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#linguistic imperialism
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Tens of thousands of people rallied yesterday (Nov 4 2023) in Bilbo to protest against the lawfare that constantly attacks the Basque language and its speakers.
In the last years we've had to comply with
sentences banning call a baby Hazia (seed) because the judge considered it may mean semen;
sentences banning official paperwork just for inner use in the council being in Basque, when said town is 100% Basque speaking;
sentences that exempt a public worker from learning Basque because "it's very difficult";
sentences that impose that the knowledge of Basque language isn't mandatory to become a Basque public worker;
etc.
All of them have come after judicial processes were started by Spanish nationalist and far right parties PP and Vox. So what they can't achieve in the elections - be in power in Euskadi - they try to achieve with their judges.
Aski da!! Stop attacking Basque!!!
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ebookporn · 8 months
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Ukrainians are breaking their ties with the Russian language
By Francesca Ebel and Kostiantyn Khudov
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KHARKIV, Ukraine — In Kharkiv, a historically Russian-speaking city in eastern Ukraine, just 25 miles from the Russian border, Ukrainian classes are in high demand. Waiters, hairdressers and shopkeepers have stopped using Russian. Ukrainian language books are flying off the shelves, and local publishers are struggling to keep up with orders.
One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s central — and false — justifications for invading Ukraine, that he was defending Russian-speaking people, has backfired dramatically.
In cities across Ukraine, people started bringing their Russian literature to local recycling stations to be shredded and converted into toilet paper. Street names have been changed to honor Ukrainian heroes instead of Russian writers. Russian dishes, like pelmeni dumplings, have been relabeled on restaurant menus. Radio stations stopped playing songs by Russian artists, long popular in Ukraine.
“For many people, it has become impossible to speak Russian because it is the language of the enemy,” said Iryna Pobidash, an associate professor of linguistics at Kyiv’s Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute. “Russian is now a marker of everything that has happened: a marker of pain and tragedy.”
“Language is not only about communication, but also about positioning oneself. It’s my ‘who am I?’” Pobidash added.
Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov, who writes novels only in Russian, said that after the invasion, he felt “in pain” when writing because he was so ashamed of Russia.“I understood that Russia was destroying itself and destroying Russian language culture worldwide,” he said.
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bat-anon · 2 months
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All languages are valuable and no language has an inherent moral value but if you held a gun to my head and told me to learn russian I would pull the trigger myself
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blueheartbookclub · 12 days
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Unveiling Social Constructs: A Review of "Pygmalion" by Bernard Shaw
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Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" is a thought-provoking play that transcends time, weaving together themes of class, identity, and societal expectations with wit, humor, and insight. First performed in 1913, the play follows the transformative journey of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, who becomes the subject of a bet between the phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering. As Higgins attempts to mold Eliza into a refined lady through speech lessons, "Pygmalion" explores the intricacies of language, social mobility, and the power dynamics inherent in class distinctions.
At its core, "Pygmalion" challenges the notion of fixed social hierarchies and underscores the arbitrary nature of class distinctions. Shaw deftly exposes the absurdity of equating social status with inherent worth, presenting characters whose true value lies not in their birthright but in their character and individual agency. Through Eliza's transformation from a humble flower girl to a confident, independent woman, Shaw highlights the fluidity of identity and the potential for self-determination, regardless of one's social origins.
Moreover, "Pygmalion" is a testament to Shaw's mastery of dialogue and character development. The play is replete with sharp, witty exchanges that not only entertain but also serve to illuminate the complexities of human nature and interpersonal relationships. From Higgins's acerbic wit to Eliza's spirited defiance, Shaw creates characters that are as memorable as they are multidimensional, inviting audiences to empathize with their struggles and triumphs.
One of the most compelling aspects of "Pygmalion" is its exploration of the power dynamics inherent in language and communication. Shaw exposes how linguistic norms and accents serve as markers of social status, relegating those who speak differently to the margins of society. Through Higgins's efforts to "improve" Eliza's speech, the play raises important questions about agency, autonomy, and the ethics of linguistic imperialism, prompting audiences to reflect on the ways in which language shapes our perceptions of ourselves and others.
Furthermore, "Pygmalion" is a richly layered work that rewards careful analysis and interpretation. Shaw infuses the play with symbolism and allegory, drawing parallels between Eliza's transformation and the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with his own creation. By framing Eliza's journey as a modern-day retelling of this myth, Shaw invites audiences to consider the ways in which art, identity, and desire intersect in shaping human experience.
