#also this is slightly different for foreign language speakers

[touchlikethesun]

like just to be clear, everyone has linguistic pet peeves, little language tics and particularities on other people that get to them, but as long as you understand the meaning of the utterance, no speaker has the right to assert how another person ought to speak.

“but what about—” no. whatever it is, it’s your problem, not theirs.

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

My top Russian Tv-Shows

Despite this being mainly a mandarinblr, I still try to practise my other languages so here are some of the most interesting tv-shows in russian for my fellow russian-learners and speakers and anyone interested.

Kitchen - Кухня This show has several spin-offs including Hotel Eleon and Grand which I will not mention as by the end of the last spin-off there are literally no characters from the original cast and the plot slightly goes of the rails. The actual show is set a french restaurant in Moscow where Max Lavrov, who just finished his military service decided to work at. The show follows the various challenges that Max faces at his new workplace, including the foul-tempered but very talented Chef Viktor Barinov who has a drinking problem and other interesting characters. It's quite funny and heart-warming, and it's a must-watch imo.

Youth - Молодёжка A pretty standard sports series tv plot. The hockey-team "Bears" are a meh team at best, but that all changes when a former National Hockey League player turned coach shows up to make a proper team out of them. I only watched the first season because after that the plot got a tad boring for me, but as far as sports series go, pretty good.

Law of the Lawless (Not the 1964 film!) - Бригада A cult-classic staple of only 15 episodes. The plot is a bit over the place at the beginning, as opening episodes sequence is a flashback to the start of the final episode but after that it's chronological, with the first episode w english subtitles here. 4 best friends start out as youths from early 1990s to 2000s, with one returning home after finishing his army service with plans for uni and the others just starting their lives. However, the Perestroika had significantly changed their lives, so eventually the gang turns from racketeering and petty crime to slowly becoming the mafia. The opening theme is worth watching alone, but then again I'm biased.

How I became Russian - Как я стал русским This comedy show is quite dear to me, as it follows an American journalist with russian and slavic roots navigating life and work in Russia as he works on a story about life in Russia for a major newspaper back home. He's back in his homeland but as a foreigner who finds his heritage utterly confusing. This series resonates with me, as despite having a good grasp of my cultures languages and customs, I still feel disconnected from my heritage at times, and this show has been a reassuring reminder that not being 100% attuned with your heritage is okay, and that there are many different ways of re-connecting with your culture.

Closed school - Закрытая Школа I was slightly tramuatized by this show when I first watched it 4ish years ago, in part due to how unhinged and off the rails the plot slowly but surely becomes. A descent into madness. Andrei and his sister are sent to study at the Logos boarding school, but are then informed that their parents have perished. Andrei doesn't believe this, so he sets off to investigate with his new friends and investigate he does. There are also some other background shenanigans going on, but the unraveling of the schools mystery remains the main interest, including its odd passageways and deeply disturbing history. As a thriller series, it honestly deserves that title.

Here are some shows that came out more recently that I think deserve a mention.

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt- Слова пацана кровь на осфальте I've only seen a few episodes out of the 8, but it's very Brigada-esque so far. During the mid-late 1980s when Perestroika is going on and the USSR is soon to be no more, 14 year old Andrei is trying to survive as he's constantly bullied at school and by gang-members. He makes friends with one of said gang members Marat, as he slowly descends into the world of street life. I'll finish watching this series sometime probably.

The new guy - Новенький 16-year old Max moves from his glamorous life in Moscow to a small-town Yurovsk due to his parents constant arguing, where he immediately doesn't get along with his clasmmates who think him stuck-up and start bullying him. One day Max goes missing and his classmates are the obvious suspects, as slowly but surely secrets start to emerge revealing everyone's lies. A pretty good suspense/thriller show, which covers the topics of bullying, coming of age and what it means to be an adult pretty well, despite the 4th and final season being kind of lackluster.

Central Russia's Vampires - Вампиры средней полосы Where to even begin with this show. I don't know whether I should introduce the trailer or the opening theme song mv. Basically the life of a small and unconventional vampire family living in Smolensk, presumably in central Russia, who get disturbed when bodies with distinct bite marks are found nearby. This results in the Guardians (aka the guys keeping vampires a secret and ensuring that no one acts out) taking over and investigating with the vampire leader Svyatoslav Vernidubovich given a week to find and punish the culprit. My odd plot description aside, the cast is why I adore this show. The recently turned Gen-Z wannabe blogger Zhenyok, the thousand year old grandpa Svyatoslav, the constantly annoyed Dr. Zhan Ivanovich (who is actually french and decided to hang around after Napoleon was defeated) and his ex-wife The Countess who honestly should have a spin-off show and many more characters.

Doomsday - Конец Света Satan decides to come back to Earth and start the apocalypse, for which he needs his son Dimyan who should become the Antichrist but to his dismay, Dimyan doesn't really care about world domination and money, he just wants to get married to his fiancee Galya and live happily ever after. Chaos ensues as satan tries to persuade Dimyan to join him, whilst Angel vs Demon shenanigans occur in the background. I honestly had no idea that this type of show could even be produced due to the censors and yet it was. It's kind of slightly similar to Good Omens with all the apocalypse stuff and the Angels and Demons eventually teaming up? Good Omens adjacent. Except more gritty with much darker humour. The actor who plays satan is Yuri Kolokolnikov who actually starred in game of thrones so if you're a fan of his acting, do try this show.

Alisa can't wait - Алиса не может ждать Alisa is a 15-16 (don't remember her exact age) year old girl who is going blind and she decides to do something really drastic to ensure that her life will be comfortable after she loses all sight. There's a noticeable build-up to what she's actually planning during the episodes, as her homelife is less than ideal, with her older sister stuck in an unhappy marriage and a turbulent relationship with her parents. This is one of the few shows that really left a deep impression on me but it deals with some very sensitive and potentially upsetting topics so be aware if you're giving it a go.

This list may be updated in the future, so if there are any other shows that I may have missed do share them!

[spicyraeman]

Well interacting with you makes my week too! **aggressive friendly fist bump**

I hope your holidays are going well 😁

Wolfheart is ending me. Can I pet that dawg? CAN I PET THAT DAWG? (https://vt.tiktok.com/ZGeN9U7kG/)

I love seeing the hairy SH art! PCOS / trans / wolf girlie, I stan all versions I see. We're not cowards here! The new band drawings are fire, still making my heartrate go jglcbxlw. And seeing the growth? Honestly it's magic to me, I think it's perfect then it becomes even more perfect and I'm just how?? How possible?

Veteran'zel, Baby'zel, Beam'zel, Horny'zel, Rat'zel, all I do is love'zel! The cheetah/dog doodle + wet rat'zel made me hiccup from laughter, we were blessed.

Buddy, Karlach's got her tail docked like the gith children, that's why! See, problem fixed **insert Flex Tape meme**

Also for Lae'zel's accent : yes, she would have such a harsh accent! As a foreign speaker, the pronunciation isn't always intuitive and is sometimes paradoxal. She probably never used some sounds, and it's hard to guess a lot of them. It's so inconsistent. I lack air in the middle of my sentences because of the tonal accentuations differences. Languages are crazy man. Lae'zel would have a stroke, struggling to say "library" with Gale correcting her.

I've been upgraded to bestie? Careful, I feel like the most specialest goblin in town now 😎

I also wanted to share with you my recent victory : I passed my exams with unexpectedly high grades! It's been 10 years since I succeeded in anything school related, I feel strangely proud and hopeful. I attribute this partly to the intense hyperfixation for BG3. I can come back to this fandom and get comfort when I feel burned out and in need of motivation. Thank you for being part of it and sharing your blorbos with us. Good soup for our cold starving souls. So yeah, you and your art matter even if you find it bleh sometimes and you doubt yourself.

