#Foreign language use

[leaderoffestivals]

Mikejima Madara FS2 4*: On a Wintery Street Corner in Paris

Madara: PLEASE PARDON THE INTRUSIOOON ☆ Shu: GEH—? Mi—Mikejima… …!? What in the world are you doing here!?

Season: Winter Author: Yuumasu Characters: Mikejima Madara, Itsuki Shu

Shu: Nnngh… … Yawn~...

(Because of the consecutive all-nighters I’ve pulled—or perhaps due to the immense relief I felt at having delivered the final products—I ended up sleeping soundly until well past noon.

Umu. Fortunately, there’s plenty of lead time before the next job is due. I will need to prioritise a proper rest in order to achieve the perfect results. 

Perhaps, I could take a stroll and clear my head—)

Madara: PLEASE PARDON THE INTRUSIOOON ☆

Shu: GEH—? Mi—Mikejima… …!? What in the world are you doing here!?

Hmph! Cease this tomfoolery of yours, and get yourself gone this instant! The last thing I’d want is for a barbarian like you to be rampaging around my atelier!

Madara: Hahaha! What a nostalgic exchange of words!

I recall having a similar conversation with you back in the day when we were both in Yumenosaki Academy! It was about the Museum (1), if I remember correctly—

Shu: NON! I have no intention of reminiscing about Yumenosaki with you!

You came here for a reason, did you not? State your business quickly, and in as few words as possible. 

Madara: My business, huh~? What if I told you it's “Nothing at all”?

Shu: (glares) … … … …

Madara: Sorry, sorry! I was just kidding, alright? Please stop with the death glare already!

Actually, I’m here because Leo-san asked me for a favour. 

Shu: Hmm? Because of Tsukinaga… …?

Madara: Yes. Apparently, he’s been treating the pen case that Shu-san gave him like a precious treasure, however—

He was so focused on caring for the case, that he left all his writing stuff behind in this atelier. 

Shu: So that’s the reason he ended up taking just the pen case home with him? He’s quite the amazing fellow for doing that, honestly. 

And what about you? Did you really come all this way to Paris just for Tsukinaga’s forgotten items?

Madara: Nope. It just so happened I had some business in Europe, so I just dropped by. 

Shu: “Just dropped by”—you say? Even though “Europe” can be expressed as a single word, it’s still not a place you can travel about hither and yon on a whim and fancy. 

Anyway, Tsukinaga’s belongings aren’t here anymore. The other day, I happened to send some parcels to Seisoukan, so I slipped his forgotten items in as well. That’s where they are now. 

For heaven’s sake. Anyone and everyone seems to be carelessly leaving their things behind lately. They’re travelling abroad after all; I’d really wish they’d be more careful!

Madara: I agree. The language and culture are different here, so one shouldn’t assume that things will be the same as back home in Japan. It’s better to be more careful in the end.

However, I believe the reason people always leave their stuff behind in Shu’s atelier is because they feel so much at home here, you knowww ♪

Shu: Hmph. I’m not happy to hear that at all. This place isn’t a playground, you know. 

It looks like you've made a wasted trip. Will you be leaving Paris right away?

Madara: Nope. I’ve got some time before my flight, so I’ll relax and enjoy myself till then. 

… … Hmmm? Why are you all dressed up for?

Are you heading out? If so, I’d absolutely love to tag along ☆

Shu: Hmph. Forget it. Being with you, Mikejima, doesn’t exactly spell rest and relaxation for me. 

Madara: Haha! Oh, come on, don’t say that! As the saying goes, “No road is long in good company”, and two people will have more fun together than when they’re on their own, you knowww ♪

<An hour later.>

Shu: Umu. It seems there’s a flea market held here during the weekends. 

Madara: Oooh. What a classic Parisian scene~

You may already know this, but the origins of the flea market started right here in Paris. 

It is said that the name came from the fact that ‘antiques could be found in such sheer numbers, it was likened to a gathering of fleas’.

Shu: Urk. Please spare me your detailed description. I already knew about the name’s origins from long ago, and simply imagining it as you have described it makes my back itch. 

Besides, there are other theories about the origin of the name. 

Personally, I much prefer the idea that the name came about because of "the thrill which comes from the time and effort spent hunting for hidden treasures here, which are as elusive as fleas.”

Madara: The thrill of a long hunt, huh? Indeed, the accomplishment you feel when you locate a hidden treasure is reeeally something special!

Madara: … … Oh, what's this? It seems I have found something good right away!

Yes, yes! This piece of pottery will be perfect to display some plants ☆

Shu: Humu. Is gardening a hobby of yours? 

Madara: No, I wouldn’t exactlyyy call it a hobby, but—

I’m not sure who started it, but my dorm room is full~ of plants. I myself add in new ones occasionally too.  

