IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Archive:More about language

2007-10-18T21:27:48Z

128.197.11.30:

<center>'''
[[Portal:Humanities|F<small>ACULTY FOR</small> H<small>UMANITIES</small>]]'''
[[School:Art and Design|Art and Design]] ·
[[School:Classics|Classics]] ·
[[School:Comparative Mythology|Mythology]] ·
[[School:Law|Law]] ·
[[School:Language and Literature|Language and Literature]] ·
[[School:Music|Music]] ·
[[School:Philosophy|Philosophy]] ·
[[School:Theology|Theology]]

'''W<small>ELCOME TO THE</small> S<small>CHOOL OF</small><br>L<small>ANGUAGE AND</small> L<small>ITERATURE</small>
part of the Faculty for [[Portal:Humanities|Humanities]].
</center>

Hello and welcome to the Wikiversity School of Language and Literature. Here we share our knowledge of methods and ways of writing poetry and prose, and learn Non US-English languages and explore Non-US cultures, too. We also discuss many works of literature and literary epochs they belong to, as well as their historical development and the main characteristics by which they can be recognized.

Science that studies the structure of a language and its development is called ''[[w:linguistics|linguistics]]''. Wikiversity's [[School:Linguistics|School of Linguistics]] is part of the Faculty of [[Portal:Social Sciences|Social Sciences]].

==School news and current events==
[[Image:Nuvola apps date.png|right|44px|News]]
* Looking for contributors.
*'''12 April 2007:''' - A new school has been founded: '''[[Topic:Klingon|Klingon Language Department]]'''.

==School history==

The School of Literature and English Studies was founded within the Wikiversity's Department of Humanities on 15 July 2004, in the time when Wikiversity was still part of the [[:b:|Wikibooks]] project. Eventually, it became one of the most developed of Wikiversity's schools.

On 30 March 2005, the School of Non US-English Language Learning was founded within the Department of Practical Arts and Sciences, though it failed to organize or function adequately.

Soon after the Wikiversity became a separate Wikimedia project, these two schools were merged together, creating the School of Language and Literature, as part of the Faculty of Humanities.

==Departments and divisions==
*[[School:Linguistics|School of Linguistics]]
*[[Topic:Literary Studies|Literary Studies Department]]
*[[Topic:English Language|English Studies Department]]
*[[Topic:Literary Studies|Literary studies]]
*[[Topic:Foreign Language Learning|Foreign language learning]]
*[[Topic:English Language|English language]]
*[[Portal:Writing Center|Writing]]
*[[Topic:History of literature|History]]
*[[Topic:Arabic|Arabic]]
*[[Portal:Slavistics|Slavic]]
*[[Topic:French|French]]
*[[Topic:German|German]]
*[[Topic:Hebrew|Hebrew]]
*[[Topic:Klingon|Klingon]]
*[[Topic:Tolkien Languages|Tolkien]]
*[[Topic:Southeast Asian Languages|Southeast Asian Languages]]
*[[20th Century British Novel|British novel]]
*[[20th Century British Poetry|British poetry]]
*[[20th Century American Poetry|American poetry]]
*[[School:Language and Literature/Catalogue|List of all projects and courses offered]]

==Learning resources==
==Wikiversity language courses==
* [[Introduction to Russian]]
* [[Introduction to Sanskrit Language]] (stub)
* [[Introduction to Swedish]]
** [[Common phrases in Swedish]]
* [[Mandarin]]
* [[Latin stream]]
* [[Introduction to Arabic]]
* [[Introduction to Finnish]]
* [[Introduction to Filipino]]
* [[Introduction to the Dutch Language]]
* [[Introductory Ancient Greek Language]]
* [[Japanese_I/Vocabulary/Question_words|Japanese question words]]
* [[Portuguese Alphabet]]
* [[Rules of Esperanto grammar]]
* [[Russian language]]
* [[Spanish]]
* [[ESL for Primary School]]
* [[Introductory Esperanto]]
* [[Learning the Basics of French]]
* [[Introductory Korean]]
* [[Korean writing system]]
* [[Aztec language]]
* [[Maya language]]

===Wikibooks===
*[[b:Wikibooks:Language and literature bookshelf|Books about language and literature]]
*[[b:Wikibooks:Languages bookshelf|Textbooks for learning languages]]
*[[b:Wikibooks:Humanities bookshelf|Humanities bookshelf]]
*[[b:Wikibooks:Social sciences bookshelf|Social sciences bookshelf]]

