Winter’s chill prompts many to seek warmth for combating icy toes, frozen noses and shivering teeth. Besides the beauty of a snow-topped landscape, many look forward to the contrast between feeling warm and cozy inside against the cold and blustery air outside. As such, drinking hot beverages to keep warm and toasty seems to play a major role in the joyful anticipation of winter. If you live somewhere where cold weather descends, make sure to know which warm drinks are good for you and the health benefits they offer.
In addition to a fireplace, heater and insulated clothing, drinking a warm beverage is a staple for cold-weather dwellers. However, not all warm drinks are created equally. Fortunately, many of our favorite warm drinks also have nutritional benefits. American Dietetic spokesperson Debbi Beavais, a registered dietitian in Rochester, NY, reminds us to be mindful of what we drink; because adding cream, sugar and other flavors to a warm beverage can turn that drink into a calorie bomb.
In an effort to help guide people to make the best choices, the following six beverages can serve more than one purpose – taking the chill off AND keeping you healthy:
- Green Tea – Made from unfermented tea leaves, green tea contains high amounts of antioxidants that are called polyphenols. Studies have shown that drinking three cups of green tea a day can decrease heart attack rate by 11 percent, raise levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, and help lower the risk of bladder, breast and colorectal cancer.
- Coffee – Arguably the most popular warm beverage worldwide, coffee has seen its share of controversy. Although some people are sensitive to its caffeine content, acidic properties and natural oils, coffee harbors several health benefits. Research shows that compared to non-drinkers, regular coffee drinkers are at reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, liver cancer, cirrhosis, heart rhythm problems and strokes.
- Mulled Wine – As long as the recipe does not rely upon sugar or other calorie-laden sweetener, mulled wine consisting simply of red wine heated with spices can be healthy in small doses. That is because red wine contains potent antioxidants that have an anti-inflammatory effect known to slow Alzheimer’s disease progression, reduce the risk of macular degeneration and heart attack. However, those with liver disease are advised against drinking any alcohol.
- Elderberry Brew – Mixing a tablespoon of elderberry syrup into a cup of hot water could be the perfect winter drink. A little bit sweet, tart, warm and soothing, elderberry contains high levels of Vitamins A, B and C and is reported to stimulate the immune system. Ideal for warding off winter’s share of colds and flus, black elderberry (sambucus nigra) is a natural antiviral substance.
- Hot Water + Honey + Lemon – Simply adding honey and fresh-squeezed lemon to hot water is an ancient wintertime folk remedy for common cold weather ailments. Lemon cuts mucus in the back of the throat that may cause soreness and honey coats the throat. Thus, this drink provides temporary relief for a sore throat or cough. In addition, inhaling the steam from a recently prepared cup can help break up congestion.
- Hot Cocoa – When prepared with dark chocolate and low-fat or skim milk, hot cocoa aids in relaxation and benefits cardiovascular health. Besides increasing serotonin levels which produces a calming effect, dark chocolate reduces inflammation which can lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel health. Although nutritionists advise moderation regarding chocolate consumption, carefully prepared hot cocoa is a heart-healthy beverage.
As long as you have access to a stove, tea kettle, coffee pot or microwave, staying warm this winter by drinking one of the delicious hot beverages listed above can double as a healthful endeavor.


Windows XP/Changing Fonts to Display Other Languages
If you have an English version of Windows XP and are having problems working with non western fonts this article is for you.
Problem: You want to read and write for example in an Eastern European language but the non-western letters are displaying on the screen incorrectly.
Why this happens is because Windows picks a default language page code for non-unicode programs. Your default is probably some version of English.
The program you're using is a little dumb, it wasn't written to be used in environments outside of its locale, it's not checking to see if it's using the right font version. So you need to change the default page code for non-unicode applications.
- go to control panel and select regional settings.
- select the advanced tab.
It has a drop down box which probably says English, this needs to change to your desired language. In my case this was Polish.
If it's not an option, you might need to change the input method to Polish too; on a Polish keyboard you can change this back to default to an English layout. Once this has been changed, applied and okayed you probably need to restart Windows.
Try your program and hopefully this time your desired languages letters should be shown instead of the random symbols found in the western version of the font.
For writing in the desired language use the language bar to swap between keyboard layouts. Substitute your desired language for Polish in this article.


