#but i'm a linguistic student/nerd

[official-linguistics-post]

(Please accept my apologies if you have already answered this)

Can you explain us the difference between phonetic and phonemic? I'm a linguistics student and no matter how many times they explain it to me, I don't get it. And Google explains it awfully.

Maybe I'm a nerd or something, but I bet people have asked themselves the same thing!

i use a goofy little mnemonic for it: phonemic is in the mind and phonetic is on the tongue. (i'd love to hear suggestions for updating that to include signed languages...)

a phonemic transcription is intended to get at the underlying conceptual construct, the phone, aka how we mentally class the sound/sign in relation to the language we're using.

a phonetic transcription is intended to represent the actual articulation of the sound/sign and may include additional notation on length, place, etc.

[thelinguistthing]

Hi ! :D

I'm a first year French linguistics student ! I made this blog to find other language nerds like me and to gather interesting bits of data and informations about linguistics (and to compile said infos for my studies.)

Languages I'm studying:

French (native language), English (fluent), Italian (B2),Korean (A2), Chinese (A1) , Dutch (A1)

Welcome !

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Word of the week rules and submissions!

What is this?

This is no longer a tournament as that takes too much time and admin. We have also already decided that многоꙮчитїй/ mnogoočitii from Old church slavonian is the best word, so no need to do that again. Instead, I will use this blog to highlight a word (or a couple of words) every week (or other time period if the queue runs out) from languages which aren't English. This will be based on reader submissions with me editing for clarity and adding a blurb about the language, much like in the tournament.

In short, tell me about your favourite words! Let's all learn something new! (My favourite phase of the tournament was definitely research/round one)

Who are you?

I'm a linguistics student and language nerd from Sweden who decided to run a tournament of non-English words because I wanted to highlight language diversity. My native language isn't English, so please be kind if my posts are worded weirdly sometimes (or my username is misspelled lol)

What makes a word good?

There are many ways that a word can be good, but here are some examples: it sounds good/feels good to say, the script looks nice, it denotes an interesting concept, it denotes a concept you like, it does something interesting grammarwise, usagewise or soundwise, it's funny, it's an interesting/fun compound, it has an interesting/fun etymology, it just has good vibes... The possibilities are endless

Rules:

No words in English, but loanwords from English are allowed with good motivation

No conlangs (I love them but the focus is on natural language)

Words from signed languages are allowed and encouraged as long as you can provide an explanatory picture or film for the sign

Words from pidgins are allowed

Words from extinct languages are allowed

Usage should be widespread within a language community (if it isn't/wasn't used in the language it doesn't belong, neither does words only your family/friend group uses, but slang words are allowed)

No words that have appeared in the tournament or previously on word of the week (search for the word on my blog, all words are tagged)

How submissions and posting work (read these before submitting):

Each person is can make two submissions at a time. Please wait until yours have been posted before you submit more

The submission form is currently open. It will remain so until I have too many unposted submissions, then open again when those have been scheduled

If you're able to, please provide an IPA transcription for your word (the International Phonetic Alphabet has a sign for each sound used in any language, which makes transcription of exact pronounciation possible)

You will need to provide a translation/explanation of the word in English since that is the language used on the blog for ease of communication and reach. If the exact translation of a word is part of what makes the word good, please provide that too

It is possible to be credited for your submission if you want to

If more than 5-6 words in the same language are submitted, all of them might not be posted until some time has passed to avoid one language dominating

I reserve the right to pick which words I want to share if I have many submissions and don't want to do all of them. I do this in my very limited spare time because I think language is fun and if it doesn't spark joy I won't do it

Submissions will be fact-checked, edited for clarity and get a short text about the language. If I find something interesting while researching I might add a note about that as well

Have fun! I can't wait to see your submissions and learn something new!

Submit your word(s) through this form

[brightstarblogs]

RainCode Honorifics!

First let me preface this by saying I'm not Japanese so there may be a few mistakes in this post.

I haven't seen anyone else make a post on this so I figured I'd do it myself. I've always found honorifics interesting in Japanese media and often include them in my fics. RainCode is a little different however because all characters go by their first names instead of surnames which most Japanese media typically use (since most surnames are westernized/wacky). This interested me so I wanted to do a little research!