I wanted to be brief but I'm incapable of shortening shit even if my life depended on it. Violently dumping my brain in your ask like I'm late on garbage collecting day. Sorry not sorry for the awkward emotional stuff. Take care of yourself, bestie ✌️

🫀🚑

Sry for answering these “backwards”, I just needed to get the conlang stuff out first before all my good braincells shut down lol

hope the holidays are going well on your end as well :]

To pet a werewolf truly is the dream isn’t it, wereshart is prob my fav hc for her it just fits so well. I've been trying really hard lately to figure out how to draw her recently bc despite the art disparity her and lae’zel are neck in neck at being my fav characters. Seeing the growth in the bass drawing really gave me that boost of confidence that I'm at least slightly getting there lol

I truly do love Lae’zel in every form, but wet rat’zel rotates in my mind more than it should, sadly its not a hc I could ever commit to considering I can’t even remember Karlach’s canon tail lmaoo I really should just hc that karlach got her tail docked at this point, that or I need to make a checklist for her so I can go through and make sure ive got all her bits when I draw her

Also Ive already posted my big rambling mess about Gith accents but yeah harsh accent lae'zel best lae'zel, it just makes sense

But yoooo big gratz on the exams! Def something to be proud of!! I can agree this fandom really is a huge motivator, I haven’t had this much drive to do anything I've been doing recently in years. Glad I could help provide a lil comfort spot full of blorbo soup for the soul lol

Dw about shortening shit as you’ve prob seen i’m prone to rambling and also every emotion I experience is awkward so that's just par for the course here.

Hope life treats you well till the next ask, peace ✌️

[aeide-thea]

the thing that's actually really fascinating abt prev reblog is the people in the notes saying they use both versions (that is, both 'on accident' and 'by accident') but feel the two have slightly different, not registers (which people are also saying and which one might expect—the established 'by' being seen as more formal, and the up-and-coming 'on' more casual), but shades of meaning?

most commonly, speakers seem to be outlining a distinction that's roughly describable as passive vs active: 'something happens by accident' vs 'someone does something on accident.' which is so totally foreign to me, and so neat! love that this shift away from hegemonic usage is also a shift towards greater nuance!

secondarily, a couple of people frame the choice in terms of positive vs negative: 'by accident,' these speakers agree, applies to happy (or at least neutral) accidents, while 'on accident' is reserved for unhappy ones. interestingly, both respondents in this category give examples where the positive outcome is something the speaker has stumbled upon by chance (a 'delicious new spice and food combo,' a 'book series'), but the negative outcome is something they themselves have caused ('i hit someone on accident,' 'i fucked something up as a result of an action i took'), so there are consistent connections being drawn between passive-positive and active-negative.

this is all really interesting to me because i don't think i would ever personally say i had come across something 'by accident'—i'd feel the chance nature of the outcome was already expressed, or at any rate adequately implied, by whatever verb i'd chosen to describe it ('stumbled on,' 'happened upon,' 'came across,' &c), i think, and so for me 'by accident' only really comes into play when disclaiming malice aforethought. language! what is it even!

supporting examples under the cut for length (now in transcribed plaintext):

unending-niight:

#i've actually thought about this myself somewhat #i personally feel that 'by accident' feels right when in some situations and 'on accident' sounds better to me in others #the vibe for me for 'by accident' is the outcome of the accident is more of a neutral feeling or perhaps a good outcome #i found this book series by chance by accident #however if i fucked something up as a result of an action i took then i want to use 'on accident' #i did it 'on accident'

treecakes:

#by accident sounds right in a phrase like ‘he did it by accident’ #but not in ‘it happened by accident’ that sentence should be ‘it happened on accident’ #idk why that sounds more correct to me…. generally i use on accident more than by accident

wiltshired:

#tbh i change between them based on the level of action taken by whatever caused said accident #on accident is for when you mean to one thing and it fucks up #by accident is when you like. bump into things or spill a glass y’know??

abrightclearfield:

#me and my gf agree it depends on context #'it was on accident' vs 'i did it by accident' #if the subject is an event/action it's 'on' #if the subject is a person then it's 'by' accident

rat-knife:

#i feel like i use them differently? #doing something by accident is like. i didnt even notice but this thing happened and it was bc of me oopsie #vs doing something on accident is like oh fuck. oops my bad gang i did not mean to #like if i did something by accident it feels like im not taking credit for the outcome vs if i did something on accident #im trying to assure people of my intentions #by accident as compared to by sheer force of will or by the hand of god vs on accident as compared to on purpose ig?

abracafuqueue:

#something happens by accident #someone does something on accident

lady-harrowhark:

#…….i didn't know 'on accident' wasn't standard #i use both and never thought twice about it #i guess 'on' sounds more active and 'by' seems more passive so that might impact how i choose based on context? #like 'i spoiled my birthday gift by accident when i saw it as i was getting a coat out of the closet' #vs 'i broke the window on accident when i tossed the ball too hard' #like in the first it's just something that happened and in the second it's something i did #ja feel?

thenerdyindividual:

#i use both #by accident is for when something good happens like ‘I found this delicious new spice and food combo by accident’ #on accident is for negative things like ‘I hit someone on accident’

clichenuance:

#as an expansion on my response that nobody will specifically know unless i state it here #i expect-wonder that it has something to do with [SUBJECT EMPHASIS] on purpose #versus [CONDITION EMPHASIS] by accident

thatcacidork:

#on accident = it was dumb of me/my fault #by accident = whoops the universe willed to to be so/no one at fault

rosencrantz:

#instinctively I think there's a semantic difference in the two #but i'd have to collect and review a bunch of examples to pin it down #like there's an ownership or responsibility or something to one and not the other maybe? #or maybe not!

lowtideandhightea:

#i have a slight preference for 'by accident' in situations where passive voice is being used intentionally #and 'on accident' is more correct when an active voice is being used

osterby:

To my ear (native speaker, US, I would have been right on the threshold of your two age groups when you did your interviews), both are correct, but "on accident" is the only formally correct way and the only one I'd use in an essay, and "by accident" is correct in conversational English. But the two have very slightly different meanings. "On accident" is agentless, the thing just sort of happened, no one made it happen, it happened on accident. "By accident" has an agent, I was trying to do something else but I screwed up and I did this by accident. "On accident" emphasizes that the thing itself is the accident. "By accident" emphases that accident was the means by which something did the thing.

[gemsofgreece]

The Greek language is indeed beautiful and unique for better or for worse. It's the second most old language still been used after the Chinese so not only it kept it's roots but also has a rich history.

The problem with today is that Greeks often put in their vocabulary too many English words while speaking because of the constant contact they have while watching movies, social media etc. While some tried to use this as an opportunity to expand the knowledge of the Modern Greek language to foreigners, sadly most of them are victims of the globalization.

Also the sad thing is that, because Greece is small and is not the global focus on trading and influence like it used to, not many are willing to learn our language. Compare it to German which is spoken by millions and in other countries just in different dialects or the Spanish. So aside from Greeks, Cypriots and whoever Greek immigrant still uses our language, if we don't start becoming more involved in global influence and promoting the Greek language sadly no one else will care to learn it.

I just want to make clear that, from my side, I wasn’t talking about promoting the language to foreigners but simply suggesting to put it in good use amongst ourselves, for us and for our own future.

You see, the Greek language isn’t dying. Few million people speak it on a global scale but they are many more than they were during Ottoman times or after the Independence but before the Internet. Don’t forget that the independent modern state initially only had a few hundreds of thousands and this number had grown into 7 millions at the time the Anatolian Greeks (another 1.5 mil) started coming from Turkey. And obviously the Anatolian families here had only Greek as a language at home, not competing with another language like Turkish. Emigration took the language to other countries too even if nowadays fewer and fewer next generation expats speak it, it’s still more than when there was no emigration at all, right? Now Greek speakers around the world are around 20 million and I don’t know if those learning it in academics are included in this. In short, Greek has actually grown the last centuries, not shrunk, and now the tools Internet provides can only help it reach more people. Of course it can’t have the spreading rate of languages like English and Spanish and all that, but my point is that there is not any matter of extinction. Yet.

The matter there is is a degradation of quality, which is only due to our misuse and due to us being so pliably susceptible to the globalisation. This is not at all just a Greek phenomenon but obviously as a Greek myself, this is the language I care about first and foremost, that’s why I was complaining. So I don’t care how many get to speak it, as long as those who speak it, speak it well and enjoy to speak it. But to see such a potent language becoming nothing short of Simlish, judging from how teenagers speak it right now, yes, that gets on my nerves. I mean, why even want to sound stupid? It’s a little pathetic to sound like an academic in English yet only slightly better than a toddler in your native language, isn’t it? I see teens speak on camera and I get anxiety by how visibly they struggle to form a decent sentence wtf (Having said that, kids don’t seem to have as big a problem as teens do, so I don’t know, maybe the generations of the crisis reached an all time lingual low, no offense 🤷🏻‍♀️).

