#yes these all have english versions

[caffeine-high]

the fact that my dutch ass can understand just enough german to get utterly lost in combination with the grammar of english subtitles under musicals and other media aswell tbf, but not enough to be able to get by without them fills me with infinite rage

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[kaurwreck]

hiiiii in this chapter fukuchi/amenogozen switches into a really archaic + formal way of speaking, which in bsd i usually take as an indicator that asagiri is referencing something. i know you've read a lot of japanese classical literature— do you have any idea of what it could be?

At times, Amenogozen seems to be near quoting something, but I haven't looked into the details yet. My first inclination is to consider its dialogue may be referencing the works of and noh plays adapted by Yukio Mishima, especially considering the relevance of the number three and the other references to Yukio Mishima throughout this arc. In addition to prospective kabuki references considering Gen'ichiro Fukuchi's career in kabuki. Both noh and kabuki are centuries old and often rely on stories that are centuries old.

But, also, Amenogozen is a singularity, which is already a space-time distortion, and one that specifically deifies space-time. It's archaic and contemporary and what lies ahead, past and present and future. It makes sense that it'd speak anachronistically.

[lizzydizzyyo]

So fucking sad that David Archuleta put his life on pause for some stupid missionary period taking two years when his career was literally shooting up (eventually killing it until it sizzled out), not to mention doing a whole PR manouver when he was "caught" in a gay bar from a grainy cctv screenshot (which is not a bad thing btw) but he ended up becoming a public queer ex-mormon anyway. All that effort and bullshit. Man. Imagine if he went ahead with his career in 2012-2014 instead, he might even come out earlier because 2013 was literally the gay coming out year. Can you imagine. Can you imagine how spoiled we would have been as an archie if he did that instead. CAN YOU IMAGINE.

[celestiachan]

style savvy au where all the different styles/tastes/whatever are edgy as shit and there are only three non-edgy styles and one of them is still alternative

[rubberbandballqueen]

it is becoming Increasingly Clear to me that i can no longer be taken out into public because i will start doing to fonts what jirt would do to the rocks and plants whilst on little walks

[leatherbookmark]

ooooh apparently the pjo show is out? or is it just the first episode? i'm not sure but. hm!!

[unforth]

Okay, so if, like me, you saw the announcement for the new edition of TGCF and went !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and if, like me, you then went to Taobao on the 13th and couldn't find it at all and if, like me, you then went OH NO WHAT DO?

Well, what I did was ping the amazing minmoyu and go "please help?!" and they sent me the twitter link above. It has links to like a dozen Taobao book store's listings for the new edition! They all appear to have the same extras (no store-specific bonuses) so really just...pick whichever appeals?

I already begged my mom to pay for it for me (happy mother's day to me!) and the order has been placed.

Get yours now! It's 199 rmb before shipping - which, right now, exchanges to about $30 US. Shipping will vary by your location but you should estimate that it'll about double the price. So, three gorgeous books and a whole pile of amazing extras for around $60 - even with shipping, the price is incredible.

I'm so excited y'all.

[lonepower]

for shits and giggles (and also just because i kind of hate the official steam version lmao) i am slowly working my way through my own translation of noel the mortal fate (even though i can BARELY read japanese. like i can read hiragana and approximately four(4) kanji. and that's. it asdf) and man. it is SO interesting from a source/target perspective

obviously there's the fact that japanese grammar is NOTHING like english grammar and its... information density?... is a lot higher, so a lot more connotation can fit into a much smaller amount of sentence and there just... Is Not a way to translate it without taking pretty significant liberties

but also i'm learning so many fun idioms. cybilla says that stella stage "entered the competition with their shoes on" when she's talking about them tampering with the results, which is just. a very japanese idiom. (I suppose the English equivalent would be "dragging it through the mud" which isn't That different conceptually?)

anyway tl;dr i love translation theory

[bishonenspit]

international eroica fans are some of the most ungrateful fans of anything i have ever encountered i stg

[theinfinitedivides]

had the wildest f*cking dream last night of an alternate timeline where they actually manage to convince Shah Rukh to go on Buzzfeed to read Thirst Tweets and i have firmly established i do not want that happening irl, sfjsfdnkjsdnj

[4giorno]

oh my godddddd al haithams korean voice is fucking beautiful

[s0ngsandstars]

Mika FS2 and Mika's Bday are lining up beautifully, which is a tiny bit of a problem as someone who's decided to produce Valkyrie (and Knights) on Music.

[microwavetoaster-selfships]

Maybe they forgot to add me in Cars 2 but at least they didn't remove any of the songs and tried to play it off like I wasn't the reason for them

[wildevenusian]

treating myself to seeing kneecap (with captions!) again

[its-not-a-pen]

--Written Chinese vs English--

[ID: A comic titled "Evolution of Written Chinese vs English". On the left, emperor Qin Shi Huang holds up a scroll and angrily points an ink brush at the viewer and shouts, "There should not be seven different ways to write 'horse'. Starting today everyone will use the same characters-- or else!" On the right, William Shakespeare laughs gleefully while holding a skull and quill and exclaims, "The first rule of English is to have fun and to thine own self be true!" Every word uses a non-standard spelling. Below the cut are full versions of the the panels and a blank version of the Chinese one. End ID]

I'm fascinated by the evolution of chinese and english "spelling." I grew up on hard-to-read Ye Olde English, and assumed all languages were like that. Imagine my shock when I discovered the chinese language had been standardised since 221BC, and I can read words written in the Han Dynasty.

full versions:

notes under the cut

For much of it's history, the English language played it fast and loose with spelling. (No one can spell things wrong if no one can spell things right!) Standardisation only began in the late 15th century as the use of the printing press spread across Europe.

I thought the best person to show this carefree attitude was the Bard himself; Willy Shakes. We have six surviving examples of Shakespeare's signature, and none of them are spelled the same way twice.

In comparison, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, standardised the writing system as early as 221 BC. He had conquered the six warring states and decided to do away with their writing systems. This made the administration of a centralised government easier, and it served as a demonstration of his absolute authority. The writing on the book* is "horse", and "torn apart by carriage".

**That scroll he's holding is actually called a book in Chinese, it is made up of bamboo slips, like a big sushi mat!

All designs are available on redbubble: I thought it would be fun to include a blank version of qin shi huang, so you can write stuff on him.