Could someone explain the technical difference between dialects and vernaculars? I'm too long out of school to remember.
Sat, November 12, 2005 - 11:46 PMDialects [of a same language] are related - the vernacular in a place need not be related to its literary/ecclesiastical/ceremonial language. The obvious example might be in Europe, where Latin had been the lingua franca of the educated elite, and the language of the Church. The Reformation brought forth a switch to the vernacular [German or French or Spanish, etc.].
"Vernacular" can also be used to describe dialects that are spoken most commonly - even when Latin was spoken by the masses, it was thus distinguished from literary Latin.
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 9:22 AMRichard makes very good points. My first reaction was that, to linguists, "everything is a dialect" -- varieties of a given language which are either stigmatized or prestigious, so dialects are huge and pretty much represent what non-linguists think of a "languages". But the use of "vernacular" either as a common form or professional "shop talk" is very useful and accurate.
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 9:49 PMActually Craig you have it exactly opposite, what most is commonly thought of as a dialect is now considered a *language* to linguists.
American English versus Australian English is a comparison of two separate languages by *formal linguistic standard*. I believe it was Shaw that said;
"England and America are two countries divided by a common language."
That was then and this is now.
1a) A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists: Cockney is a dialect of English.
1b) A variety of language that with other varieties constitutes a single language of which no single variety is standard: the dialects of Ancient Greek.
2) The language peculiar to the members of a group, especially in an occupation; jargon: the dialect of science.
3) The manner or style of expressing oneself in language or the arts.
4) A language considered as part of a larger family of languages or a linguistic branch. Not in scientific use: Spanish and French are Romance dialects.
Notice that the definition of *dialect* is given as a category (class or subset) of language in most of the applications. Today linguists tend to see a dialect as a variety of a language as described in numbers 1a & 1b.
The common use that you attribute to dialect as in number 2 is more specifically referred to as a *register* by linguists.
9) A variety of language used in a specific social setting: speaking in an informal register; writing in a scientific register.
The definition of what constitutes a *language* in modern linguistics is both much broader and more specific. The reason that Southern English is a dialect of the same language as *Yankee* English is that they are both dialects, which are dependent on the *same* dictionary and rules of grammar.
For this same reason British, American and Australian English are now considered separate languages; they all possess their own separate formal lexicons and distinct grammars albeit that they are derived of similar origin and are very similar in overall structure.
1a) Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.
1b) Such a system including its rules for combining its components, such as words.
1c) Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often contrasted with dialect.
2a) A system of signs, symbols, gestures, or rules used in communicating: the language of algebra.
2b) Computer Science A system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers.
3) Body language; kinesics.
4) The special vocabulary and usages of a scientific, professional, or other group: "his total mastery of screen language camera placement, editing and his handling of actors" (Jack Kroll).
5) A characteristic style of speech or writing: Shakespearean language.
6) A particular manner of expression: profane language; persuasive language.
7) The manner or means of communication between living creatures other than humans: the language of dolphins.
8) Verbal communication as a subject of study.
9) The wording of a legal document or statute as distinct from the spirit.
Please note that definition number 1c addresses the specific intent of this topic and I suspect the original question. It is 1c that reflects the modern linguistic definition of *language*.
Now I got into that because I wanted to distinguish the difference between a register that reflected the specific lexicon of a subgroup like lawyers or doctors from another aspect of language; formal and informal usage. A dialect is not the same as vernacular.
A vernacular is like street lingo, slang. Cockney is a dialect but *dockworkers* might speak a vernacular that is specific to them although it is based on a Cockney dialect of the British English language.
A Vernacular is filled with slang, jargon or acronymns. A vernacular is probably one of the most fluid aspects of language next to pidginization and creolization. It is also representative of formal and informal usage. BTW, formal usage is also a vernacular but as a profession must absorb new ideas along with them come new words.
The common usage of vernacular to refer to an (#3) "idiom of a particular trade or profession" is what linguists define as a *register*. To use their vernacular ;~)
1) The standard native language of a country or locality.
2a) The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language. See Synonyms at dialect.
2b) A variety of such everyday language specific to a social group or region: the vernaculars of New York City.
3) The idiom of a particular trade or profession: in the legal vernacular.
4) An idiomatic word, phrase, or expression.
5) The common, nonscientific name of a plant or animal
Does that help?
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 1:21 PMYes, I use this quote in my linguistics presentation to high school teachers. My best example is breakup of Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian from what used to be Serbo-Croatian.
Hindi and Urdu are a similar case, I suppose.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 9:04 AMExactly the opposite?
I think I agree with you completely. Do we have our negatives in the wrong place? Yes, I agree that "to linguists" things that are "dialects" to laypeople are "languages" with or without an army.
Example: If someone were to just say "German", they may believe the existence of an overall encompassing "language", whereupon I would reference a North German "dialect" from Holstein. I agree that linguists may categorize Australian and US English as different languages, but not all linguists do that. I guess my experience is one of elevating the status of dialects and fuzzifying the definition of "language". My main point was that plain folks associate dialects as always non-standard.
Are not vernaculars then always subsets of dialects? I think they must be.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 9:06 AMI agree that linguists may categorize Australian and US English as different languages, but not all linguists do that.
I'd honest to god be curious to see where any linguist has stated this. could any of you provide me a reference?
Cause this flyes in the face of what i learned, but maybe things are totally differnt in the last 10 years.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 9:36 AMHey, Kip:
I guess I learned that saying Tuscan Italian and Sicilian Italian may be thought of, in general, as the "language" Italian by non-linguists, but as dialects have many differences which promote arguments for separation into "languages" recognized by linguists only, probably, maybe.
Remember when I said "fuzzification"?
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:37 AMI also should emphasize that the original question was for a *technical definition* of the distinction between dialect and vernacular and I weighed into this because it is interesting to me how the *technical definition* has drifted pretty far from the *common* one and how one part of the difficulty had to do with the evolution of the definition of language itself.
If you note in the dictionary definition of language and dialect they clearly overlap and even when considering just the definition of language there is a difference between the various examples that reflects the distinctions we are discussing.
This isn't about being right or wrong this time, it is about how fast the rules and concepts of linguistics are changing. What you ague Kip was a conservative standard for years but recently it has been subjected to a transformation based on sociolinguistics to reflect globalization and the profound amount of post WW2 data that is finally getting the full treatment it deserves. Please take note of the extensive amount of recent literature available on this subject.
The difference between our perspectives reflects how significant these recent changes are and how far from the popular or common understanding they have gone.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 9:04 AMAmerican English versus Australian English is a comparison of two separate languages by *formal linguistic standard*.
Um, no. I fully disagree with this statement. English is defined far more by the structure of the language and the base vocab, than any slang differences, accents, etc.
If you look at any linguistic site that catigoriezes languages, english is english, and isn't broken down any further into "localities" of english.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:24 AMActually it is broken down exactly that way today Kip and the reason is that by today's formal standard of what constitutes a language it is predicated on having its own dictionary to reflect a distinct lexicon and a grammar structure. It is not about slang, dialect or accent, those are differences of vernacular and dialect.
There are many similarities but in some ways the distinction reflects the same kind of difference as Swedish and Norwegian.
You are referring to the larger aspect of what defines language as in the etymological root, or origin. For example how French, Latin, Romanian, Portuguese and Spanish are all *Romance* languages.
For example check out the translator programs in most word processors, OS set ups or even google. You will quickly note that English is defined in a multitude of formats based on various regional language forms.
The *English Language* has metastasized as it became the Global Second language. It is now many languages of a common origin the local variations being stand alone languages by definition in their formal form. Time will lead to either more homogeneity of form through globalization or more diversity or heterogeneity of form due to regionalization.
These are basic sociolinguistic concepts.
The same is now the case with Spanish as various Latin American forms are now elevated to the status of being their own *language*.
There is good reason to treat Mexican Spanish as distinct from either Castilliano or Peruvian and that is the extent to which Mexican Spanish has absorbed a Nahuatl lexicon and Peruvian has absorb Quechua. BTW Spanish also has dialects as in the difference between Castilliano and Catalan or Barcelona but Mexican Spanish is arguably divided into subgroups of languages AND dialects like Chilango (DF's street lingo) versus Mayan that is very provincial due to its historic isolation and still using the *vosotros* form.
The same is said of American or Australian English in relation to British or continental French in relation to Caribbean patois.
>>>Are not vernaculars then always subsets of dialects? I think they must be. <<<
I would say generally yes except as they reflect *registers* because those may hearken to a more universal standard the way the liturgy reflects classical Latin and medicine or law use it and Greek. These create specific vernaculars that are specific to the profession regardless of the *native language* of the speaker. Think Habeas Corpus.
I'd honest to god be curious to see where any linguist has stated this. could any of you provide me a reference? <<<
Ok Kip, my linguistics training is only a bit more recent( 6 years) from my study at the CELE (Centro Enseñaza de Lenguas Extranjeros) at the UNAM in Mexico but the point I am making is central to how sociolinguistics treats the definition of language today.
Follow the article and links to the citations and authors on the sociolinguistic aspects of Natural Language and Language Awareness. The US is far behind but it s finally catching up.
"Language is very difficult to put into words"
English with an an Accent: Standard Language Ideology and Language Attitudes: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination
In regards to what you were taught:
Issues and Implications of English Dialects for Teaching English as a Second Language (part 1 of 3)
>>>As a society, we still harbor language prejudice to a far greater degree than we tolerate other ethnically related bias, at least publicly (Wolfram, 1991). Schools have not developed scientifically based language awareness programs to illuminate language variation and its social meanings. Programs to strengthen the standard English skills that schools require do not consistently point out predictable contrasts between standard and vernacular dialect features, nor do they adequately address the social functions that dialects serve. Because educators contribute powerfully to defining students' school identities, this persistently weak educational response to dialect issues at school must be exposed and corrected. As the well-known Ann Arbor Decision (1979) showed, not taking dialect into account at school violates students' civil rights. Schools can rectify their neglect and ignorance of students' dialects when they must.<<<
>>> central issue for school language policies and programs is the mutual intelligibility of language varieties. In linguistic study, intelligibility is an important criterion by which languages and dialects are distinguished: Language systems that contrast with each other in some ways but can be mutually understood by their speakers are dialects of a language; systems that contrast and cannot be understood are distinct languages. However, intelligibility is not a fail-safe criterion. Some dialects are hard to understand at first but only take time; others require learning. At schools, U.S. English speakers may have difficulty understanding varieties of World English with which they are less familiar, such as those of West Africa and Southeast Asia, and those World English-speaking students may have trouble understanding teachers and students who speak U.S. English dialects. More familiar nonindigenous dialects, such as the Received Pronunciation (RP) dialect of Britain and the variety of Australian English spoken by educated people, do not present such problems. Beyond familiarity, though, is the matter of social status. Although there is no linguistic reason to prefer one dialect to another, RP is generally regarded as more prestigious than the Englishes of the Caribbean, India, and West Africa. This bias may affect intelligibility judgments. Questions arise as to the role of the speaker's ethnicity or race in judgments about intelligibility and the locus of responsibility for making interaction intelligible. Must all World English speakers learn U.S. English? If not all, then who? What aspects of U.S. English must they learn? What changes are expected of students, and what of teachers? Despite the difficulties surrounding intelligibility as a criterion, it remains a useful notion in considering the changing responsibilities of ESL programs. In the case of English-based creole languages, intelligibility seems more straightforward because creoles are generally agreed to be not fully comprehensible to speakers of English dialects.5 Yet language prejudice persists: Even among creole speakers there is the view that creoles are deficient versions of English. To meet the language performance demands of schools and career, creole speakers need English language instruction that respects their language as a legitimate linguistic system. Instructional programming for these students needs to pay attention to the similarities between the creole and English as well as the differences, and to combat linguistically unwarranted language bias.<<<
An impressive body of research into World Englishes has built on work in several linguistic research traditions, including the study of pidgins and creoles (e.g., Winer, 1989). This work offers an increasingly important resource for educators, both because it challenges some sociolinguistic myths,6 such as the privileged status of the native speaker as a source of linguistic knowledge, and because it provides some sociolinguistic understandings and descriptive knowledge of varieties of World Englishes.
Scholars have represented in several ways the relationships among English varieties. Kachru's (1992) intersecting circles show that English is expanding most rapidly among nonnative speakers. McArthur's (1987) circle of World English echoes the sociolinguistic insight that the varieties of a language are related to each other in terms of where structural variants of a dialect fall along a standardness/nonstandardness range. McArthur posits a "remarkably homogeneous but negotiable 'common core' of World Standard English" (McArthur, 1987, p. 11), a written variety, around which other somewhat heterogeneous standard varieties cluster. In juxtaposition to these standards are other varieties, many of them vernaculars.
In sum, updating professional development regarding variation in English can appeal to a broad and vibrant research base. At the same time, however, the familiar need to explicitly translate theory into practice has not been addressed with any thoroughness. Forming partnerships among educators and researchers to apply the various strands of research to educational policy and strategy is of the essence.
Until quite recently, educational programs related to dialect differences have focused on teaching standard U.S. English to students from indigenous vernacular language backgrounds. Earlier views of variable features as errors in "proper" or "correct" English gave way, at least in theory, to the view that these variants were regular features of nonstandard language varieties; and standard English has been seen as constituting a second dialect for vernacular speakers, rather than a replacement. One instructional approach involved contrastive analysis of formal features and emphasized the contrasting domains of use for vernacular and standard dialects (e.g., Feigenbaum, 1970). Despite the numbers of vernacular English speakers in U.S. schools and the enduring public perception that success beyond school requires standard English, these products did not become commercially available.8 Newer programs to teach standard English, such as one now being tested in Los Angeles (Butler, Sata, & Snyder, 1992), have developed their own materials. Devising materials that reflect the local dialect(s) is certainly advisable because social dialects vary regionally, but there seem to be few linguistically accurate materials available.
A very different approach to dialects involves teaching students about language variation, in contrast to teaching them the standard dialect. One such program, described here, involves sociolinguistic education for all students, including English language learners.
Language awareness arose as a topic of study in England, where educational policy had endorsed the notion that World English speakers, many of them from countries that had been British colonies, ought to learn to speak standard British English and that the way to accomplish that goal was to introduce them to sociolinguistic facts surrounding language variation. British language awareness programs acknowledge the viability of students' own language systems, but they gloss over the matter of language dominance, implying that speaking a standard is politically neutral (Clark, Fairclough, Ivanic, & Martin-Jones, 1990).
Walt Wolfram and his colleagues have been experimenting with an approach to language awareness that does not link to teaching standard English necessarily, although it provides linguistic knowledge that is useful for learning a second dialect (Wolfram, Detwyler, & Adger, 1992; Wolfram, Schilling-Estes, & Hazen, 1996). Language awareness curricula address the following goals:
Scientific: Students discover the rule-governed nature of English dialects by examining sets of phonological and syntactic data, developing hypotheses, and testing them against more data. They also gather and analyze data in their own speech communities.
Sociohistorical: Students learn about historical and social bases for dialect development with particular focus on the dialect of their community.
Humanistic: Students confront the social attitudes surrounding language variation through a variety of video and audio exercises involving language differences.
Versions of these curricular materials have been pilot tested in Baltimore City Public Schools with upper elementary and middle school students, and in five different North Carolina communities. Student evaluations report enthusiasm for activities such as role playing a language contact situation in which speakers must innovate a rudimentary pidgin and make generalizations about data sets.
Language Awareness and Teaching Standard English
Other language development programs combine sociolinguistic education about languages and dialects as human systems with instruction in standard U.S. English. An exemplary program is the Caribbean Academic Program (CAP) at Evanston Township High School, Illinois, which is designed to teach English to classes including speakers of several Caribbean English-based creoles (in this school, primarily those of Jamaica and Belize) (Fischer, 1992). This is the sociolinguistically complicated case of a creole language with dialects, but because the language is viewed by many, including its speakers, as a deviant form of English, variability may be regarded as evidence of deficiency. The CAP program confronts these language attitudes by providing students with historical and linguistic information to substantiate the claim that these creoles are languages distinct from English though related to it. Through reading and writing Creole, students experience its regularities and discover inter-island dialectal differences in Jamaican Creole as well as regular contrasts among Caribbean creoles. Fischer reports that "students who clearly distinguish English as a separate language from Creole develop the motivation to tackle English language acquisition" (p. 100). In addition to sociolinguistic education, she supports students' sociolinguistic inclinations concerning code switching, teaches English grammar using activities from ESL textbooks, emphasizes written English, uses Caribbean literature, and organizes "Creole Days" during which students perform in Creole.
Given the society's idealized view that schools should allow only standard U.S. English, it seems remarkable that this program is not challenged in the community. The key to the CAP program, as well as to experimental programs in California that are reviving the dialect reader (Rickford & Rickford, 1995), is parent involvement. The CAP program is carefully explained to parents by teacher and students, and a CAP parent group meets regularly. "Parents are usually supportive when they see that someone at the school is taking a personal interest in their children, and addressing the special needs which their children have" (Fischer, 1992, p. 110).
Language awareness instruction -- sociolinguistics in the schools -- is relevant to language variation in schools on several fronts. When it underlies standard U.S. English instruction, it addresses two key barriers to learning that dialect: misinformation and motivation. Asking students to learn standard English because it is important for career development indexes a vague future. Showing them how standard English plays a role in their lives currently and how their own dialect contrasts with other systems gives students a knowledge base for developing a second language or dialect. In addition, language awareness instruction can play an important role in exposing dialect prejudice when all students -- not only vernacular speakers -- have the benefit of this knowledge.<<<
Language and Social Identity
Linguistics and Sociolinguistics
Foundations of Statistical Natural Language Processing
Christopher D. Manning and Hinrich Schiitze
(Stanford University and Xerox Palo Alto Research Center)
Understanding Natural Language
Language, Contact, Creolization and Genetic Linguistics
Language and Linguistics
Languages or dialects?
The Methods and Purpose of Linguistic Genetic Classification
Theoretical model for the evolution of the linguistic diversity
Viviane M. de Oliveira, M. A. F. Gomes†and I. R. Tsang‡
October 9, 2005
In this last reference you will note the use of the term *Ancestor Language* by today's more rigorous definition of Language, American, Australian, and even modern British are all derivative of the same Ancestor Language but by definition can be classified not as dialects but distinct languages. As I suggested before language is in flux, (plastic) and not something that is really as fixed as the various academies have treated. The point of trade and globalization versus regionalization is that we are witnessing within a remarkably short period a process which has normally required many generations to evolve in the past.
I once wrote a paper on this subject:
"Internet English as the Global Second Language" and the basis of it was an attempt to analyze the dynamics of two very different and perhaps even polar forces, regionalization and globalization with respect to language.
Internet English is becoming a new language onto itself and it is tending to universalize its form and absorb elements of the various contributory cultures while also contributing to the dissemination of lexicon into the various regional variations of linguistic families.
Sorry about the overload Kip, but you did ask ;~)
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:52 AMI meant to also include the Wiki site on the list. It provides a very pragmatic explanation that is pretty current.
Languages are not just sets of symbols. They also contain a grammar, or system of rules, used to manipulate the symbols. While a set of symbols may be used for expression or communication, it is primitive and relatively unexpressive, because there are no clear or regular relationships between the symbols. Because a language also has a grammar, it can manipulate its symbols to express clear and regular relationships between them.<<<
The classification of natural languages can be performed on the basis of different underlying principles (different closeness notions, respecting different properties and relations between languages); important directions of present classifications are:
1) paying attention to the historical evolution of languages results in a genetic classification of languages—which is based on genetic relatedness of languages,
2) paying attention to the internal structure of languages (grammar) results in a typological classification of languages—which is based on similarity of one or more components of the language’s grammar across languages,
3) and respecting geographical closeness and contacts between language-speaking communities results in areal groupings of languages.
The different classifications do not match each other and are not expected to, but the correlation between them is an important point for many linguistic research works.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 1:11 PMYes, but this and many of your other artilcles do not suggest that English: British English, american english, canadian english are different *languages* but differnt dialetcs or vaniculers.
At least that's how i read the sites you give.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 2:26 PMYes, this classification of the various "Englishes" seems bizarre to me, particularly when, according to Lazarus, Catalan is merely a "dialect" of Spanish rather than a separate language with the same roots (in Vulgar Latin). I can readily understand, speak, write and read British, Australian, Canadian, even Carribean versions of English, however most speakers of Castillian Spanish find Catalan completely unintelligible (because Catalan speakers are in a politically dependent position, most of them learn Castillian or French as children and can communicate in these languages).
Catalan, which has a well-documented history and texts dating back to the end of the 10th century CE, relies on spelling conventions and pronunciations distinctly different than those of Spanish, and a large body of words more closely related to the Gallo-Romance vocabulary than to the Ibero-Romance vocabulary of Spanish. And Catalan itself has two main dialect groups (the Occidental and the Oriental), divided into six dialects and many subdialects.
Given all this, its history and our current knowledge of the transformation of Vulgar Latin after the fall of the Roman Empire, it's clear that Catalan is, like Spanish, French, Occitan, etc. a derivative of Vulgar Latin and only related to Spanish in the same way as the other languages derived from this source. However, to come back to Kip's question, Australian English is a direct descendant of British English, with a very brief independent history and complete mutual intelligibility-in what way does it qualify as a separate language while the present example of Catalan does not?
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 2:48 PMSee, instictivly - from working in the arena - i classify things that are virtually the same, save some minor vocab use differences, and are obviously mutually intelligble, as teh same language. Doing otherwise is as usless as sayign a Lion is not a Cat. There is a reason for language trees. Lions are cats, cats and dogs are carnivores, etc. English is english, in all its forms, english and german are germanic, english, german and French are all one branch of indo-eurpoean, etc. When you start classifyign dialects as different languages, you've destroyed any notion of what a single language is.
I work in native american language fields, and i respect that there is a point where you don't know if you have a dialect shift, or a full 'new language', but like pornagraphy, when two speakers are set side by side, attempting to communicate, 'i know it when i see it'. if they aren't able to understand eachother, its not the same language. if they *mostly* can... then its in that grey area.
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 4:22 PMYou are correct Marie about the language Catalan. I was referring to the Spanish spoken in the region associated with Catalan speakers. I was trying to emphasize how regional distinctions and contributory aspects like the influence of the Catalan language create a *dialect*.
I was not trying to assert that Catalan itself was a dialect of Spanish. The same may be said of Quechua, Maya and Nahuatl in relation to their influence on Spanish but as they contribute whole lexicons and additional rules or conditional grammars they create sufficient distinction that the result can be arguably considered a Natural Language and not a mere dialect.
A lot of what is considered dialect is derivative of the legacy of colonialism when today sociolinguists would say ithey are actually distinct language forms.
Intelligibility is important but as in the case of Swedish and Norwegian the level of intelligibility is not necessarily bidirectional. They actually share much the same lexicon with profoundly different pronunciation.
The point of intelligibility across varieties of World Englishes is that the divergence is very recent historically. happening rapidly and is being overtaken or mitigated by globalization even as regionalization establishes new forms. There is insufficient time for the new form to establish itself in the manner that isolation and cultural success would have in past times.
However there are rules of spelling and grammar that are distinctly different between British and American English. They tend to be subtle and not profound but they are considerable. They revolve around spellings, accentuation and things like the use of the definite article.
A part of the American revolution was formalized by Webster and it was an intentional act of rebellion to incorporate new world language forms and finalize the separation from the *mother tongue*.
Sat, February 11, 2006 - 9:32 AM>> Does that help? <<
Very much so, Lazarus. Thank you for the detailed analysis - and for the list of books in one of your other posts. I've been wanting to review my linguistics, and this will be a great start on updating my knowledge as well. Your posts confirm my memory of the difference between the dialects and vernaculars, and add a great deal to my current knowledge.
Sorry for the delay in responding. I thought I'd posted a thank you months ago, but I am only now seeing that it apparently didn't actually post.
Wed, December 7, 2005 - 3:57 PMSorry if this sounds trite after reading so much of what's been written here but isn't the degree of cross-intelligibility absolute key in defining Language vs. Dialect and isn't that same definition necessarily fuzzy and a bit arbitrary (and HEAVILY politically-laden)
There is NO difficulty understanding Americans when they speak English (well not the words anyway - chuckle) nor Australians nor South Africans, Canadians, Kiwis etc. There are a few word variations and that to me constitutes dialect difference. To my understanding the Oxford English Dictionary is still the underpinning lexicon of the whole of the English Language, which is from the Germanic group of the Indo-Aryan Language Family.
The OED, and I believe the Webster, both reference the spellings and terms of the other English "dialects" do they not?
Anyone reading a book in English is not going to have difficulty figuring out that "organise" and "organize" are the same thing in two dialects nor that (god-help-me-for-even-typing-this) "wanna" and "gonna" are vernacular abbreviations/bastardisations of "want to" and "going to" but they'd never be taught in an American School (Oh please say they wouldn't!) nor would they be written.
Just because someone publishes a bastardised version of the language including slang/vernacular does not suddenly make it a new language, even in a purely academic linguistic sense.
Croation is not a separate language to Serbian, no matter how much they try to create differences and new words based on German-influenced compound words. They are fundementally two dialects of the same South Slavic language. As is Bosnian, even with it's Turkish loan-words, and if the Montenegrins finally decide to go it alone, I'd laugh my tits off if they published an Australian English-Montenegrin dictionary!
Anyways, I digress because I'm curious and interested.
The key question was around dialect and vernacular. To me, and yes it's been a while since my formal linguistics, a dialect is as described above and can certainly be found in written form and vernacular is a polite way of saying crude slang that is not used in written form.
"gonna" is not dialect, it's vernacular, you'd never write it in a book unless purposefully trying to depict a particular spoken crudeness in dialogue.
truck, lorry, ute, van are, to me, dialectic differences.
Americans may have dropped the "ly" from adverbs in their vernacular recently but they wouldn't publish a paper with that omission.
And don't even get me started on "whom"...