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries really did a pretty spectacular job with their German characters - the conflict, while centred around a world war and everything, is tragic and nuanced and neither side is demonised! And the actress playing elderly Mrs. Vogt is doing a really solid accent, not at all over the top for once! And her son’s German is a valiant attempt, but miles away from a native speaker’s - and the show adresses that! He’s second-generation and “was always worse [at German] than [his] brother”! And the language is included as something not only worth learning, but in the context of poetry - love poetry at that! And Rilke! And *that* Rilke! Death on the Vine has my whole heart just for that.

But they also fall into that exact same trap that almost every anglo production falls into with German characters - the names are??? way too Scandinavian??? Like the father’s name is Michael, which is excellent! That is super common... but his wife pronounces it [ˈmîːkaɛl], “Mee-ka-ale”, which, no. No. That’s just... Swedish. Look, I get it, “ch” is hard for English speakers, but then just call him “Thomas” or “Johann” - they’re just as common, and have neither the difficult “ch” sound nor an “r” (which is usually a dead giveaway, I can count the native English speakers I know who can approximate a German “r”-sound on one hand). You can get away with “Oskar” and “Ida” just fine, they’re common enough - but also suspiciously common in Scandinavia. And then there’s “Erik”. I’d be perfectly willing to be generous and say his parents just anglicised the German variant “Erich” (which, again, would probably be a monster to pronounce for an Australian actor, even though the name would be *just* the ticket popularity-wise). They appear to have anglicised their last name from “Vogt” to “Voigt” (the mother introduces herself as “Ida Vogt”, even though she seems to be *listed* as “Ida Voigt”? Rather confusing). But then his name would be spelled “Eric”, right?

It’s not as egregious as “Dark” and “1899″ - I spent the first ep of Dark convinced the show was set in Sweden or Norway because the names were so off - but it just. It *bothers* me. (Largely because I instinctly always think that the popularity of Scandinavian names in Germany was a leftover Nazi thing - even though turns out that’s just one of those weird misconceptions that a lot of people have. There is apparently quite clear evidence that it’s not true.) But also in this case because it’s geographically off - these Nordic names are very common in *northern* Germany, but the Vogt family is from the Rhineland, which is emphatically not considered northern. It’s not impossible! But not the obvious choice nonetheless, and this keeps happening! It’s so unimaginative, we have so many stupid names to choose from! I get that “Heinrich” and “Friedrich” are dicey if you don’t have a native speaker on your hands, but... With a British accent, “Horst” seems quite doable, and it sounds kinda funny - at least a good bit more foreign than Eric. Same goes for “Dieter”, “Bernhard”, “Walther”, “Udo”, “Hermann”, “Josef”, all old-timey and strong 20th century vibes, and very common. (And honestly, just go with “Peter”, “Arnold” or “Martin”, they’re pronounced slightly differently than the English variant but you’d have absolutely no trouble teaching them to an actor.) Plus, Nathan Page did quite a beautiful job with Rilke’s first name, so for second generation, “Rainer” could be a contender! (And speaking of Rilke, if you want a northern German name so badly, go with “Malte” just once! Change it up!)

Ida doesn’t nearly grate as much - old-timey female names in German are often hard to pronounce (”Hildegard”, “Annegret”, “Margarete” etc. have the bingo of the ‘r’ sound and the consonant clusters, “Ulrike”, “Irene” etc. have that really conspicuous “r” in the middle as well, and I feel like even easier names like “Louise” can be deceptively difficult to get right). But in the first half of the 20th century, you can get away *brilliantly* with short forms! “Anni”, “Emmi”, “Leni”, “Lene”, “Lotte”, “Hilde” - feels very lived-in, and simple enough to pronounce!

tldr; I love Death on the Vine but for the love of god stop naming every German character Erik.

[mariacallous]

On May 31, after three rounds of voting, members of the Latvian Saeima (Parliament) elected Edgars Rinkēvičs, who has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2011, as the country’s new president. He will assume his new position on July 8. Rinkēvičs is only the second openly LGBTQ+ person in the world to hold the post of head of state (which has never happened in any of the countries that were previously part of the USSR). Rinkēvičs was also one of the most popular politicians in the Baltic states in the most recent parliamentary elections, finishing ahead of Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. Meduza has collected Rinkēvičs statements across the years – about being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Latvia, the situation for Russian speakers, Russia, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On being part of the LGBTQ+ community

“Our country needs to create a legal framework for partnerships of all kinds. I will fight for that. I know it’s going to be mega-hysteria, but #Proudtobegay.”

“I proudly announce I’am gay… Good luck all of you…”

Rinkēvičs wrote the two tweets above in November 2014, publicly coming out. At the time, he had already been head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry for three years. Rinkēvičs is the first politician in the country’s history to be openly gay. Seven years later Rinkēvičs said in an interview that coming out was one of the “hardest decisions” of his life.

“Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (this tweet was published on May 17, 2021 – a note from Meduza). We [Latvia] still have a lot to do to build a country and society free of intolerance and with an appropriate legal framework 🏳️‍🌈”

On Russia, the invasion of Ukraine, and relations between Russia and Latvia

“Today Russia celebrates Russia Day (tweet published on June 12, 2022 –a note from Meduza), I wish Russia defeat in its aggressive war against Ukraine, the abandonment of its imperial ambitions, and that it build a modern, democratic, and law-based state.”

“A year ago Russia started full scale war against Ukraine, many doubted if Ukrainians would withstand. They did, their moral victory is great. Today many ask, if Ukraine can win militarily. The answer is yes and we must send more weapons, more help. Ruzzia delenda est”

“Russia makes no secret of what it sees as a conflict not only with Ukraine, but with the West as a whole. Under these conditions the main objectives of Latvian foreign policy – ensuring the country’s independence, sustainable security, and the well-being of society – become even more important. <…> It is in Latvia’s strategic interest to achieve Russia’s defeat in the war against Ukraine, and to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

About the people of Latvia and the Russian language

“We won’t get anywhere through repressive measures alone, so we have to talk, fight, visit schools and neighborhoods, talk to people whose native language is Latvian, or other languages, explain our country’s policies, and call for unity. <…> Dialogue, conversation, maximum positivity for to how to present the values of the Latvian state, how to address people who are confused in one way or another or who have not decided whom they belong to – the Russian world or European Latvia.”

“If the need arises and I see that this is the best option, I will speak in Russian. <…> Latvian is the main language. But you know, sometimes when I hear the cry of Atkrievisko Latviju! (derussify Latvia), I’d say it differently: Latvisko Latviju (Make Latvia Latvian). And there is a slightly different, more positive connotation.”

On freedom of speech, Russian journalists, and the situation with TV Rain’s license

“Even in conditions of hybrid warfare, freedom of speech and independent media are necessary.”

“As #Russia closes independent media and introduces complete censorship, I reiterate Latvia’s readiness to host persecuted Russian journalists and help them in any way we can. Russian public in Russia and around the world must receive truthful and objective information”

“I now believe that Russian society should have access to depropagandized information. The fact that TV Rain started working for us in the summer was a justified decision, but in military circumstances the conditions are clear: if the principles of being a guest are not respected, then this media has no business being here.”

Bonus: on Latvia’s presidential elections and Latvia’s Ice Hockey World Championship bronze medal

“What elections… Hockey.”

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

this !!! ask game for ajax. questions 1-10. observes

Ask Game!

ough. This got SO long.. UTC

How does your OC make ends meet? What do they do for a living? How is their occupation viewed in the social context they’re in? Does it come with social prestige or financial comfort, and are these two things aligned in the society you’re writing, or are they separate metrics?

Many know the Nikolaev name, the scourge of Sieveronia, the terror of Europe. Ajax is not unknown, especially not to those with darker ties. Many fear him, as such, he can simply intimidate others for money if he so wishes. Most nobles won't say no to the man known for his blood curse. That being said, Ajax often takes jobs he finds Interesting. Mercenary work, bodyguarding, fetch quests. If you interest him with your request, he may just do it!

His previous duty however, brought more than just prestige, more than just financial comfort. It was more an identity than his own. In the world of Amant, social prestige is not something one should seek, however. To be known, is to be in constant danger. He misses the money though.

How does your OC communicate? Are they monolingual or multilingual? What is the linguistic environment they’re in? If they’re monolingual, is there a social penalty for only speaking one language, or is it the norm? If they’re multilingual, which of their languages or sociolects has the most/least prestige? Is there a separation between written and oral forms of the language? Can your OC blend in or does their language mark them in some way? What are their levels of fluency, and how do they feel about them?

Ajax is multilingual! He speaks Russian, English, some Japanese, and some French. The first two he's fully fluent at C2 level. And the last two he'd be A1-A2 in. He really wanted to learn German, but he's kinda shit at it. He only knows German swears. He also lies and says he can understand Latin. He cannot.