==Did you know...==
*...that '''[[Old English]]''' is grammatically closer to modern German than to modern English?
*...that '''[[Topic:Slavistics|Slavonic languages]]''' are mutually more similar than the German dialects?
*...that '''[[John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]]''', author of ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'', has highly influenced later fictional literature worldwide? And did you know that he was also a great expert in languages, and that he has created about twenty artificial languages himself?
*...that '''[[Esperanto]]''' is the most famous among many artificial languages? It is an auxiliary language created by Polish doctor Zamenhof, whose pseudonym was ''doctor Esperanto''.
*...that '''[[Tamil]]''' is the oldest surviving language in the world, still spoken in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

==Selected biography==
[[Image:VukKaradzic.jpg|right|100px|Vuk Stefanović Karadžić]] '''Vuk Stefanović Karadžić''' (1787-1864) was one the most prominent Serbian linguists. He reformed the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet by applying the principles ''one letter per one sound'' and ''write as you speak'', and realized the idea of introducing the spoken language into the Serbian literature. He was collecting and publishing Serbian folk stories and poems. His major books were ''Serbian Dictionary'' and ''Serbian Grammar'', both published together in 1818, in which he for first time used the reformed alphabet. Although there were some opponents of Vuk's language reform, his principles were finally accepted and realized in Serbian literature and linguistics. Vuk's language was a base upon which the modern Serbian standard language was developed.

:'''[[:w:Vuk Stefanović Karadžić|read more...]]'''

==Notable quotes==
"Language is guardian of a nation. As long as the language exists, as long as we keep it, love it, and respect it, as long as we write in it and speak it; the nation exists as well, and it doesn't flow over into another one, nor it will disappear."<br>
— ''Vuk St. Karadzic, Serbian slavicist''

==See also==
*[[School:Linguistics|School of Linguistics]]
*[[School:Classics|School of Classics]]
*[[Portal:Humanities|Humanities Portal]]
*[[Portal:Social Sciences|Social Sciences Portal]]
*[[Portal:Writing Center|Wikiversity's Writing Center]]



[[Category:Language and Literature|*]]
[[Category:Wikiversity schools]]

Archive:Fanboy

2006-04-26T10:09:34Z

128.197.150.153: /* Computer software/hardware fanboys */

'''Fanboy''' or '''fanboi''' is a term used to describe a male who is utterly devoted to a single subject or [[hobby]], often to the point where it is considered an [[obsession]].

==History of fanboys and the term==
The term originated in [[comic book]] circles, to describe someone who immersed himself in the fictional worlds of comics and the culture of comics fandom, to the exclusion of a more mainstream social life. The term is often used in a derogatory manner by other less obsessed fans. In the songs of the fannish [[parody]] [[musician]] [[Luke Ski]], many characters proudly consider themselves ''fanboys''. The term is most commonly associated with adolescent and teen males but can be applicable to any age or sex. Common subjects of reverence by fanboys are [[TV show]]s, [[film|movie]]s, [[anime]], [[car]]s, [[video game console]]s, [[video games]], [[operating system]]s, [[MMORPG]]s, and [[software]] companies.

The stereotypical image of the fanboy is as an unkempt, socially awkward, young man who may be perceived as a loud mouthed [[pseudo-intellectual]]. A popular depiction of this stereotype is the [[Comic Book Guy]] on ''[[The Simpsons]]''. In the mid [[1990s]], the emergence of [[slacker]] culture changed this image somewhat. Movies such as [[Kevin Smith]]'s Jersey Trilogy (''[[Clerks]]'', ''[[Mallrats]]'', and ''[[Chasing Amy]]''), altered the image of the fanboy{{fact}}. As electronic entertainment gained popularity, the term became increasingly applied to video gamers and television addicts who readily labelled themselves.

The earliest use of the word "fanboy" has been dated to 1982, to the cover of the "Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide". On this cover page are sketched overweight, overzealous comic book collectors wearing T-shirts that state "Fanboys of America," and are describing the extreme measures they would go to, including moving to San Francisco, to preserve their comics. Another early use is in a smart-alec editorial reply by "[[Ambush Bug]]" to a letter in his comic in [[1985]].

Fanboys can be zealously committed to their particular narrow area of interest, to the exclusion and derision of competing or similar products, regardless of their merits. Fanboys are often perceived as possessing a [[sycophant]]ic devotion to the creators behind the object of their passion. An obsession may be short or long term and, at times, aggressively defended. One example of this is [[Harry Knowles]] and his associates at [[Ain't It Cool News]], whose particular focus is on [[film|movies]] in the [[action movie|action]], [[fantasy]], adventure and [[superhero]] genres. Fanboys are noted for a very emotional attachment to their chosen subject, often taking negative remarks about it as a personal attack. They may readily engage in debates, but will fall back on emotional responses. For example, a "fanboy" may go out of their way to point out negative and often untrue statements about their obsession's rivals; this is commonly known as [[fear, uncertainty and doubt|FUD]].

