#you?” (in less formal contexts e.g. between friends) – and say something like

[corvidiss]

#smile at people #a majority of the time people will smile back and you win Human Points #learn how to compliment people and do it often #Normalcy is a perspective that changes depending on who is looking but kindness and a positive attitude shows the same view to everyone #basic politeness with a little extra effort is amazingly difficult at times #but it goes MILES

Genuinely good advice from @aroace-get-out-of-my-face

can someone recommend some beginner normal behaviors for someone looking to become normal

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

Hi, first off I ship Zutara and I come in peace. I was pointed your way by a friend when I asked for people who ship kataang who are nevertheless willing to hear different views. I have lurked on blog a week and finally got up my nerve to ask how you or any other Kataang can deny that the last part of book 3 was completely Zutara but then stopped abruptly with no buildup? You can finesse tone on text so I'm not being sarcastic or bitchy, it is a serious question (1/5)

In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko. In Ember Island Players, she realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was, and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from “Aang’s gone!” to “Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.” (2/5)

Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic. I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed. (4/5)

And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend. And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders. I get that Kataang “won” and I’ve made peace with that, but ... I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story. I swear on my gmom [sic] if they’d done this for [Zvtara], I’d be mad as hell. So I don’t understand, I really don’t. (5/5)

As always, I shall begin with a disclaimer: anon, you do not have to agree with this post. No one has to agree with this post, as it is strictly my own thoughts on the subject matter raised here! As per usual, I will not be putting this in the main tags - much less the Zvtara tag! - because I have basic fandom decency, lmao. If you (the general you, not anon specifically) do disagree with this post, that is totally fine, I simply ask that you are polite in expressing your disagreement (if you choose to do so at all! no one is expected to, lmao. i promise).

Alright. Formalities are out of the way!

I’ll admit I giggled a little bit when you say you lurked on my blog for a week, because I’ve actually talked about this subject numerous times in the past! I just found it funny you hadn’t stumbled across any posts about it yet, lol. So, as a heads up, know that I will be providing several links in this post since - again - this subject and related subjects have been analyzed a multitude of times before. I highly recommend reading them all! Mostly because I don’t intend to spend forever restating what’s been said over and over and over lmaooo. I will provide the resources, but it is up to each individual to take advantage of them.

To begin: your ask actually contains a few logical fallacies, anon! I do not mean this as shade or to belittle you - I fall victim to this issue all the time myself. Anyone who writes analyses or participates in debates does! Humans are imperfect and often like to cut corners to reach a conclusion. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about because - as the existence of your ask in inbox indicates - you are willing to learn more. So kudos to you, my friend!

Alright. So what logical fallacies am I talking about here? (For the record: specific definitions of logical fallacies were taken from here.)

1. Hasty Generalization.

“A hasty generalization is a general statement without sufficient evidence to support it.” Numerous claims are made in this ask that I have absolutely no doubt you believe to be true, anon, but there really isn’t any concrete evidence to support it! I will go into more detail later, of course, but let’s quickly look at one example:

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

For the time being, I will ask but one question: from the show itself, not fanon, how do you know this?

2. Causal Fallacy

Ah, this guy. My own worst enemy, tbh! “A causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a cause,” of which there are several types. “One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa (‘not the-cause for a cause’) fallacy, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do so.” In your ask, you claim:

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

Again, for the time being, I will ask only one question: from the show itself, not fanon, what led you to believe this statement?

“Another kind of causal fallacy is the correlational fallacy also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Lat., ‘with this therefore because of this’). This fallacy happens when you mistakenly interpret two things found together as being causally related.” In your ask, you claim:

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I will ask one question: from the show itself, not fanon, why would you believe these are indicative of romance? (Consider the context the show is situated in, too - e.g. the war, Katara being Azula’s only available match in skill, etc.)

The reason I bring up the issue of logical fallacies is again not at all to make you feel bad, anon!! You were simply trying to express your point to me and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so. See, your ask actually presents a larger fandom trend:

Misconstruing fanon as canon.

What you have offered to me, anon, are fanon conclusions. To clarify: there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanon. I adore fanon interpretations (an example I have used in the past is Kuzaang - like, I don’t care that there’s no canon basis! I do what I want lmao!), but a line has to be drawn between exploring fanon interpretations and expecting everyone to take that fanon as canon. Again, anon, this is not your fault! It is not any one person’s fault, lmao. It is an issue of fandom as a whole, and all of us fall victim to it.

With that in mind, I will break down the different components of your ask. I will also do my best to be brief - as aforementioned, I and others have analyzed this issue numerous times before, lmao. To avoid confusion, it would be best to read through each or at least most links as they are provided!

Firstly, there are two posts I have made in the past that almost directly answer your overarching question here in this ask. Please read them prior to continuing, as I will occasionally reference them:

This post explains how Zvtara was not built up from TSR/EIP-onwards, and how their supposed “canon enemies to lovers arc” is a completely fanon construction.

This post explains the issue of the “canon Zvtara” rhetoric from rabid zkers (and you, anon, are absolutely NOT one, in case you were worried).

Alrighty. With that out the way, let’s get into it!

“In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko.”

Gotta start by saying that TSR is not about Zuko. TSR is, first and foremost, about Katara. Katara does not realize she was wrong about Zuko, because here’s the truth - she wasn’t wrong about him. Zuko did horrible things to the Gaang. Katara was not wrong to hold him accountable for that. What Katara does realize is that holding such rage so close to her chest is bad for her. This rage was not solely anger against Zuko, either; it was of course about Yon Rha, too, but it was also anger towards Kya and Katara herself. Essentially, TSR is where Katara realizes she has to forgive herself. Zuko is only one part of her journey (similar to Aang’s role in the episode, if a different end of the spectrum).

This post explains how TSR was fundamentally about Katara.

Additional resources about TSR:

This post explains Aang’s comments to Katara in TSR and how Katara herself recognized their validity.

This post explains why both Aang and Zuko were important to Katara in TSR.

This post is an extensive breakdown of Aang and Katara’s relationship within TSR.

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

You provide no context for this claim, so I’m going to work with the assumption this is about their reactions to the play itself and the infamous kiss!

There is something important we must keep in mind when discussing EIP: the play they watch is literally imperialist propaganda. It is meant to demean the entire Gaang, and indeed it does exactly that. You mention Katara and Aang specifically, so I will recap what I have explained before about their depictions in EIP: Katara, an indigenous woman, is hypersexualized and portrayed as overly emotional (and thus “irrational”). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that women of the Water Tribes are less intelligent and less suited for “responsibility” than Fire Nation women. Aang, a pacifist and the sole survivor of genocide who is also canonly the male character most comfortable with femininity and spirituality, is portrayed as a flighty, airheaded woman (this is a well-known imperialist tactic meant to emasculate the target, seeing as masculinity was often equated with power in fascist regimes; thus, they effectively belittled Aang before the FN audience). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that the Air Nomads were foolish, weak people who deserved to die.

In other words, of course Aang and Katara were upset about how they portrayed in the play. It is understandable that tensions would be running high and consequently that mistakes (we all know the one) would be made.

This post explains how EIP belittles each member of the Gaang (and why the play is not indicative of Zvtara).

This post talks specifically about EIP and their portrayal of Aang and Katara.

Now onto the kiss. As everyone knows and no one has ever disagreed with, Aang was wrong to kiss Katara. Point blank!

But what people do misunderstand is Katara and Aang’s feelings regarding the kiss. Given your above quote, I assume you believe Aang kissing Katara supposedly made her realize that Aang wasn’t as mature as she once thought. On the surface, this seems like a logical conclusion! But digging deeper reveals… well, there’s nothing that indicates this conclusion at all. Even jumping ahead to the finale, when Zuko has doubts over Aang’s return, Katara demonstrates her faith in Aang (although of course she’s nervous - I won’t deny the obvious, lmao) as she says, “Aang won’t lose. He’s gonna come back. He has to.”

In other words, nothing in canon suggests that Katara believes Aang is immature because of what happened in EIP. She still trusts in his return, as she did even before she knew him (and arguably is more confident in him now, given the 60~ episodes of them growing closer). Furthermore, when Aang does disappear, Katara doesn’t have an outburst about how “immature” it was for him to “run away again.” The viewers know Aang didn’t run away, of course (fans who insist he did are not worth arguing with, anon - they don’t understand the show, rip), but that is a luxury the rest of the Gaang is not afforded. And yet even though Aang has vanished off the face of the planet, Katara still believes he will save the world. If anything, that signifies the utmost confidence in his skill and maturity!

To go back to the kiss itself, this post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (hint: she says it herself in the episode! you know, the whole war going on) and why the EIP kiss did not sink Kataang’s relationship.

Additional sources about EIP:

This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels.

This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.

“… and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from ‘Aang’s gone!’ to ‘Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.’”

As I already touched upon, Katara didn’t need a soliloquy to emphasize her connection to Aang once he disappeared. She trusts that he will return. She says so herself. I guess I just don’t understand how you got from Point A, Katara has consistent faith in Aang, to Point B, Katara and the rest of the Gaang didn’t care about Aang’s disappearance. It’s honestly a bit more like Point A to Point Z, lmao! If you would like to expand on your logic here, I would love to hear more!!

There are a few specific aspects I want to note about your rationale, though. You argue the Gaang moves from ‘Aang disappeared’ to ‘let’s find Iroh,’ but the Gaang actually went from:

1. Aang disappeared!

2. They search the entire island for him.

3. Okay, they couldn’t find him, so they track down June and have her try to find Aang.

4. June says to them, “No, I mean he’s gone gone. He doesn’t exist.” (And she clarifies to Sokka that she doesn’t mean dead, either - she means Aang has totally blinked out of their world.)

5. Only after all of this do they decide to track down Iroh.

The Gaang cares immensely about the fact that Aang is gone, and you could actually argue they waste time by trying to track him down. They don’t give up until June essentially tells them that some Spirit World shenanigans were involved. Even if you don’t think they reached that specific conclusion, I have to ask: What else were they supposed to do? They were told Aang didn’t exist! How are they supposed to fix that?

Well, they can’t. So they do the next best thing: they find Iroh, the man who knows Ozai better than anyone and is also one of the most talented firebenders in the world. In my opinion, that’s a very logical step to take.

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I’ll be blunt here, lol: in my opinion, nothing of what you listed in your ask is inherently romantic.

Okay. I am going to assume you’ve read the first two posts I linked earlier (“Zvtara did not have an E-L arc” and “the ‘canon’ Zvtara of rabid zkers has issues”), because I do not intend to rehash everything they contain, lol. Consequently, I presume you realize by now that there was no canon romantic interest between Zuko and Katara.

And as I always say, just because there wasn’t a canon romance doesn’t mean people can’t take fanon routes! Of course they can! That’s the entire point of fanon! But fanon is not canon, and I am strictly referring to canon in my discussions.

You claim Katara was all over Zuko, which in itself I don’t think is an accurate assessment, because she doesn’t really do anything with Zuko outside the three points you bring up (other than the June gag, which I addressed in one of the aforementioned linked posts). So I’ll go ahead and break down each instance you provide!

1. “[Katara] was giving [Zuko] a pep talk about Iroh”

Katara asked Zuko if he was okay. She asked him if he was genuinely sorry. She reassures him that Iroh will forgive him. That’s… all. Not to diminish the significance of this conversation, but it’s not exactly an intimate, romantically-charged discussion (unless fanon-ized). But on that note, let’s tackle the canon significance of this moment!