Hindi name: Gajar
Carrot is a kind of taproot that grows underground. it is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour. but carrots in pink, purple, white and yellow types do exist. the foundation is the part of the plant that is usually consumed, both raw or cooked. The oblong root is nice and juicy, while eaten clean. once in a while, the green leaves at the side of the root are also eaten.
Carrots take a prominent area in lots of cuisines, specifically while making salads. It isn’t always simplest mouth candy but also very healthy. you can actually acclaim carrot as the most flexible vegetable. it could be fed on so many different approaches. you’ll be able to devour it uncooked, or they may be boiled, steamed and cooked. Carrot is chopped and delivered in soups and salads.
it’s miles essential to keep the freshness in carrots without drying them out of moisture. The exceptional way to cook carrots preserving most of its nutrient content material is by steaming or boiling.
There are several sorts of carrots classified on the idea of their color. we are best familiar with those which are discovered within the grocery stores. The version in colours is because of the pigments that are found in those carrots. but, all the carrots can be broadly classified into two categories; cultivated carrot and wild carrot.
1. Over years, carrot is seemed as the nice medicinal treatment for several illnesses. A carrot in large part contains 88% water, 7% sugar and 1% fibre.
2. Carrots are in particular acknowledged for his or her antioxidant blessings.
3. The beta-carotene content is an vital supply for vitamin A. it’s miles the equal pigment that is responsible for the intense orange coloration of the root.
four. consuming carrots regular improves eye imaginative and prescient, even improving night vision.
five. Carrots additionally lessen the chance of colon most cancers and breast cancer.
Did you realize?
there was a myth throughout the arena conflict II that one that frequently eats carrot has a clean vision even inside the dark.
the arena’s longest carrot become recorded in 2007. It become 5.839 metres.
as a result of its medicinal price, carrots were in advance cultivated as remedy.


