Language desk
< November 14	<< Oct \| November \| Dec >>	November 16 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

November 15[edit]

Could Holden Caulfield be at a place which is not a hospital?[edit]

Are there alternatives interpretation about the place where Holden Caulfield is, when he's telling the story? It's difficult to dispute that it's sort of institution, but is there any evidence that it has to be a hospital? Or even a psychiatric hospital? Where other options back then as to where to place troubled teens?--Scicurious (talk) 18:57, 15 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There were no "troubled" people back then. There were "juvenile delinquents", though. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:38, 15 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but wouldn't they just use more direct methods of dealing with 'juvenile delinquents'? In my mind, psychiatric hospitals back then were for people really out of their minds. Average cases were not diagnosed as mental illnesses so easily, contrary to today. --Scicurious (talk) 23:03, 15 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Actually it was easier to be committed back then - less effective drugs, worse diagnosis criteria, more need for unpaid labor provided by "patients", different social standards. Rmhermen (talk) 04:50, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. People could be institutionalized then for things they would never be institutionalized for today, like homosexuality, autism spectrum disorders, etc. StuRat (talk) 04:59, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

In Holden's day, there was pretty much just mania and depression. The only real question was "Are you happy?" No? Have some electricity. Yes? Have some laudanum. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:26, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I think it depended how much money you had - to some extent it still does of course. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 22:42, 15 November 2015 (UTC).[reply]

I've never read the book, but from the question, the term Reform school comes to mind. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:31, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Here are some enotes on the matter. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:28, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've just become convinced he was in this haunted sanitarium. But that doesn't mean it's true. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:32, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Language codes[edit]

Does any have, or can they locate, a copy of (now withdrawn) ISO 639 Part 6? It's a more extensive table of language codes that might be useful. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 22:45, 15 November 2015 (UTC).[reply]

According to Peter Constable, "While ISO 639-6 did get approved and published, the code table for 639-6 has never been made fully available in a usable manner. What data has been available has been looked at by lots of people with a response that they don't find it particularly useful for any practical application. Moreover, the agency that was designated as registration authority appears to have ceased its operations." I'm not sure what was in the published standard, but apparently it didn't include the table. -- BenRG (talk) 02:27, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

A free preview of ISO 639-6 which includes the table of contents is available here. It looks like it doesn't contain any language codes except a couple of pages of non-normative "example data". -- BenRG (talk) 02:35, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I was looking for a code for Proto-Germanic, but there are a fair few others I will need. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 02:07, 22 November 2015 (UTC).[reply]