#linguistic chatter

[isabelpsaroslunnen]

I am suffering because I've realized that a major family name in my novel doesn't follow in-world linguistic conventions properly.

Now, etymologically speaking, the family's name does not come from the local language, but a) it doesn't follow the conventions of the original language either, and b) it's supposed to have been altered specifically to fit the norms of the local language.

The name is one of the earliest I came up with and ends with a silent E that modifies the previous vowel, as it would in English. But in both the original and the local languages, a final E is not silent. As it currently stands, the final E is pronounced in the original language's version of the name, but not in the variant adapted to the local language ... a language which always pronounces final vowels otherwise.

Agh!

[isabelpsaroslunnen]

One of the texts I read for grad school discussed the ancient Latin phrase imperare sibi maximum imperium est, "empire over yourself is the greatest empire." Now I kind of want something similar about compassion but for monarchists :P

imagining one of those annoying "the real revolution is compassion" guys but for other ideologies

[mekanikaltrifle]

tbh the survival of small languages and dialects of all stripes is deeply important to all our cultures-- and I don't mean this in a weirdo blood-and-soil nationalist way-- because it helps to keep different ways of thinking and seeing alive. Often, languages come with their own perceptions on time and colour and days and night, anything they could possibly have. Major languages too, but the smaller ones are always at risk of being lost to time... and with them go the context, the meanings and the different perspective that its individual speakers could have had.

For instance, in Scots, there's a fundamental minor difference to time and how it relates to the individual compared to standard English. In Scots you can often hear folks saying phrases like 'that's me away' (or awa' in very broad Scots, pronounced a bit like awah), when you're looking to leave a place. Taken literally in English that would be incorrect, as you are not in fact physically leaving, and it's not like you're watching your own body wander off out the door. However, in this case the 'what is about to be', and the 'what is right now' are functionally the same thing. Time becomes a little malleable in the Scots way of looking at it.

Of course this is hardly the only example and I am sure people can add their own examples of similar but... it's interesting to think about, isn't it? How your language approaches both the physical and the abstract, and how its constructed your brain to think. Because language physically shapes your brain, and knowing more is always good for the old grey matter.

[insertfandomrefhere]

top 15 etymologies: 15) you 14) can't 13) rank 12) etymologies 11) because 10) they 9) are 8) all 7) unique 6) and 5) have 4) fascinating 3) cultural 2) explanations 1) frogging is the term for taking knitting off the needles and just fucking yanking on the loose end to unweave it and it's called frogging because you "rip it, rip it"

[aces-to-apples]

Xenk Yendar doesn't traffic in colloquialisms because he's so old he doesn't know any anymore

[starlytenight]

Arthur ascends asserts his dominance by dating Meta's mother directly.

You will accept him as your dad, Meta, this is a threat.

Elderly love is cute too

[contritecactite]

My visiting dad has become the most devoted fan of a local restaurant and is calling all of his buddies (who live 800 miles from here where he lives and who will not ever be visiting, in all likelihood) to tell them all about it. He's sending them pictures of food.* We have been there twice in the span of a week. Here are some highlights from his extensive thoughts on the place:

This place would be full open to close if it was down by me. I mean non-stop.

I don't really like brisket but their brisket is killer.

There sure is an awful lot of grass** on there, but it's still good.

I can't believe four people ate here for a hundred dollars and everybody took something home! That's crazy. Can't believe it's so empty in here.

*picture of the absolutely fucking ridiculous sandwich below the cut

**a literal teaspoon of coleslaw

It should also be noted that his current favored intensifier is "killer" but he's got the kind of accent that aspirates the k and is r-less at the end of a word, so "khhilluh." I'm finding it very charming and also wondering where he picked it up because I have known him for over thirty years!! It's new!! Having language feelings about it!

This is a smoked and fried pork tenderloin and it's alarmingly massive. He's been showing it off to his dude friends and then calling them to talk more about it

[turtlebluem]

I bet noun, as a lexical category, feels so left out

We have verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, but what about nouns

It's third wheeling the other category's family

I feel so bad for it

[prosciuttulipa]

I first gained traction with my A How To Guide to Loving Prosciutto character study, and I saw someone reblog it today saying that they'd want a Risotto one?? (sorry user who reblogged you know who you are, apologies if you don't like being perceived, it made me very happy tho!!)

I think my writing style has changed since I first started (four years of a creative writing degree will do that to ya), but the idea of doing a character study of these characters and how it'd be like to actually be their partner does sound REAL appealing!! if you know what I'm saying!! also might be a cool way to reflect on the changed style!

I think in general I'm much more drawn to in depth character exploration—like I love these freaky deaky little fucked up men and their fucked up problems and getting myself involved in them! I like how they're very human and full of flaws, and I fully intend on capitalizing on them mwahahahaha

anyway like/interact with this post if you would like another 'A How To Guide on Loving [insert character here]', and also maybe which character you'd like it for! or just any content you want in general! it's been a long time since I've written for these fellas, so gotta warm up these knuckles before I take a crack at em again

[isabelpsaroslunnen]

[Original date: 2 March 2018]

I can't believe I miss "ISABELLLLL, ES HORA DE DESPERTAAAARSE" at 6 AM, but here we are.

[casuallyceltic]

Fun thing I noticed with the WcDonald's tie-in is the katakana on the cups obviously spells out WcDonald's but you can use the beginning two characters to make ワクワク or "excited"!

[mekanikaltrifle]

Do you know what the best Scots/Scottish-English* word is? outwith.

Fucking fun word, and means essentially 'beyond the scope of' or 'outside of'. You could easily use it to say, for instance, that something is 'outwith your responsibility', rather than in Standard English saying that something is 'not your responsibility'. Far less combative, but remaining just as assertive and clear. I feel it's easier to hear without feeling like an argument is due to start, maybe, the kinda language that ends a discourse before it starts.

And that's very fun!

(* Scottish Standard English is distinct from Standard English down to certain syntax and word differences loaned from other sources independent of the core English language-- usually Scots and Gaelic but also Dutch as well, here and there (tho that may also be the Scots influence))

(Scottish Standard English is a dialect, whereas Scots itself is a language.)

[space-ninja-fashion-show]

I cba to go dig them up and make them at all presentable, but i think it's an important thing to know about who i am as a person that somewhere within my DMs to my best friend (who does Not play this game) there are multiple essays on Ostron language and various different cultures within the Origin System including specifically Grineer and Corpus defectors

[insertfandomrefhere]

i'm reading through wikipedia's list of american terms that are not used in british english and most of them are understandable: terms referring to something US-gov-specific, like "401(k)"; terms for things that are much less prevalent in the UK, like "grits"; terms i already knew about, like "flashlight" and "dish soap".

the one i was absolutely not prepared for was learning that brits just...don't use "gotten". their past participle is "got".

i'm left mystified. how did this happen? what went on in the UK to make them ditch the "en" ending??

[hushimstressed]

I’m always on the verge of info dumping about languages btw, like i love languages so much PLEASE let me tell you about how cool dual is (basically plural but only for things that are two) and how proto indo-European probably used it and pretty much all languages that descend from it dropped it all together !!!!! HOWEVER English has retained a small bit of it from the use of “both”!

[the-chattering-tower]

Okay well now I'm wondering if Sornieth languages have different colour term hierarchy than human languages

And if Draconic specifically has more basic colour terms than the "typical" 11 (English) or 12 (Russian, Hebrew, etc) due to having 11 flights/deities that are all heavily colour-coded, on top of black, white, and grey, making a total of 14

And if they maybe even have two words for black with one being a more standard word and the other derived from their word for the Shade