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[links] Link salad brushes up its language skills
New Fantasy Fiction Review, Green by Jay Lake
My problem with steampunk — This essay more or less aligns with something I’ve said for a while: that in print fiction at least, and movies as well, steampunk is an aesthetic, not a movement. It doesn’t have the sharply-defined themes or critical backbone that (for example) cyberpunk did/does. In fact, my forthcoming single-title novella The Baby Killers (from PS Publishing this summer) is my own attempt to address this, but I’m fairly certain I failed. Failed nobly and well, one hopes, but still… ETA: Updated to a more accessible link.
The Money Killers: 1917 — There’s something about the phrase “Destruction Committee. Maceration of old currency” that just rolls off the tongue.
Discovering the Soul of the Ringlings’ Circus — Classic circus photos.
Listening to (and Saving) the World’s Languages — Lost languages in New York City. As Huey Lewis asked, “Where else can you do a half a million things / All at a quarter to three?” (Via Language Log.)
Why don’t you learn German, Spanish, and French?? And Chinese and Arabic for good measure. — An essay about language acquisition, and how it plays into the immigration debate. Yes, Virginia, English is a darned hard language to learn. (Thanks to CH via
Strict Abortion Measures Enacted in Oklahoma — A second measure passed into law on Tuesday prevents women who have had a disabled baby from suing a doctor for withholding information about birth defects while the child was in the womb. Conservative America: an identity defined by persecuting pregnant women. Stay classy, guys. You do it so well.
The Party of No Credibility — This evidence accumulated over ten years shows a shameful but undeniable fact of American politics: our right wing now contains a lot more liars, and a lot more folks who spread lies out of gullibility or wishfulness, than our left wing. Also, this just in: the sun rose in the east this morning.
?otD: How many languages do you speak?
4/30/2010
Writing time yesterday: none (chemo brain)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.0 (solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: 232.0
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 4/10 (fatigue)
Currently (re)reading: Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
Posted: 5:00 am Fri April 30 2010 |
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You are reading the blog of Jay Lake, speculative fiction writer and author of hundreds of short stories, many novels, and winner of the John W. Campbell Award.
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Stephen Watkins
April 30th, 2010 at 6:30 amI wish I spoke all those languages… I love languages but sadly have never had the time to learn more than what little French I picked up in 3 years of high school. And now 90% of that is gone, because foreign language skill is like a muscle: if you don’t use it regularly it atrophies.
I just wanted to also point out that while English is a rather difficult language to learn (partly in consequence to the fact that its phonology and grammar are all over the place thanks to borrowing very liberally from many sources), that the old saw that Chinese is somehow magically easy to learn has also been thoroughly debunked. Western language speakers just have a hard time picking up on the idea that a difference in the tone of a vowel can dramatically affect the definition of a word…
JulieB
April 30th, 2010 at 7:53 amHas anyone thought out the unintended consequences of the law in OK? What if a couple would like to continue with a pregnancy, even if they know the child won’t live very long? Don’t they have the right to support? Our local paper ran a feature last year on a couple who decided not to abort, even though their child wasn’t expected to live more than a few days. Their story was touching, heartbreaking, and even funny at times. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for them if they hadn’t had the opportunity to make that decision.
Yes, I’m pro-choice, but choice also means a couple can choose to continue the pregnancy if they wish. Not giving them the tools to make that decision – and access to the resources they need – is immoral and unethical.
Austin H. Williams
April 30th, 2010 at 8:45 amThe “My Problem With Steampunk” link isn’t working very well. I see it’s a Facebook note – do I need to be friends with whomever in order to see it?
Jay
April 30th, 2010 at 8:57 amYes, I didn’t realize it was locked. Have asked the author if they’re willing to make it fully public. My apologies.
Cora
April 30th, 2010 at 6:04 pmI am a native German speaker and as fluent in English as it is for a non-native speaker to be. I learned Latin and Spanish in school (in addition to English) and can still get by in both (or could, if there were Latin speakers), though they have atrophied. I know enough Dutch, French and Italian to get by, read comics and understand the gist of newspaper articles. I can read and understand Lower German, but when I try to speak it, it comes out as Dutch. Which is a bit sad, since Lower German was the language of most of my ancestors. But it was suppressed since the 19th century and neither my parents nor my generation formally learned it at school. There have been many preservation and revival measures since then – there is a pretty vibrant Lower German theatre and folk music culture, there are news programs, dictionaries and most North German universities offers classes and study the language.
As for those “Speak >insert national language hereInsert national language hereInsert national language hereInsert national language here< when abroad.