Madara: [Excuse me, Shopkeeper! I’m interested in this piece of pottery here—]

Shu: (... … Hoho. His French seems pretty good, from all that time spent abroad. The best part of the flea market is the haggling over the price. It’s a battle of wits on how skilfully one can negotiate… …) <Ten minutes later.>

Madara: HEYYYY! I’m baaack, Shu-san!

I’m sooo sorry to have kept you waiting. Things got reeeally lively with the shopkeeper, and our conversation got carried away!

Shu: It’s alright, I don’t mind. I’m glad you got what seems to be a good deal. 

It’s really none of my business what happens to you, but witnessing someone I know get ripped off doesn’t sit right with me.

Madara: Ufufu. Have you been worried about me, Shu-san? You’re sooo kind… … ♪

Shu: Oh, for heaven’s sake. Stop jumping to weird conclusions. I simply did not wish to have an unpleasant experience. 

Madara: Hahaha! Even so, it made me reeeally happy ♪

And since I managed to score a good deal just now, I’ll give you a treat as a thank you for waiting!

Please recommend a local specialty, Shu-san!

Shu: Hmmm… … In that case, how about “Marron Chaud”—or roasted chestnuts?

It’s a winter specialty that’s sold all over town at this time of the year.

Madara: Hoho! That sounds great. It seems like it’ll warm the body up too!

There’s the scent of something reeeally fragrant coming from over there. Let’s go grab some right now… … ☆

Translator’s Notes: 1) (!) era story, Steampunk Museum.

[maulfucker]

racism in star wars will have wikis saying shit like "this species that is inspired on a real life non-white people is just too stupid to use the Force"

[dykedvonte]

Hancock: Mama Murphy this jet be straight bussin' fr fr no cap

Mama Murphy, not understanding a damn thing he said: Thank you sir, I love when you visit Mayor Hancock

[canisalbus]

at least as far as french goes, learning the genders of things is entirely memorization. and yes, learners of the language struggle with it.

in fact, if you're writing and want to convey that the person doesn't speak french too well, you have them misgender inanimate objects.

there's no rules to determine a thing's gender, not even vibes; in fact, the opposite is true: for native speakers, which gender a thing is will then color the vibes that they associate with that thing. this is why i will forever associate spiders with cunning and motherood.

and finally, i've saved the dumbest for last: in 2020, there was debate if COVID is male or female.

.

[unionizedwizard]

this has been said numerous times, better, and by more qualified people than me before, but it truly is wonderful that spending enough time with trans people in any capacity ends up completely rerouting your inner gender recognition patterns. like, right wingers are obsessed with saying that we're trying to destroy gender, and it is true in a way, because i really can't see, say, a closeted/pretransition trans woman as anything else than a woman. like it just doesnt compute. it's not like, an effort i have to actively make, it's just as easy as with a cis woman. nowadays <- important addition because it does come from experience, but then once the new pattern starts to set, you can't go back, it's sort of like learning to read

like, brain plasticity is real (hurray for brain plasticity!) and there's no evidence more supportive of the fact that gender is a social game that is deciphered through a complex set of rules and symbols and patterns, regardless of the kind of physical attributes exhibited by individuals, than being genuinely unable to read a trans person as anything else than their actual gender no matter what their cispassing actually is like

[dailymanners]

Don't make fun of any accents, ever, for any reason.

The person on the receiving end will most likely fall in at least one of three categories:

Second language

Regional accent

Speech impediment

1. Second language

This person is probably speaking in this language to you because either you don't speak their mother tongue or you speak it worse than they speak the language you are speaking. They are making an effort for you. An accent doesn't make you dumb.

Making fun of someone for attempting to communicate in another language is the height of assholery.

2. Regional accent

Half the time you make fun of regional accents, you make fun of historically disenfranchised accents.

Southern accents? Congrats you're making fun of the way rural, usually poor, people speak. Their speech was highly influenced by black people.

Don't even get me started on making fun of AAE.

Again, an accent doesn't make you any less intelligent.

3. Speech impediment

They know they have a speech impediment. They are probably trying very hard not to sound like that. It is literally not their fault. They have had to deal with people making fun of it their whole life.

A speech impediment doesn't make you less intelligent either.