Katara knows firsthand the challenge of forgiving Zuko. And she knows that Zuko understands how hard it was for her to forgive him (note: Katara’s anger was totally justified, and anyone who disagrees is probably a rabid Zuko stan lmao). She also recognizes that Zuko is terrified it will take Iroh the same struggle to forgive him that Katara went through. This scene is not related to romance at all. It’s about compassion. It’s about Katara and Zuko’s friendship having progressed, slowly but surely, to the point where she’s not afraid to extend empathy to him anymore (seeing as the first time, beneath Ba Sing Se, did not go so well; you know - Aang died and all). It’s about Zuko recognizing his own fallibility (and the audience recognizing how much he’s grown). He questions how he can even face his uncle after all he’s done to the man, which is a far cry from his entitled attitude in TSR, where he demanded to know why Katara didn’t trust him when everyone else had forgiven him.

To make this moment, this moment about Zuko’s relationship with his uncle who is all but a literal father to him, this moment of vulnerability, of guilt, of remorse, of growth, to claim this powerful moment is about a nonexistent romantic relationship? In my opinion, that is incredibly reductive to what this scene is supposed to signify. And again, there is nothing wrong with people exploring such a possibility in fanon, but in canon? Nah. It doesn’t track.

2. “[Katara] was going with [Zuko] to Azula”

Don’t forget that at first, Zuko planned to take on Azula alone. He doesn’t request Katara to accompany him until Iroh tells him that he’ll need help. As such, Zuko’s immediate agreement with Iroh is reflective of his personal growth (Book 1 and 2 Zuko would have argued and insisted he didn’t need any help). It also demonstrates, however, that Katara was not obsessively on Zuko’s mind. He doesn’t choose Katara until Iroh points out that Zuko will need assistance in taking Azula down. This means that Zuko’s choice of Katara to join him is a tactical decision, not an emotional one. And by all accounts, it’s a damn good decision! Zuko witnessed firsthand beneath Ba Sing Se a) how powerful Katara was (e.g. that wave after Aang died) and b) how Katara was the only one who could take on Azula*.

Of course, besides the fact that Katara was the only match for Azula, who else was Zuko going to choose? Sokka and Suki, while talented in their own right, were no competition for Azula. Toph, while the greatest earthbender in the world, was needed to metalbend the airships. Katara was the only (and the best!) option.

Also, on their trip to face Azula, the only thing they talk about within their three lines of canon conversation are Azula and Aang. Not exactly a romantic flight, lmao.

*Zuko never saw Aang fight Azula on the drill.

3. “[Katara] was healing [Zuko] and saying he saved her not the other way around”

Actually, this is what the transcript says:

Zuko: Thank you, Katara.

Katara: I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.

You’re right about how their lines refer to them saving each other, but you posit it as a romantic moment, when the lines are actually pretty straightforward. Zuko thanks Katara as she heals him from the partially-redirected lightning strike, and Katara thanks him for trying to redirect the lightning away from her and in doing so saving her life. In terms of canon, there’s nothing romantic about this, lol! (Which I talked about extensively in the E-L post, if you need to reference it again.) The reason being is that you have to take the show itself into context when you do analysis. If there was no canon romantic buildup between Zuko and Katara, why would these lines in canon (not fanon! fanon is free rein, lmao) be interpreted through a romantic lens?

Well, they wouldn’t be interpreted as such. Plain and simple.

“I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

Because looking through a canon lens, they aren’t romantic. That’s all. You are of course welcome to view them as such through a fanon lens!! It’s just about recognizing the line between canon and fanon.

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

I asked earlier what content in the show itself led you to believe. I have wracked my own mind, and I cannot think of anything that would point to this conclusion. Zuko was in Katara’s good graces for 5 episodes. That’s 8% of the show. Not exactly a lot of time for Zuko to start believing his life would be pointless if Katara was killed, is it?

This post explains the improbability of Zuko having a crush on Katara within canon.

This post explains how Zuko’s racism towards the Air Nomads in TSR and the finale is, well, exactly that - racism (and not a sign of a crush on Katara).

And, of course, as has been said a million times, Zuko taking the lightning for Katara out of romantic interest would completely undermine his redemption arc. Since it has been said over and over and over, I will be brief: Zuko taking the lightning is significant because it is a selfless act (one of his only in the series), and it directly parallels his selfish act of choosing not to intervene when Azula killed Aang with lightning beneath Ba Sing Se. This moment demonstrates Zuko’s growth, how he has learned to accept unconditional love from Iroh and the Gaang and Mai and even Ty Lee and sure, even from Appa and Momo, too. To make this moment of pure selflessness about a nonexistent romance? To force a fanon romance in replacement of canon redemption and canon platonic significance?

Such a decision speaks wonders about a person’s priorities, in my opinion, as well as how amatonormativity impacts them.

Furthermore, Zuko’s choice cements Katara’s position as his surrogate sibling, as she is Azula’s primary foil. Zuko chooses the sister who heals over the sister who harms. I won’t go too much into it here, because it has already been talked about extensively before! Thus, I offer you this post that explains how Zuko and Katara - in canon - are positioned as surrogate siblings as well as Azula’s role in this matter. I also offer this post that lays out through screencaps how Zuko and Katara - in canon - treat each other like family.

Additional sources about the final Agni Kai:

This post in part discusses fanon misinterpretation of the final Agni Kai and why such a lens is not true to canon relationships.

This post explains why the final Agni Kai is not intended to be romantic.

This post explains how the final Agni Kai is primarily about Azula and how reducing it to be a big Zvtara moment is detrimental to both her and to Zuko and Katara themselves.

“And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend.”

This point could probably get a post of its own, lol, but fortunately I and others have already written a few! I will link them below - first, however, I question your choice of “declares.” Technically, yes, Mai does say outright that it doesn’t hurt how the new Fire Lord is her boyfriend, but your phrasing implies Zuko resisted her proclamation. When… he doesn’t. In fact, he embraces it, asking if that means she doesn’t hate him anymore (read: he asks if they’re back on good terms again). Zuko clearly doesn’t have a problem with the girl he loves wanting to be with him again - so why do some parts of fandom so adamantly insist he does? (Not you, anon - I am referring to the rabid fanoners, lol.)

Also, regarding how Zuko hasn’t talked about Mai for six episodes, we’ve gotta be realistic with this assessment in terms of canon:

1. It was the crux of the war. They were either going to live or die. There was no time for romance at this point! Sokka and Suki weren’t professing their love on the battlefield, lmao, so it’s not exactly strange that Zuko didn’t bust into a monologue about how he missed Mai. I think they were just a little bit distracted by the possible end of the world, lol, and all that jazz.

2. Zuko probably thought Mai was dead. He knows what Azula is like. He knows his sister doesn’t have time for people who get in her way (Aang can testify to this, lmao). So can you blame him for not wanting to think about how the girl he loved had died (to his knowledge) to save him?

You gotta cut the kid some slack, lol. Anyways! Additional sources about Maiko:

This post breaks down the notion of Maiko and “deserve.”

This post rationalizes through a canon lens why Mai’s arrival at the palace surprised Zuko.

This post is the mother of Maiko metas, explaining in tremendous detail why their relationships works, is relevant to canon, and was well-implemented for what its role was.

“And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders.”

What in canon has led you to the conclusion that Katara was annoyed with Aang? What specific moments from TSR to the finale made you think Katara was annoyed with Aang and remained annoyed with Aang? Are there any, or are you thinking about fanon interpretation? (Canon vs fanon strikes again!)

In TSR, Katara explicitly thanks Aang for understanding her perspective. Nothing there is indicative of annoyance (and as in the links provided earlier, she was not angry at Aang/Zuko/etc. so much as she was at herself. well, she was a little bit angry with Zuko, lmao). In EIP, Katara is understandably angry at Aang’s decision to kiss her, but Aang completely backs off, and we see in the part 1 of the finale that there are no hard feelings or weird tension between them. Katara in fact actively expresses concern for Aang after Zuko sporadically attacked him when she demands of the firebender, “What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!” Even when Aang and Katara do butt heads later in the episode as Aang tries to think of a way to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara doesn’t stay frustrated. Like I said - when she and Zuko are flying to Azula, she demonstrates her unwavering faith in Aang through her belief that he will return. So… where is the annoyance that you feel was present?

With all this mind, i.e. looking strictly at canon, Katara wasn’t annoyed with Aang during this time. Thus, Katara kisses Aang because she loved him. Because he backed off and gave her the space she needed to make a decision about if she wanted to be with him (hence Katara being the one to initiate the kiss). Because the issue was never about if she reciprocated his feelings (they both knew they loved each other) but rather it had to do with the war. At the end of the finale, the war is over, and there is nothing that prevents them from being together. Simple.

This post explains how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series (and were not neglected, as rabid zkers like to claim, for some reason? again - you are not one of them, anon).

This post also covers Katara’s interest in Aang throughout the series.

“I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story.”

I mean, you definitely don’t have to ship Kataang. It may not be your cup of tea, and that’s totally okay! But as the above links demonstrate, Kataang was a fantastic story. It was well-implemented into the narrative from Day 1. The soulmateism is unparalleled!

Also, it’s worth noting that A:TLA itself was essentially pre-written. The writers knew how the story would end from the get-go, including that the show would end with Kataang. A few Zvtara gags were thrown in to add a sense of “who will Katara choose?” drama as the show aired, but Zuko and Katara were never planned to end up together. One reason so many newer fans are fine with Kataang from the start is that there’s no tension of waiting a week for a new episode when you can watch all 61 episodes straight through on Netflix, lmao. It’s even more obvious now than when A:TLA was airing that Aang and Katara will end up together, if that makes sense. (Although I talked about this in the E-L post linked earlier, so you probably understand this point already, as it was explained in detail there!)

All of this is to say that Kataang is not a “crap story” in terms of writing (again, personal taste is a different matter) because it was woven in from the beginning and had powerful narrative significance! (Kataang represented numerous complementary components of the series, such as yin and yang, push and pull, air and water, Oma and Shu, etc.)

Now. If you really and truly want to understand why Kataang shippers like Kataang, anon, consider reading some Kataang fanfics or exploring some Kataang headcanons. I read fics involving Zvtara more regularly than you might think, lol, because… well, it’s just a ship. I understand the appeal of romantic Zvtara and I can actually appreciate it when it’s well-written! I’m sure if you’re willing to put in just a little legwork (you don’t need to go the whole mile, lmao - ‘tis just fandom), you’ll realize why people like Kataang, even if it isn’t exactly your thing. You have the range, anon!! You got this!

I hope I managed to answer your questions, my friend! As always, you do not have to agree with anything I have said here. It is totally fine if you and anyone else disagrees! Everything above is simply my own perspective on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read my response and all the different links I provided! I hope it has expanded your understanding of the subject at hand!

[icouldntresistit]

The hidden language in Jimin’s Birthday Video (Warning: Long)

to Jeongguk. 

So, I’m finally talking about this like I said I would--but not in the same way as everyone else. When this video was first released, some people were endeared that Jimin posted a whole video birthday card, and some were curious as to why he didn’t post more. But me, I was curious for one key reason that I want to explain in detail. I’m calling this “The Impersonal Personal Message”.