But yeah, if you want to use honorifics in your own fics or just find Japanese linguistics interesting, I hope you enjoy this post! It has taken me 3-4 months to compile this list.

Spoilers ahead!

Yuma: Typically Yuma uses -san when referring to other characters. However there are a few exceptions to this. Yuma uses -chan to refer to Shinigami (because she asked him too) and with Kurumi. He also changes to using -kun for Desuhiko after they arrive at Aetheria Academy in chapter 2/Gum shoe gab 2 to show they're friends (but this could be to reciprocate the fact Desuhiko changed from using Rookie to My man). He does not use any honorifics for the peacekeepers (Yomi, Martina, etc) to show he doesn't respect them and Makoto (Although he will use -san when talking to Makoto). He also doesn't use honorifics on Aiko, Karen, Waruna, Yoshiko and Kurane, although he does use -san when speaking to other students in the investigation.

Shinigami: She tends to not use any honorifics and instead uses nicknames. Most notably Akuma-chan for Halara (Hellara in the dub). When she does use a character's name it is with no honorific. I did notice she uses -dono in the gum shoe gabs when saying Yuma's bond with a character has deepened. -dono is often used in writing letters/emails, but also is used in a lot of fantasy media/JRPGs. Shinigami does reference Dragon Quest in the dub so perhaps this is just her being a nerd (Special thanks too @/rararazaquato for pointing this out). If you want to know more about the nicknames she gives the NDA in Japanese, please look at this post!

Halara: They use no honorifics for any character. The only time I heard them use one was in their DLC when they use -san for their client (They do not use Tetra's name though. They say Ojo-san).

Desuhiko: He also doesn't tend use honorifics. Unlike Halara though he uses nicknames. He refers to Fubuki as Ojou, which translates as Young lady/princess. He uses -chan for Shinigami and Kurumi but also when referring to female characters like Guillaume and NPCs where he'll say neko-chan. He also calls Yuma Rookie until they arrive at Aetheria Academy, where he changes to My man for the rest of the game.

Fubuki: Uses -san for every character.

Vivia: Uses -kun for most characters. He doesn't use honorifics for Yomi or Makoto, and uses -chan for Kurumi

Yakou: Like Halara and Desuhiko, Yakou tends not to use honorifics but there are a few exceptions. He uses -chan for Fubuki and Kurumi. He also calls Seth -sensei when he was trying to deescalate the situation in chapter 1. He uses -san for Tetra, so I think he uses honorifics with clients. I don't know for certain but that's my theory.

Kurumi: Now, Kurumi tends to use -san for most characters. She used -san with Yuma when they first meet, but switches to -chan when he is in disguise in the school to help blend in. She then uses -kun from chapter 3 onwards (and once in chapter 2 when she's held by a peacekeeper, but Yuma doesn't hear her). She doesn't use honorifics with Akio, Karen, Waruna, Yoshiko, Kurane and Shachi.

Makoto: He uses a variety of honorifics. He tends not to use any for Yuma, but also does say -kun. He also uses -kun for both Yomi and Martina/Suwaro. He also uses -chan for Kurumi.

Now onto minor characters where it gets a little difficult due to screen time.

Pucci: Uses -san for Zange so maybe uses -san for other cast members.

Melami: I didn't hear her use any honorifics as she doesn't refer to others by name and tends to use nicknames.

Zange: He didn't call any character by their name so I have no idea unfortunately.

Aphex: Used nicknames so again, I am not sure.

Zilch(?)/Hitman: In chapter 1 he uses -kun for both Yuma and Aphex. He did not address the rest of the cast by name so I have no idea if he'd use -san or -kun for Pucci or Melami. Even then I don't know if that was an act as he is an imposter. He uses -sama however for Yomi in chapter 5 when you find him as a zombie.

Martina: Fun fact, she is actually called Suwaro/Swallow in the Japanese sub! I don't know why her name is changed but this was a fun surprise. She uses -sama for both Yomi and Makoto. She doesn't use names for the NDA.

Swank: He didn't use any names, but I included him because like Martina, his name was changed. Originally he was called Spank in the Japanese sub.

Yomi: Only ever called Martina by her name with no honorific.

Seth: Like most peacekeepers he calls Yomi by -sama.

Guillaume: She tends to refer to Dominic by just his name, along with Shachi. She however does use -sama for Yomi like the other peacekeepers.