Whilst the language of Amant is mostly the same as today with older linguistic quirks, there is no real linguistic prestige in any way that differs from what we see today. As in, if he's in France, for instance. Where Amant mainly takes place, some may scoff slightly at his broken French while others will at least appreciate the effort.

His accent is incredibly thick however, and is easily notable as belonging to a Cyrillic language of some kind at the Very Least, if not called out immediately for being Russian. As such, even speaking in his second fluent language, his accent marks him as a foreign speaker of it. That being said he likes to shock native English speakers by using "big fancy words" with his silly little accent.

What is your OC’s concept of social debt? What constitutes a sense of social obligation for your character? Is it based on individual feelings or collective principles? What do they do when they feel like they owe someone? Are they likely to default on a social obligation, or repay it? What are the costs of either approach in the society you’re writing?

He has no concept of social debt. It isn't that he doesn't know what it is. It's that Ajax is more self interested. So, Ajax will repay a social debt, but only if it benefits him later on or in some way. If somebody helps him, he won't instantly feel obligated to repay them, unless he can see a way to use that for himself later.

However. As I mentioned before.. He will do things that interest him. If Ajax can tell that doing this will lead to something interesting? Well. He's all over those obligations! Let him help you~

For the average person, there's a cost to being so selfish. Of course there is. Selfishness won't get you far. However, because of his social prestige, most people won't help Ajax ANYWAYS. People cross the road to avoid him, kinda deal. But yk, there's outliers.

What does it take for your OC to consider someone a friend? What constitutes friendship in the society you’re writing, what expectations does it come with, and how does your OC fit into that structure of expectations? Do they make friends easily or do they struggle? How intimate is a friendship for them, and what does it include?

Growing up Ajax was really friendly, he made friends easily at the Academy. And while he didn't easily grasp the material he was studying, his penchant for making friends meant he always had somebody to tutor him before any major test or help him with any homework. His meaning of friendship was loose, because everyone was his friend!

When he became afflicted by his curse, however, he learned how fickle friendship could be.

Now that he travels alone, he does his best to be charismatic, anybody who doesn't know him is treated with kindness first, unless they warrant otherwise. But ultimately, friendships come at a cost. And Ajax can't afford to really pay that right now. So yeah he makes "friends" easily.

What does it take for your OC to consider someone kin? What constitutes kinship in the society you’re writing, and how does your OC relate to that set of cultural expectations? Is kinship defined only by blood, or through other forms of social intimacy? Are there symbolic gestures that might establish a kin-like relation? What is family for your OC?

Family is family typically. Every dynamic is different, it depends on the family. Ajax is someone who very much values family, though. It's why he left Her Majesty's army when his disappeared. He fought for them, he cared for them, everything was for them. Now he searches for any clues to what happened to them. Any answers at all.

Family is defined by the expectation to always aid one another in his small village where he grew up. "It takes a village" and all that. The bigger world at large doesn't operate on that philosophy. But he doesn't pay much attention to that.

Back home, one could go to the neighbour and ask if they had sugar in exchange for some eggs. That was kinship, that was family. This outlook has slightly been soured, of course. He doesn't view anybody as family anymore, not really. Even if he wants to, it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, a guilt in his gut.

What are your OC’s religious beliefs? Are they aligned with the beliefs of the society you’re writing, or are they orthogonal? Does your OC question their convictions, or do they feel a degree of certainty? Does your OC feel a personal connection to a sense of divinity, or is religion empty social ritual for them?

Ajax believes in a higher power because he needs to believe in something. He's not religious in any way, he isn't even sure WHAT exactly he believes in. But he simply believes there is more out there because there HAS to be.

Russia in general has a thing with religion, and being from Russia and growing up in that, his family was Orthodox. He's separated from this specific belief and would be considered to more believe in mysticism. Ultimately, something is there. He's not really sure what anymore. Only that it is uncaring.

As such, empty social ritual best describes Ajax's involvement in religion. I'm covering several countries and thus several societies views on the world. It's hard to say if he fits into one society or another, as its so dependent. Ultimately, nobody would bat an eyelash at his beliefs.

What does your OC consider unspeakable and/or repugnant? What are the topics or issues your OC finds viscerally difficult or impossible to talk about? Are these topic socially unacceptable, or is it personal? What do they react to with revulsion ahead of any intellectualized response?

I read this question out loud and immediately went "Nothing." to which Etienne responded "Nothing is off limits." That is our combined answer to this one.

HOWEVER. If Ajax sees you harm a child, you will be ripped limb from limb and have your sinew strewn upon the street. Anyways, that's it.

How does your OC approach the line between public and private? What sorts of things does your OC not share with anyone, what might they share with the people closest to them, and what do they happily share with anyone who might ask? What is their definition of property if they have one? In turn, does your OC think they belong to something as well? (A state, a collective, a cause, a person, etc)

See because of his previous position, private didn't really exist. This ties back into what I was saying about being known is a very dangerous thing in this world. Because so many people talk. Ajax would like to keep some things private, but its hard when most things about him are known.

Ajax won't ever truthfully answer what happened to his eye though. He'll tell a different story every time, each one more entertaining than the last. The truth hurts. So he keeps it close to his chest and makes a joke instead. So he'll tell anybody who asks! But not the truth.

He wouldn't really consider himself as belonging to anything any more, and that leaves him a little lost at times.

What would it take for your OC to change their opinion? Does your OC change their worldview often or are they set in their ways? What does it take for them to change their mind? Do they admit they were wrong, and if so, under what circumstances? How do they handle it? What do they do when their beliefs are threatened?

Ajax's worldview has changed twice majorly. First when he became afflicted by his blood curse, and the second time when he lost his family. Ultimately, he's very stubborn about his opinions though. He tries not to change his mind, even if his heart stirs.

He SUCKS at admitting he's wrong though oh my godddddddd. He'll just avoid it!! He's out here gardening for you instead of saying "I got that wrong, soz" like kay. okay.

He will kill if his views are threatened in a certain way though. Like, he'll go that far if necessary. What a guy.

What social persona does your OC perform most frequently, and when do they show other aspects of themselves (and to whom)? Is your OC code-switching between social persona depending on context, or do they stay consistent? Is social adaptation something they feel is necessary or are they uneasy about it? Do they believe that one has to be honest in their self-presentation, and is that aligned with the society you’re writing or is one expected to have multiple social “faces”? Under what circumstances does your OC show a different facet/angle of themselves?

This is a really hard question. So I'll start with multiple social "faces" is almost a requirement for survival. This goes for anybody, but especially anybody with any magic or special ability or species. Anyone who isn't by the normal citizen's standard of "normal" MUST perform for survival.

Ajax is very charming and upbeat, for those who do not know him and thus do not have time to fear him, he's a great guy to be around. This is one of many personas he has to uphold to survive.

Other times however, he has to lean into the intimidation to get out of a situation that would otherwise SURELY see his death.

He tends to switch it up depending the circumstance and who he's talking to. However, Ajax often slips up. It isn't that he's bad at lying or pretending, it's that he finds the whole show and dance so boring sometimes..

Ajax once believed however, you should always be honest in your presentation. Funny how things change, I guess. He tries not to be too honest about himself, but he doesn't want to stretch the truth too far either. Ie, he's not as bad as say Ohm or Decord in terms of lying. Or as bad as Katsumi in terms of telling the truth.

[silver-blooded-synthetics]

ERROL

ACCENT: “country” / “backwoods” / “sailor” / “upper class” / “city slicker” / foreign speaker / refined

ELOQUENCE: educated / self-taught / uneducated / doesn’t use conjunctions / shortens words / omits entire words on occasion / mixes up words / just makes up their own words / archaic english / dependent on mood or setting / doesn’t use contractions

TONE: loud / soft / room volume / high pitched / low pitched / seductive / velvety / speech impediment / abrasive / gruff / shrill / booming / matter-of-fact / toneless / husky / gravelly / breathy / nasal / barking / chatty / condescending / musical / suave / world-weary / brash / authoritative

HABITS: refers to self in third person / incorporates different languages/terms/sayings / uses gender-specific terms / adapts to audience / changes pitch around animals or children / shifts tone when lying / gives others nicknames / uses terms of respect towards others

OTHER BITS: He has an English accent, and his voice is just slightly gravely and very deep, but usually soft, unless he's angry or yelling for some other reason.

