen melatonin in 10mg pill sizes. A 3mg tab knocks me out for the night, with no grogginess the next morning (if I take it before 11 pm). Not sure what more than 3X that would do. — 0 thru 9

A pill of 10mg, or 3mg tabs. These are impossible to see here in Europe, and this is stupid because sooner or later the tabs with just 1 mg are insufficient. So, consumers of Melatonin like me, take two or even three to experience the effect on sleeping. I mean, I can consume the same amount as an American citizen but in reduced proportions. This is more expensive and without sense because I think it would be worthy to just sell more milligrams in the pharmacy instead of buying a lot of little tabs. :lol:

Your mention of the word “gummy” made me think of the cannabis candy gummies for sale. I totally understand the need for cannabis edibles. — 0 thru 9

I am also aware of their existence, but here they are sold as a dietary supplement, so I am skeptical about buying them. I think that the proportion of THC will be low and have zero effects. It could be a good remedy for non-smokers like me, but I see it as very difficult to accomplish. Maybe, the only way to inherit THC is when you are smoking pure Cannabis... who knows!

But in any case, many kids have ended up in the emergency room or hospital. I don’t know what the answer is to this situation. — 0 thru 9

Simple: the responsible are the parents for not caring their children! :eyes:

The Last Temptation, Nikos Kazantzakis. An extraordinary novel recommended by @Alkis Piskas. This work is a masterpiece.

I am happy to know that you are enjoying a Murakami's book.

I read Killing Commendatore back in January, and I enjoyed it a lot. I think he [Murakami] expresses a lot of imagination with emotional backgrounds: the sister of the main character; the painting in the big saloon (Tomohiko Amada); Menshiki and his personality, Mary and her grandma, etc...

You will see.