Priest: Uses -san for the clock-maker

Teacher: Although this is Desuhiko, in disguise he calls Kurumi by -san.

Yoshiko: No honorifics

Kurane: No honorifics

Waruna: No honorifics

Shachi: No honorifics

Iruka: Uses -san for Yuma but no honorifics for Shachi.

Servan: Doesn't use honorifics for other resistant members, but uses -kun for Yuma

Icardi: No honorifics

Margulaw: No honorifics

Ramen man: Uses -chan for Kurumi. Not sure what he'd use for other characters.

Enyne: Before she reveals her identity she uses -san for Desuhiko

[castlebyersafterdark]

VINNNNIEE NEED YOUR OPION ON MIKES NEW " CONTRIVERSAL" HAIRCUT I HONESTLY LIKE IT HES ALL GROWN UP NOW SOMEBODY SAID HE LOOKS LIKE A LINGUISTICS MAJOR WHICH I THE CORRECT VIBE THE ABSOULTE NERD ALSO WHAT HAIRSTYLE DO YOU THINK WILL WILL GET FOR THE TIME JUMP WILL FINALLY FULLY REJECT HIS BELOVED BOWLCUT ONLY TIME CAN TELL AS LONG AS HE HAS A CUTE COLFERFUL OUTFIT EMBRACING HIMSELF I DONT REALLY CARE

I log on to CHAOS. What the hell happened this afternoon????

I think... it looks fine. It's a bit too grainy and far away to give an honest rundown. He looks delightfully dorky from what I can tell (agreeing with linguistics student that's hilarious) but I'm kind of not digging the side part. If it was a bit fluffier? He definitely looks older. Which makes me so curious for the other boys!!! I have no idea what Will is gonna look like! I hope he gets to end the show in a really cute outfit though, get him outta the drab. I want light denim jeans and and a colorful flannel or some stripey shirt. Core Will looks. I hope we don't completely lose the bowlcut!! I'm a fan of 90s curtain bangs for him... but in the 90s. Still a modified bowl. With era typical highlights. Will Byers so would. But that's 90s Will.

[bluebellwrenart]

CoD OC Dump #1 - [Black Ops Edition]

Decided to cure my art block by doodling all of my OCs so that I have an excuse to talk about them. Started off with my many CoD characters, so here's the first set. Names and info under the cut.

[Goes upper right -> lower left -> upper middle -> lower middle]

Joanne Locklear — Because not everyone has to be the most epic soldier or spy to ever soldier or spy, Joanne is one of my civilian characters.

A med-student with a clinical interest in neurology (and a personal/non-professional interest in psychology) only partly because of her husband (drumroll, please), Alex Mason. She's my OC version of Mason's wife.

Her parents own and run a bar & grill in Fairbanks, where she works part-time when she's not busy with school, and her father happened to have grown up and served in World War II alongside Mason's father. They were friends because they were the same age, they were classmates, and also because when they were little their dads made them. She's half-Alaskan Athabaskan through her mom, half-white through her dad.

Lillian Scott — An analyst in the CIA with a specialty in linguistics and a knack for codes as well, her main role in my fanfic series is to serve as a translator, gather intelligence, analyze said intelligence, and so on and so forth. She serves a mainly supporting role as far as operations are concerned, and she's fine with that. After all she is a scrawny little nerd (affectionate) and although she can fight if necessary she isn't exactly great at it. It's too much for her poor constitution.

A fun fact is that she can actually shoot really well (girl is Appalachian born and raised, she grew up hunting, what did you expect) it just hurts her hands and she kind of needs those. Also she's paired with Weaver because if you know me then you know that I love me a man with an eyepatch and a tragic complex backstory.

Nadezhda "Bell" Belkina — An OC!Bell because you can't give me a faceless protagonist and expect me NOT to make a very long and intricate backstory for them (if you know about my AC fanfics then you know exactly what I'm talking about). Abandoned on the streets, taken in by Perseus, something of a prodigy, then brainwashed by Adler through the MKUltra program...you know how it be.

She and Woods end up bonding over the fact they both spent their childhoods on the streets.

Claire Anderson & Michael Isaacs — AKA Svetlana Andreyeva and Mikhail Isakov, both KGB operatives planted in the U.S. to assume American identities, their job was primarily to track down and kill rogue operatives/traitors. The problem with that is that both of them ended up really liking their fake lives in America, and were tempted to defect. Claire defected to the CIA, Mike/Misha was killed before he could. By Russell Adler no less.