More recently, especially in the [[video game industry]], fans of a particular [[video game console]] manufacturer have begun exhibiting slavish devotion to their brand of choice. Conversely they hold an unreasonable amount of animosity towards the other brands which they consider to be competition. They are extremely rude to fans of the other companies or even people who don’t hail complete and utter devotion to the object of their fanaticism. These people seek out every opportunity to annoy others whose opinions differ from theirs. This trend has led to the term “fanboy” deriving a more and more negative connotation.

==Some common types of fanboys==
Note that, by their very nature, the following lists are generalizations and stereotypes of the characteristics commonly found or believed to be found in 'fanboys'.

===Video game fanboys===
After comic books, video games may be the most fruitful environment for fanboys. These include:
*[[Nintendo]] Fanboys (sometimes called a "Ninty" or "Drone", short for "Nintendrone", also "Nintendophile", and "Snerd", the last one for the [[SNES]] game console and the term [[nerd]])
*[[Sony]] Fanboys (sometimes called "Tools", short for "PSTool" which is derived from Sony's current entertainment console, the [[PS2]])
*[[Xbox]] Fanboys (sometimes called "Xbots")
*[[Sega]] Fanboys
*[[Final Fantasy]] Fanboys (want the series to continue forever)

On the [[GameSpot]] System Wars forum, as well as SystemWars.com [http://www.systemwars.com/forums/], the different schools of video game fanboys are associated with various animals. Nintendo fanboys are called "[[sheep]]" because of their perceived willingness to be herded by Nintendo. Sony fanboys are called "[[Cattle|cows]]" because of the perception they pay extra, i.e. are "milked" by Sony for optional features for their equipment of choice. Microsoft fanboys are called "[[Lemming|lemmings]]" because of the perception they follow Microsoft blindly, even if it leads to their demise. Similarly, PC fanboys are called "[[hermits]]" because they are perceived as solitary, friendless gamers who play by themselves.

===Anime fanboys===
Anime is another fertile breeding ground for fanboys. Some notable examples are:
*[[Dragon Ball]] Fanboys (get hung up on names, especially [[romanji]])
*[[Sailor Moon]] Fanboys (very strict about [[manga]] continuity)
*[[Inuyasha]] Fangirls (generally, they're all [[female]], but display all the traits of fanboys)

===Computer software/hardware fanboys===
* [[Linux]] Fanboys - Love open source. View Microsoft as the ultimate evil, believing its products inferior and attributing its dominance solely to sheer financial muscle and [[Fear, uncertainty and doubt|FUD]].
* [[Mac]] Fanboys - The "[[Cult of Mac]]". Devoted to the Macintosh, both as hardware and as an operating system (especially [[Mac OS X]]), to Apple's hardware devices (such as [[IPod|iPods]]), and to Apple's various other software and hardware products. Emphasize ease-of-use over complex features.
* [[Microsoft]] Fanboys - Devoted to the [[Microsoft Windows]] operating system, the software available for it (such as [[Microsoft Office]]), and various Microsoft hardware products (such as the [[Xbox]]). Focus on the fact that the majority of PC software, in particular [[Personal computer game|PC games]], is compatible only or primarily with Microsoft Windows. Deride Apple fans as simpletons.
* [[ATI Technologies|ATI]] Fanboys - Often boast that their graphics cards have greater image quality. Refer to [[Nvidia]] fans as "Nvidiots".
* [[Nvidia]] Fanboys - Refer to [[ATI Technologies|ATI]] fans as "FanATIcs" (should not be confused with AEG sponsored posters, who receive indirect compensation as a reward to subtle promotion of NVidia's products)
* [[Google]] Fanboys - Devoted to the corporation that produced the Google.com search engine. They are ceaselessly bullish on Google's future, insist that Google will eventually unseat Microsoft as the most dominant technology company, consider Google's stock a bargain at any price and tirelessly argue against any insinuation that Google is ignoring its self-proclaimed mandate "Don't Be Evil."

==In Media==
===Comic Book===
*[[Sergio Aragonés]]' ''Fanboy''

===Television===
*[[The Simpsons]]' [[Comic Book Guy]]

===Radio/Podcasts===
*[[Fanboy Radio]] - [http://fanboyradio.com]
*Drooling FanBoy - [http://droolingfanboy.com]

===Webcomics===
*[[Fanboy Almanac (webcomic)]] - [http://fanboyalmanac.com Fanboy Almanac]
*[http://www.ngeb.net/fanboys Fanboys web comic]

==See also==
* [[addiction]]
* [[otaku]]
* [[anorak (slang)|anorak]]

[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Anime and manga terminology]]

[[de:Fanboy]]