I personally like to approach these sorts of things as more or less a lesson in language than a lesson in the nature of two people’s relationship, but you can apply these ideas as you will. Please understand that I’m just interested in looking at the language and not necessarily trying to make any claims here (though I do have my own opinions).

----------------------------------

The Impersonal Personal Message

In this video Jimin says the following: 정국씨! 생일축하합니다! 생일 진심으로 축하하고 맛있는거 많이 드시고...어.....만수무강 하세요. 나중에 술을(?) 합시다!

(Romanization: Jeonggukssi! Saengilchukhahabnida! Saengir jinshimeuro chukhahago mashineungeo mahni deushigo...eo.....mansumugahng haseyo. Najoongeh sooreul(?) habshida!)

The reason why I wrote the Korean is two-fold: A) You probably already know the english translation but haven’t seen the Korean transliteration; and B) The tone of what he’s saying can only really be relayed by explaining the hangul. So, let me explain, line-by-line so to speak.

정국씨!

First, let’s talk about “정국씨! (Jeonggukssi)” - Right off the bat, we can tell he’s being overly formal by his use of “씨 (shi/ssi)”, meaning Mr./Ms. You only really see this type of formality for 2 reasons. 1) The person being spoken to is a stranger and authority figure for the person speaking. And 2) The two people speaking are extremely close and joking around--though this reason can have a romantic undertone

Formal Language Between ‘Close Friends’

Next, “생일축하합니다 (Saengilchukhahabnida)” - This is to be expected as the video is more so toward ARMYS than it is Jeongguk. I say this because it’s released on a public forum for more than just one end user to interpret. However, this usage of “Happy Birthday” gets another layer when you take into account the previously established tone of the video. As many may know, the verb conjugation ~ㅂ니다 (~bnida) is the formal present-tense high respect form. You may recall from my last language-related post that there are generally 3 respect forms to conjugate into in Korean. One is the informal low respect (ILR) form, predicates ending in ~아/어 (~ah/eo); one is the formal low respect (FLR) form, predicates ending in ~요 (yo); and one is the formal high respect (FHR) form, predicates ending in ~ㅂ니다 (~bnida). ILR is commonly used between close friends, individuals of the same age, lovers, and immediate family members. FLR is commonly used between strangers and with individuals who are older than the speaker. FHR is commonly reserved for authority figures (boss, president, CEO, etc.), strangers, and when addressing or speaking in front of large groups of people

I’ve discussed the uses of FHR before (see this post) as it pertains to idols, but not in close relationships. You typically only see this use in close relationships in more of a joking or even flirty tone. It’s almost never seriously used like this in close friendships. This is important to note because the entire tone of the video takes this weird detour when you consider exactly what Jimin is saying. Now, I want to backtrack just a bit to say that 생일축하합니다 is not at all uncommon for idols to say to their fellow members/friends when giving birthday shoutouts. It is really not playful at all in that sense. Even in this case it doesn’t seem playful. BUT, I still needed to point this out because of the overall formal tone of the video and as an excuse to explain respect levels in Korean grammar

Now, let’s look at “생일 진심으로 축하하고 맛있는거 많이 드시고 (Saengir jinshimeuro chukhahago mashineungeo mahni deushigo)” - This stood out to me for one main reason--the use of “드시다 (deushida)” (this is the verb stem of what Jimin actually said, which is “드시고”), instead of “먹다 (meogda)”. Both of these words (먹다 & 드시다) mean “to eat”. The only difference is that ~드시다 is very formal. It’s the honorific version of “들다 (deulda)”, which is another less commonly used version of “to eat”. You only really use this word when the subject of your sentence deserves high respect. It’s very polite. The only way I can even kind of translate this directly is to think of it as “Please eat, kind fellow” lmao. This sentence helps add to the very cold atmosphere the video has. But if you consider that the video is ‘to’ Jeongguk, it makes it seem more playful than cold

Now, I want to take a look at “만수무강 하세요”. This is where meaning can get a little shaky for me because, in my understanding and experiences, “만수무강 (mansumugahng)” is like...something people in their advanced age say more often than young people.... And then you have 하세요 (haseyo), which is common to use with 만수무강. It’s the formal version of 하다 (hada), meaning “to do”, but in this case it simply just makes the noun 만수무강 a verb. 하세요 itself sounds more like a request because of the use of the honorific ~시다 (shida) and the FLR conjugation ~요. Note that ~시다 + ~요 = ~세요, and 하다 + ~세요 = 하세요. The reason why I liken this to a request is because the translation is something like “I hope you live long and prosper/Please live long without any difficulties”. It gives the added sense that the speaker is being polite to the receiver

Now, let’s talk about “나중에 술을(?) 합시다 (Najoongeh sooreul(?) habshida)” - Jimin kind of slurs his words, he also has a bit of a quirky speech pattern and can sometimes speak very quickly as well, so it’s hard to really pick up on every little particle ending, verb conjugation, etc. But, we do know that he says “Let’s have a drink later.” Here, I’m concerned with 합시다 (habshida), which takes 하다 (again, meaning to do), and the FHR propositive verb conjugation ~ㅂ시다 (bshida), which gives the meaning of “let’s do (something).” Propositive mood is when the speaker is making a suggestion (e.g. “Why don’t we go here?” “Shall we do this?” “Let’s have a drink,” etc.) The propositive conjugations are as follows: ~아/어 is ILR, ~자 (~ja) and ~ㅂ시다. Here, Jimin is using a higher respect form than necessary, though not as high as what it could be

The Meaning of It All

So, what does this all mean? It just means that Jimin’s been extremely formal with Jeongguk this whole time as demonstrated by his use of FHR & FLR verb conjugations (~ㅂ니다, ~시다 + ~요, & ~ㅂ시다), honorific verbs (드시다), really old-timey nouns (만수무강), and honorific titles (씨). This is not necessarily strange, but given their closeness it gives off a slightly playful vibe when taken ALONE (i.e. not counting the mood of the video/his perceived nervousness, etc.) I made this post because so many people felt it was cold and impersonal based on the atmosphere, the almost stiltedness of Jimin’s disposition. But, that can be explained by the idea that the video was covering for a surprise of some sort (for whom--I don’t know). When you look at the language, contrast that with the context and relationship (that we know of), the video is actually kind of playful in a sense. He was laying on the formality very thick but it didn’t seem shady at all, just mischievous

Anyway, I hope this was interesting to someone 

[hollenius]

re neurodivergent headcanons in Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, I think the first time (a year or so ago) I read something where someone online suggested Chuck was somewhere on the autism spectrum (high functioning/Aspergers), I laughed it off as a ridiculous suggestion, because he didn’t “fit” many of the stereotypical traits seen in other fictional characters or in the popular conception of the topic…but in retrospect, I think that came more from my misunderstanding of the “spectrum” part of it than anything else. It’s definitely a plausible/possible diagnosis comorbid with the anxiety disorder(s) he canonically has.

·         We know Chuck’s a good actor (e.g. his ability to fool Jimmy in “Klick”) and is able to mimic and slip into different sorts of social behaviors (e.g. his ability to social climb from a working class or lower-middle-class family to the world of white shoe law firms), so he’s probably capable of using masking in most public settings. This is apparently a more common trait in autistic women, but men do it as well, if less frequently.

·         Studies asking about the long-term effects of masking seem to imply it takes a physical/emotional/mental toll on the person using it, which might explain why, by the time we see him in BCS, the stress of acting “normal” in meetings and the like, when compounded with the worsening of his anxiety problems, leaves him curled up under a space blanket for hours or even days afterward. Trying to compensate for multiple issues at once is probably even more taxing.

·         He seems prone to getting overwhelmed by things and either shutting down or lashing out in reaction. The most extreme form of the former is when he goes catatonic for hours/days in response to being tazed or put in the CAT scan machine; the most extreme form of the latter is probably him completely losing it and shouting/crying/having to be physically restrained by the hospital staff because he’s so upset about being surrounded by lights/hooked up to an EKG/being recommended for a CAT scan.

·         Contrary to stereotypes, Chuck is decent at reading people (or at least he’s extremely good at reading his brother and knowing how he behaves) and he interacts well with people within a work context, but he doesn’t seem to have any friends outside of it, or much in the way of a social life–the other lawyers hold him in awe as a sort of glorified animate law encyclopedia, rather than someone they would want to hang out with or chat with informally. (Though Chuck doesn’t come across as the sort who would be interested in chit chat with coworkers anyway...) Being totally housebound and cut off from the outside world is upsetting to Chuck primarily because it interferes with his work as a lawyer–we never get the sense that he’s upset about it having any effect on his interpersonal relationships, because he doesn’t seem to have any. This is probably why losing Rebecca hit him so hard. He’s got almost nobody else, besides Jimmy and Howard, and he’s really not emotionally open and unguarded with anyone.

·         He’s got problems dealing with his emotions in general. Even when he’s trying to do his little pain/emotion/medication journal as part of his psychiatric treatment towards the end of season 3, he seems to struggle with articulating his emotional state–he’s just got “average” written down for most of the incidents he’s logged, but he’s not able to write down what his emotion is after he’s unable to sleep after insulting/lying to Jimmy to drive him away for the final time, and he seems to abandon writing in the journal after that & rapidly deteriorates psychologically. From what we see of him in the show, he seems to alternate between being extremely repressed and completely exploding and freaking out.

·         Some people have no interest in having or wanting friends, but I don’t think Chuck’s one of them. He seems pretty lonely. He remarks to Jimmy at one point in season 1 that he doesn’t really mind him hanging around to work on the Sandpiper case in his house because he’s glad for the company, which makes his systematic driving away of Jimmy and the few other people in his life all the sadder. The whole root of Chuck’s jealousy of Jimmy in the first place is that people like Jimmy, and they don’t like him. He makes attempts at being friendly, but struggles to do it on anything deeper than a surface level. (Of course, a lot of Jimmy’s friendliness and charm tends to be pretty shallow too, but I don’t know that Chuck really appreciates that or can tell the difference–all he sees are the results.)

·         He’s tone-deaf with jokes–he famously botches the attempt at a lawyer joke to his wife in the opening flashback in “Rebecca”, but he also makes an awkward attempt at humor when talking to Kim in a present-day scene later in that same episode (“the early bird gets the worm, which is good if you like worms”), which leads to some uncomfortable forced laughter from her. Some people are just serious by nature, but they probably wouldn’t bother trying to make jokes in the first place if that were the case. The fact that Chuck keeps trying to make jokes and failing suggests that there might be some impairment in that area. He sees Jimmy do it, and he sees it work for him, but can’t really manage it himself. (He seems to do ok with deadpan sarcasm though–that comment about young people loving local print journalism is probably my favorite Chuck quote.)

·         He’s very verbal and articulate, but his speech patterns can be a bit odd. He can be indirect and overly formal, which may or may not be an overcompensation for the more stereotypical autistic behavior of being too direct in speech as to be insensitive. He usually winds up still coming off as elitist and assholish anyway, though he may not be intending this/aware of this. When he’s nervous or upset, he tends to devolve into talking at people rather than to them, such as when he starts rambling on about probable cause and assorted legal precedents to the police officers who show up at his house in “Alpine Shepherd Boy”, without noticing that they aren’t even standing at the door anymore. He’s got a lot of information rattling around in his head, which he throws out as a defense, but not always in a way that is helpful; I don’t think talking about Latin translations of the Hippocratic Oath to the doctors sedating him without his consent before sending him in for a CAT scan is doing him any good (NB: the actual Hippocratic Oath is in Greek anyway, and the phrase Primum non nocere dates from a later period, so either Chuck has no idea what he’s talking about, he’s conflating two related things, or he’s freaking out enough that he doesn’t really care at this point).