In conclusion, "Pygmalion" is a timeless masterpiece that continues to resonate with audiences for its incisive social commentary, vibrant characters, and sparkling wit. Shaw's exploration of class, identity, and language remains as relevant today as it was over a century ago, inviting audiences to question societal norms and challenge the status quo. With its enduring relevance and timeless appeal, "Pygmalion" stands as a testament to Shaw's genius as a playwright and his unwavering commitment to social justice and human dignity.
Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" is available in Amazon in paperback 12.99$ and hardcover 19.99$ editions.
Number of pages: 188
Language: English
Rating: 9/10                                           
Link of the book!
Review By: King's Cat
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dear-usamericans · 2 years
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Dear USAmericans (of Latine &/or Filipino descent/diaspora), we native Latines & Filipinos don't like the terms Latinx & Filipinx & wish you stop forcing it on us coz 1) Latine is much better & easier to pronounce 2) the Filipino language is already gender neutral 3) it shows you know nothing about the Spanish & Filipino languages 4) it's basically linguistic imperialism, forcing USA centric views & is rude 5) our LGBT folks hate it, too
.
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blueheartbooks · 12 days
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Unveiling Social Constructs: A Review of "Pygmalion" by Bernard Shaw
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Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" is a thought-provoking play that transcends time, weaving together themes of class, identity, and societal expectations with wit, humor, and insight. First performed in 1913, the play follows the transformative journey of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, who becomes the subject of a bet between the phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering. As Higgins attempts to mold Eliza into a refined lady through speech lessons, "Pygmalion" explores the intricacies of language, social mobility, and the power dynamics inherent in class distinctions.
At its core, "Pygmalion" challenges the notion of fixed social hierarchies and underscores the arbitrary nature of class distinctions. Shaw deftly exposes the absurdity of equating social status with inherent worth, presenting characters whose true value lies not in their birthright but in their character and individual agency. Through Eliza's transformation from a humble flower girl to a confident, independent woman, Shaw highlights the fluidity of identity and the potential for self-determination, regardless of one's social origins.
Moreover, "Pygmalion" is a testament to Shaw's mastery of dialogue and character development. The play is replete with sharp, witty exchanges that not only entertain but also serve to illuminate the complexities of human nature and interpersonal relationships. From Higgins's acerbic wit to Eliza's spirited defiance, Shaw creates characters that are as memorable as they are multidimensional, inviting audiences to empathize with their struggles and triumphs.
One of the most compelling aspects of "Pygmalion" is its exploration of the power dynamics inherent in language and communication. Shaw exposes how linguistic norms and accents serve as markers of social status, relegating those who speak differently to the margins of society. Through Higgins's efforts to "improve" Eliza's speech, the play raises important questions about agency, autonomy, and the ethics of linguistic imperialism, prompting audiences to reflect on the ways in which language shapes our perceptions of ourselves and others.
Furthermore, "Pygmalion" is a richly layered work that rewards careful analysis and interpretation. Shaw infuses the play with symbolism and allegory, drawing parallels between Eliza's transformation and the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with his own creation. By framing Eliza's journey as a modern-day retelling of this myth, Shaw invites audiences to consider the ways in which art, identity, and desire intersect in shaping human experience.
In conclusion, "Pygmalion" is a timeless masterpiece that continues to resonate with audiences for its incisive social commentary, vibrant characters, and sparkling wit. Shaw's exploration of class, identity, and language remains as relevant today as it was over a century ago, inviting audiences to question societal norms and challenge the status quo. With its enduring relevance and timeless appeal, "Pygmalion" stands as a testament to Shaw's genius as a playwright and his unwavering commitment to social justice and human dignity.
Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" is available in Amazon in paperback 12.99$ and hardcover 19.99$ editions.
Number of pages: 188
Language: English
Rating: 9/10                                           
Link of the book!
Review By: King's Cat
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scribefindegil · 7 months
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As much as I adore conlangs, I really like how the Imperial Radch books handle language. The book is entirely in English but you're constantly aware that you're reading a "translation," both of the Radchaai language Breq speaks as default, and also the various other languages she encounters. We don't hear the words but we hear her fretting about terms of address (the beloathed gendering on Nilt) and concepts that do or don't translate (Awn switching out of Radchaai when she needs a language where "citizen," "civilized," and "Radchaai person" aren't all the same word) and noting people's registers and accents. The snatches of lyrics we hear don't scan or rhyme--even, and this is what sells it to me, the real-world songs with English lyrics, which get the same "literal translation" style as everything else--because we aren't hearing the actual words, we're hearing Breq's understanding of what they mean. I think it's a cool way to acknowledge linguistic complexity and some of the difficulties of multilingual/multicultural communication, which of course becomes a larger theme when we get to the plot with the Presgar Translators.