Gallipoli. Virtually unheard of prior to 1915, the very name of the Turkish peninsula bordering the Dardanelles - the narrow waterway linking the Mediterranean with the Black Sea - now conjures up visions of privation and hardship and death which even surpass the horrors of the trench warfare on the Western Front.
The barren landscape - of no value itself other than for its command of the seaway - was the backdrop to an horrific campaign between April 1915 and January 1916 in which upwards of 100,000 men lost their lives. For the Allies it was a battle fought in vain for the invasion forces were withdrawn for no gain, but for the Turkish Army it was a marvellous victory in what they refer to as their Canakkale War.
Steve Newman has visited Gallipoli several times in his study of the campaign and spent a strenuous ten days on the peninsula in June 1999 to take the comparisons in a temperature of over 100 degrees!
Gallipoli : Then and Now provides a unique link between past and present; from one century to the next; that the deeds of those whose bones lie buried in a foreign field shall not be forgotten.
Number Of Pages: 232
Published: 1st July 2000
Publisher: After the Battle
Dimensions (cm): 26.6 x 21.6 x 3.4
Weight (kg): 1.229


Electronic components are very complicated and they have to made in a certain way or else they are not going to work properly. Electronic components have to be very precise or you could have some serious problems with the piece of electronic equipment you have. When you are manufacturing components you have to follow strict rules and the workplace must be run efficiently and accurately.
The quality of the manufacturing is going to be very important and you have to make sure that your products are manufactured properly or the electronics you are producing are going to fail much earlier. Cheap parts can be dangerous and they can cause products to short out or even catch fire. If you want to charge the maximum amount for your products, you want to make sure that the parts are perfect and are made to last.
If you create parts that last for a long time and have a low failure rate you are going to build up a reputation and you are going to sell more products. When you want to sell lots of products, it is going to be very important that you create products that are going to be reliable and that are also going be made well.
Electronic components are essential to any piece of electronics and your components need to be made with care and attention to detail. If you want your company to grow and have a good reputation you should always use the best manufacturing techniques. You have to be very careful about who you choose to manufacture your parts because the wrong plant can end up making parts that are flawed. You have to always pay attention to the way the parts are being made.
If you are buying electronics you want to buy the best electronics you can afford. Cheap electronics are probably not going to last as long and they are not going to perform as well. You can expect the life of cheap electronics to be very short so you want to buy the best. There is a reason that good electronics are so expensive. This is because they are made better and they perform better. Good electronics are going to last and they will pass the test of time, so you should always invest in the best electronics that you can.
You especially want to invest in high quality computers and music devices. Buy the best speakers that you can afford since they are going to last longer and sound better. It is important to buy quality computers as well because a good computer is going to last a lot longer. You don’t want the things you own to be falling apart in a year, especially if they are expensive.
When electronic components are made cheaply they are not going to work well or they are going to work for a short time and then fail. High quality components are worth the extra price and they are generally going to perform much better. To know more contact us or visit the website at www.directics.com/buy-electronic-components-authorized-distributor/.