VOICE CLAIM REFERENCE: Same as Face Claim (Jamie Bower)

ALMA

ACCENT: “country” / “backwoods” / “sailor” / “upper class” / “city slicker” / foreign speaker / refined

ELOQUENCE: educated / self-taught / uneducated / doesn’t use conjunctions / shortens words / omits entire words on occasion / mixes up words / just makes up their own words / archaic english / dependent on mood or setting / doesn’t use contractions

TONE: loud / soft / room volume / high pitched / low pitched / seductive / velvety / speech impediment / abrasive / gruff / shrill / booming / matter-of-fact / toneless / husky / gravelly / breathy / nasal / barking / chatty / condescending / musical / suave / world-weary / brash / authoritative

HABITS: refers to self in third person / incorporates different languages/terms/sayings / uses gender-specific terms / adapts to audience / changes pitch around animals or children / shifts tone when lying / gives others nicknames / uses terms of respect towards others

OTHER BITS: Also has an English accent, a smoother voice, but also very deep. He sometimes stutters a bit when he's nervous.

VOICE CLAIM REFERENCE: Same as face claim (Will Tudor)

ARDA

ACCENT: “country” / “backwoods” / “sailor” / “upper class” / “city slicker” / foreign speaker / refined

ELOQUENCE: educated / self-taught / uneducated / doesn’t use conjunctions / shortens words / omits entire words on occasion / mixes up words / just makes up their own words / archaic english / dependent on mood or setting / doesn’t use contractions

TONE: loud / soft / room volume / high pitched / low pitched / seductive / velvety / speech impediment / abrasive / gruff / shrill / booming / matter-of-fact / toneless / husky / gravelly / breathy / nasal / barking / chatty / condescending / musical / suave / world-weary / brash / authoritative

HABITS: refers to self in third person / incorporates different languages/terms/sayings / uses gender-specific terms / adapts to audience / changes pitch around animals or children / shifts tone when lying / gives others nicknames / uses terms of respect towards others

OTHER BITS: Her voice is soft, but also throaty and strong, and at a higher pitch. She has an accent, but it's harder to distinguish.

VOICE CLAIM REFERENCE: Same as face claim (Aurora Aksnes)

Tagged by: Stolen from @mere-lullaby

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it

[alinedreams]

A few more pearls from yours truly, for writing reference:

Forgetting the word in Portuguese AND English alike and then having to do gestures and mimicry until I remember the word in either Spanish or Japanese (which are languages I'm not as fluent in) and I'm like 😐

Mess up with "in", "on", "at" and "by" all the time because the Pirtuguese versions for those can have switcharoos sometimes

Exaggerate on "that"s because Portuguese uses words which would translate to it a whole darn lot

Saying "in special" (which doesn't exist in English, Ive been informed) instead of "specially"/"especially" because "em especial" and "especialmente" work under different contexts in Portuguese

Switching "error" and "mistake" all the time (when appliable) because Portuguese DOES NOT have different words for both (and in fact it does lead to some serious mess ups because we end up seeing every little mistake as the same as medical errors and vice-versa)

Sometimes literally translating ENGLISH IDIOMS to Portuguese despite Portuguese being my natural language, much to the confusion of plenty of IRL people

Sometimes not finding a term in Portuguese and having to use one in English to express my exact feelings at the moment ("awkward" and "creepy" being very good examples of precise English feelings that aren't as precise in Portuguese) and vice-versa ("nostalgia" just doesn't work as well with "saudade" under several contexts, the vibe ends up being very off)

Struggling with the fact "yonder" isn't nowhere near as used as "lá" and having to conflate both "ali" and "lá" as "there"; And yes, that's something Japanese people also struggle with, with ここ (koko), そこ (soko) and あそこ (asoko) meaning the same as "aqui", "ali" and "lá", or rather, "here", "there" and "there" again (or rather, the criminally underused "yonder", which is something that should definitely come back into mainstream English)

Accidentally misusing slang, swear words and even slurs because of heavy cultural differences (trust me, "viado" can be used in a far more endearing/friendly tone than "fag" depending on context, sure, but it's ALSO a slur and sometimes we forget homophobia exists and mistranslate the word, causing a lot of Very Troublesome Consequences; and yes, オカマ (okama) goes in a third, more hecked up vein in which it's ALSO used as an official gender vernacular by part of the community but is still very much a slur against gay men; the closest equivalent I can work here that would tie somewhat to both cases is "queer"). By the way? I learned the hard way that "bitch" is, under certain contexts, an unfair translation to "puta" and "whore" is a heavier word than "bitch" and would be a far more accurate translation in those contexts. "Bitch" would be somewhat more accurately translated as "vadia", which is slightly less heavy than "puta". Trust me, misunderstanding and misusing slangs, swear words and slurs is a great source of literary conflict when applied correctly.

Having trouble with puns. Like, trying to translate a pun or wordplay in a Portuguese post or news article to English and vice-versa so people around me can understand what the heck is going on is... Downright impossible. I have to literally explain the joke, which is an excellent way of killing the joke! But, in this case, it's akin to just pointing at an already dead horse and explaining why it died.

Pronouncing words of a foreign language with the correct accent, causing much confusion to the speakers of the target language I'm using at the moment. Did you believe most people here in Brazil spell "app"'s every single letter like it's an acronym ("apepê") and WILL look weird at you if you use the correct pronunciation? Did you know my name is spelled more like "ah-leen" than "a line"? Did you know 怖い (kowai) and 可愛い (kawaii) are almost indistinguishable under some thick American accents but quite differently pronounced in Japanese? All of those are prone to be "comedy ensue" moments.

im going to have a stroke

[maigamal]

How Long Does It Take to Learn Arabic?

Arabic is a beautiful and rich language spoken by over 400 million people worldwide. Whether it's a desire to connect with Arabic-speaking communities, to read classical texts, or to understand the Quran directly, learning Arabic is a meaningful journey. For those wondering how long does it take to learn Arabic, the answer varies based on several factors, including individual goals, the dialect or type of Arabic chosen, the learner's native language, and the methods used for studying.

Factors Influencing the Time Needed to Learn Arabic

Type of Arabic Studied: Arabic has different forms, with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) used in formal settings like news, literature, and official documents, while local dialects vary greatly from country to country. MSA is often more straightforward for beginners, but conversational fluency might require learning a specific dialect, which adds time.

Previous Language Knowledge: Language background plays a role in the speed of learning. Native speakers of languages with a similar root, like Hebrew, might find Arabic easier to grasp than English speakers. Those who already know another Semitic language have an advantage since they are familiar with linguistic structures and patterns in Arabic.

Learning Goals and Depth: The learning time also depends on what level of Arabic you aim to achieve. For example, gaining conversational skills might be quicker than aiming for a scholarly understanding of classical Arabic or reading complex texts.

Practice and Immersion: Regular practice and immersion are vital in language acquisition. Consistently practicing Arabic—through conversation, reading, or media exposure—speeds up learning significantly.

Estimated Timeframes for Learning Arabic

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classifies Arabic as a "Category IV" language for English speakers, which means it takes longer to learn compared to languages like Spanish or French. The FSI suggests around 2,200 hours of study to achieve proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking Arabic. For a committed learner who can study for about 10-15 hours per week, this translates to about 1.5 to 2 years to reach a solid intermediate or conversational level.

Tips for Effective Arabic Learning

If you’re ready to dive in, here are some practical ways to make progress in your Arabic learning journey:

Set Realistic Goals: Start with attainable goals, like basic vocabulary or simple sentences. Breaking down Arabic grammar, learning the alphabet, and mastering sounds unique to Arabic can build a strong foundation.

Practice Consistently: Regular engagement is essential. Daily practice, even if it’s short, reinforces learning better than infrequent, long study sessions.

Engage with Native Speakers: Conversation practice with native speakers is invaluable. This not only improves pronunciation and fluency but also makes learning enjoyable and culturally immersive.

Learn in a Structured Setting: While self-study is possible, a structured approach through a language course or tutor can make learning more efficient. Many online resources and dedicated websites like Shaykhi specialize in Quranic Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. Shaykhi offers a range of courses that cater to various levels, providing structured guidance, practice opportunities, and the chance to study under qualified instructors.

Learning Arabic for Quranic Studies

For those interested in learning Arabic to understand the Quran, a focused approach on Quranic Arabic is necessary. Quranic Arabic has a unique vocabulary and rhythm, which differs slightly from Modern Standard Arabic and various dialects. Studying with experts who specialize in Quranic language can provide a deeper understanding of religious texts. Websites like Shaykhi offer dedicated Quranic Arabic courses, helping learners connect with the text in its original language.