·         He seems to ignore other people when they’re talking to him altogether if something sets him off or distracts him–when Howard tells him about Kim quitting HHM and teaming up with Jimmy, Chuck immediately tunes him out, to the point where Howard has to ask him if he’s still listening. Chuck says he is, but then walks off in the middle of Howard talking because he’s still distracted by what he said before, sending a confused/concerned Howard following after him. This is at its most extreme when he goes into his rant in “Chicanery” and is totally oblivious to both Galley pleading with him to stop and everybody else in the room staring at him in growing horror/disbelief until he’s far past the point of no return.

·         I’m actually sort of curious about Chuck’s abilities in court prior to the visible deterioration of his mental health, because although he clearly knows a lot about the law, his personality is a bit off-putting. I don’t know if he just sort of brute-forced his way through things because of his knowledge of obscure case law, because based on what I know from the lawyers I’m friends with, there are all sorts of subjective factors that can come into play in a court setting. The sort of things that would drive someone like Chuck nuts, like jurors who deliberately choose to ignore evidence because they’ve decided in advance that they don’t want to convict someone of a crime. (To be fair, this would also drive me completely insane, because I have a really hard time at my own job dealing with people who think the rules shouldn’t apply to them for various reasons.)

·         Chuck has an EXTREMELY black and white view of the world, and a sort of obsession with the authority of law and the importance of following the rules. He’s got really strong perfectionist tendencies within himself. I think a lot of why he gravitates toward the law is that he seems to find all the rules and procedures comforting, in a way--there’s a uniformity to the way the legal world works, and a framework in which everything proceeds--constraints which are equally binding on all participants.

·         Maybe he just knows a ton about the law because he’s a lawyer, but it might also fall into the case of it being a special interest, since his knowledge of obscure case law seems to be regarded as extensive and superlative even by other lawyers. (He reads FEC and ISO reports for fun!)

·         There’s something slightly elliptical about his thinking, and he doesn’t seem to realize that other people aren’t following his thought patterns. (He repeats his “One after Magna Carta!” justification for knowing the Mesa Verde address to Kim and Jimmy  in season 2 as well as to the officials from the Bar in season 3, which seems to suggest that he thinks it is a very obvious and logical connection that other people should grasp, though I’m not sure that it actually is outside of his head.)

·         I’m not entirely sure where the line between nervous tics and stimming is drawn, but he’s got a lot of little fidgety behaviors that come out especially when he’s stressed, especially scratching or shaking or wringing his hands. (The script to “Chicanery” indicates that he’s nearly drawing blood from digging into his hands while on his big rant, but it’s not visible onscreen because we’ve got that wonderful/agonizing slow zoom onto his face instead.) It's not clear if it predates the EHS or not. Sometimes there’s a clear tie in his behavior to perceived pain from electricity, but sometimes there’s not--sometimes it seems to result from him trying to distract himself from the electricity instead, like when he’s trying to stand outside the house for two minutes in “Bingo”. Sometimes he does it while he’s standing around in his house, thinking about something else, like while rehearsing arguments against Jimmy before he heads in to court in “Chicanery”.

·         There’s a pretty strong preference for routine/predictability & distress when it’s altered. (Most people probably would not get so suspicious if a single newspaper wasn’t delivered one day, for example. If it was repeated or frequent or a pattern, yes, but not for a single paper.) His control issues are brought up pretty frequently in fandom discussions; maybe he’s a jerk, maybe he’s just not able to function well in unpredictable situations, maybe it’s a little of both (e.g. Chuck being really bothered by Ernie bringing him the wrong kind of apples, then saying that it didn’t really bother him that much...but then telling Ernie to write it down so that he would get the right apple the next time, indicating that he actually WAS bothered by it)

·         It’s possible his perceived sensitivity to electricity grew out of an existing natural sensitivity or aversion to extremes in light or sound or anything else, but this is pure conjecture because we get so few flashback scenes. (Speaking only from personal experience, I don’t think I’m hurt by electricity, but I can hear lights when they’re turned on, and get uncomfortable/anxious under certain types of light, like fluorescents in big box stores when out shopping, so maybe someone who’s more sensitive to sensory things in general might be more prone to developing a sort of learned distress out of that.)

All of this is very inconclusive! But it’s totally plausible as a reading of the character.

[ahopefuldoubt]

Dialogue in the Japanese dub of The Prince of Egypt: Aaron

originally posted in 2016 [x].

A while ago, I’d asked a few questions about the Japanese dub of The Prince of Egypt, specifically about how the biological siblings speak to one another.  Using the information I got (ありがとうございました), I wrote an analysis of Miriam’s dialogue.  I wanted to explore the differences and nuances of the language, and I hope to continue to do that here.

This time I’ll be looking at Aaron’s dialogue.  His way of speaking to Moses changes quite a bit over the course of the movie, and perhaps this evolution seems more dramatic in the Japanese version due to some of the features of the language.  Certainly there’s plenty to discuss with regard to formality and meaning, characterization and emotion.

Again, I’m relying mainly on these transcripts.  I’ve only added the romanization below the Japanese, and I’ve also done my best to bold the words/phrases that I discuss in greater detail.  (Some of the text — the bolded parts and/or the Japanese — may show up wonky on mobile, though.)  Also scattered throughout the post are a few supplemental lines of dialogue from the dub, and these may contain errors because I often miss words when I listen to Japanese.

A few other notes: “a” is pronounced approximately like the “a” in “father”; “i” like in “eat”; “u” like in “fool”; “e” like in “let”; and “o” like in “so.”  The vowel “ou” is still pronounced like the “o” in “so,” but it’s held longer.  For simplicity, I’ve romanized Moses’ name as “Moses.”  And when giving the full names of the Japanese actors, family names are written first.

(I hadn’t planned on writing quite this much (~3,000 words).  Buut, I’m a giant linguistics nerd, and Aaron is my favorite character.  So basically everything I love is in this post… :) and there was more ground to cover than I realized.)

The Well Scene

Oh, my good prince.  She’s exhausted from the day’s work.  Uh, not that it was too much.  We quite enjoyed it.  But she’s confused… ああ、いや、王子様。彼女疲れ果てておりまして…ああいやいや、仕事は���いもので、とっても楽しかったのですが、混乱していて… [romanization] aa, iya, ouji sama.  kanojo tsukare hatete orimashite… aa iya iya, shigoto wa karui mono de, tottemo tanoshikatta no desu ga, konran shite ite…

There are several forms of address and degrees of formality in Japanese.  Personal pronouns (e.g., “I,” “you”) reflect not only the situation in which they are used, but also the speaker’s and addressee’s genders, social statuses, and other information and indicators of relationship, like the speaker’s attitude and feelings towards the person being addressed.  It’s due to this richness (where identities can also be constructed, subverted, etc.) that language variation is one of my favorite aspects of Japanese.

Although Aaron uses ore, a first-person pronoun, elsewhere in the movie, he doesn’t use any form of “I” in the well scene.  This isn’t unusual, because, in Japanese, pronouns such as “I” can be omitted when, for instance, it’s clear that the speaker is talking about themselves.  Building off of previous context and attaching various endings to verbs can also identify the speaker and the orientation of their speech.  Verb endings in particular are important to this analysis.  (I’ll talk about the nuances of ore further down, but it’s not really relevant right now.)

In this scene, Aaron doesn’t say “you” either.  As with first-person pronouns, second-person pronouns can also be dropped in Japanese.  In the dub, Aaron only refers to Moses by his title, ouji sama, which means “prince.”  He also uses and maintains honorific language (keigo).  By contrast, Miriam, who acknowledges Moses as their brother from the beginning, drops keigo early on and speaks in a familiar way.

An example of keigo in Aaron’s dialogue occurs when he’s trying to make an excuse for Miriam: “She’s exhausted from the day’s work…”  In the Japanese version, the line is kanojo tsukare hatete orimashite…  The bolded part ori is actually a verb (dictionary form: oru) that falls under the category of humble language, or kenjougo.  This type of honorific “lowers” the speaker, with the ultimate aim of “raising” the addressee.  Of course, the subject of the sentence isn’t Aaron himself, but his sister, and the use of humble language also extends to people in a speaker’s immediate social group (e.g., to talk about the actions of family members or workmates).  The -mashite part that immediately follows ori is a polite verb ending, or suffix: the -masu form.  The suffix -masu and the polite sentence ending desu are commonplace in Aaron’s speech in this scene.

Generally speaking, languages have their own ways of marking politeness.  The original English version has Aaron speaking in a more formal register, which contrasts with the way he talks in other places in the movie.  “[She] knows not to whom she speaks,” “Your Highness, pay her no heed,” and “May I discuss something with you?” are examples, and these sentences all sound somewhat stiff (or, from an older time) because they follow prescribed grammar rules.  In linguistics, prescriptivism can refer to features of language that society has labeled “standard” or “proper.”  Linguistic description, on the other hand, focuses on how people actually use language.  It’s worth noting that people style-switch, meaning they select, employ, and even mix, different registers at different times (e.g., the language people use with friends is likely not the kind they use with their boss).  Style-switching is driven by context and says a lot about social groups and membership, as well as how people perform — or are expected to perform — their various roles…

So, in both the Japanese and English versions, the situations and scenes are intrinsically linked to language choice, character, and plot.  Early in the film, Aaron uses respectful, “proper” language because he’s talking to a prince, someone who is much higher in the social hierarchy.  This reflects his dynamic with Moses at this point in the story, the role he must perform, and what he’s trying to accomplish by mitigating their interaction.  (Incidentally, his asking Miriam, “May I discuss something with you?” has always sounded cute to me…. like he doesn’t want his big sister to get mad at him, and as he’s talking to her, he’s simultaneously keeping up an air of respect because he’s around “Prince Moses.”)

Even before I watched the dub, I was really looking forward to hearing everyone’s voices and performances.  I think the Japanese version did a good job matching them to the original actors.  Miriam sounds a bit more mature to me.  Rameses sounds younger (Ralph Fiennes provides somewhat more gravitas than does his Japanese counterpart), and I like how Moses’ Japanese voice actor smoothly ages his character from a teenager to an adult.

Overall, I enjoy Tanaka Ken’s performance as Aaron, but there are some interesting differences, here and later at the mud pit.  In the well scene especially, Aaron’s voice has a low, even-toned quality to it.  (I have a lot of… strong emotions about this type of voice.  Like, I’m not mad at it.)  His pitch is similar to Jeff Goldblum’s; however, I get a less urgent and panicked impression from the Japanese version.  Because of this, I feel the moment loses some of its punch.  At the very least it creates another mood… perhaps even another interpretation of the animation/visuals.

What I like about Tanaka’s performance is how he is able to give the sense that he’s really measuring his words to keep the situation from escalating.  I feel that this thoughtfulness is a side-effect of his more relaxed delivery and manner, including the way he does his pauses (the aforementioned -mashite verb ending also expresses a kind of hesitance).  On the other hand, Goldblum portrays Aaron’s thinking process along a more agitated pace, and that ironic edge, which emerges so fluently in his voice, only increases the emotional stakes.  In the Japanese dub, Aaron repeats iya iya (“no, no”), throughout the scene, very softly at times, which I find endearing; it also replicates Goldblum’s habits pretty well (uh, know what I mean?).  I think the iya iya’s help underscore the calmer, more placating — and restrained — tone.

