#fuck yeah linguistics

[tlbodine]

Pro Tip: The Way You End a Sentence Matters

Here is a quick and dirty writing tip that will strengthen your writing.

In English, the word at the end of a sentence carries more weight or emphasis than the rest of the sentence. You can use that to your advantage in modifying tone.

Consider:

In the end, what you said didn't matter.

It didn't matter what you said in the end.

In the end, it didn't matter what you said.

Do you pick up the subtle differences in meaning between these three sentences?

The first one feels a little angry, doesn't it? And the third one feels a little softer? There's a gulf of meaning between "what you said didn't matter" (it's not important!) and "it didn't matter what you said" (the end result would've never changed).

Let's try it again:

When her mother died, she couldn't even cry.

She couldn't even cry when her mother died.

That first example seems to kind of side with her, right? Whereas the second example seems to hold a little bit of judgment or accusation? The first phrase kind of seems to suggest that she was so sad she couldn't cry, whereas the second kind of seems to suggest that she's not sad and that's the problem.

The effect is super subtle and very hard to put into words, but you'll feel it when you're reading something. Changing up the order of your sentences to shift the focus can have a huge effect on tone even when the exact same words are used.

In linguistics, this is referred to as "end focus," and it's a nightmare for ESL students because it's so subtle and hard to explain. But a lot goes into it, and it's a tool worth keeping in your pocket if you're a creative writer or someone otherwise trying to create a specific effect with your words :)

#writing tip #writing advice #fuck yeah linguistics

[aces-to-apples]

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

#the same way i don't understand tiktok-speak xenk hasn't understood slang in 80 years #speak plainly or shut the fuck up this man has a mission. and a quest. and a campaign. and sidequest. and a— #he's so old every time he drops a colloquialism it's so buckwild and outdated it does psychic damage #he once met a quest-giver's 100-year-old great grandmother and they chattered excitedly for over an hour #the quest-giver can't tell anyone what they discussed because those old fuckers code-switched and they couldnt understand 8 words out of 10 #xenk yendar #dungeons and dragons #honor among thieves #by apples #linguistic drift is real and it is the fucking devil #like yeah he's autistic and that's important but don't forget he is also. hella fucking old. #he's seen the rise and fall of entire royal families. he probably remembers when 'bitching' had to do with pouring tea.

[corfisers]

two weird things that happen to me more often than i'd like and feel like they are on the opposite ends of the same spectrum: forgetting that i do actually speak two languages and forgetting that some people who post here in english speak only english

#the latter is usually when there's some post on linguistics or just like?? a thing with eng being passed as universal??? #don't have any examples off the top of my head unfortunately #but sometimes you read a post and get this “oh you never had to grapple with concepts that are not applicable to your first language” feel #this isn't me trying to shame anyone who speaks one language btw you're fine as long as you're not being an asshole #to people who's eng isn't perfect or have some weirdly strong opinions on translation or languages in general #while not having any actual knowledge you know? #whatever idk how much sense i'm making #forgetting that i speak rus has more to do with how used i am to using eng. to the point that i mostly think in it #kinda sucks if i'm being honest? i'm rereading idiot and went to look up eng translation for a chapter because i wanted to post something #and augh it's not the same! it's not the same. might be just not the best translation fuck if i know but still #but yeah i barely use rus outside of talking to someone irl (rarely happens) or reading a book. it's weird #benvey tag

[szappan]