Definition of firehouse in English:
Another term for fire station.
- ‘Believe it or not, there are some firehouses and police stations in the country that don't even have computers,’ says Miller.
- Handmade posters of the missing are plastered in almost every neighbourhood, and candles and flowers have been placed in front of many of New York's firehouses and police stations.
- Holding photographs of firehouses that are closing and schools in disrepair, they chanted, ‘Where's the jobs?’
Definition of firehouse in:
- British & World English dictionary
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.


Graphene consists of only a single layer of carbon atoms. Because of its unusual properties, it is considered a “miracle material” and is therefore of great interest for both basic research and
innovative applications. These range from energy storage via solar cells to medical sensors.
Graphene can be deposited chemically using plasma-assisted CVD processes, which also allow the production of large-area material layers. Graphene can also be produced in the form of flakes. Although the properties of these micrometer-sized flakes are only partially comparable to those of a single-crystalline graphene layer, this does not imply a limitation for some applications (e.g., energy storage technology). Diacara can advise you on the best possible technologies regarding the production and quality of graphene materials.


HCN ice in Titan's high-altitude southern polar cloud
Publication date: 03 October 2014
Authors: de Kok, R.J., et al.
Copyright: Nature Publishing Group
Titan's middle atmosphere is currently experiencing a rapid change of season after northern spring arrived in 2009 (refs 1, 2). A large cloud was observed for the first time above Titan's southern pole in May 2012, at an altitude of 300 kilometres. A temperature maximum was previously observed there, and condensation was not expected for any of Titan's atmospheric gases. Here we report that this cloud is composed of micrometre-sized particles of frozen hydrogen cyanide (HCN ice). The presence of HCN particles at this altitude, together with temperature determinations from mid-infrared observations, indicate a dramatic cooling of Titan's atmosphere inside the winter polar vortex in early 2012. Such cooling is in contrast to previously measured high-altitude warming in the polar vortex, and temperatures are a hundred degrees colder than predicted by circulation models. These results show that post-equinox cooling at the winter pole of Titan is much more efficient than previously thought.Link to publication


With the support from Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP), Dr. Josh Lawler (Environmental & Forest Sciences) and Dr. Dargan Frierson (Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences) and OpenSTEM Research formed the working group: Gaming the Future of Climate Communications. Our working group brought together climate scientists, game designers and developers, and educators together to synthesize existing science on how video games can positively affect behavior, develop a game portfolio, synthesize necessary climate change science, develop, produce, test and release at least one game as a pilot, and launch a center for game design to address climate change. The working group served as the impetus for what would become EarthGames.
EarthGames is a growing community of researchers, game developers and students who share a passion for games and the environment. They are hard at work adapting the latest scientific research to develop amazing video and board games to teach and inspire players about the natural world and our role within it.


Buying a Phone
Ask your students to choose between food and their phones, and they’ll gladly hand over their lunch money. A smartphone isn’t just a method of communication for students but also their entertainment and social life. In fact, about three-quarters of teens have a fancy smartphone at their disposal.
Cell phone use is often subsidized by parents until students are ready to leave the nest. Then, their most prized possession can quickly become a budget buster when teens realize just how much Mom and Dad paid for that phone. Missed or late phone payments will negatively affect students’ credit scores, which can also impede their ability to buy a car or a home.
Most teens would balk at the idea of having an archaic flip phone; only 30 percent of phone-using teens have a non-smartphone. But the attitude toward simpler phones and bare-bones cell phone plans might change when students see the money coming out of their accounts month after month. In the course, students have to choose a phone and a plan, and when to pay the bill.
For seasoned and responsible adults, it’s a no-brainer: Buy the phone and plan you can afford. The dilemma occurs when teens believe that phones with the latest onboard camera are more important than health insurance or paying rent on time. That unlimited everything plan? It comes with a hefty price tag that might not be worth the trade-offs.
Because Banzai teaches students to choose a goal and budget their money, they learn that no-big-deal, daily expenses can rack up in the long run. With visual reminders of their goals and their current financial status, players can adjust their cell phone plan to a smaller amount of data; that bells-and-whistles smartphone can be exchanged for a lower-tech version.
Students in Banzai gain some much-needed perspective before they leave home and start shelling out for their own stuff. After all, no phone is cooler than a balanced budget.
- Schedule a time on this calendar.
- We will call you at the selected time. Just be ready with your questions.
Schedule a Walk-Through
Our Teacher Support team can do a personalized, 15-minute tutorial and answer any questions you might have.


- Historic Sites
For an American, there is an ironic clue to the history of our neighbor to the north; she became a nation because her people did not wish to be swallowed up by the United States Quant aux Canadiens français, ils ne voulaient pas seulement éviter être absorbés par les États-Unis; ils ne voulaient pas davantage être absorbés parleurs compatriotes “anglais”
December 1965 | Volume 17, Issue 1
Economically, these voyages were of small importance; so far west did the trail lead from Montreal that the company overextended itself and was forced to capitulate to the Bay and John Jacob Astor. But politically the importance of these voyages was immense. By right of exploration, British North America was able to lay claim to the Canadian West and subsequently to build British Columbia.
But still there was no Canadian nation. Forest industries supplanted the fur trade in central Canada; in the Maritimes a superb seafaring tradition augmented the fisheries and culminated in the founding of the Cunard Line by a Haligonian in 1840, and the development of great port facilities at St. John, New Brunswick. But politically British North America was stagnant. The colonies of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Lower Canada, and Upper Canada were each ruled by a governor appointed in London, who was advised by a local council. West of the Great Lakes the prairies were nominally the possession of the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were inhabited by buffalos, Indian tribes, and a nomadic race of half-breeds known as Métis, the descendants of the mariages à la façon du nord between Montreal fur traders and Indian women. But democracy, as the Americans understood it, was to be unknown in Canada for another forty years.
Benjamin Franklin had cogently argued, in 1754, that all British subjects were entitled to the same rights, and that colonials of that race were as thoroughly British as those who lived in the motherland. During the long, cautious (perhaps the mot juste would be “dutiful”) struggle for democratic government in British North America, which went on approximately from 1830 until just before the establishment of Confederation in 1867, the consensus of Canadian thought echoed these sentiments almost precisely. Just as Franklin had warned the British government before the Revolution that separation would occur unless the principle of self-government were adopted, so now the Canadian progressives warned a later British government that only in this way could overseas communities of English speech be held within the Empire.
At first there was resistance both from British governors and from local cliques of rich merchants who profited by the colonial status of the people. But in 1832 the Reform Bill was passed in England, and this was a mighty weapon in the hands of the Canadian reformers. In Nova Scotia, Joseph Howe obtained responsible government without violence. But in Upper Canada and Lower Canada open rebellion broke out in the year 1837, the reformers in Upper Canada being led by William Lyon Mackenzie (grandfather of William Lyon Mackenzie King) and in Lower Canada by the seigneur Louis Joseph Papineau. In Ontario the rebellion was easily crushed; in Quebec there was more serious fighting because passions were inflamed by French-Canadian nationalism. But once the fighting stopped, the British government acted intelligently. They sent out a commission of enquiry led by the famous radical reformer, Lord Durham.
Though Durham was a Whig peer with grand tastes (he is said to have remarked that if one were careful, one could jog along on fifty thousand pounds a year), he was sympathetic to the aims of the colonists and a shrewd judge of men of the English race. He consulted the best minds in Upper Canada and listened to what he was told. As a result, he was able to contribute much toward the evolution of Canadian nationhood. His failure—as serious as it was understandable—was his inability to comprehend the French-Canadian character. Like many an Anglo-Canadian after him, he could not imagine that a people whose semi-feudal institutions had kept them backward would not leap at the chance of becoming progressive, even if the price of progress was assimilation. He sincerely believed that he was doing the French a favor when he proposed an arrangement in which he hoped that the sheer pressure of development within a liberal society would make a single united people out of the Canadians within a generation or two. Complaining that he had found “two nations warring in the bosom of a single state,” Durham recommended that Upper Canada should unite with Lower Canada and should do so on such terms that Anglo-Canadian society would ultimately prevail over the French. In 1841, as a direct result of the famous Durham Report, Ontario and Quebec were joined together to form a single province called Canada and were at last granted responsible government. It was typical of nineteenth-century liberalism that the progressives should have assumed that desire for political equality is a more potent force in human society than ethnic nationalism.
But not even democracy within the colonies meant that there was a Canadian nation. The individual colonies were still separately governed. British garrisons lingered, and the colonists wanted them as a protection against the United States, which was very menacing during the administration of President Polk. Once again, American pressures forced the Canadians to take a crucial step on the road to political nationhood.