Enjoy the Journey

While learning Arabic may take time, it's a rewarding and enriching experience. Arabic not only opens doors to new cultural understandings and connections but also allows for direct engagement with rich historical and literary traditions. So, whether you’re learning to connect with Arabic-speaking communities, to deepen religious understanding, or simply to expand your linguistic horizons, remember that every bit of progress you make brings you closer to this rich and expressive language. With patience and dedication, reaching proficiency is well within reach.

[sadiesawyer]

Sadie Sawyer- Voice and Accent

bold what applies to your muse, italicize situational ones. feel free to add your own suggestions and carry it on.

tagged by: Took it from @reevezs

tagging:

VOICE HC / MEME

► ACCENT  

“country” │ “backwoods” │ “sailor” │ “upper class” │ “city slicker” | foreign speaker │ refined  

► ELOQUENCE

educated │self-taught | uneducated | doesn’t use conjunctions │ shortens words | omits entire words on occasion | mixes up words │ just makes up their own words! │ archaic english │ dependent on mood or setting | doesn’t use contractions

► TONE

loud │ soft │ room volume │ high pitched │ low pitched │seductive │velvety │ speech impediment │ abrasive │ gruff │ shrill │ booming │ matter-of-fact │ toneless │ husky │gravelly │ breathy │ nasal │ barking │ chatty │ condescending │ musical │ suave │ world-weary │ brash │ authoritative

► HABITS  

refers to self in third person│ incorporates different languages/terms/sayings │ uses gender-specific terms │ adapts to audience │ changes pitch around animals or children │ shifts tone when lying │ gives others nicknames │ uses terms of respect towards others

► OTHER BITS

Sadie's from northeast Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth area). Her accent is mostly fairly flat Midwestern Texas type, but there's a hint of a Texas twang on occasion, especially if she's tired and at the end of sentences. It can be somewhat noticeable to people who live far away.

She doesn't use Texas/Southern speech often, except for "y'all" sometimes, which also isn't common for her. It's more likely to come out if she's spent some time around her family recently.

Sadie has a somewhat soft voice and has had to work at sounding more authoritative working as an FBI agent. She's gotten a lot better after a few years, but still doesn't have a voice that's likely to intimidate anyone. She can actually use it to her advantage, as it can help when she's interviewing witnesses and sometimes disarms criminals and suspects.

Her average voice pitch is maybe slightly higher than average, but she can get really high-pitched if she's excited.

► VOICE CLAIM REFERENCE:

I'd say Sadie's voice is pretty close to her faceclaim's, aside from her having the aforementioned occasional "Texas" come through in her voice more (though Taylor is from the same general area as Sadie so their voices might not be too far apart).

[vasco-portable-translators]

Esperanto Language: Is it Still Alive?

This is a story of breaking language barriers, but probably in a slightly different way than you would expect. In this article, you'll find out about a tongue that was supposed to be a universal language for the entire population. Excited? So, without further ado, let's dive into the history and essence of the Esperanto language. In this article, you'll learn: - Who created the Esperanto language. - The history of the Esperanto language. - If there are any Esperanto speakers. - If so, then how many people speak Esperanto? - If you can actually learn and speak Esperanto. - If it's similar to any of the existing languages. Let's start! FAQ: What country speaks Esperanto? Esperanto is an artificial language created by Dr. Zamenhof. It was supposed to be a widespread universal language. Unfortunately, now the language doesn't have a huge reach, but it is still spoken around the world, mainly in countries such as China, Japan, Germany, USA, France, and Brazil. Is Esperanto considered a real language? Esperanto is a constructed auxiliary language, so it's not real in the sense of natural languages, but you can easily learn and speak it. Why was Esperanto banned? In 1922, the French government banned Esperanto from its universities, fearing that it would surpass French in becoming the lingua franca. As a result of France strongly opposing Esperanto, it never rose to the prominence it could have. Is Esperanto basically Spanish? Esperanto does resemble Spanish in some ways, but it is not a dialect of Spanish nor a Romance language. Why isn't Esperanto popular? As a result of France strongly opposing Esperanto at the beginning of the 20th century, the language didn't rise to the prominence it could have risen to. Is Esperanto difficult to learn? The Esperanto language was designed to be as easy to learn as possible. It was intended to become the world's universal language. Who speaks Esperanto today? The speakers of Esperanto live all over the world. They can be found in countries such as China, Japan, Germany, USA, France, and Brazil. What is the Esperanto alphabet? What is Esperanto, and how was it born? Esperanto is one of the world's many auxiliary languages. It started in the late XIX century when L. L. Zamenhof, a Warsaw-based ophthalmologist, published a paper called Unua Libro. This work establishes and describes an international tongue that is meant for global communication. So, what is Esperanto? This language was invented to be a universal language for the entire population. Zamenhof claimed that he constructed it to reduce the time and energy we invest into learning foreign languages. It was also created to promote world peace. At the moment of its creation, the language, however, had no real name. Its original title was simply "the international language". However, the early speakers of Esperanto liked the author's pseudonym so much (Doktoro Esperanto) that they named it Esperanto. What does Esperanto mean in Esperanto? The word esperanto simply means the one who hopes. Given the assumptions and hopes of the author, this name fits like a glove. There's Actually a Flag of Esperanto. Here's what it looks like: The flag of Esperanto was adopted in 1905. It features the Verda Stelo (Green Star), which is a symbol of mutual recognition for all Esperanto speakers. Further history of the Esperanto language The 20th century In the early 20th century, this international language was prevalent in Neutral Moresnet, which was supposed to be the first official Esperanto state. Neutral Moresnet was a Belgian–Prussian condominium located in Western Europe. Some sources say that it existed from 1816 to 1920. Unfortunately, Moresnet was fully annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1915 and lost its neutral character. It was, however, returned to Belgium after the First World War thanks to the Treaty of Versailles. At that moment, Esperanto didn't stand a chance of becoming the official language of Moresnet. Esperanto international language again had a big chance of becoming the most widely spoken constructed language in the world in 1920. It was then that the Iranian delegation from the World Esperanto Congress to the League of Nations proposed the Esperanto language be adopted as the main tongue for international relations. The amount of Esperanto speakers could have increased significantly at the time. 10 delegates accepted the proposal, but there was 1 person who strongly opposed the recognition of the Esperanto language at the League of Nations. Gabriel Hanotaux, a French historian, was worried about how his native language was losing its position and significance as an international tongue. Nevertheless, the Esperanto language was proposed to be included in the League of Nations' educational curricula. In response to that, the French government retaliated by banning all its instructions in universities and schools. Because France strongly opposed Esperanto gaining international recognition, it never rose to the prominence it could have. Another big chance for Esperanto speakers arose when the United Nations, through UNESCO, supported Esperanto as an international auxiliary language in the Montevideo Resolution of 1954. Unfortunately, to this day, Esperanto isn't recognized either as an official language of the UN or an international auxiliary language. However, right now, there are as many as 2 million Esperanto speakers worldwide. Thanks to this number, it is the most widely spoken constructed language in the world. The new age of the Esperanto language The number of Esperanto speakers started to increase significantly with the rise of the Internet. A language-learning platform called Duolingo started to provide Esperanto language courses in its educational materials in 2015. A year later, 350,000 people registered to learn Esperanto as one of the foreign languages provided by the app. By 2018, the number of learners rose to over a million. There are 4 courses that teach Esperanto as one of the platform's foreign languages. One is for English speakers, another for Spanish speakers, the third is designed for Brazilian Portuguese speakers, and last but not least, is the French version of the course. What's more, in 2012, Google Translate added Esperanto as one of its languages. Vasco Translator also includes Esperanto in its photo translation feature. There is also the Esperanto version of Wikipedia. It is called Vikipedio and boasts as many as 328,000 articles. Thanks to that, it is currently the 35th-largest Wikipedia. Where is Esperanto spoken? Despite the fact that Esperanto is not the official language of any country in the world, its presence is strong in some parts of the world. So, where is Esperanto spoken? The Esperanto language, for instance, has entered the education systems of countries such as China and Hungary. In addition to that, the Chinese government has been using Esperanto on china.org.cn, China Radio International, and El Popola Ĉinio Internet magazine. What's more, Vatican Radio hosts the Esperanto version of its website. But that's not all. The United States Army has published a number of phrasebooks in Esperanto. Mock enemy forces used them from the 1950s to the 1970s in war games. Esperanto speakers may also be found in a number of non-profit international organizations. Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda, a left-wing cultural association including 724 members in over 85 countries as of 2006, recognized Esperanto as a working language. What is more, Education@Internet, an organization that supports intercultural learning, includes courses for potential Esperanto speakers. Universal Esperanto Association (UAE) It is an international organization that gathers Esperanto speakers from around the world. Founded in 1908, it now consists of 5501 individual members in 121 countries (as of 2015). UAE has its office at the United Nations building in New York City. Universal Esperanto Association also publishes its own magazine called Esperanto. It was designed to inform the members of the UAE about everything that happens in its community. They also carry out the annual World Esperanto Congress meetings. How to learn Esperanto? Do you want to become one of the Esperanto speakers? Let's see how to learn Esperanto. But first, we'll take a look at a book that is considered the main authority for Esperanto speakers. Where can you learn this auxiliary language? It is said that the Esperanto language was created in 1887, however, it was in 1905 that Zamenhof published Fundamento de Esperanto, a book that explains the basic principles of this tongue. Nevertheless, much of the book's content is a reproduction of Zamenhof's earlier works, mainly Unua Libro from 1887, which first introduced the concept of a universal language. The language, however, underwent some changes, and Zamenhof updated his tongue in Fundamento de Esperanto. On August 8, 1905, the first World Esperanto Congress was held. It established the aforementioned book as the only authority for potential language speakers. Fundamento de Esperanto has 4 different parts: a foreword, a grammar section, a collection of exercises, and a dictionary. The grammar and dictionary sections are written in 5 European languages: French, English, German, Russian, and Polish. This book is indeed a powerful source of knowledge for potential Esperanto speakers. So if you want to speak Esperanto, be sure to check it out. Fortunately, you can still buy it on the Internet to learn Esperanto. The character of the Esperanto language Esperanto, as one of the constructed languages, includes various elements from several European languages. First, let's examine a sample text written in this auxiliary language (it comes from the English Wikipedia article on Esperanto): En multaj lokoj de Ĉinio estis temploj de la drako-reĝo. Dum trosekeco oni preĝis en la temploj, ke la drako-reĝo donu pluvon al la homa mondo. Which translates to: In many places in China, there were temples of the dragon-king. During times of drought, people would pray in the temples that the dragon-king would give rain to the human world. Some simple phrases also illustrate the similarity of Esperanto to European languages. Look at the table below: ESPERANTO ENGLISH Saluton  Hello Bonan Matenon  Good Morning Bonan Vesperon Good Evening Kio estas via nomo? What is your name?  Kiel vi fartas? How are you?  Bone / En ordo All right / Okay Dankon Thank you Ne dankinde / Nedankinde You’re welcome Mi amas vin! I love you! Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? Do you speak Esperanto?  Esperanto derives, for instance, from Greek, English, and German, when it comes to vocabulary. Other European languages that might have inspired Esperanto are Romanian, Polish, and Spanish. Is Esperanto easy? The Esperanto language is very easy to learn and speak. The writing system is phonetic, which means that the words are written as they sound. What is more, much of the Esperanto vocabulary is derived from the languages we already know. Is Esperanto worth learning? Now that we answered the question "is Esperanto easy?", let's find out if Esperanto is worth learning at all. It is believed that learning Esperanto first makes learning other foreign languages significantly easier. This claim is especially true when we take into consideration learning Romance languages, such as Spanish, French, and Italian. The Esperanto language: Conclusion In this article, we answered the question "What is Esperanto?" and learned some interesting facts about this constructed language. But, is the Esperanto language still alive? The answer is "Yes". As a matter of fact, it's alive and well. Created to promote world peace, Esperanto has over a million speakers worldwide (and counting). Not to mention that it is supported by the Duolingo language-learning app and Google Translate. You can also translate images containing the Esperanto language with a Vasco Translator device. So, if you're going to the next World Esperanto Congress, be sure to take Vasco with you. In a nutshell: Esperanto is an auxiliary language created by L.L. Zamenhof with the intention of becoming a universal tongue for the entire population. It was supposed to reduce the time and energy we invest into learning foreign languages and promote world peace. Despite not gaining recognition from the United Nations or other international organizations, it is still the most spoken constructed language in the world, with over two million speakers. It has been adopted in countries like China and Hungary, and supported by the Duolingo language-learning app, Google Translate, and the Vasco Translator. Fundamento de Esperanto is the main authority for potential Esperanto speakers, written in five European languages. Esperanto is easy to learn and speak, and is believed to make learning other foreign languages easier. Read the full article