Oh, and speaking of him, Claire is his ex-wife. She wasn't his ex until after he shot Mikhail, though. And then tried to shoot her too. Yeah, you can see why their marriage went up in flames. Somehow they worked out their problems enough to work together in the 80s...and again in the 90s. RIP Mikhail though.

[vivalabunbun]

Hiii Viva~

Hope, you'll take your time to read this. It's not a request of course. I was simply curious about something. To be honest, I've read all your fics and my goodness, they are mind blowing and always make overwhelm with emotions. Specially how you portray Al-Haitham. Every fic of his feels like a fic and a character study all at once.

You know, in your recent fic, I just noticed that you said Alhaitham is a man logic and rationality, which is true. But isn't he from the Haravatat Darshan or a department that has something to do with studying and deciphering various scripts? Like isn't he a linguist? I thought he was a man associated with the humanities stream or something like that if we put it into modern terms. So, the question here is—why portray him as a man of science? Sure, he's a genius and an intellectual person but can a person really be that apt at two different disciplines? For example, I'm a political Science Honours student and honestly....I hate subjects that has anything to do with maths or science in general. 🥲 Does that make sense?

I'm not saying, you can't portray him like that or anything but rather the intent of doing so. And honestly, I think, you yourself are a highly intelligent individual. The way you put tid bits of practical information into the plot of fics says a lot about you, the author as well. I admire that quality and probably would like to know how you do it so effortlessly?

I really hope that I did not come off as criticizing or a dumb person in general. I was just curious and wanted to know. Hope, you'll read this.

Btw, Happy Basant Panchami from India, Viva. Today, we worship the goddess of knowledge, wisdom and arts here. Fun fact, it's actually kinda officially forbidden to study today, you know.

Hope, I didn't rant much....sorry, in advance. 🥲🌹

Arunima~

Hello! this is an interesting ask 🤔

From my understanding, Haravatat focuses on semiotics, which also includes linguistics. Linguistics is a field of science, the scientific study of languages. Because empirical research is involved along with empirical evidence.

Perhaps you were thinking about literature, which is of the humanities and academia. Although of course, there are possible overlaps between linguistics and literature.

Al Haitham liked to read abstruse academic journals from a young age, so I'd like to think tidbits of information from those journals would naturally bury themselves in his thoughts.

His thoughts and ponderings resemble those who have been part of the sciences. Disagree, question, challenge.

Thus, why he's a nerd (affectionate).

But of course, this is all from my perspective, which is different from yours, which is different from the next person.

It's what makes character writing interesting because everyone will view everyone differently.

Thank you for your ask and Happy (belated?) Basant Panchami!

Your ask brought up an interesting thought, why can't people be apt at both humanities and science?

All throughout history humanities and science have helped the other progress. They are not opposites nor should they be. They progress thought, which in turn helps us better understand knowledge and the world around us.

Disagree, question, and challenge the paradigm is how the humanities and science have gotten where they are today, and how they will get to tomorrow.

I'm not an intelligent person, I'm just a curious person. I like reading a wide variety of things from fiction to academic essays, even mathematical theories in textbooks and notes from friends in premed. Because I'm curious about them.

Then I like applying them to what I create because I love creating. Little factoids here and there because I think it's interesting, learning about how things work so I can better draw the things I like.

No one has to be a genius or a prodigy to be apt at both, just be open-minded and willing to look at both. There is also nothing wrong about only liking one or the other.

Let's just not pit them against each other because then it'll just be destructive.

Maybe many have forgotten the symbiotic relationship between humanities and sciences.

[techie-waterwitch]

Both- forgot to type that sorry

Send ✏️ for me to describe how I portray my muse

Thanks. Friend. That's much better! Now then let me explain My thought process...

Let's get Started with "Peri."

Guys! These two

[👽]: "Who? M-M-M-ME!?"

Now whenever I need to get into the mindset of "a Peridot" specifically OUR Great and Lovable Peridot quoted by ✨Perid👽t herself. All I need to do is get into the mind🧠of a supercomputer,🖥️A great big computer Nerd with a manic demeanor. Think the teacher's pet with the nearly most nasally voice you can fathom. Peridot has an explosive 💥 short temper,

"HEY!"