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didn't want to add to your post bc i'm not welsh (but asian) and haven't lived in the uk for a while so by no means is this on the same level as the celtophobia experienced by welsh people, but thank you so much for bringing up that "hahaaha your words are so complicated, too complicated for meee" thing that english people do! it's so spot on, right down to that stupid laugh! i work in academia too and i swear i've only ever seen the english do it*-- not just with names/terms/places in lectures but even refusing to say the names of speakers that they introduce at conferences. it's like there's pride in that behaviour, as if they think makes them sound humble rather than incredibly insensitive and ignorant. the other day i saw an english comedian on tv apologize (apologize!) for pronouncing a french word CORRECTLY (while commentating eurovision, of all things) because she knew it was "making her sound pretentious". like what is wrong with these people!
(* not that non-english people are always respectful about non-english/minority languages, but i've never seen them refuse to pronounce something or do "the laugh" + i've experienced a lot more non-english people at least saying "i hope i pronounced this correctly, please correct me if i'm wrong", which is marginally better. i wish more people were like you with the tanzanian terms)
anyway, i hope that lecturer faces consequences for being so unprofessional.
Oh yeah, this is a HUGE part of the problem! The one I always bring up is Amanda Holden announcing the UK Eurovision voting results in 2021. Like EVERY OTHER ANNOUNCER, she had learned how to say 'Good evening' in French and Dutch ("Bon Soir, Goedenavond."); and then, unlike literally any other announcer, IMMEDIATELY followed it up with "That means good evening in French and Dutch, but I've got no idea which is which! Tee hee!"
Friend, I can tell you now - Welsh language social media had a fucking field day.
But yeah, they are highly motivated, culturally, by the idea that respecting someone else's language is cringeworthy and pretentious. They can't handle the idea of losing face and being embarrassed in case they get it wrong, so it becomes turned around - if saying it right is pretentious, then socially, they no longer have to do it and risk embarrassment. It would now be embarrassing to do it right. Genius! They're off the hook!
Anyway, it's bad enough when they do it to us, but it's worse when they do it to Asian languages and cultures, so I offer you a fist bump of solidarity.
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useless-catalanfacts · 7 months
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Yesterday, the linguist and activist Carme Junyent died. It saddens me deeply to write this post, because she was someone who I really admire.
She was a linguist who led the Grup d'Estudis de Llengües Amenaçades (GELA, Research Group on Endangered Languages) in University of Barcelona and author of many books and articles about language diversity and the defense of minoritized and/or indigenous languages here and around the world, and a firm defensor of immigrants' language rights and cultural diversity. She was also very active in defense of the language rights of her own community, Catalan speakers, against linguistic imperialism from Spanish and French.
Even in her last moments, she wrote an article about the right to die speaking one's mother language (Catalan in our case) if you are in your own country, instead of the usual case of forcing the patients who are part of the local marginalized and/or indigenous language community (even those in the very last moment of their lives) to speak in the dominant state language (Spanish, in our case). She sent it to the newspaper Vilaweb, where she often collaborated, to be published right after her death:
She has died of cancer at 68 years old. In her last months, most doctors who treated her in Catalonia's public healthcare system did not speak or did not want to speak Catalan, only Spanish. But she took the decision to keep firm and not change her language, so she could die in her mother tongue.
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rotzaprachim · 2 months
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substrates and substrate hypotheses in linguistics make me sooooo insane you’re saying this language hasn’t been spoken in two thousand years but also people are still using words from it in their gardens and kitchens and to name their children and the substarates are still ghosts in their words and their grammar and they don’t even know????
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samodivas · 3 months
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this [redacted] organization I follow unironically referred to as age-based discrimination as "ейджизъм" and I've been thinking about how cringe-inducing that is for days.
what the fuck is eydzizam? why did you have to literally transcribe a foreign compound word that makes zero sense when you could have simply said "discrimination based on age" and provided an insightful explanation for the issue you're addressing? how do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you can't even utilize language to make your point?