[pathsofoak]

Gonna preface this by saying I'm a BA (undergrad) student specializing in linguistics, specifically language acquisition, so I'm not like a specialist or anything, but I think I can still offer some valuable thoughts.

Adding a second bit saying that whether or not you consider something your first, second, or third language (or even a language that you speak to begin with), is entirely up to you. I'm just

I'd say they're both your first language, and, I would argue (personally!) that even if you weren't equally comfortable in both languages, they would probably still be.

In studies of multilingual children, it's actually pretty important that when a child learns both languages simultaneously, they're both recognized as a first language, mostly because otherwise, it would be very hard to set up a system to decide which language is the "true first language" or something like that because there's no real metric for that. You could say "whichever you're better at" but if, for example, one language was spoken inside the house and the other inside and outside, you heard one more than the other and would have been slightly better at it, statistically speaking. Whichever language is most dominant in your environment wins out in that case, but that doesn't mean you weren't acquiring both at the same time.

As a child, the way you learned your languages would have been different from monolingual children as well. In general, the more speech a child hears, the better and faster they learn a language. But, if you're raised bilingually, then that speech is split over two languages. This means that you acquire both languages slightly more slowly (this actually is a big issue in language disorder diagnoses because not all tests are properly designed to account for this, so multilingual children get over-diagnosed with DLD, but multilingual children catch up, whereas children with DLD do not). At the same time, there are specific aspects of language you might have learned faster (such as that one thing can be referred to with more than one word).

Also, fun little fact if you learned both these languages from birth or early infanthood, then, as a baby, you learned not one, but two sets of sounds! One English, one Hindi. Children can learn to differentiate sounds before they even learn to speak. Sounds are very difficult to master (it's why pronunciation in any foreign language is hard to learn), but you were likely learning both while your brain was still developing your ability to tell one sound from another and recognize them as different. It's a bit like learning two scripts at the same time, but like, sound.

When you learn a language (or more) as a child, and then much later in life learn an additional language, you have to learn all those new sounds with it, including even hearing the difference. For example, English has the vowels in bad and bed, but Dutch doesn't have the vowel in bad, so Dutch speakers don't often hear the difference, and pronounce both words as bed (because we hear it that way too). But children who acquire both languages simultaneously don't have this issue between those two languages, because they're learning to separate those sounds at the same time.

If you were a participant in a language acquisition study as a kid, I would have jotted both down as your first language, since both are relevant (very general and non-specific example). But your life isn't a linguistic experiment, words are arbitrary, and labels are always going to be somewhat constrained and complicated.

So your personal feelings here definitely matter more. In my community, a local language (Nethersaxon) is losing speakers, mostly because while many older people speak it and raised their children with it, classism being what it is, especially women were encouraged to speak "proper Dutch" (Nethersaxon was considered a dialect at the time, not a language), so even though they heard it from birth, they rarely spoke it at a later age, and cannot properly and comfortably speak it anymore today because they stopped using it for so long. They were all multilingual kids, in fact they likely heard more Nethersaxon than Dutch as infants, but even if they still speak some of the language, I don't think I've heard a lot of people consider themselves bilinguals, even though technically, both Nethersaxon and Dutch are their first language.

Similarly, there are people who learn a language much later in childhood or even early adulthood who feel a stronger connection with it than with the language they were raised with (I can imagine there are people re-learning dying languages or heritage languages might feel like this, especially because such processes are often related to specific political and cultural contexts).