university.. university leave me alone

#heres the situation: for my cognitive literary studies class (quite fun) we had to pick primary material and a cognitive angle to analyse it #from. and the deadline was coming up and i who have been thinking very intensely about robots for the last half a year picked #yeah you guessed it. fucking PIERS PLOWMAN. which is not fun for me but i panicked about the deadline #so now i have to do something about piers plowman and its cognitive literary properties #and im in hell this is hell i have been extremely stressed about piers plowman for a month. to the point where ive been in physical pain #AND I CANNOT. THINK OF ANYTHING. ABOUT PIERS PLOWMAN. #and the teacher for that class is so nice and chill and she was like you can pick anything at all. and i went with piers plowman #like it's interesting but from what COGNITIVE angle can i approach piers plowman. #ive been thinking about saying exactly this that piers plowman is more for historical linguists and theologists than narratologists but im #also positive plenty of scholars read piers plowman for the plot #so then i thought about the characters and whether you can Connect with them and whether they help you Immerse yourself in the story and #other terminology i learned in cognitive literary studies class. #theyre allegorical and very 1 dimensional and there could be something about whether we from 2024 understand them in the same way #people from the 14th century did. like this was what i put in my proposal when i made it #but now i actually have to make the slides and use cognitive literary papers for this and it's just not going at all. i cant do it. #i cant do anything i cant enjoy the daylight and the warmer weather i cant think about anything other than im not making progress on this #and it's bad for me!! it's bad for my health i feel bad. why did i go with piers plowman why did i not pick watership down #my post #i have plenty to say about watership downm cognitively. #also about old possums book of practical cats #maybe i could email her and tell her id like to change it.. no #ive also been reading the tombs of atuan which is incredible

[skitskatdacat63]

Please god, can someone give me the strength to write ANOTHER 900 word essay in German, I DON'T WANNA I DONT WANNA PLEASE NO

#disliking this course more than i thought i would #oh yes german linguistics!!! okay!!! sure i love that!!! #and then my grade is dependent on literally only writing assignments #i actually want to die. this brings me soooooooo much fucking pain #i just really despise the whole idea of it #you put a bunch of people in one class with differing skill level #and then make them all write 900 word essays in a language theyre not 100% on yet #and the content is soooo much just him rambling in class IN GERMAN ! #and not all of it is on the slides so fuck if i remember #and even if i did remember its so much me trying to focus on catching what hes saying than actually absorbing it #and the topic even if i was writing in english would make me struggle #and you guys know!! im great at rambling!! BUT NOT AUF DEUTSCH #and then. when you finally finish slaving over this fucking disaster of a paper #you submit it. and his only comment is just: sehr gur gemacht. #yeah why the fuck would i feel the need to burn myself like this + #only to get feedback that feels like he only looked at the word count and nothing else #like not even going to correct my grammer or???? what am i learning other than writing the same kind of bs sentences over and over #i despise word count essays btw #youre not really writing for quality youre writing for quantity #bcs if the only real outline you get is that you hit the word count then why do i give any shit about the quality of it #like i submitted a paper for my other class and she gave like 100+ edits on it #not only comments but also grammer correction #and like????? why do i not get that from the class that is teaching me a foreign fucking language #yeah sure its not bad to correct the grammar of your first language but cmon my god please help me a bit or smth #but yeah its due on Wednesday and i just think im going to fucking die before then #choking on my stress tears or smth #as i said it would be fine if it felt like he was actually checking them in depth #but i hate assignments where im only doing it for the grade. like i actually want to uhhh learn yknow??????? #but yes i need someone to cheerlead me on or smth bcs itll take so much resolve to not just give up #and i wont give up bcs i want to keep my gpa but thats exactly thr issue isnt it? that i dont care about the content?

[clay-pidgeon]

my most developed oc is ginger . she was supposed to be a side character so virtue could have a little buddy but instead it grabbed the narrative adjusted it to be on her and he immediately just did an elaborate mime routine

#dove chirps #my stuff #krillverse #oc: ginger rosa #ginger gets in arguments about grammar on the internet every single day #honk types with perfect capitalization and grammar and when someone asks why shes just like tsk tsk its more PROPER #he does not believe this all btw. its into linguistics but the prescriptivist stuff is just to annoy oeople #and it works id kill bug if i had to talk to her for more than five minutes #<- showing off that things fucking neopronouns #(gingers pronouns are it/she/he/neos) #not all neos but look inside your heart it will tell you #busts down door con/fetti pronouns? no? yeah thats fair. fixes the door #please ask me questions about it #i want to talk about how he would act in a saw trap and its weird relationship with optimism and her social media presence

[swashbucklery]

OK I have watched the pilot of Interview With The Vampire and:

1) I’m going to go semi-feral over the costumes and sets alone the aesthetics are: magnifique.

2) It’s perfect.