She shows some signs of possible Autism.™️ Which is a personal headcanon of mine. Peridot is good at putting things into a logical and linguistic sense. I just think she loves it that way. She's most comfortable when things make sense. It does not stop her from hitting the archaic technology that makes her angry.

Think of the biggest teacher's pet and iPad 📱student. You might've known in school. The terminally online, the "I must crack the latest highest score!" video game player!🎮 She's kinda Animalistic, She's awkward and not too big on social cues. She thrives on doing projects by herself and gushing about her favorite TV. 🏕️❤️‍🌲show for literal hours!

(Just don't talk to her about her failures❌ or you'll get an earful!!!📣)

Peridot is pretty simple for me to tap into both of these two are on autopilot really.

Now. Shall we proceed to the "Bitter Sister" herself?"

~💧~ "No. Don't talk about me!"

I think I can say with confidence that "Lappy" here, is unlike any muse I've had before in all my early years of roleplay.

"It's... Lapis...."

Honest to God! She is chaotic and rather unpredictable! I-I mean for someone who doesn't care about of lot of things and activities... Lapis sure does get the conversation going. I really don't know how to explain it she grabs the reins and I don't know if we're ever going to make it back home! Lapis has a low-energy bar sometimes... Other times she's actually bouncing off the walls!

"Because people won't leave me ALONE!"

Lapis is laid-back, uninterested, gothic, and cold, while also at other times playful, childish, silly, Insane, immature, and gross sometimes. And did I forget to mention she has a mouth on her? (She wants all the Crystal Gems to swear!) She loves the ocean marine life, she suffers from PTSD from the Gem war, and she LOVES nautical puns {And Peri}

"Okay! That's it! I'm done! If you don't shut the hell up! I get to splatter you all over the walls!"

EEE! Okay. I'm finished. I'm finished. That's a good place to stop.

So there it is~ ^^

[reedsofintimacy]

How smart are you? You’ve given some hints before but how many degrees do you have? What are you studying? What do you want to do in live professionally and passionately? What’s your purpose career wise?

Also hypothetically would you be open to being your wives employee if she had a really successful company?

I actually don't have any degrees! I'm a nerd and smart but also certainly have my flaws.

For context, I was an honors student all growing up. Always tested in the 99th percentile for state aptitude assessments. I got a 33 on my ACT, did well on a bunch of AP tests and went to a non-ivy-league but prestiguous state school in the top 25% of the incoming class and as a university scholar, in an accelerated chemistry PhD program, and lived in an honors community on campus.

I learned to speak some Chinese, became an instructor for a traditional Korean percussion group, led a bible study, tutored students in organic chemistry, and did excellent in my humanities courses writing on topics like a linguistic study of gender conception in viking-era icelandic society and designing an interventional plan to address youth homelessness in the community.

College was the best 2 years of my life, I adored everything about it but I also completely overloaded myself. Turns out you need more than raw brains for success. I was conflicted between prioritizing my studies vs my faith, and had unadressed adhd and anxiety i wasnt ever aware of and didnt know how to cope with. When my 19 credit hours were drowning me, I couldnt own up to the shame of overwhelm and failure, couldnt look my teachers in the eye and ultimately stopped showing up to class and dropped out.

I'm now back in school with a better understanding of myself, an absense of competing priorities and a lot of experience. Im pursuing working in Radiology doing either CT or MRI. A lot of my friends growing up are finishing their PhD theses and I love discussing them with them, but I myself don't have even an associate's to my name.

Career wise, I originally wanted to be a professor of either Chemistry or Materials Science. I debated majoring in Linguistics or teaching English as a second language but i don't speak anything fluent enough to really do that yet. I've since considered pursuing a career in comedy, as a science communicator and journalist or PIO, as a university student advisor, and taught myself to code to maybe pursue programming.

I love learning. Currently I'm putting the most effort into Chinese classical literature. I've done personal units on nutrition, skincare, fitness, urban planning, economics, and some software like adobe illustrator and game dev with Unity and Godot.

For my professional future, I think I'm for now planning on being a travelling technician in healthcare. It'd give me an opportunity to see lots of different places which is a goal of mine and shouldn't have too many commitments keeping me held in place. Maybe I'll finally get over my fear of casual hookups and become a traveling nurse by day and city-to-city clit servicer by night sampling all sorts of delicious lady bits. Idk. For now I'm just focused on what I'm doing in the moment.