This calmness is gone, however, in next scene.  So, too, is the same degree of formality that Aaron keeps during his first reunion with Moses.

The Mud Pit Scene

So, Moses, how does it feel when you get struck to the ground? ようモーセ、分かったか？殴り倒された気持ちが [romanization] you** Moses, wakatta ka? naguri taosareta kimochi ga

**This looks like the English pronoun “you,” but it’s pronounced like the English word “yo.”

Right from the outset, there are many aspects of the dialogue that separate this part of the story from the earlier one.

In both languages, Aaron addresses Moses by name, rather than by his title: ouji sama in Japanese, “Your Highness” in English.  His tone is much more direct.  This much is the same between the English and Japanese versions.  However, the latter is further characterized by the existence of a sharp morphological difference between the styles of language that Aaron uses.

My favorite branch of linguistics, morphology studies the “smallest meaningful units” of language: morphemes.  Words and word-parts, basically.  These include free morphemes (roots), which can stand on their own; and bound morphemes (affixes like prefixes and suffixes), which need to be attached to roots or other morphemes.  A free morpheme (root) in English is “enjoy,” to which the bound morpheme -ed (a suffix) can be attached, forming the past tense.

In the previous section, I mentioned how frequently desu and -masu — both of them morphemes — appear in the well scene: They show up in lines like tottemo tanoshikatta no desu ga, which corresponds to “We quite enjoyed it,” and dare to hanashite iru no ka wakatte imasen, “[She] knows not to whom she speaks.”  (-Masen is the negative form of -masu, so it means “not x.”)  As features of keigo, these suffixes mark politeness.  In the mud pit scene, wakatta ka is not keigo but plain form, which is informal.  (The bolded suffix -ta is the past tense verb ending, similar in grammatical function to the English -ed.)

The plain form is what Aaron uses from this point on when talking to Moses.  However, it isn’t the plain form itself that leaves an especially strong impression in the Japanese version.  (Technically, it’s the same style that Miriam uses throughout the movie.)  Rather, the shock comes from the change that has occurred, for there are social implications to using or not using keigo.  Aaron’s (abrupt) use of the casual register indicates a shift in his attitude, the way he carries himself and views (his relationship with) his younger brother.

Another significant departure from the well scene is his use of informal pronouns, which I hinted at earlier in this post and show up in the next set of lines:

In fact, Moses, when did you start caring about slaves?  Was it when you found out that you were one of us? それより��前、いつから俺達奴隷を心配し始めた？仲間だと分かってからか？ [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara ore tachi dorei o shinpai shi hajimeta?  nakama da to wakatte kara ka?

Ore is probably recognizable to fans of anime and manga because of its widespread use by male characters.  There are several first-person pronouns in Japanese, all of which communicate a great deal of information about the speaker and social situation.  One word for “I” is boku, a masculine pronoun that is softer and more boyish than ore.  As a point of comparison, Moses uses boku as a young man, and as an adult, he uses watashi, which is regarded as more gender-neutral and formal — a close-but-not-quite “all-purpose” first-person pronoun.  Watashi has a dignified feel, in Moses’ case.  Ore fits Aaron’s personality, and in the Japanese dub, he uses it exclusively.  It’s a natural choice for him, and I’m not disappointed :)  In fact I would have been surprised if he used boku, or anything else, really.  (I can imagine him using watashi or some humble form of “I” around the Egyptian guards, but again, pronouns aren’t always necessary, and keigo should be enough to establish respect and identify the speaker and addressee.)  Since ore is casual, it can connote rudeness; however, it can also simply suggest a close relationship between the speaker and those within his “in-group.”  When Aaron uses ore around Miriam, the pronoun takes on a familial quality.  An example is the line ore tachi ga nani mo dekinai, or “There’s nothing we can do” in the English version.

Given the context of mud pit scene and its difference in tone from the well scene, Aaron’s use of ore carries a more jarring sense of familiarity and is on the brusque side.  His choice of “you” is likewise effective.  Omae, which is usually paired with ore, is rather blunt and even offensive in some circumstances.  In general, neither ore nor omae should be said in polite conversation or with people of a higher status.  But, the change from respectful keigo language to direct, informal language definitely feels like a case of style-switching: It has a purpose, a proclamation.  Personally, I think that omae is meant to disarm, to be a surprise to the viewer and to Moses himself.  It emphasizes the points Aaron is making in this moment.  And I love what this new casualness suggests about the relationship between these two.

Speaking of pronouns, Rameses uses ore and omae with Moses.  (As with Aaron’s way of speaking with Miriam, this just reveals a close, familial relationship.)  The Japanese dub also seems to take advantage of the order of the scenes themselves to drive home this particular linguistic connection between Aaron and Rameses.

So, in the following sets of dialogue:

Rameses (parting words): Or is it thanks… to you? それともお前の…おかげかな [romanization] sore tomo omae no… okage ka na

Aaron (mud pit scene; abridged): In fact, Moses, when did you start… それよりお前、いつから… [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara…

It’s already significant that these two emotionally-fraught confrontations occur one after the other, but because Aaron has shifted his mode of speaking and addresses Moses with same pronouns as Rameses, the Japanese dub is really able to develop the parallel.  Even the way omae is framed at the beginning of the two sentences is similar: sore tomo (“or”) for Rameses and sore yori (“more than that”) for Aaron.  I think it’s interesting that the Japanese version does this, perhaps even more explicitly than the English version.  I’d love to spend time with this parallel, especially as it exists and functions in the original version, but I’ll leave that to a future post.

In fact, Moses, when did you start caring about slaves?  Was it when you found out that you were one of us? それよりお前、いつから俺達奴隷を心配し始めた？仲間だと分かってからか？ [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara ore tachi dorei o shinpai shi hajimeta?  nakama da to wakatte kara ka?

Focusing on a couple of other sections in the same line, and building off his use of ore, Aaron specifically says ore tachi dorei, which in this case translates to “us slaves.”  -Tachi is a suffix that attaches to nouns in order to create a “plural form” (as a collective/assembly, if that makes sense).  To me, -tachi stresses his identity with his people.

Nakama is a word that usually gets translated as “friend” or “comrade,” but it refers to something bigger: a community, a kinship.  So, my impression of nakama is similar to that of ore tachi.  In both versions, the line contains that bitter truth, saying, “Did you only start to care after you knew that this was your people?”  Indeed, with nakama, there’s a strong sense of inclusion, yet at the same time, it feels shuttered and pained.  At least, that’s my interpretation.

In terms of performance, I prefer Goldblum’s because his delivery is wonderful (this role is utterly his).  I like Tanaka’s take, too, but what strikes me most is the way he makes Aaron sound like a completely different person: a combination of showing Aaron’s age (done nicely) but also his heightened emotions.  I was slightly taken aback when I first heard it because I thought it was a different actor.  That even tone from the well scene is completely gone.  The irony, though, is thankfully intact:

Well, that makes everything fine then, doesn’t it? そりゃまたご都合のいい事で、全く [romanization] sorya mata gotsugou no ii koto de, mattaku

Like desu and -masu, the prefix go- is a polite form of speech.  It mostly attaches to nouns (typically objects/things) and is used to show respect for someone else.  So, it’s another example of keigo, only now, Aaron is using it in a sarcastic way.  A literal translation might be “Well, isn’t that convenient [for you],” making it fairly similar to the original line.  This piece of dialogue sounds harsher in the Japanese version; Aaron says the very last word, mattaku, with particular irritation.  Goldblum’s delivery in the entire scene may be angry, but it still feels rather contained (closer to a simmer than a boil, if that makes sense), which I’ve always appreciated.  I really like how he allows Aaron’s voice to drop and trail off for “Well, that makes everything fine then, doesn’t it?”

During the well scene, Tanaka seems to give a more collected performance, while Goldblum imbues Aaron with a frantic energy.  Later, Tanaka’s portrayal is forceful, whereas Goldblum’s is held back.  The actors’ voice work offers nuanced interpretations, and though their acting and ways of executing the dialogue may differ, in the end I think they both contribute to a holistic vision of who Aaron is.  The Japanese and English languages themselves are similarly constructive: Despite having unique methods of marking politeness and utilizing pronouns or words, they create subtlety and build up a common understanding of character.

I’m thankful for this reply to my Ask (and for the confirmation that Aaron does indeed use ore… and Miriam, choudai — I love how informative these two words are).  I know this post is quite nerdy, but I hope it’s interesting nonetheless.  And, as someone who’s interested in linguistics and loves this movie, I’ve enjoyed being able to watch the Japanese dub and deepen my own understanding :)

Last edited: 2/7/17; edits for clarification

[sayitaliano]

300 basic words - IT

First Verbs

be - essere

there is - esserci

have - avere

do - fare

go - andare

want - volere

can - potere

need - avere bisogno

think - pensare

know - sapere

say - dire

like - piacere

speak - parlare

learn - imparare

understand - capire

Conjunctions

that (as in “I think that…” or “the woman that…”) - che

and - e

or - o, oppure

but - ma

because - perché

though - però, sebbene

so (meaning “therefore”; e.g. “I wanted it, so I bought it”) - così

if - se

Prepositions

of - di

to - a, da+article

from - da

in - in

at (a place) - al/dal... (al mare = at the sea...)

at (a time) - alle (alle 9 = at nine)

with - con

about - su, a proposito

like (meaning “similar to”) - come, simile a

for - per

before (also as a conjunction) - prima

after (also as a conjunction) - dopo

during - durante (between = tra/fra)

Question Words

who - chi

what - cosa

where - dove

when - quando

why - perché

how - come

how much - quanto (how long = per quanto tempo)

which - quale/i

Adverbs

a lot - molto, tanto

a little - poco

well - bene

badly - male

only - solo

also - anche

very - molto, tanto

too (as in “too tall”) - troppo

too much - troppo

so (as in “so tall”) - talmente, così tanto

so much - molto, tanto

more (know how to say “more … than …”) - più... che/di...

less (know how to say “less … than …”) - meno... che/di...

as … as … (e.g. “as tall as”) - tanto... quanto...

most - più

least - meno

better - meglio

best - migliore

worse - peggio

worst - peggiore

now - ora, adesso

then - poi, dopo

here - qui

there - là

maybe - forse

always - sempre

usually - di solito

often - spesso

sometimes - qualche volta, a volte

never - mai

today - oggi

yesterday - ieri

tomorrow - domani

soon - presto

almost - quasi

already - già

still - ancora

even - uguale, lo stesso (same), ancora (still, yet)

enough - abbastanza

Adjectives

[Remember to check gender/number versions where necessary and the preposizioni articolate and articoli partitivi]

the, a (technically articles + prepositions) - il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le / di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra

this - questo

that - quello

good - bene

bad - male

all - tutto

some - un po’

no - non, nessun/o 

any - un po’ di

many - molto/i

few - poco/chi

most - la maggior parte

other - altro

same - stesso

different - diverso

enough - sufficiente

one - uno

two - due, un paio

a few - pochi, alcuni

first - primo

next - prossimo, vicino

last (meaning “past”, e.g. “last Friday”) - scorso

last (meaning “final”) - ultimo

easy - facile

hard - difficile

early - presto, in anticipo

late - tardi, in ritardo

important - importante

interesting - interessante

fun - divertente

boring - noioso

beautiful - bello

big - grande

small - piccolo

happy - felice

sad - triste

busy - impegnato

excited - eccitato

tired - stanco

ready - pronto

favorite - preferito

new - nuovo

right (meaning “correct”) - giusto, esatto

wrong - sbagliato

true - vero (false = falso)

Pronouns

Subject (“I”), direct object (“me”), indirect object (“to me”), and possessive (“my”) forms.