3) Look I know that it’s got boys I know it’s problematic they are not uwu at all they in fact murder each other in the pilot but it’s also like. Extremely queer in a way that I feel but can’t fully articulate, a beautiful salve to the everyone is beautiful but no one is horny phenomenon of a lot of ~canon media~ and feels really like. Every unhinged Tumblr post about the complex aesthetics of vampirism and romance and desire and and the complexities of queering religious symbolism, yet also they’ve made the choice to have these lads just. Absolutely covered in body fluids at all times A++ gaying.

4) This is a serious question is there a resource out there with timestamps for some of the gore? I am planning to keep watching but I am Sensitive (tm) and I’d love to be prepped for some of the more intense moments. Obviously I’m fine with a generous amount of prop blood but anything where like. Limbs are coming off, organs are being punched through etc, I would love to be forewarned.

#also prepare 4 me to either watch this extremely slowly #or extremely quickly #i have my first cold since 2020 (not covid) and i am VERY out of practice #will i spend all day napping or will i watch 8 hours of gay vampires doing intricate social rituals who can say #also i am fascinated by like #and i know you all are american you're going to be like YEAH IT'S JUST NORMAL but #comparing and contrasting the different french colonial cultures bc i'm very familiar with the history of quebec but not of new orleans #i would like this show to come with several supplementary books please #one on costume design & wallpaper #and one on the linguistic historical research and context of the pilot specifically #give it #interview with the vampire 2022: they're fucking edition #iwtv spoilers

[anaalnathrakhs]

rjehrzejhrejk the professional orientation information website uses gendered language based on what the school officier registered you as and you can’t CHANGE IT in the settings good god i hate that so much

#like yeah yeah gender equality it's good that we aren't gendered job titles based on the jobs yknow #but holy fuck please STOP using feminine denominations to refer to me #please stop reminding me i do NOT want to think about being a 30smth professional and and having a feminine job title #can't i just cryogenize myself and wait until we got our shit together as a linguistic population and invented gender neutral accords #broadcasting my misery

[tardis--dreams]

Fuck off, word!

#i have decided it's best to write in the most unprofessional way imaginable so i feel less anxious because 'it has to be perfect' #it has to be written first and foremost #and editing something is easier than writing something from scratch #so #yeah politeness has received a fucking shit ton of attention in linguistics #it's kinda annoying #academic misery

[hoodieimp]

Misc. OC thought of the day:

Dizzy would genuinely enjoy math and be really good at it--it's just that no one's ever bothered to properly teach her. She came into existence with basically all of her background knowledge from her cartoon self, which included stuff like basic arithmetic (or at least addition and subtraction), but Joey's plans for her were solely based on being a performer and singing and dancing for people (plus he's not exactly the type to sit down and teach her)

That being said, if you sat Dizzy down with a bunch of those Mad Minute math worksheets and timed her, she'd absolutely love it. Challenge her! Get her to use her brain in a way she's not accustomed to! It's enrichment!

Or better yet, show her the Schoolhouse Rock series. Learning her times tables AND getting to sing along to a fun little song? Best of both worlds baby!

#Dizzy #my ocs #batim oc #dizzy writes #(that's not a confusing tag At All lmao) #as someone who was temporarily obsessed with a single very specific type of math problem back in elementary school #(I genuinely can't remember exactly what it was but? something to do with trying to determine an unknown variable assigned to a letter?) #(like Very Very basic pre-algebra kind of??? idk) #and would take my notes out at recess and write and solve my own math problems *for fun* #yes this is lowkey me projecting lmao #also the Schoolhouse Rock thing #I fucking LOVED that series as a kid #we have (had?) the whole collection on DVD #and to this day the Multiplication series is what got me to remember my times tables #by being able to sing them to the tune #also the Grammar series was where I first learned abt categories of words #which has come in surprisingly handy now that I've been taking Linguistics #but yeah anyways. Dizzy can be good at math as a treat #leaning more into the 'High Int Low Wis' characterization I guess hdjsbdhd #EDIT: FACTORING. I'M 90% SURE IT WAS FACTORING #Dizzy Dee