In terms of passions I want time and independence to pursue learning as an autodidact. I'd love to maintain access to university libraries and attend lots of public lectures and symposiums if i could live near enough a big university. I want to read about the things that interest me and someday get over my social anxiety and travel to make friends all over the world with fellow nerds.

In terms of working for my wife of course that would be really sexy I'd love to be my partners doting but slutty assistant 💕 depending on the industry i guess. I think something like insurance or real estate is kind of predatory tbh and wouldnt want to be associated with it. But if I didn't have an issue with it I'd adore being my partners employee. Or even just a supportive house husband or trusted personal assistant ❤️❤️ a role i've always thought I have the potential to be quite good at

[notebeans-galaxy]

you wanna know something? I was extremely ambitious as a child. I've wanted to be an engineer and an astrophysicist since before I learned long division. I wanted to be a writer by the time I was 9, and I wanted to be a singer by the time I was 11.

That ambition decreased in middle & high school, but it never fully went away; I decided I also wanted to be a visual artist and a programmer and a polyglot and an activist. On the more casual side I want to study genetics, pharmacology, voice acting, literature, linguistics, anthropology, the occult, & religious history.

I was a straight A student in elementary school. I wasn't just a straight A student, I was a dedicated nerd; I genuinely enjoyed school despite severe social ostracization and I thought most of my homework was interesting enough that I wasn't bored while doing it.

And somehow, despite that, despite that I've always been ambitious and always sought challenge and that I was competitive to a fault, I somehow managed to convince myself I was lazy in middle and high school when my grades dropped due to severe unaddressed childhood trauma causing mental health issues, my ADHD medication losing effectiveness from being on it for a decade, and multiple undiagnosed chronic illnesses. I never actually stopped trying. I'd just convinced myself that because I couldn't complete classwork with the same attention I used to, that because I was stressed and exhausted and had to rest more often, that it was somehow my fault that my grades got worse. No, I'm fucking disabled. No one ever bothered to tell me that ADHD was a disability until I was in high school, no one but me realized I was depressed or autistic until I asked for diagnoses, no one ever took the severity of my chronic fatigue or post-exertional malaise or orthostatic intolerance seriously enough. fuck the way estrogen interacts with dysautonomia y'all it's so bad, testosterone HRT was more effective treatment for it than anything else. i still need salt tablets but my POTS is stable now entirely because of T.

I think the real kicker is that all it took was a bus to my house for me to attend school again. The barriers to success for disabled students often have such simple solutions and yet no one's willing to implement them until forced to. I was convinced for years that it was my own failures & incompetence that were the issue, and all it took was not being forced to walk.

I'm going to start college in the fall and I know it's possible for me to achieve some of the things I've had my sights set on since I was a kid. I still have chronic fatigue and chronic pain and non-24 complicates scheduling, but calculus is a hell of a lot easier when you aren't suffering 3+ types of cognitive impairment simultaneously. side note why is calculus Like That I can do physics related calculus because i learned integrals and derivatives before literally anything else because i was taking AP Physics: Mechanics concurrently with Calc AB during my first attempt at 12th grade, but i struggle to comprehend the rest of it.

A few years ago, I'd resigned myself to not being able to pursue my interests. I figured I wouldn't be able to succeed in anything I tried due to how ill I was. And while I still may not be able to study all of the things I'm interested in at a college, I sure as hell can pursue the most important ones — the original four things I wanted to do with my life. Writing and music can easily remain hobbies; I don't need those to be part of my career to feel fulfilled in them. I'm planning to study cosmology in the distant future (from what I understand, you need a Ph.D to even get started) and I'll be basing my class choices around that; underclassmen all have undeclared majors at my college, but as of now I'm planning to frame my schedule around pursuit of a physics degree (which is also easily transferrable to engineering!). Crushing college debt, here I come — but it's worth it to study astronomy, physics, & cosmology.

All it took was a bus. All it took for me to graduate high school was a bus.

[findpenpalsover20]

Hi! I'm Ceres and I am 24 and German. I'm looking for a penpal who might also be I interested in writing a little narrative through our letters? Like an rp story, but through physical letters. But I'm also generally looking for penpals! I am a student of linguistics and a language nerd, love reading and standing in the rain. I'm also a writer and love fiction podcasts.