I - io || mi || mi/a me || mio/mia/miei/mie

you - tu || ti || ti/a te || tuo/tua/tuoi/tue

she - ella/lei || la/l’ || le/a lei || suo/sua/suoi/sue

he - egli/lui || lo/l’ || gli/a lui || suo/sua/suoi/sue

it - esso/a || lo/l’//la/l’ || gli/le//ad esso/a || suo/a [rare]

we - noi || ci || ci/a noi || nostro/nostra/nostri/nostre

you (plural) - voi || vi || vi/a voi || vostro/vostra/vostri/vostre

they - essi/loro || li/le || gli/le/a loro || loro (il loro,la loro,i loro, le loro) 

Nouns

[ check articles here and find more about their use on our blog ]

everything - tutto

something - qualcosa

nothing - nulla/niente

everyone - tutti

someone - qualcuno 

no one - nessuno

Italian - italiano, (la lingua italiana)

English - inglese

thing - la cosa

person - la persona

place - il posto

time (as in “a long time”) - tempo

time (as in “I did it 3 times”) - volta

friend - amico [m. - can be conjugated in gender/number]

woman - la donna

man - l’uomo

money - i soldi

country - la nazione

Italy - l’Italia

city - la città

language - la lingua (idiom), il linguaggio (wording, IT language...)

word - la parola

food - il cibo

house - la casa

store - il negozio

office - l’ufficio [m.]

company - la società, l’azienda [f.]

manager - il manager / il direttore (la direttrice [f.])

coworker - il/la collega

job - il lavoro

work (as in “I have a lot of work to do”) - lavoro [m.]

problem - il problema

question - la domanda

idea - l’idea [f.]

life - la vita

world - il mondo

day - il giorno

year - l’anno [m.]

week - la settimana

month - il mese

hour - l’ora [f.]

mother, father, parent - la madre, il padre, i genitori

daughter, son, child - la figlia, il figlio, il bambino (la bambina [f.])

wife, husband - la moglie, il marito

girlfriend, boyfriend - la fidanzata, il fidanzato

More Verbs

work (as in a person working) - lavorare

work (meaning “to function”, e.g. “the TV works”) - funzionare

see - vedere

use - usare

should - dovere

believe - credere

practice - praticare

seem - sembrare

come - venire

leave - lasciare

return - ritornare (come back), restituire (give back)

give - dare

take - prendere

bring - portare

look for - cercare

find - trovare

get (meaning “obtain”) - ottenere

receive - ricevere

buy - comprare

try - provare

start - iniziare

stop (doing something) - smettere

finish - finire

continue - continuare

wake up - svegliarsi

get up - alzarsi

eat - mangiare

eat breakfast - fare colazione

eat lunch - pranzare

eat dinner - cenare

happen - succedere, capitare

feel - sentire

create (aka “make”) - creare

cause (aka “make”) - causare

meet (meeting someone for the first time) - conoscere

meet (meaning “to bump into”) - incontrare

meet (an arranged meeting) - avere un appuntamento

ask (a question) - chiedere

ask for (aka “request”) - richiedere

wonder - domandarsi, chiedersi

reply - rispondere

mean - voler dire, significare

read - leggere

write - scrivere

listen - ascoltare

hear - sentire

remember - ricordare

forget - dimenticare

choose - scegliere

decide - decidere

be born - nascere

die - morire

kill - uccidere

live - vivere

stay - stare, restare

change - cambiare

help - aiutare

send - inviare, mandare

study - studiare

improve - migliorare

hope - sperare

care - tenere a qualcosa/qualcuno, interessare/si

Phrases

hello - ciao

goodbye - arrivederci

thank you - grazie

you’re welcome - prego

excuse me (to get someone’s attention) - mi scusi, mi perdoni

sorry - mi dispiace, scusa

it’s fine (response to an apology) - non importa

please - per favore

yes - sì

no - no

okay - va bene

My name is - Mi chiamo

What’s your name? - Come ti chiami?

Nice to meet you. - Piacere di conoscerti

How are you? - Come stai?, Come va?

I’m doing well, how about you? - Io sto bene, e tu?

Sorry? / What? (if you didn’t hear something) - Scusa?, Cosa?, Come?, Eh?

How do you say ______? - Come si dice _______?

What does ______ mean? - Cosa vuol dire _____ ?

I don’t understand. - Non capisco.

Could you repeat that? - Puoi ripetere?

Could you speak more slowly, please? - Puoi parlare più lentamente, per favore?

Well (as in “well, I think…”) - Beh

Really? - Davvero?

I guess that - Credo che...

It’s hot. (talking about the weather) - Fa caldo

It’s cold. (talking about the weather) - Fa freddo

—

source - @funwithlanguages​

Notice that 3rd singular person is used to speak in a formal way, while the 2nd singular person is more informal, so remember to check verbal conjugations as well according on that. Also, there might be more ways to translate a word, this is especially caused by all the dialects Italy is filled with (some idiomatic words are now used also in common Italian sometimes, as for girlfriend/boyfriend for example) but also according to the context: if you want to know more, feel free to check others vocabularies you can find on our blog and our grammar masterpost or just send an ask. Being this a list of 300 basic words, I won’t add too many ways to say something, but the most common one/s.

[avatarconlangs]

PRONOUN MASTERPOST

This was a request from Jollysunflora so I’ll go through the pronouns in each language in each language from simplest to most complex *cough* Fire-ese *cough*

Earth-ese In Earth-ese the pronouns are fairly simple. They don’t change for case and are more or less consistent throughout the whole Earth Kingdom. It’s no wonder United Republic-ans chose these over the Fire-ese pronouns.

Jei – 1st-person pronoun: ‘me’, ‘I’

Su – 2nd-person pronoun: ‘you’

Nope – 3rd-person pronoun (pronounced either 1 syllable or 2 syllables depending on the accent). This refers to a human whose gender is either unspecified, unsure, or neither male or female.

Lu – 3rd-person pronoun, used for a female human: ‘she’, ‘her’

Man – 3rd-person pronoun, used for a male human: ‘he’, ‘him’

Ca – 3rd-person pronoun, used for non-humans like: ‘it’

Now, I have left out ‘we’ and ‘they’ here because this is where Earth-ese differs from English a bit, but it’s still fairly simple.

The word-order of Earth-ese actually allows you to put as many pronouns next to each other as you need. So, instead of ‘we’ you either say ‘me and you’ (jei su) or ‘me and you and her’ (jei su lu) or however pronouns describe what you’re referring to.

‘They’ as in a large group of varied people can be ‘Nope lu man’ or ‘man lu’ but in the Southern dialect it is also common to just add the plural suffix ‘-chong’, such as ‘Nopechong’.

For ‘you’ when referring to a large group, Northern Earth-ese speaker would say ‘Su su’ as in ‘you and you’ but in Southern Earth-ese it is more common to say ‘Suchong’.

There are no formal versions of these pronouns as formality and politeness are often added at the start of the sentence with context words in a similar way to ‘please’. Although, in some Southern dialects they suffix these context words onto the pronouns, similar to the plural marker.

UR Fire-ese I actually lied. UR Fire-ese probably has the easiest pronouns but since they’re derived from the Earth-ese pronouns I thought it was easier to explain those first.

Anyway, UR Fire-ese took ‘Jei’, ‘Su’, ‘Nope’, ‘Lu’, ‘Man’, and ‘Ca’ from Earth-ese but simplified the plural pronouns using the Fire-ese plural suffix ‘-ghan’ (Pronounced ‘-gan’ in the UR). Fire-ese also has a dual suffix (-zu) but since Earth-ese does not it is only used emphatically in UR Fire-ese.

Jeigan – ‘we’, ‘us’

No-pe-gan – ‘they’, ‘them’ (human)

Cagan – ‘they’, ‘them’ (non-human)

While the ‘-ghan’ suffix can be used on any of the other pronouns, these two were the most commonly accepted in general speech. ‘Sugan’ or ‘Suzu’ or ‘Lugan’ are all understood but only really used when you want to be specific, like specifically saying ‘You all’ or ‘the pair of women’.

However, UR Fire-ese is still Fire-ese and the closer you speak to Mainland Fire-ese the ‘posher’ you are perceived. These pronouns are still vastly preferred but a few very posh/formal speakers add Fire-ese pronouns, usually derived from a person’s title, almost like an honorific.

For example, the Council Page Tarrlok sent to convince Korra to join the taskforce. He would say something along the lines of: “Councilman Tarrlok sends his compliments and urges the Avatar to reconsider his offer.” Despite being a Fire-ese addition, this is often combined with the Earth-ese articles like ‘the’.

Most people make fun of this practice as it sounds like you’re speaking in third person.

Air-ese

Air-ese don’t conjugate for number, gender, or formality so in effect they only have 3 pronouns:

Fa – 1st-person: ‘me’, ‘I’, we’, ‘us’

Ka – 2nd-peron: ‘you’

Ta – 3rd-person: ‘she’, ‘her’, ‘he’, ‘him’, ‘it’, ‘they’

But everything in Air-ese has to conjugate for case to be understood so these are either used as the ‘f-‘, ‘k-‘, and ‘t-‘ prefixes or the ‘-fa’, ‘-ka’, and ‘-ta’ suffixes.

In a noun phrase, you would add ‘(l)ang’ to them: fang/langfa, kang/langka, tang/langta

If the pronoun refers to the subject of a transitive verb (she kicked him), you add a ‘(h)ik’: fik/hikfa, kik/hikka, tik/hikta

Object of a transitive verb (she kicked him), you add a ‘(t)ag’: fag/tagfa, kag/tagka, tag/tagta

Agent of an intransitive verb (she sleeps), you add a ‘(l)in’: fin/linfa, kin/linka, tin/linta

There are other cases which I’ll list in a later post so with Air-ese it is easiest to learn the individual parts and construct them as you go.

Water-ese

Okay, looking at things now I am starting to see a pattern. Why do I hate ‘we’ and ‘them’ so much? Not a single one of my conlangs ended up having a single word for them.

Oh well. Anyway, Northern Water-ese has 10 pronouns, each of which have a plural form, and each of which have a separate form for the subject of the verb and the object of the verb. That equates to…60 forms total. Thank goodness they’re regular! Once again, you just have to learn the basic building blocks and smash them together.

Inside a verb as an indirect object or something similar, they appear as either the onset or the coda listed in the second column e.g. “Nisok kaguroonga giq!” The verb here is broken down into: [enjoy-hope-3rd.immaterial-present] -> [ka-guroon-g-a] which the ‘-g-’ referring to the immaterial blog which will make happy.

In Water-ese, instead of a formal/informal distinction like French there is a familiar/unfamiliar distinction. The 2nd-person changes depending on how well you know the person, whether they are a stranger or not. Although, there is a formal 2nd-person used for people with a high status.