[j-esbian]

frustrating how so many craft books have a section about "how to sell what you've made"

like on one hand i get it because the person writing the book has obviously made their craft a full-time job. and they might have some tips and tricks that might be useful, and there are people out there who might be trying to start a small business out of it

but on the other hand it's just exhausting and feels like another voice saying "what's the point of having a hobby if you're not going to monetize it"

#the one of those that rly boils my blood. that i still think about all the time. almost ten years later #the art of language invention by david peterson lmao. fuck that. it is NOT actually a helpful resource if youre trying to get into conlang #in the intro he pretty explicitly was like 'yeah i'm only writing this bc the publishing house approached me bc #i made up some languages for the game of thrones show and that's popular so they thought it would sell' #the meat of the book itself is pretty rudimentary stuff iirc. 'here's the ipa chart. this is what a morpheme is.' #some cool stuff in there about how to build your own font and mess with the kerning to make cursive but it was a program i dont have so #and at the end. hoooooo boy. this is where u can tell they told him to put in this kind of section bc he basically straight up said #'if you're reading this because you want to learn how to build a fantasy conlang dont bother :) #if you weren't on this specific forum in 2002 youll never get it. just hire a Real Conlanger instead' #like. that absolutely colored the rest of the book preceding it bc the entire thing was stuff i had literally just learned #in the intro to linguistics class that inspired me to want to learn how to make a language. so it was nothing new #and the added antagonism of basically saying 'if you dont already know how to do this IM not gonna help bc you'd be competition' #again i understand why he had that attitude bc that's probably how the publisher pitched it in the first place #'this is going to be a book for the average joe who knows nothing about language mechanics and might have aspirations #of writing a story with its own language (because obviously gameofthrones was the first to do that /s) and is wondering how to do it' #but just a very weird attitude to have #mine

[vanyafresita]

actually, you know what ? im glad my ex gf ghosted me, i dodged a bullet it seems

#this was two years ago and just a few months ago i started getting over it #on the one hand yeah it fucking SUCKS i wish i had had some type of warning instead of radio silence suddently from one day to the other #on the other i was ready to move to texas (me: poc queer fem presenting nd bitch) and was looking seriously jobs over there #and like- i fucking HATE the usa but she was really scared about leaving the states to come to europe- so i was willingly to travel there to #be with her and not put her through that (ive been traveling since childhood so im used to it- but she has certain mental stuff going on and #taking her away from her family and her childhood city was going to be really tough- of course i'd sacrifice my life for hers) #and like im so sorry to everybody who is stuck in the usa right now bcs ur country is treating yall so poorly i feel genuinely bad #but as someone who was planninh to work over there as a teacher..... IM SO FUCKING GLAD I DONT HAVE TO SET FOOT THERE 😭 #every single thing i hear about the education system there seems hellish- as well as the teachers' conditions and wages #like over here its not all rainbows and flowers but at least i dont have to worry about school shootings or getting fired for recommending #books from a banned list 💀 #ESPECIALLY as a poc latino queer linguistics and literature teacher- i'd love to talk to students about a big range of things- i cannot #imagine having to censor myself or dance around a subject becs “kids are too dumb to understand queerness” “youre trying to groom them” #“dont brainwash em you commie” like ma'am im trying to help your child develop basic empathy and respect for those who dont look like them #like i hear some serious worrying stuff from teachers over there i hope u guys are holding up somehow 😭😭😭 #anyways idk how the phrase in english goes but in spanish we say cuando dios cierra una puerta- abre una ventana #(<- trying to look for the positive in getting ghosted by the girl of their dreams) #its fine guys anyways #yeah that was the first LD relationship ive ever had- never trying that again #also i found out im arospec so im definitely not getting into a romantic relationship lmfaoooooo #only QPRs for me now if anything lol #vanya strawberry flavored

[wanders-in-stars]

oh no no no i'm screwed

i realised that since tamar is an average uneducated commoner from cyrodiil, she probably doesn't speak/understand nordic, or at least not well

then i was like, okay but maybe if she lived close to the border she might?