@basil-hallwardx would be my Blog for contact. Thanks!

contact @basil-hallwardx

[hetaologist]

(As a fellow anthropologist and hetalia nerd, granted a forensic anthropologist but still, I was very excited to see this blog pop up.)

Hehe. I'm a general anthropologist (student), so I do a little bit of everything from linguistics to cultural (my favorite) to applied to forensic anthropology. So forensics is totally valid (and cool af) part of the field of anthropology. I've been in the Hetalia fandom since middle school (~10 years ago) and that series is one of the biggest reasons why I'm studying it.

I'm happy to see other people also interest in anthropology as it's an interesting (and very underrated) field of science. And of course, Hetalia. I'm glad to know that my beloved series' fandom isn't dead :,).

-Admin

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Welcome to the best non-english word tournament!

What is this?

This is another bracket tournament, in which we will decide the best word. However, this tournament is also dedicated to linguistic diversity and promoting languages that aren't English, since they are less visible on the internet at large. This means that words in English are banned from competing to make room for the other 6500-7500 known languages (depending on how you count). To avoid other large languages taking over the poll (both counting native speakers and languages the average tumblr user is likelier to know) there will be a limit of four words from every language. Join me and learn new cool words in many different languages as well as vote for your favourite!

Who are you?

I'm a linguistics student and language nerd from Sweden who took lots of inspiration from @ultimate-word-tournament but wanted to focus on language diversity in words. I'll also sneak in some posts about the language situation in the world because it's a fascinating topic. My native language isn't English, so please be kind if my posts are worded weirdly sometimes

What makes a word good?

There are many ways that a word can be good, but here are some examples: it sounds good/feels good to say, the script looks nice, it denotes an interesting concept, it denotes a concept you like, it does something interesting grammarwise or soundwise, it's funny, it's an interesting/fun compound, it has an interesting/fun etymology, it just has good vibes... The possibilities are endless and a judgement probably consists of some combinations of these or others

Rules:

There will be 64 words and a maximum of four words per language

No words in English, but loanwords from English are allowed with good motivation

No conlangs (I love them but the focus is on natural language)

Words from signed languages are allowed and encouraged as long as you can provide an explanatory picture or film for the sign

Words from pidgins are allowed

Words from extinct languages are allowed

No made up words (if it isn't/wasn't used in the language it doesn't belong, neither does words only your family/friend group uses, but slang words are allowed)

Every submitter is allowed to submit a maximum of two words from the same language based on the honor system

Submissions:

Submissions were open until the bracket was filled and are now closed

I will need to do some selection if I recieve more than four submissions from a language and this selection will mostly be based on who submitted first, with exceptions for good motivations or difficulty finding information on a word (like IPA transcription). I will try my best to research all words and languages, but since I'm hoping for small languages it might be difficult to find. There might also be some selection based on including more languages and areal diversity if I get some really good ones between the 64th submission and closing the form, but we'll see.

Some guidelines:

If you're able, please provide an IPA transcription for your word (the International Phonetic Alphabet has a sign for each sound used in any language, which makes transcription of exact pronounciation possible)

Please provide a short motivation on what makes your word good

You will need to provide a translation/explanation of the word in English since that is the language this tournament is conducted in for ease of communication and reach. If the exact translation of a word is part of what makes the word good, please provide that too

Have fun! I can't wait to see your words. If you just want to vote, go ahead and follow me in the meantime

I will tag some other tournaments to hopefully make this reach people who know interesting languages and good words in them. Please consider doing the same if you want this tournament to be as good as possible.

@ultimate-word-tournament @ultimate-sentence-tournament @words-for-cat-bracket @ultimate-poll-tournament @titlesbracket @tournamentdirectory @eurovision-song-bracket @the-shape-showdown @fuckingstupidbracket

[max1461]

This is a rant but also a question sorry. I'm a grad student (PhD student in Europe, so a bit different) as well and I think the people here are rancid. Just a bunch of mean nerds. Extremely judgemental about students who are struggling. Love playing into the trope of depressed but noble (underpaid) """ Intellectual """

They never talk about science unless it's an opportunity to appear "Scientific" (Name drop science buzzwords) and public shaming the speaker during and after the presentations is very common.