The 3rd-person pronouns are split into ‘animate’ pronouns and ‘inanimate’ pronouns. You separate humans and animals into either ‘male’ or ‘female’ while spirits have their own 3rd-person pronoun. Everything else is either ‘solid’ – something with a solid form – ‘flowing’ – something physical but changing – or ‘immaterial’ – something without a physical form. These are often compared to the forms of water: ice, water, and steam.

All of these pronouns are used in the Northern Water Tribe but during the separation caused by the 100 Years War the Southern Water Tribe got rid of the animate 3rd-person pronouns and the 2nd-person formal pronoun. This means that in the Southern Water Tribe all humans and animals are described with the ‘solid’ 3rd-person pronoun. Also, in the Northern Water Tribe they refer to the Avatar using the ‘spirit’ 3rd-person pronoun. In the Southern Water Tribe it’s the same ‘solid’ pronoun as other humans.

There are also pronunciation differences between the Northern Water Tribe and the Southern Water Tribe.

NWT: [Rra -> Ra] [Ves -> Fes] [Kack -> Kak]

SWT: [Min -> Moon] [Ves -> Ve] [Yuk -> Yook] [Miq -> Mik]

So ‘Viq’ would be pronounced ‘Fiq’ in the Northern Water Tribe and ‘Vik’ in the Southern Water Tribe.

Fire-ese

Alright, here is the mother of complicated when it comes to pronouns and probably what most of you wanted this post to be about.

There are no regular pronouns in Mainland Fire-ese. Basically, you are constantly speaking in 3rd-person, using things’ names, descriptions, and positions to get across what you are referring to. You can just use people’s names – “Looks like Zuko underestimated the Avatar” – and this is used by children who find remembering pronouns to be difficult but as a result this is often seen as childish or slow-witted.

In an extremely neutral situation, you can use ‘Yudafaw’ or ‘Yukinghan’ to indict yourself who is speaking and the person you are talking to. However, people tend to like to personalise their speech with either their official title, like Fire Lord, or a defining characteristic such as their age, hair, or personality. It is very common to turn adjectives into pronouns like ‘Brown (hair)’, ‘Chatty’, or ‘Blue (clothes)’. These pronouns don’t usually have a specific gender attached to them unless it’s something like ‘mother’, as in the parent who was pregnant, although even this isn’t necessarily female.

These pronouns indicate closeness and formality. For example, most people would refer to the Avatar as ‘Avatar’ (technically ‘Avator’ in the Mainland Fire-ese accent) but once Zuko joins the Gaang and becomes friends with Aang he would instead use ‘Friend’ or just ‘Aang’ in casual conversation.

There is also a good set of demonstratives to refer to inanimate objects:

Uza – Something close to the speaker: ‘this’

Shur – Something close to the listener: ‘this’

(Thing) Lei – Something close to (something): ‘this’

Lian – Something away from the speaker: ‘that’

Mir – Something away from the listener: ‘that’

(Thing) Ehnoz – Something away from (something): ‘that’

‘-zu’ or ‘-ghan’ can be added to any of these to indicate number.

[bee-whistler]

Traits of Autism in girls

As observed by Tania Marshall. My older daughter and I fit this well, though it fits her a bit better because I really matched a lot of the original Autism profile based more on how it presents in boys.

A surprising number of people are pissed off by the very fact that anyone makes a distinction between the presentation of Autism in females versus males. But it’s frequently overlooked in girls simply by virtue of how girls are raised or treated in society, or simply due to the fact that they’re girls and are frequently (though not always) hardwired differently (as opposed to my case where I fit a large amount of the original profile).

This is a long list but the gist of it is that girls tend to appear more social due to mirroring others or being encouraged to be more social. Inability to do so is often dismissed as shyness. Diagnosticians I’ve met have used that alone to dismiss a diagnosis of Autism, and I have to assume this is a frequent practice.

1. Intense emotions: in particular separation anxiety, stress, anxiety or distress. This is coupled with an inability to be comforted by affection, distracted by a toy or change in situation or by discussion or conversation with an adult. Anxiety and “shyness” is very common.

2. Sensory Sensitivities: there are most often sensory sensitivities involving vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance and/or movement and intuition or a 6th sense. This is known as sensory processing disorder (SPD). First signs may include a sensitive head, not liking to have their hair brushed or washed, clothing sensitivities, food sensitivities.

3. Coping with transitions and/or change: an inability or difficulty coping with change or a resistance to change.

4. Language skills: atypical or unusual traits in terms of the development of language skills. May have more formal or pedantic use of language. May not be able to express in words what she wants to say. Articulate.

5. Speech: may not typically be delayed, however there may be a loudness or softness in the voice. May regress to babyish talk when stressed, anxious or avoiding something. She may have begun talking very early.

6. The social use of language: may be apparent in that the linguistic profile can often include semantic-pragmatic difficulties, so that the pedantic speech may be apparent and theïr are noticeable eccentricities with the “art of conversation”. May use bigger words than her peers. She may also be socially immature, in comparison to her peers.

7. Hyperlexia: may have taught herself to read before formal education. Aspiengirls often have an intense interest in reading and develop an advanced vocabulary.

8. Play: adults may notice the aspiengirl may not want to play with others or she may direct others play, rather than play in a reciprocal and co-operative manner. There is an element of her being “controlling” or “bossy”. She may tell adults that she finds her peers play confusing, boring or stupid. She may prefer to play on her own, with her animals/toys or with boys. If she is extraverted, she may have difficulty with personal space (hugging and/or touching too much, poking or prodding, bumping or touching them, continually calling her peers names, not understanding that a best friend can play with others). Often may need more solitude than their peers or may not be able to socialize for as long as their peers are able to. Engages mainly in parallel play and seeks the company of adults/educators throughout the day.

9. Interests:  an aspiengirl’s interests is usually different to other typical girls, in its intensity and quality, rather than the actual interest itself. Often, play can be observed as more of complex set-up’s, organizing, sorting, collect or grouping items rather than actually playing with them. She may be observed re-enacting a social scene form her own experiences at daycare. A commonly observed interest is collecting stationary/art items, teddy bears, and the like. They may line up colouring pencils in colours, have collections of erasers and or journals.

10. Conventionality: Aspiengirls are born “out of the box” and may be observed playing unconventionally. Some prefer Lego, the sandpit, trucks or cars or dinosaurs. Many think in different or unconventional ways, asking continual and exhausting amount of questions pertaining to how things work, why things are the way they are, or why people do or say certain things. Many are quite highly sensitive and will ask about death and or what happens after death.

11. Appearance and clothing: Young Aspiens may look more tomboyish in appearance or ultra princess-like, usually preferring clothing that is comfortable. She may want the tags cut out of her clothes and complain about the seams in her socks. She may prefer to wear the same outfit day in and day out.

12. Imagination: Aspiengirls often have advanced imaginations preferring to spend time involved in: fiction, books, fantasy worlds, fairies, unicorns, ponies, pegasus, talking to and/or having imaginary friends or imaginary animals. This may be observed at times to the extent that the child may believe they are an animal, a fairy, and so on. There may be some difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

13. Writing:  Aspiengirls are often interested in writing and write their own stories on sticky notes, journals, and have an interest in fiction at an early age.

14. Nature and animals:  Aspiengirls have an intense love for nature and animals, often preferring them over people. They have an empathic and intuitive relationship and understanding of animals rather than people.

15. Gifts and Talents:  Most, if not all Aspiengirls have gifts and talents ranging from singing (perfect pitch or perfect relative pitch), music, art, (drawing, painting and other mediums), languages, acting and performing, dancing, writing, a superior memory, intelligence, just to name a few.

16. Determination:  A strong will, determination, stubbornness and/or competitiveness, argumentative (with teachers, parents or other adults), a need to be right (even when she’s is clearly wrong). This may be labelled as Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

17. Facial expressions and emotions:  A discrepancy between facial expression and feelings. For example, a “fake” smile, intense facial expressions or lack of, or inappropriate facial expression to the situation. May not understand or be confused by facial expressions. May laugh when she is in trouble.

18. Attention Issues: Parents may have taken her to a hearing specialist due to not responding to her name, being “in her own world” and/or thinking she may be deaf.

19. Hyperempathy: May be very sensitive to social justice issues, abuse towards animals, nature or the elderly. May experience the emotions of others. May wonder why they feel different to others.

20. Intuitive: May tell you and/or know about events, people that cannot possible know about. She “knows” certain things without knowing how she knows these things.

21. Curiosity and Questions: May ask an endless array of questions that at times, cannot be easily answered. May ask why they feel different to their peers or why their peers are not like the, or have the same interests.

20. Interests: Interests are usually similar to neurotypical girls, but the intensity is unique or unusual. An obsession with knowledge on a topic of interest is common.

21. May have vertigo, motion sickness (for e.g., on a car trip)

22. Thumb-sucking can last until age 9, biting of nails, grinding of teeth

23. May have Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD), hypermobility, clumsiness, poor muscle tone, may not be able to catch a ball or ride a bike, or poor hand-writing5

24. May have social anxiety, muteness and/or separation anxiety, may be excessively clingy and/or grind teeth.

25. May have fear and/or phobias (insects and butterflies, dark, separation from mother)

26. May have sleep issues

27. Personality:  May be intensely shy and introverted OR very extroverted to the point of annoying her peers or family members.

28. The Social Hierarchy: Misunderstands and/is unaware of the social hierarchy. May behave as if she is the parent, parenting their parents, their siblings, peers or teachers. May not understand that she is a “child” or how to “be” a child. May be isolated, alone or teased by her peers. May have a boy for a friend rather than girls. May not understand that she is a child, pretending to be an animal.

29. May avoid demands due to anxiety (also known demand avoidance or Pathological Demand Avoidance)

30. There is a family history of Asperger Syndrome, Autism, Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP)

31. May display interests more mature than for her age, may act at times more mature and less mature than her age.

32. A concern for the rules, a sense of justice and difficulty with perspective taking, theory of mind, social thinking and context blindness.

33. Social and emotional delay for her age, yet seen beyond her years.

34. Parents may observe some “self-taught” abilities and/or the child may resist being taught by others

35. May have less or lack a sense of “stranger danger” or safety and/or may wander and/or have social naivety, be too trusting, take others literally. A lack of boundaries

36. Some AspienGirls experience gender confusion very early, expressing a desire to be the opposite gender, not feel strongly either male or female.

37. A tendency to have intense social justice issues and to “police” others, which are often not appreciated by their peers. At times, she may have a misguided sense of justice and an inability to “let things go” or may not understand the issue is not her business

38. May be the “teacher’s pet”, may to interact with their peers not as a “peer” but in more of adult manner

39. A tendency to be too emotionally honest and unable to hide their true feelings

40. May have gastrointestinal issues, gluten, wheat, casein sensitivities to intolerances/allergies

[margdarsanme]

NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill Prose Solutions Chapter 6 The Browning Version

QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK SOLVED

Question 1:Comment on the attitude shown by Taplow towards Crocker-Harris.Answer:Taplow is respectful towards Mr. Crocker-Harris and likes him for his principles. He criticises him for being a feelingless person yet regards him an extraordinary master. He is mortally afraid of him and dare not cut the extra work even on the last day of the term.