"oh but its terminology" it isn't! it truly isn't. right up there with "ейбълизъм" for "ableism" it's lazy, anglocentric and pathetically unaware of its own bias.
"but people who care about these things understand English so they know what it means" then why are you preaching to the choir? why are teenagers and 20 - 30 something year olds who have the means to master a foreign language the only audience that matters? what about people who don't know "terminology" or who are too old and out of the loop, or simply don't speak the language you're borrowing from?
I don't think wanting to have this information accessible in your own language, in terms you can fully comprehend, is somehow backwards or limiting. If this is what the entire "progressive" scene is like in this country, is it at all surprising that so many people (whether they're conservative, moderate or completely politically inactive) genuinely believe that these ideas are "planted by foreign agents" from the West?
And the fact that I get called "nationalist" for wanting the bare minimum effort to be put into adapting these topics for a localized audience is insane. If you can't make discussions on "ageism" or "ableism" accessible to a local person who doesn't speak English, it's not their problem for being "willfully ignorant" as most people coming from a place of privilege are. it's your problem for dismissing a huge segment of the population before they can even learn what the fuck you're preaching.
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France spends 200M € in The International City of the French language to preserve it - a language with +80M native speakers - and its purity.
Meanwhile Basque, Catalan, Breton, Corsican, Occitan and every other regional language are being left out to die.
Vive la France, right?
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ebookporn · 11 months
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Applying Etymology to Fantasy Writing
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by Matt Carson
Many years ago I was reading a fantasy novel as I was settling down for the night. In it, there was a long description of an old manor house that said the ancient stone walls had Spanish moss hanging from its surface.
Hold on, what kind of moss? How do you have Spanish moss without Spain? This was set in a whole different world, so the use of ‘Spanish’ in that context immediately took me out of the story. Couldn’t this have been described as ‘horse hair ivy,’ or ‘long moss,’ or some other descriptor that isn’t directly based off our world?
I mean, imagine that you’re reading a high fantasy story about two male characters going to a tavern to celebrate. These guys each order a Bloody Mary, call each other ‘dude’ and ‘bro’ a lot, and then high-five each other. That would be a bit jarring, right? That just doesn’t sound like something people in a fantasy world would say, and the Bloody Mary is linked to several historical figures from the history of our world.
Language is one of the best ways to establish the mood of a fantasy story, as well as to reinforce the atmosphere of the world. With that in mind, I thought I would go through a number of words that have direct links to our world in particular. If you’re writing fantasy, you might consider using a synonym for them if you want to avoid a ‘Spanish moss’ kind of moment in your work.
Let’s dive in.
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dougielombax · 30 days
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No you didn’t give us your language as a “gift”.
You tried to wipe ours off the face of the earth!
Get in the bin with that shite!
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lachiennearoo · 4 months
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Angry Rant from a Sad Frenchie
I'd advise you read this entire thing before you comment, reblog or get any opinion on this. Just to make sure you have the full context.
Alright...
Recently I found this image
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It made me mad, for obvious reasons, as I am a québécois. And so I made a big rant about it in DMs with my anglo Irish boyfriend, who's always very happy to talk, and I love him very much-
ANYWAYS.
I realized that not everyone would understand my anger. Some people might even agree with this post.
But I think it's out of ignorance. Not out of anything else
And so, I will share the rant I did. Have fun
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All and all, this may not sound like much, but pronouncing words in another language correctly is basic respect.
I think that if you don't care about the way you pronounce other languages' words, you just don't care about their culture or about respecting them. It's not hard to take that extra step and learn how to correctly say words.
When I say French, English, Spanish, Japanese- words, I'll always try to say them the right way. It's the least I can do to show respect.
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vitalconviction · 2 months
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Vincent Valentine for the ask game?
Sexuality Headcanon:
Unlabelled, but if hard pressed will say "doesn't make a difference to me" -- I also think he's full on demiromantic
Before he 'dies' for the first time I think he was quite casual about sex and the like in Midgar which was mostly a hobby of sorts since there wasn't actually much else to do in Midgar after the initial coolness factor wore off
After he wakes up different though, he's repressed city. The drive is still there, or it would be if he looked for it and if someone in particular he was soft on prodded him--but he is almost always rocking some level of derealization or depersonalization, if not totally dissociative in general so you have to Ground him first.
Romantically... eeh he's less restrictive on that because he's making the rightly false assumption he couldn't possibly be human enough to feel something, you know, NICE instead of BAD AND SHAME AND GUILT ALL THE TIME!