German shepherds are strong, decisive and confident dogs. They are selfless protectors and devoted friends. As soon as this dog admits that you are the owner, it will try to please you and will fight for you to death, if it is necessary.
These dogs are rather suspicious of strangers; it needs a lot of time for their vigilance to be relaxed. German shepherds are always on the alert; they do not miss anything happening around. That is why they are perfect guards and protectors. If you make contact with a dog of this breed, it will become an excellent companion for you.
History Information of German Shepherds
The very first records mentioning this breed is dated to the seventh century. They appeared in the old German laws which prohibited killing of these dogs on penalty of harsh punishment. Judging by the information found then they were considered to be primitive dogs.
Later, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, German shepherds were described in one of the texts as strong, courageous dogs that were able to protect a flock, property and home of an owner.
The demand for this breed was increasing gradually and they spread to other European countries. Meanwhile plenty of breeders appeared who have started to raise these dogs for the purpose of selling them. Hence a lot of worthy dogs were grown.
Since that time German shepherds have become favourite dogs for lots of people of different professions, especially for police and customs officers, hunters and many others.
At present, there are two main camps that have quite opposite opinion about the process of German shepherds’ breeding and the results of it. The first one aims to grow dogs which will be able to participate in dog shows. The second side tends to breed working or athletic dogs. In fact, the appearance and the character of these two opposing groups differ a lot.
Specialists raising show-class dogs choose them by their look and the character of movements. This dog must be attractive to take part in the shows. Also it should have a good character: it should not be aggressive to people, should let a judge make all the necessary measurements easily, be active and rather energetic.
The second type of breeding assumes growing athletic dogs to participate in prestigious international competitions where they are compete in the best way of training dogs. These dogs are usually very fast as they have shorter legs. Dog trainers from different states teach their dogs to seek a thing or a person, to obey commands, and to protect the owner. Usually they are more enduring than the dogs of the first type.
Some Training Tips for Owners
- The owner eats the first. Feed the dog only when you have eaten your food. Your pet should learn to wait and endure hunger. Never give your dog something from your kitchen table. It should know that its food is always in its bowl.
- Never let your dog lie in your bed. Teach it that your place is only for you and the access to your sleeping place is denied for it. If you do not train your dog immediately, it can become disobedient later.
- The owner never makes way for the dog. If your pet is on your way, gently push it, it must give way for you.
- Do not forget about the leash. Your German shepherd must know that you walk it and not the other way around.
- Do not allow your dog to eat something from the ground. It can have a tragic end.
A German Shepherd is Your Friend
All in all, these dogs would be great ones if you train them properly. They perfectly get along with their owner and the children as well. This breed has a very calm and stable character.
A well-trained dog will always be good at home, outside and will obey you in difficult situations.