well anyways fast forward a bit and now i'm knee deep in researching the linguistic anthropology of tamriel, and decided that tamar canonically knows at least 5 different varients of Cyrodilic, has lived in at least 4 different regions, and can partially understand Nordic but it's with guesswork involved, like with speakers of modern romance languages trying to communicate with one another

i'm just like

LINGUISTICS

#i was a linguistics and creative writing major in college #almost went into cultural anthropology too #so yeah i'm very thoroughly fucked #i just KNOW im gonna spend way too much time getting into tamriel's languages and shit #and if there's any official conlangs for em?? bye #i LOVE conlangs #i literally used to be able to speak conversational sindarin #and i can speak a little bit of mando'a as well #i fuckin love conlangs man don't try me #is any of this even coherent?? idk whatever #yaz yaks

[swisshope]

Do you ever just, amongst everything, discuss with some friends about the BS that has gone on in your life, and they agree that the whole shit show was just that, a shit show?

Despite it being oh-my-god-o'clock right now, it's been rather cathartic to be validated that shit that happened was fucked up in the nᵗʰ degree.

#Swiss Rambles #So much stuff was just fucked up #Because stuff happened #That's not counting the last month or so #Because that's a mess of other things #But yeah #The monarch and their linguistically challenged apperition #I'm not sure how to describe them beyond that #What made this worse is that I went digging so that I could name-drop them so others could avoid #I learned things today #Oh well

[the-californicationist]

he opens the mail

Captain Price opens a package, thinking it’s intel, but it’s a sex pollen. The only cure? Your pussy, apparently.

Warning: sex pollen tropes, extremely dubious consent, attempt at satire?, angry john price

“We’re never going to make this deadline. Laswell’s gonna kill me,” you complained, burying your head in the pile of envelopes and packages strewn over your desk. 

“Did this to yourself, lass. Shoulda been keepin’ up with intel duty. Wee bit at a time, ‘s what I say,” Soap patted you on the shoulder, feigning pity. 

You spent hours combing through the documents, and by the time everyone had gone to bed, your fingers were covered in paper cuts, and your vision was blurry from squinting at the poorly scrawled Cyrillic words. 

You thought you were alone, and as you stood up to stretch and refill your coffee mug, Captain Price opened up the office door, scaring you half to death. 

“Oh, hey Corporal,” he smiled and then furrowed his brow, “What are you still doing here?”

You sighed, pointing to the piles of documents,

“Laswell’s intel backlog. I’m the only one with a Level 3 linguistics cert for Russian, so here I am. Gonna be an all-nighter.”

He closed the door and sat down across from your seat, digging into the pile, 

“I’m Level 3. Let’s finish it.”

“Captain, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’ve got more important things…”

Price shook his head, taking off his hat and hanging it on the chair back,

“Nah, tha’s alright, love. I’ll help ya. Get us a tea, yeah?”

You knew how he took his tea, and you hated that you did. Secretly, you were obsessed with him. He was always around, smelling like balsam wood and tobacco, looking like a gladiator, huge and capable in the most masculine way. It was hard to concentrate when he was nearby. Now that he had offered to help, you had to grin and bear it. 

You worked together for a while, chatting, even laughing. It was nice. You had so much in common, the conversation flowed easily, and you found yourself much more at ease. Finally, three packages remained. You opened the first one and found little more than phone records for a local library. Unhelpful to say the least. Price opened a water bill, and he recognized the address of a recent Konni base location. Any intel at this point felt like a celebration. Then, the final box. 

“Go on then. Show us the ending,” he smiled, handing it to you. 

“Couldn’t take the joy of ripping up the last letter, Captain. Be my guest,” you smiled. 

He chuckled, tearing into the envelope. In a flash, bright pink powder sprayed him directly in the eyes, and he writhed in pain, pinching them shut, his whole body going stiff. 

“Fuck me!” He shouted. 

“Hang on,” you ran over to the sink in the kitchenette, “Here’s some water. Get that shit out of your eyes.”

“Don’t,” he moved away from you like you were on fire, “Don’t touch me. Might be contagious.”

Your chest was rising and falling with your labored breathing, and you were immediately worried. You reached for your phone and called Laswell.

“Laswell, Price got anthraxed by one of the intel letters. What do you want us to do?”