Gender Headcanon:
This one was a shrug always, just a vague who cares thing! I think overall he's GNC and likely agender or something along the lines of nonbinary, but after coming back wrong he's mostly concerned about whether or not he's even still a human so the gender thing is just beyond him LOL -- If anything, the lack of gender in general he feels after coming back probably plays into his fear of not being human anymore
As for how he presented himself, as a Turk he would be sauntering around below plate in whatever he thought looked pretty enough OR if it looked cool enough--whether it be a camisole with a dark colored lipstick that had alluring packaging Or a blazer he found that had amazing fabric that seemed to change colours in light! He's drawn to the abstract qualities of stuff!
As red bandana man, if he isn't sauntering around in his cloak, he's sauntering around in the most nondescript clothes ever. In the process of his slow recovery, given that he recovers, I think he would be inclined to go for a full-on androgynous look which would be the most comfortable for him. For work, though, he really associates it with masculine presentation so he feels quite weird when he makes the gradual shift Lol
A ship I have with said character:
VINSENG! Valenstrifesodos is also great :D I can be drawn in by the idea of Vinseph but in practice, ehhh, it doesn't fully hit LOL --also past-vinveld/future-vinveld, or even vinreeve, those two also are nice ships if the other guys aren't available to kiss vincent themselves
Vinseng is seriously the ship I have for him, and it's all based off the one au I have rattling around in my baby brain. TLDR for the ship basis is, Vincent finds purpose in caring for others and has chronically and historically been the person who cared too much for the role he was in. Tseng is literally THE SAME GUY but he didn't get turned into a science experiment. Every compilation expansion featuring Tseng has further added the narrative of him being far too invested personally, having too much compassion, caring in the way turks aren't supposed to.
They're both internally in opposition to their roles, still view it as a necessary evil (Tseng in particular doing mental gymnastics that would make an olympic gold medalist blush), think they're bad guys, and are RIPE for atonement but neither of them have canonically moved towards helping themselves because it's their disposition to let themselves rot. They both tried, and failed spectacularly, in going against their roles, with Tseng in trying to save Zack and directly going against the company and trying his damndest to keep Shinra away from Aerith for as long as possible--and Vincent in trying to stop the experiments on Lucrecia, and therefore also on Sephiroth. If they had been successful they would have literally changed the course of the entire fucking story.
I think if you smashed them in a room together and forcibly socialized them like two cats, which is what happens in my au, they would do the thing they always do which is care too fucking much. In this way, they seriously have the capacity to slowly heal together! I just want their cycles of pain and violence and self loathing to break man.
A BROTP I have with said character:
Honestly, not any! I suppose Barret and Nanaki would fit this dyanmic though! I really like seeing it in fics so I'll go with this :D
A NOTP I have with said character:
Vincent and Hojo existing in a relationship together, namely with Lucrecia. I can't even entertain the thought of Vincent/Hojo in general--and I mean this in a romantic ship sense, fucked up stuff I'm so down for, but I take ship to mean literal relationship in which there is a semblance of happiness LOL
Honestly Vincent/Cid is the only true NOtp for me because I can see someone who was an abuse victim falling back in with another abusive person, but I can't imagine myself liking this ship in any circumstance LOL I don't even like it in the fucked up way. I just am not the biggest fan of Cid I've found.
A random headcanon(s):
His mother was absent and he never met her, and his father was negligent in that he was abroad for work and rarely spared time for Vincent, so his childhood was pretty lonely.
He's from one of the islands off the coast of Wutai, their region was under occupation and he was almost displaced. He grew up under the occupation and subsequently learned their language as a tool of survival. During the fullstart of the fight back against the Kisaragi led occupation, his father panicked and pulled strings to get Vincent out. He started going fulltime to university as a student after that and even graduated early but it still wasn't what he wanted, so he left for Midgar.
Names and stuff of the place and language of the Island he's from I'm sparse on as I haven't gotten around to settling on etymology, but generally the basis will be Korean and Thai oriented :D In a similar vein, the Midgar language I had considered Nordic but since they're directly next to the plains there's probably Celtic too, but since the President Shinra is THE white guy of all time in the story I gravitate towards calling the language in Midgar Seaxe (anglo-saxon)
General Opinion over said character:
I LOVE YOU BANDANA MAN! This guy deserves to heal so hard. FUCK! He's an amazing character and I want to put him in so many situations. I also want to put him in my mouth like a chew toy.
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