The above rendering is from one of Bergmeyer's recent workplace projects.
The exercise for creating architecture and interiors starts with conceptual iteration coupled with a learned procedure to understand the needs of the people occupying the desired space. This creative process can be applied not only to built environments but also to virtual worlds. Yet many in the game design field argue that an architect’s or designer’s skills and expertise are not necessary in the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and video game development process. When Daniel Super, a professional game programmer, was asked if architects are needed in the video game industry his response was stark:
“Architects know all about designing buildings for the real world. They know about making buildings functional, about material strengths. Video games aren't the real world. Video game levels don't have the same kind of constraints. More than anything, the most important function they serve is the game play.” (8)
When approaching the construction of buildings in the “real world,” architects and designers create spaces where people can live, work, shop, eat etc. Buildings and their interiors are grounded in reality by rules and regulations and are designed to meet environmental standards, evoke emotion, and/or provide an experience. There is a common misconception that designers have a significant amount of knowledge only applicable to building design and construction, when in fact there are clear parallels between real and virtual design processes.
Architects and designers offer their expertise in video games such as Assassins Creed II or LA Noire which use their knowledge to implement obsessive architectural detailing. LA Noire is an authentic depiction of Los Angeles in the year 1947. The team at Rockstar Games used over 180,000 reference images, 1,000 newspapers, and 110,000 aerial photographs, along with historical publications such as Architectural Digest and Home and Garden to create the most accurate depiction of mid-century Los Angeles that they could. But even so, some imagination was required:
“Some [spaces] were designed from the ground up as we couldn't find what truly matched the needs of the gameplay or the original script by Brendan (McNamara, Team Bondi Studio Head). But other locations are interiors that we inserted into wonderful existing buildings. The Art guys in the team did an amazing job, as you really can't tell what was made up by us and what was an original fabrication…” (9)
Where architecture and video games intersect, the typical solution has been "video game architecture," which - as seen in La Noire - attempts to replicate a space which may fit the environment but doesn't necessarily serve the player. What is being proposed instead is design process applied to a video game, which showcases a different approach where one uses the creative process to design virtual space rather than make spaces for story’s sake. This provides a level of “subtle sophistication” (5) rendered by architect involvement which may otherwise not be incorporated.
Training and working as a designer imparts a unique set of skills in relation to spatial awareness, color and interior organization as well as architectural understanding and the importance of the creative process. Designing space with the purpose of habitability in a virtual world allows for a lot of creative headroom. The designs don’t necessarily need to be constructible but should still hold true to the most important part of any video game: Gameplay.
A beautifully designed game with minimal thought to the gameplay will not succeed as the developer will not be able to hold the player’s interest. This is true for built environments as well as virtual environments. The creative processes which end up defining successful spaces include understanding how people move through, use and interact with them. Extensive diagramming, story boarding and gathering of inspiration images helps to kick-start this process. Significant time is spent understanding the client or player needs which then translates through to the design.
However, it’s important to understand the differences between the creation of virtual versus built environments lies with the tools used for the final product and not with the process. Many architectural designers use Revit as the digital tool to create construction documents. Revit is a successful tool for that job - it can incorporate the level of detail necessary to instruct on-site workers on the desired aesthetic with required detailing. Virtual model creation for video games and other virtual reality spaces do not require that level of detail and thus use a different set of tools that focus on lighter models, texturing, and efficient rendering.
The most common tools for 3D modeling in the gaming industry are extrusion modelers such as Maya, 3DS Max, and Blender. These programs focus more on the creation of form and mass and less on object dimensions. This allows for the design of virtual elements which are based in reality yet have a large tolerance for creative expanse.
Designers have a unique way of thinking about space. They can conceptualize, plan, and execute designs in the real world, skills that are transferable to both video games as well as VR and AR environments. To validate the importance of design sensibility and process, I spoke with Indie game Retrograde product manager Tony Breen and game programmer Anish Dhesikan. We discussed some of the most important points to keep in mind when developing for the virtual world. Breen and Dhesikan expounded on the benefits of having a trained designer on board and how it can be crucial to project success and streamlined development process.
Below are some of the thoughts that Anish and Tony shared with me during our interview:
The photo above features Anish Dhesikan on the left and Tony Breen on the right.
1. Quinn Levine: Can you describe the process you and your team took for creating each space/level in a game?
Tony Breen/Anish Dhesikan: We first started by coming up with a bunch of different ideas. A word-based storyboard to decipher the type of game we wanted to make. We knew it was going to be a puzzle-based game where the goal would be to complete levels by re-arranging and interacting with the environment. We then took our ideas to Blender to start massing levels and entourage. We chose Blender because it is a free software and allowed us to keep our budget overhead low while still modeling to an understood standard in the industry. After creating a few levels, we then pushed out an Alpha of the game and selected a few friends for playtesting. All the feedback involved a lot of changes to the initial modeling for the game. This became a really tedious process as we didn’t’ realize at the time how connected the feedback would be to the modeling and gameplay.
2. QL: Was there a desired design aesthetic for the entourage?
TB/AD: I felt like we changed our aesthetic each time we received new feedback all the way until the very end of the project. We wanted the game to feel realistic, with real-world physics and texturing, but as the project progressed, and changes to modeling and texturing were recommended by our play testers, the end goal and aesthetic for the project had changed so often that we no longer really felt connected to one idea over another and just wanted to push out an enjoyable game to play.
3. QL: What would you improve on if you were to do it again?
TB: Even though we felt hampered by all of the feedback, I feel that doing as much play-testing as possible is still a fantastic way to hone a game, and I would definitely have continued to do that if the budget had allowed for it. Playtesting will lead to higher and higher standards. Scope creep though is something to be aware of. You don’t necessarily need a story laid out, but you should have some direction which is ever guiding in order to reel in the amount of comments received during testing. We ended up hiring a story writer to assist us with this since our storyline was weak in the beginning but ended up scrapping it because the direction changed as we got further into building the game. We were focused on mechanics first and aesthetic second which may have been a mistake because we never got the story down. Don’t be afraid to buy assets if it will save time in the long run.
AD: We learned so much from the whole process. I would have improved on setting the right milestones and getting them done on time and within scope. This would have relieved a lot of stress and would have mitigated some of the problems which come with allowing an alpha of the game out in the world.
4. QL: Do you see a role for architects and interior designers in the video game space?
TB: I think that architects and interior designers certainly have a role to play in the creation of video games and virtual space. One of those is in the fashioning and VR visualization of built or proposed physical spaces. An example would be a tool to virtually walk-through an apartment which is not yet constructed, or a tool similar to Wayfair or Ikea where you can furnish your room completely in VR and understand how it will look in real life after those items are purchased.
I think another value add is to have an interior designer’s perspective and attention to detail while building video game spaces. An example that I can think of is that we created a living room for Retrograde, and spent hours trying to figure out what was missing because something felt off. It turns out we had a carpeted space with no baseboard and because of that the room felt incomplete and unfinished.
AD: I currently work with quite a few people who started in the architecture industry and have migrated to the developer and gaming side. There are a lot of skills which architects and designers are trained in through school and work which become applicable to VR and video gaming projects. An example would be to look at a VR company like Oculus where they employ people just to design VR spaces for demonstrations.
5. QL: What sort of modeling and texturing software is most common for video games?
TB: For Retrograde, we used Blender because it was free and there were a lot of tutorials online to assist us when we got stuck. We did all our texturing in Unity over Unreal because it had cheaper licensing. If I were to do it again I would use Unreal Engine since I believe it would have integrated better into our workflow.
AD: Typically, 3D modelers will also do all the texturing. The person or department doing the art for the game will also likely do the texturing. In my experience, Maya is used most often with 3Ds Max and Blender after it.
6. QL: Can you describe the workflow for creating models, texturing them, then deploying them into game?
TB: In game design, vertex count is probably the most important thing to keep in mind when creating digital models. The question is: Do you really need this vertex? Every point gets rendered in game so keeping the performance high while still delivering high quality models becomes the name of the game. Textures become a problem-solving procedure on their own. If they’re too large the file will run slowly, but if they’re too small the game will lack detail. If you’re modeling and texturing, assume that the game will be run on your grandmother’s computer.
AD: The biggest problem in our industry in VR and AR is high performance. In architecture you can leave a render running for days in order to get accurate lighting, detailed textures, and a realistic feel. In VR and AR you need to be running the game engine at a minimum of 90 frames per second. Your models need to be optimized, textures should be packed together correctly, and any modeling optimization during the workflow should be utilized. For VR, it’s especially important to try and keep the system running at around 90fps. Games and systems which run VR below that will have a higher chance of causing motion sickness. Companies like Oculus test every app to ensure it doesn’t drop below 90fps to reduce motion sickness while playing, and it has become a standard for all the apps available on their store to be tested this way for quality.
7. QL: Are there already techniques for texturing in VR or AR?
TB/AD: Right now, there are a few, but they are rarely used professionally because they are not yet advanced enough to incorporate into those workflows. TiltBrush is one of the only tools that I can think of where designers can make 3D models in VR and then bring those into a game.
8. QL: Can you describe a situation(s) where having an architect or interior designer would have been helpful on the project?
TB: At the forefront of my mind is level design. When we started with Retrograde it would have been beneficial for us to have someone on board who really understood space and the implications that spatial changes had on the overall level design. Once a space is made, colors assigned, and assets placed; making any changes requires a significant amount of work and could be big cost savings if some of those problems could have been identified early in the creative process.
AD: I believe the biggest advantage an architect would bring is their knowledge of spaces, lighting, and interior design. Architects also typically have a good sense of level design for games and VR. The way that they think is unique and has the potential to save a lot of time during the design process. A lot of the people who go into game design already have a lot of these qualities, so what really makes architects stand out are the ability to plan-ahead in terms of spatial thinking. Planning out levels from start to finish is a monumental task, and the interconnection of spaces requires understanding and digesting entire levels simultaneously.
Gaming image courtesy of Anish Dhesikan.
The potential for virtual space design lies not only with video games, but with a plethora of other opportunities. Imagine the latitude for virtual concerts, visualizing climate change, impacting the online retail experience and eating at virtual restaurants. These are all opportunities where successful design process has a profound impact on the user experience. Significant advances are needed in order to make the above a seamless reality, but with the forward-thinking, solution-based design approach encouraged by Bergmeyer, these seem less like pipe dreams and more like untapped markets at our fingertips.
It’s clear that architects and designers have a role in creating content for an increasingly virtual world. Designers employ successful creative processes which allow our malleable expertise to be applicable to both built and virtual spaces. Similarly, to a designer’s agility, Bergmeyer was an early adopter of Revit after seeing its immense potential for design efficiency. As a design collaborative, we’ve also been quick to recruit innovative staff that reinforce our core values and use their expertise to help guide the firm with pioneering momentum. There are hurdles to overcome when attempting to delve into new markets and experiences. Insight brought to the table by Anish, who is currently working on VR/AR capabilities with Google Daydream, and Tony who is now a CMO at a digital marketing firm, and countless others provide part of the building blocks to assist Bergmeyer to continue to be at the forefront of technological development and deployment. We’re experts in designing spaces and experiences; our curiosity to learn from each other, incorporate individual hobbies into our everyday work, and explore unfamiliar areas of opportunity all intertwine and give Bergmeyer a unique advantage as we envision the future of design.
Above is a clip of some Bergies experiencing a VR game created by our client, Sandbox VR.
1. Archinect: Do architects make better video games? Cue Shedwork's Sable, 2019's beautifully anticipated video game
2. Archinect: Behind the scenes of 'The Witness', a video game designed by architects
3. Archinect: Faculty members from Cornell's architecture department develop virtual reality program for popular video game company Epic Games
4. Eurogamer: The impossible architecture of video games
5. Architectural Review: Playing the Architect: Why Video Games and Architecture Need Each Other
6. MasterClass: What Does an Architect Do?
7. Forbes: Exploring The Mind-Blowing Realm Of Digital Architecture
8. Quora.com: Do you need architects in video game industry (level design)?
9. Rockstar Game: Behind the Scenes of L.A. Noire’s Painstaking Production Design: Part One – Locations & Set Design
10. Interview with Tony Breen and Anish Dhesikan


Two artificial reefs have been lowered onto the floor of Tasmania’s Derwent River Estuary as part of a research project that will look at the future of farming lobster. In recent years, there has been a significant rise in demand for the Main lobster tail. More high-end restaurants have begun to stock this delicacy and lobster delivery businesses have merged.
The reefs will create habitat for not only lobster, but abalone, seaweed and other marine animals.
Professor Stewart Frusher from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies is heading up the trial.
The experiment will test the effectiveness of the artificial habitats inshore, with a view to creating large scale, flexible floating artificial reefs beyond the continental shelf.
“This is looking at growing lobsters that come out of hatcheries,” said Professor Frusher.
“Tasmania is one of the first places in the world to be able to close the life cycle, and through the ARC Transformational hubs, they’ve been able to produce juvenile lobsters.
“So we are actually looking at putting these juvenile lobsters onto these reefs to see how they will grow and whether we can create an industry out of them.”
Photo: Professor Stewart Frusher from IMAS says the reefs could become habitats for growing hatchery raised lobster. (IMAS)
View original article at: Artificial reef deployed in Hobart’s Derwent Estuary to test the viability of farming lobster