She gasped, 

“What? Shit. I’m on my way.”

She hung up on you. You watched Price slowly try to open his eyes. They were stained hot pink from the powder. 

“You alright?” You asked him. 

“Yeah, love,” he sighed, “Doesn’t hurt anymore. Feeling strange though. Laswell said she’s coming?”

You nodded,

“Yeah, just in case.”

He nodded, running his hand along the inside of his collar. The captain was sweaty and a little pale. 

“Captain, are you okay?”

“Mmm, no,” he shook his head, “Something’s not right, love.”

He stood and went to the sink, washing as much of the powder off as he could. You moved away from him and stationed yourself across the room, praying for Laswell to hurry. 

Price was in a bad way. He took off his shirt, and he was still dripping with beads of sweat. You tried not to stare, but his temperature wasn’t the only thing heating up. His huge cock was making a prominent tent in his pants, but he was in too much pain to bother hiding it. You felt yourself blushing, and you willed yourself to pull it together. 

“…fuckin’ hell,” his hand went to his crotch to squeeze his length, trying to find some relief, “Sorry, love.”

“It’s okay,” you said politely, trying to breathe normally, but feeling the slick rush melt between your legs. 

“It’s makin’ me…feel…bloody hell. I can’t hold it off. Can…can you…? No! No, what the fuck am I sayin’? No,” he shook his head, rubbing his hands down his face, hot and very bothered. 

You inched closer to him,

“If I haven’t been affected yet, I’m sure it’s okay. How should I help you?”

“No! No, stay back. I’m not…I can’t think straight. My mind’s got one thing on it,” he shoved his hands beyond his zipper and began to jerk himself off, his dick making lurid noises with his hand. 

You hated seeing him so helpless. You moved to his side,

“Cap, it’s okay. Let me help you.”

His hand was around your throat in milliseconds. Price shoved you against the wall and began to kiss your mouth, furiously laving his tongue against yours. 

“No, no, no,” he whispered through his kisses, not bothering to pull away as he spoke his lamentations. 

You made the mistake of putting your hands on his chest to steady yourself. He moaned, trembling beneath your touch,

“Ahh, careful.”

“Sorry,” you pulled your hands away, still trapped in his firm grip around your neck, “did I hurt you?”

“No, doesn’t hurt.”

He said it in a way that darkly implied your touch was igniting a different kind of fire. You put your hands back where they were, and his eyes shot open, piercing through yours with a lustful rage. Unexpectedly, he ripped off your shirt and lay you down on the black leather couch in the corner of the office. He crushed you with his weight, kissing you deeply. 

Then, your phone rang. He didn’t allow you to pause, so it went to voicemail. It rang again. You were getting just as hot as he was, and you weren’t that interested in who was looking for you in the middle of the night. Until, however, the door to the office burst wide open and Laswell and Gaz burst through it. 

Price snarled. You’d never heard a man make that noise before. Laswell put her hands on her hips while Gaz tried to shield his face in shock. Laswell rubbed her forehead, frustrated,

“Are his eyes pink, Corporal?”

You escaped his jaws for a moment, 

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s a sex drug. Forces the user to fornicate as it is only passed through the body in seminal fluid, dissolving in the heat of another person’s body. Are you volunteering here? What happened?”

Her tone was so matter of fact, it was a little humorous, if Price’s length wasn’t rutting against you in earnest, you might've laughed. You tried to explain as much as he would allow,

“Got too close… just… happened. How…” you moaned as Price pulled down the strap of your bra and helped himself to your nipple, “How did you know?”

She sighed, typing something into her datapad,

“Checked the incident log from this afternoon. Four more cases of this have popped up in intel collections. Gonna have to screen for it next time.”

She turned to walk out of the office with Gaz, and you called after her,

“Hey, wait! How long does it - oh, fuck… how long does it last?”

Laswell had the audacity to smirk at you, raising her eyebrows and cutting her eyes at Price’s swollen cock, lolling out of his pants, scraping itself against you. 

“Eight hours. Looks like you’re in for a rough night, Corporal. Maybe next time you’ll be more careful.”

Part 2

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