I could go on a longer rant or go more in depth on the science part (I left a lot out about how things work and put some things down slightly more simplified) but I'd have to pull up studies and everything and it's late, so:

TLDR: scientifically, they're usually both considered your first language because you acquired them at the same time, which also had specific effects on your process of language acquisition as a whole, which makes it very different from learning one language and then learning another after that, but it's up to you whether you consider both languages your first language, as in the end, your personal relationship with your languages and your personal history are of much greater importance.

hi! i've recently gotten interested in linguistics (i watched a vsauce video and got sucked into a rabbit hole lmao) and i had a question about bilingualism- if you know 2+ languages, can you only call one language your mother tongue?

e.g. i grew up speaking both english and hindi at home, and am equally comfortable with both but whenever someone asks me what my first language is, i blank.

i'm very much not an expert on this, either academically or experientially, but there's no reason you should have to designate only one as a "first language" or "mother tongue" (outside of paperwork, i guess).

this is a complicated topic and very politically driven because of the role of language in colonialism! a "first language" seems very straightforward. it's the first language you learned, right? but that gets squirrelly in cases like yours, where you learn multiple languages simultaneously.

it's even more complex when you get to the concept of "mother tongue." that could just be your first language(s), but many people who learn their heritage languages later in life—especially languages that have been intentionally repressed—feel that it is more important to claim that cultural connection than to be strictly accurate about learning order. speakers of mayan languages in guatemala, for example, may claim one of those as their "mother tongue" even if they had to learn spanish as a first language for reasons of political violence.

it can get really messy really fast depending on the context of the question. in the end, though, how you label your languages comes down to personal choice, so you're perfectly allowed to call both english and hindi your first language!

[j0llibae]

jabee

▸ What is your Jollibee?

A pop of bright red and glaring white. A very familiar bee smiles at me from behind a sea of scuttling Singaporeans, and I have never been as surprised and comforted as I was in my 2017 trip to Singapore.

For a Filipino like me, there’s really something about seeing Filipino products, Filipino people, Filipino anything abroad. Taking in Jollibee’s atrociously bright color scheme and warm, salty air brought me consolation as I navigated through the foreign country, even though their menu was slightly different, the lack of rice meals scooping a hole into my chest.

J.P. Lawrence’s personal essay Back to Jollibee's details a similar experience. Using the fast food chain, Jollibee, a major Filipino icon as a gateway, Lawrence walks readers through his Filipino-American life by bringing them on a trip to the newly-opened Jollibee branch in Woodside, Queens.

The narration is personal as it is honest. It is personal in how Lawrence is descriptive of the narrative’s setting, allowing readers to take part in observing and in feeling every sensation and emotion attached to it. He also shares bits and pieces of his own biography as accompaniment to the story. This establishes a connection between author and reader, as he essentially shares parts of himself for the audience to work with, contributing to the overall mood gleaned upon reading the totality of the essay. “Fun facts” are incorporated into the narration as well, another distinctive touch of the author to give more insight into his Filipino side as a whole.

Meanwhile, the essay’s honesty stems from how Lawrence sometimes sounds unapologetically sarcastic while describing the whole occurrence. He begins his account by introducing Jollibee through the feeling of “nostalgia and pride in that chubby campy bee.” Much later, he recounts an instance where he mockingly asks if the white man he encountered should be congratulated for knowing a smidgen of Filipino culture. Upon further reading and analysis, this attitude may be a reflection of Lawrence’s underlying frustration upon realizing how little he knows about his own culture, which can be seen particularly in this excerpt: “"He's lost the language," she'll say. And each time I'll kick myself for forgetting, because even that old Navy veteran who spent four months in a Manila whorehouse knows more about my culture than I do — all I have are fragments, vain facts, small memories gleaned second-hand.”

If the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, the United States of America is the powerhouse of the world. With the largest economy in the world and being seemingly more progressive as compared to other countries, America has wooed many people to pursue the so-called “American Dream.” Contextualizing this, many Filipinos have chosen to work and eventually migrate to America. They will do anything to pursue the American Dream, even choosing to disregard the degree they graduated from in favor of jobs that do not match their capabilities nor provide them physical and mental gratification. J.P. Lawrence touches on this reality by using his mother as an example: an economics graduate who worked menial jobs with low wages and difficult working conditions, in exchange for a space on American soil. Another option would be to get married to an American, which Lawrence’s mother had also done. She married her pen pal, a native Minnesotan, who brought Lawrence and his mother back to America after the marriage.

Aside from the economic situation of immigrant Filipinos in America, Back to Jollibee’s also discusses the truth of growing up as a Filipino-American kid, particularly the disconnect from one’s Filipino roots. As he arrives at Jollibee, Lawrence narrates his discomfort at being surrounded by Filipino speakers. The language is familiar and foreign to him at the same time, only having heard it being spoken by his mother with her Filipino friends during potlucks, but he has never learned the language itself. While it triggers some regret on Lawrence's end for not knowing Filipino, he reasons that as a minority in school, learning it was practically unnecessary. The only thing that truly connects him to his Filipino roots is food. Seated in Jollibee with his order of palabok, bangus, and halo-halo is the closest he gets to (his other) home.

I’m no Filipino immigrant in the US, nor am I Filipino-American, but J.P. Lawrence’s Back to Jollibee’s hits close to home. I have cousins who have resided in America since they were children, and others who live elsewhere, but still overseas. Every time they come home, or get a chance to go on video calls with me, I can’t help noticing that they seem a little less Filipino each time. Most of them are able to understand Filipino at the very least, but speaking it is an entirely different matter. Those who can only know the basics, and similar to how Lawrence puts it, it’s because living abroad doesn’t require knowing beyond this level. Their knowledge of Filipino culture ranges from little to fairly enough, and though they get excited upon learning something new every time they’re with our family in the Philippines, they don’t actively seek more than what we give them.

The detachment from being Filipino remains a lived reality for many Filipino-American families and those who have relatives who have immigrated to America. While there are people who don’t really care about this, some feel a loss of a part of their identity. Hence, they constantly look for something to tether themself to their roots — in J.P. Lawrence’s case, it’s Jollibee.

Personally, I think that Back to Jollibee’s is a very candid and refreshing take on the reality of Filipino-American life, especially with how it is written. It is raw, real, and unromantic, yet somehow still able to grip the reader’s heart with the sentiment that it wishes to impart. It is definitely something that I’d let my cousins read, that it might make them reevaluate their “dual” lives and challenge them to reflect on what ties them — or if such a thing still exists for them — to being Filipino, essentially asking them: What is your “Jollibee”?

[desultory-novice]

Hopefully everyone's seen it by now thanks to plentiful kind Kirby bloggers, but yes, we've got "Sweet Dreams, Kirby" in English! I wasn't expecting character voices in these, as we haven't really had them before. And the narration (well, the UK narrator) does a great job sounding storybook sweet. But...

(Hope you don't mind me singling you out, @that-fanperson-meg​ !) 

Yes, yes! I'm also incredibly fond of Ohmoto-san's Meta Knight voice in this! I always thought it was funny, when I first read this story, that Meta Knight brings Kirby this incredibly thick book to read (apparently, the artist was given specific instructions to make the book cartoonishly large!) in the middle of the night! (He seems so delightfully clueless. Don't read at night in the dark, Meta! Take care of your eyes!) But something about that soft voice made it so gentle! 

And it's nice to see a different side of Meta Knight than we normally see. I like his Smash Bros. and elsewhere gruff style voice just fine, but I could happily get used to this, or a voice in this style! For one thing, it gives me a strong Takarazuka-vibe, which I love! But also... it fits my transmasc Meta Knight HC really well...!

As for the other characters’ voices, I wanted to say too, about Magolor, I've sometimes tried to picture in my head what his "accent" sounds like - if he were not speaking in Magolor-ese squeaky toy sounds like he does in game - and I really like Ohmoto-san's interpretation here!

Magolor doesn't talk like a parody or like a harmful caricature of someone with a "foreign accent." (Thank goodness!) He sounds like someone who, perhaps because he didn't grow up with whatever language he's using now, doesn't always know where the emphasis goes on certain syllables/phonemes. Like, if you listen closely, you can hear how he holds the “H” in Kirby (“KaH-BI-”) slightly longer and doesn’t let the sound drop off like the other characters, who say it like “Kah-BI-.” It’s also in the way he pronounces “Nee” and “Yo-.”

It fits beautifully with the idea that the lonely Magolor may have studied this language (and many others) on his own without a lot of native speakers to practice his pronunciation on. Thus, he's absolutely fluent in these languages, but he's lacking the immersion.

And I love Bandanna Waddle Dee too, oh gosh! You can just hear Bandee's enthusiasm and that try-hard (/pos) spirit that got them where they are today! 

While I'd be happy if any of these characters got cast with their own voice actors later on (say... a new anime...plz?) I would also be really happy if there's just more opportunities for Ohmoto-san to voice them in little projects like this!

...Speaking of, I hope this series is doing well enough for them to continue it, and that we get word of another "It's Kirby Time" book soon!!