Inland Waters Theme Report
Australia State of the Environment Report 2001 (Theme Report)
Prepared by: Jonas Ball, Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Limited, Authors
Published by CSIRO on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001
ISBN 0 643 06750 7
Aquatic ecosystems (continued)
Protecting, restoring and managing aquatic ecosystems (continued)
The importance of managing and restoring riparian vegetation is now well recognised, and remedial work is being undertaken at the local, regional, state and national level. Catchment and Landcare groups, for example, recognise that environmental and agricultural objectives can be achieved simultaneously. Riparian revegetation is widely accepted as an affordable and effective means of erosion control and bank stabilisation in many catchments. The actions of these groups at the local level are contributing significantly to the restoration of riparian vegetation along many of Australia's waterways.
Although most states and territories do not have specific legislation for managing riparian zones, other legislation focused on land-use planning, native vegetation protection and the regulation of pastoral lands and Crown land can apply to riparian environments (Cripps 1999). Legislation such as the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1994 in Victoria lists the clearance of riparian vegetation as a threatening process.
Case study 14: The Australian Arid Zone Rivers project
The Australian Arid Zone Rivers project (ARIDFLO) is a three-year multi-disciplinary research project on selected rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin (Figure 34) and aims to develop an interactive predictive model of hydrology-biology relationships for Australian arid zone rivers. Arid zone rivers are hydrologically, biologically and geomorphologically different from rivers in other zones of Australia. Hydrologically they are more variable, their geomorphology is less stable, and many of their plants and animals are more opportunistic (Puckridge et al. 2001). For these reasons it is essential that management of such rivers is based on specific local information, and does not attempt to extrapolate from findings in rivers in wetter environments.
The ARIDFLO model will provide input into determining environmental flow requirements of Australian arid zone rivers, as well as helping to predict the impacts of upstream water developments on aquatic biota.
Data are already providing important knowledge on arid riverine flow requirements. The year 2000 brought the biggest floods in the Lake Eyre Basin since 1990, enabling ARIDFLO to capture biological responses to a wide spectrum of short-term events. Analysis indicated that for flow pulses with total flow volumes at Diamantina Lakes of less than 1.2 GL, between 75-94% of the total flow volume did not arrive at the downstream gauging station at Birdsville (Puckridge et al. 2001).
Research has highlighted that the Lake Eyre Basin fish communities are unusually responsive to hydrological events as larvae and young juveniles of bony herring, desert rainbowfish and the Lake Eyre hardyhead were abundant following flooding (Puckridge et al. 2001). Large-scale geomorphological features - tributary junctions and river bends - were found to be crucial in providing sufficient water-residence time for the large colonial nesting birds to complete a successful breeding cycle (Puckridge et al. 2001).
The ARIDFLO model will be available as a predictive modelling tool in the assessment, management and monitoring of water use projects in the arid zones, and in the restoration of arid zone rivers already affected by water resource use.
A number of different demonstration and evaluation projects are being run across Australia to examine riparian vegetation management. These projects cover a wide variety of issues such as streambank stability, salinity, vegetation establishment, weed control, native plant regeneration and stock management.
The National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) assessed the availability of riverine vegetation data from the states and territories (LWRRDC 2000). While most have undertaken some riparian mapping, they only provide a snapshot of riparian zone condition and extent and do not allow an analysis of change in riparian extent. The NLWRA proposes building upon the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) to provide a future benchmark for measuring riparian vegetation losses.
The National Riparian Zone Program managed by Land and Water Australia aims to clarify how fringing vegetation, sedimentation and eutrophication interrelate, and how the health of downstream waterways is affected by the health of fringing vegetation. The program has been successful in producing scientifically based guidelines for riparian management which are supported by technical manuals.
Experimental and demonstration/evaluation sites around Australia are helping to improve community understanding of the interactions between riparian lands and adjacent waterbodies. Research is currently being undertaken in the Johnston River, Mary River and Coopers Creek in Queensland, in the Bega and Clarence rivers in New South Wales, in the Goulburn-Broken catchment in Victoria, in the Midlands and Buckland rivers in Tasmania, in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia and in the Kalgan and Blackwood catchments in Western Australia (Askey-Doran et al. 1999).
To date the project in the Mary River has resulted in positive outcomes for riparian vegetation. Three experimental planting sites have been developed to demonstrate cost-effective methods of riparian rehabilitation. Stock exclusion during the establishment phase of the planting sites was an important management action to assist in rehabilitation. Results after two years indicate that biodiversity was high, with 74 different species becoming established on the site (Stockwell 1999). After five years the site has an average canopy cover of 100% over the 560 m long by 25 m wide area replanted (Stockwell 1999). These results highlight the success of rehabilitation, although specific data on the benefits to aquatic ecosystem as a result of rehabilitation activities are yet to be determined.
Resnagging of rivers where feasible and practical is increasingly becoming a priority for the rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems and specifically for native fish populations. A project is currently under way to resnag a reach of the Murray River in a phased approach with the aim of answering many immediate questions that arise from resnagging a river. Specific aims include:
- an objective basis for assessing the need for, and probable response to, river rehabilitation through resnagging
- practical techniques for resnagging and fish habitat rehabilitation
- snag design and practical management options for individual species and fish community rehabilitation
- adoption of scientifically based on-ground resnagging works in rivers providing improved habitat viability for native fish populations.
The results of this project will have important, positive benefits for understanding and demonstrating the value of resnagging of waterways throughout Australia.


New World Warblers: Parulidae
Kirtland's Warbler (dendroica Kirtlandii): Species Accounts
Physical characteristics: This bird reaches about 6 inches (15.3 centimeters) and 0.5 ounces (15 grams). It has a dark, bluish gray back and head, white eye ring, and a gray-specked, yellow throat and belly. Males are slightly more vividly colored than females, and have a blackish stripe on the face.
Geographic range: This bird summers in Michigan, and winters in the Bahamas.
Habitat: Its summertime home is primarily forests of jack pine trees, usually preferring forests with many young trees whose branches dip close to the ground and provide cover for their ground nests.
Diet: Kirtland's warblers eat insects, and occasionally berries, or pine needles.
Behavior and reproduction: Although the warbler is quite rare, a birder who knows where to look can readily see them flying between pine trees and nabbing insects in midair. In late spring to early summer, Kirtland's warblers build small cup-shaped nests on the ground under low-lying pine branches. Broods typically number four or five eggs. The eggs hatch in about two weeks, and the young birds leave the nest about a week and a half later. One of greatest dangers to the birds comes not from direct predation, but from the wily brown-headed cowbird, which lays its eggs in the warbler's nest. The warbler cares for the cowbird young, often neglecting its own chicks.
Kirtland's warblers and people: People from around the world come to Michigan in the spring and summer to spot this bi-colored bird. Kirtland Community College, located in the breeding area, holds an annual festival in the bird's honor.
Conservation status: The need for the Kirtland's warbler to breed in young jack pine stands in northern Michigan has contributed to its low numbers. In response, efforts to improve its habitat have occurred, and the number of breeding pairs is increasing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently defines this species as endangered, but its ranking on the Red List has improved from Endangered in 1994 to Vulnerable in 2000. ∎
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Bent, Arthur C. Life Histories of North American Wood Warblers. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1963.
Cassidy, James, ed. Book of North American Birds. New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1990.
Dock Jr., George. "Yellow-Breasted Chat." In Audubon's Birds of America. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1979.
Ehrlich, Paul R., David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye. The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc. (Fireside Books), 1988.
Garrett, Kimball L., and John B. Dunning Jr. "Wood-Warblers." In The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, edited by Chris Elphick, John B. Dunning Jr., and David Allen Sibley. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.
Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1980.
Berger, Cynthia. "Exposed: Secret Lives of Warblers." National Wildlife 23 (2000): 46–52.
Lichtenstein, G., and S. G. Sealy. "Nestling Competition, Rather than Supernormal Stimulus, Explains the Success of Parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird Chicks in Yellow Warbler Nests." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 265, no. 1392 (2000): 249–254.
Price, T., H.L. Gibbs, L. de Sousa, and A. D. Richman. "Different Timing of the Adaptive Radiations of North American and Asian Warblers." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 265 (1998): 1969–1975.
Weidensaul, Scott. "Jewels in the Treetops." Country Journal 23 (1996): 58–61.
Endangered Species Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. http://endangered.fws.gov/ (accessed on May 5, 2004).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—Species information. http://www.redlist.org (accessed on May 29, 2004).
- New World Warblers: Parulidae - Black-and-white Warbler (mniotilta Varia): Species Accounts
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Animal Life ResourceBirdsNew World Warblers: Parulidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Conservation Status, Yellow-breasted Chat (icteria Virens): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, NEW WORLD WARBLERS AND PEOPLE