Anyways. My question is has this been your experience as well or it just where I am? What are academics like where you're from? Do you think academics have a serious dickhead/likability issue? Do you think academics are "smarter" Than the average population?

I think academics in general are huge dickheads but most of the one's I've happen to meet in my grad program have been very nice. I think I just got luck. Many of the ones I encounter seem to suck. Also might differ by field; linguistics is famous for having a lot of assholes but I actually think it has less than average. My sister is an art history student and she's surrounded by just the nastiest people I've ever heard about. Could just be individual departments too.

[bleakcinema]

On Loving Tolkien Responsibly and Leaving Room at the Table

I'm on a Tolkien tear and still thinking about the malleability of his world (IE: at the time of his death Tolkien still hadn't fully decided on his own world, as evident in the volume "The Fall of Gondolin" which contains two to three versions of the same history). It still bothers me that some people try so hard to be 'purists' of his work for one simple reason:

Tolkien himself wasn't a purist. Not in all things.

I've found that there's an urge to read his work as if it were a straightforward fantasy, written and plotted like one with an unswaying lore. I think too many people forget that Tolkien wrote Middle Earth like a man discovering it bit by bit rather than plotting with an intent to set in stone. This is fitting for a linguist and historian.

That isn't to say there isn't a firm-ish lore with a more-or-less immoveable timeline. That's taking the point too far. But then again, I think people who lose themselves in the detail are taking thing too far in the opposite direction. There are certainly fixed points in any discussion of Tolkien. However, I feel like there are too many people who forget that much was unspoken, undecided, or undocumented in the nigh on 727,045 years of Arda (according to the conversion rate Tolkien considered later in life....which is another point! Tolkien was still debating time conversions)!

Remember, we originally had Valian years which were around 9.5, then the Solar years, which were congruent to our years (which places it closer to 54,000), and THEN a new conversion method which was never fully worked out.

The main things to recall with Tolkien if you're not ready to plunge into the TEXTBOOK HISTORY of a beautiful realm...is hope. Hope, brotherhood, and courage. Keep that in your heart and you're doing okay. Maybe remember some names. Not all of them. That way lies madness.

My fellow Tolkien nerds would also do well to remember this when speaking to new, happy, enthusiastic fans rather than icing them out over how many more details you can obsess over. Delight in sharing the knowledge you have rather than crouching over it like a dragon sick Dwarf. Embrace those who come for the journey rather than judging where they left home behind. The world lies ahead and YOU determine whether it is a warm or unkind one. I'll leave you with a quote from Tolkien scholar, Tom Emanuel that brings me joy: "I mean this affectionately: eavesdropping on the Silmarillion fandom is like running into an esoteric band of Rosicrucians. We share many of the same foundational texts, but to be honest I haven't a clue what's going on here. The real loremasters of Middle-earth aren't the scholars or the self-appointed Tolkien Defenders. They're the 21-year-old transmasc sociology students hopped up on Panera Charged Lemonade and 50,000 words deep into a Dead Dove fic about the Sons of Curufinwë."

[eleilinnrallin]

Welcome to the Abyss

I am the being that dwells herein! You can call me El, Eldin, Martin, Mayday, or something else that catches your fancy. Acceptable pronoun sets are ve/ven/ver/venself, they/them, or it/its.

How to use ve/ven pronouns for me.

I'm an undergrad student studying editing and publishing, and a nerd about linguistics, Beowulf, history of the English language, Redwall, writing, medical things (somewhat), and books in general. I appreciate combat arts greatly, though I have limited experience overall (a few years TKD, a few months HEMA, about a year and a half Belegarth). I currently work as a copy editor at a journal that publishes peer reviewed ecology and natural history papers.

I have several sideblogs to keep things organized for my own sake. They are not particularly active rn because I have low energy a lot of the time.

@elrallin is my writing-related sideblog @postapocalypse-punkish is where I poke at punk things with a stick to examine them @memberqueer-mormon is a sideblog for my religious commentary as a queer Mormon @myswordshallwieldforme is a Redwall sideblog that's still getting off the ground, oops @almost-daily-triolets has Not been running for a while but I want to get that back on its feet!

Also I frequently vanish without notice because of School Things. Don't worry, I'm ok! Just tired!