Question 2:Does Frank seem to encourage Taplow’s comments on Crocker-Harris?Answer:Yes, Frank seems to encourage Taplow’s comments on Crocker-Harris. He shows appreciation for Taplow’s imitation of Mr Crocker-Harris and asks him to repeat it. On smother occasion, Frank tells Taplow not to keep a good joke (narrated in the style of Mr Crocker Harris) to himself but to tell it to others.

Question 3:What do you gather about Crocker-Harris from the play?Answer:Mr Crocker-Harris appears as a stem master who is a man of principles and stickler to the rules. He believes in fair assessment of his students and is not swayed by emotions, as the man is hardly human. He is not a sadist, but strict in performance of his duties. Even on his last day at school, when he is over-busy in his own affairs, he does not neglect his duty towards his students.

Talking About the Text

Discuss with your partners.Question 1:Talking about teachers among friends.Answer:Commenting on their teachers is something that most students do. Students are quite intelligent and keen observers. Teachers are their role models and the students judge their performance not only on the basis of their mastery over the subject hut also by their method of teaching, communication skills, interaction with students and their general nature and behaviour. Teachers must not feel offended to learn the nick name their dear students have showered upon them. Teachers may sometimes think that the boys don’t understand anything, but this is wrong. Talking about teachers among friends is a favourite pastime of students. They appreciate their virtues and condemn their shortcomings. Even strict persons win the love and admiration of students if they are men of principles.

Question 2:The manner you adopt when you talk about a teacher to other teachers.Answer:We should be respectful and polite when we talk about a teacher to other teachers.Normal courtesy requires that we should add ‘Mr’ ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ before the name of the teacher and use his/her full name. A teacher should never be mentioned by the nick name he/she has been given. In other words, our approach should be quite formal. The dignity of a teacher should not be lowered before another, even if the person being talked about lacks some qualities you like most. Our remarks should never be derogatory or rude. It is bad manners to run down our teachers and specially so if it is done in the presence of other teachers. We are judged by our actions as well as words. The other teachers may form a very low and unfavourable opinion about us on the basis of a lapse on our part. Hence we must be extra cautions during our interactions with our teachers.

Question 3:Reading plays is more interesting than studying science.Answer:Science is based on the study of some facts, concepts, principles and their application. It demands cool reasoning and concentration of mind to solve numerical problems and to balance complicated equations. One has to be alert, regular, systematic and punctual. If we miss one class, we miss the link. On the other hand, reading plays provides us more amusement. Most of the plays contain a beautiful plot and a number of characters with diverse traits. Their actions, reactions and interactions provide a lot of fun and laughter and make the reading of the play quite interesting. Witty dialogues, irony of situations and intricacies of plots make the plays full of humanity and quite absorbing. We never feel bored while reading a play. Every dialogue or action unfolds something new and we eagerly wait for what is to follow next. The study of science proves dull and cold as compared to the interesting reading of plays.

C. Working with Words

A sadist is a person who gets pleasure out of giving pain to others.

Given below are some dictionary definitions of certain kinds of persons. Find out the words that fit these descriptions:

A person who considers it very important that things should be correct or genuine e.g. in the use of language or in the arts: P…

A person who believes that war and violence are wrong and will not fight in a war: P…

A person who believes that nothing really exists: N…

A person who is always hopeful and expects the best in all things: O….

A person who follows generally accepted norms of behaviour: C ….

A person who believes that material possessions are all that matter in life: M…

Answer:

purist

pacifist

nihilist

optimist

conformist

materialist

II. Notice the following words in the text. Guess the meaning from the context.

Answer:

remove: a form/class or division (in a school)

slackers: persons who are lazy and avoid work

muck: dirt/mud : something very unpleasant

kept in: made to study in classroom after school hours

got carried away: got very excited; lost control of feelings

cut: miss class

sadist: a person who gets pleasure out of giving pain to others.

shrivelled up: squeezed up

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

A. Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1:What do you learn about Tap low from the initial conversation between him and Mr Frank?Answer:Tap low is a boy of sixteen. He is still in the lower fifth. He can’t specialise until the next term if he gets his form/division all right. Since his master, Mr Crocker-Harris has not told him the result, he will have to wait till the next day to learn his fate.

Question 2:“You know that he’s like, sir” says Tap low. What leads him to say so? What light does this throw on the man talked about?Answer:Taplow does not know if he has got his form. It is because, his master, Mr Crocker-Harris does not tell them the results like the other masters. He is a bit different. When Frank says that a rule says that form results should only be announced by a headmaster on the last day of term, Tap low says that none else except Mr Crocker-Harris pays attention to it. This shows that the man is a stickler to the rules.

Question 3:Which course of study does Tap low prefer and why?Answer:Tap low prefers science to literature. He finds it a good deal more exciting than his play which he considers quite unpleasant.

Question 4:How does Tap low react to Mr Frank’s query? ‘And you considered view is that the Agamemnon is muck?’Answer:Tap low modifies his stand. He says that he doesn’t think the play is a muck. It has a good plot in fact, a wife murdering her husband and all that. His opinion is based on the way it is taught to them—just a lot of Greek words strung together and fifty lines if one gets them wrong. Thus Taplow draws a fine distinction between the study of science and literature.

Question 5:For whom is Tap low waiting and why? How does he feel?Answer:Tap low is waiting for his master, Mr Crocker-Harris. He has come in to do extra work on the last day of term because he missed a day last week when he was ill. Since the weather is quite fine, he feels quite unhappy to be confined in a room. He might as well be playing golf.

Question 6:How according to Tap low Mr Crocker-Harris is unlike other masters?Answer:Other masters would certainly give a chap, a form after his taking extra work, but Mr Crocker-Harris is unlike them. When Taplow asked him about his form, he told the boy that he had given him exactly what he deserved: no less; and certainly no more. Taplow is afraid that he might have marked him down, rather than up for taking extra work.

Question 7:How does Tap low react to Frank’s suggestion, “Why don’t you cut? You could still play golf before lock-up”?Answer:Taplow is really shocked at this suggestion. He reacts strongly and says that he couldn’t cut Mr. Crocker-Harris. It has never been done during his stay there. If he did so, nobody could predict the consequences. Perhaps he would follow Tap low home or do some such extraordinary thing.

Question 8:Why do you think, Frank envies Mr Crocker-Harris’? What possible reasons make him so unique?Answer:Frank envies Mr Crocker-Harris for the effect he seems to have on the boys in the form. They all seem scared to death of him. He wants to know what he does: whether he beats them all or does something else which is awe inspiring. Taplow informs Mr Frank that Mr Crocker-Harris is not a sadist.

Question 9:How according to Taplow does Mr Crocker-Harris differ from other masters in his reactions towards others?Answer:Mr Crocker-Harries is not a sadist like some other masters. He does not get pleasure out of giving pain. If he were a sadist, he would not be so frightening. It would show he has some feelings, but he hasn’t any. He’s all dry like a nut. He seems to hate people to like him, but other masters like being liked.

Question 10:What leads Mr Frank to comment “I’m sure you’re exaggerating”?Answer:Tap low says that Mr Crocker-Harris seems to hate people to like him. Yet, in spite of everything, Taplow does rather like him. He can’t help him. He thinks that sometimes Mr crocker-Harris notices it and that seems to shrivel him up even more. This observation of Tap low seems far-fetched. So Mr Frank remarks that he is exaggerating.

Question 11:How does Tap low refute the charge that he is exaggerating?Answer:Tap low says that the other day Mr Crocker-Harris made one of his classical jokes in the class. Nobody understood it, so no one laughed. At last Tap low laughed because he knew the master had meant it as funny. He did so out of ordinary common politeness. Secondly he felt a bit sorry for him for having made a poor joke. Mr Crocker-Harris did not praise Tap low for it.

Question 12:How did Mr Crocker-Harris react to Tap low’s action of laughing at his joke?Answer:He noticed that Tap low had laughed at his little joke. He confessed that he was pleased at the progress Taplow had made in his Latin. It was clear from the fact that he had understood so readily what the rest of the form did not. Then he asked Tap low to explain the joke to the rest of the class.

Question 13:How do Tap low and Frank react to Millie‘s arrival?Answer:Frank seems infinitely relieved to see Millie. On the other hand Taplow is nervous. He is unable to control his emotions and whispers to Frank if he thinks she has heard their conversation. He is afraid that if she did so and tells her husband, he’ll lose his form.

Question 14:What does Millie tell Tap low about her husband? What assignment does she offer the young boy?Answer:She tells Tap low that her husband is at the Bursar’s and might be there quite a long time. If she were him, she would go. Tap low remarks that Mr Crocker-Harris had especially asked him to come. She then asks him to run to the chemist and bring medicine according to the prescription. Thus he could do a job for him. She would take the blame if he came before Tap low returned.

B. Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1:What do you learn about the system of education in old British schools from the play ‘The Browning Version’?Answer:1° old British schools much stress was laid on the study of classical languages—Latin and Greek. Students of the lower fifth form were made to learn a classic play like the Agamemnon. Since the stress was on the acquisition of language, the students found it dis-interesting and very unpleasant. They could specialise only after completing fifth form.There was a system of punishment. For a simple error one had to repeat fifty lines. Students were also “kept in’ or called for ‘Extra work’. They were mortally afraid of teachers like Mr Crocker-Harris who would abide by rules and show no human feelings. At the same time, the school had teachers who were sadists and others who would break the rules and tell results to the students. Students like Tap low were afraid of hard masters like Mr Crocker-Harris, still they liked him.

Question 2:What impression do you form about Mr Crocker-Harris on the basis of reading the play ‘The Browning Version’?Answer:Whatever we learn about Mr Crocker-Harris is through reactions of other characters and their comments on him. Even this method of indirect presentation helps us to gather a fair picture of the strict and stem middle-aged master. He is in a class by himself and is totally unlike the other teachers. He is a man of principles and sticks to the rules. Unlike other teachers, he does not divulge the results of the form to the students, since it is the domain of the headmaster. He is not a sadist. He does not beat the students. Even then the students are mortally afraid of him. It is because he is quite strict and shows no emotion, even of anger. He remains calm and composed. He teaches classical languages Greek and Latin. Even his jokes are classical. Students fail to understand them. He is duty conscious. He is leaving the school at the end of term and is quite busy on the last day in his own affairs, still he asks Tap low to come in for ‘extra work’. In short, he impresses us with his fine qualities of head and heart.

Question 3:“This humorous piece is an extract from a play.” What according to you makes this extract humorous?Answer:The play presents a funny situation. Frank, a young science teacher, finds sixteen year old Tap low waiting for his master Mr Crocker-Harris. This lower fifth form student has been asked to come in to do extra work on the last day of the school. Mr Crocker-Harris is leaving the school for good the next day. Being quite busy in settling his own affairs, he has not yet arrived there. Tap low’s fears of adverse remarks about his result make us smile.The interaction between Mr Frank and Tap low is quite amusing. The young science teacher encourages Tap low’s comments on Crocker-Harris. The manner is which Tap low imitates his master’s voice, manner of speaking and diction are quite amusing. The sudden arrival of Millie Crocker Harris in the midst of an imitation of a joke surprises Frank and makes Tap low nervous. Their reactions are quite amusing. Tap low’s unwillingness to leave the place and his fears of consequences in case his master returns before his arrival seem genuine but funny. He feels relieved only when Millie offers to take the blame. All these actions seen exaggerated and funny.

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