[runawaymarbles]

There's a lot to be said about flaws in the US education system but I think some of you just weren't paying attention in class

[rapidhighway]

i need a pen grip that works similar to this is this possible to achieve does anyone use something like that

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

hot take I think the sexes would be much happier if we just accepted each other as mysteries instead of constantly shaming one for not being more like the other.

like, personally, in my own life, the whole idea of romance & marriage became way more exciting and attractive when I ditched the notion that men are just bigger stronger women, or women are just smaller prettier men.

like. not only is it okay that men are from mars and women are from venus, it's good.

do I know what's going on in my guy friend's head? I used to think I did, but it turns out I don't. Turns out I've never known what was going through the heads of any of the men in my life. And you know what? what a relief. he can do or say things that don't make sense to me, and they don't have to make sense to me. I know he's a smart, good-hearted guy; I can safely assume he had a reason for saying or doing that thing. And if I listen to him over time, I may even start to understand what that reason was. But I don't have to. What I can recognize instead is that each sex has a wisdom in their way of thinking and doing which befits given situations. More often than not, a situation requires both.

But you simply can't get both from one person, and you shouldn't demand it. And what a relief knowing my guy friend doesn't expect guy thoughts and behavior from me.

[lilacthebooklover]

duolingo terrifies me actually. "safe"?? "any means necessary??" what does this mean duo??? what does this mEAN??11!1!!!1

[mapsontheweb]

US states by percentage of population speaking a language besides English at home.

[tamtam-go92]

To the people who are writing fiction (or anything, it actually doesn't matter) are you writing stuff in your mother tongue first and later translate it to the other language (let's just assume it's English). I'm asking, 'cause I got that problem, that my whole communication on the web is in English and I also tend to write my fiction in English, but sometimes I feel like I should really also work on my prose in my mother tongue German (if I really want to get something published like in the distant future). And of course I have a better expression in German, 'cause German is a great language for prose and poetry, if you ask me. It's very descriptive, and I love how you can just build words by putting them together. But while writing in German, I recently tend to stumble over passages where I exactly know how I would put it in English, but I can't come up with a good German phrase for it. And if I want my fan fiction for example to be read, or my Simblr to be read, I need to publish it in English, and it's kinda easier to just write in English in the first place, even if it's not as elaborate as it would be if I wrote it in German. I really lost the point of this post by now. I guess I just wanted to know which language you prefer using when writing. So let's make this a poll. I like polls. xD

[torontofetish]

would nations forget their own languages as they go extinct? when the language is suppressed, do they stumble over words and mix up grammar and realize it just doesn't come as easy to them as it used to? do their native languages fade away and get replaced by new languages, languages of conquest and oppression and change? i wonder if they think about them sometimes, all those words they forgot, all those pieces of their culture and identity that got lost to time and violence and the all-encompassing oblivion of history.

[pocketgalaxies]

isha's song got me CRYING FOR REAL FOR REAL

[dossiersfrancais]

L’élection américaine : expliqué en français

« Votez comme votre vie en dépend, car c’est le cas. »

Aujourd’hui, c’est le jour le plus important pour les personnes américaines. C’est le jour des élections. Mais, en réalité, les élections passent plusieurs jours.

Pour voter, on a besoin d’avoir 18 ans et aussi être un citoyen américain. On a trois options pour voter : en personne le jour des élections, vote anticipé en personne, ou vote par procuration. Pour voter par procuration, on a besoin d’une raison comme le travail ou les vieux jours. Moi, j’ai voté anticipé en personne.

Sur le scrutin, on votera pour multiples candidats comme le président (ou la présidente), des membres du Congrès, et des autres positions pour sa ville.

Les résultats présidentiels ne sera pas disponible avant quelques jours après le jour des élections. Les états différents ont les procédures différentes, donc les résultats devinent disponible quand l’état est fini avec le comptage des votes.

Nos candidats présidentiels sont Kamala Harris et Donald Trump. C’est probable que vous les connaissiez. Donald Trump est conservateur et de droite. Kamala Harris est libéral et de gauche. La concurrence est féroce.

*Il y a plus de candidats, mais c’est impossible pour eux de gagner, donc ils ne sont pas importants.

La campagne de Trump est concentré sur l’économie et l’immigration. La campagne d’Harris est concentré sur l’économie aussi et les droits et les libertés.

Si vous êtes intéressés par mon opinion sur les candidats, je peux partager plus dans une autre post.

On trouvera notre président(e) dans quelques jours, mais pour maintenant, restez positif.

Bonne chance touts les américains !

[pomeraniandancer]

How the fuck does this even happen...

There are a number of languages you can search for works in on AO3, including Eald Eanglisc of all things, but the one language on there that really throws me for a loop is...American Sign Language.

Like, is there even a video option on AO3 for this to be possible?

I once picked a really big fanfic collection to search for ASL fics in and the only one that categorized as ASL was *written* in English. No videofile too be seen.

The most you can do in ASL in writing is write English words with ASL syntax. But that's still not ASL. ASL does not have a written alphabet or syllabary.

Genuinely bewildered about how this came about. Can people just post something and write in an "other" language and AO3 just adds that language to the list of languages they have fics written in?

I can't think of any other way that this might've happened, and as much as I adore AO3, this is pretty problematic.