#not to mention its in my native language and the english version of it is gone

[kindlespark]

The experience of being Chinese diaspora but only knowing English as a first language is universal and insane. I love that babel toys around with that feeling a lot.

Not to mention the feeling of both being ashamed of not knowing and also that weird feeling of offense that it's an expectation for you to know but then you're like wait- why do I feel offended that someone would think I would know Chinese and the answer IS racism - but it's also like do I have biases or embarrassment that one would think I know Chinese? That I'm Chinese, that I would fall into the stereotype of what they think of me. And then it's this horrific feeling of not wanting to be made fun of, but not wanting to be ashamed, and wanting to know it for legitimate cultural reasons, but not wanting to be pointed at as a spectacle if you do know it. And this is the insanity of living around mostly white folk.

There's a tragedy to being cut off from language that is so important to culture, and how much of that are you allowed to claim when you're made a stranger to it. And then it's an infinite loop of self doubt, awareness of racism, and insanity.

for sure! diaspora of colour face the kind of racialisation from both in our communities and out of them where our languages and our cultures/existences as poc are entwined. we're foreign. whereas european diaspora don't get the same judgment for not knowing french/german etc. but there also is privilege in living in an english-speaking country with your native language being english; poc with accents from their home countries are racialised significantly more

like all asian diaspora art majors i have a lot of old angsty writing about not belonging anywhere and not knowing my language and the shame and alienation that comes with it. im also diaspora of a diaspora; my parents are chinese-malaysian, and now we're in australia. it's easy to feel like a watered-down version of my cultures, or to feel like i'm made out of things that i am Not. not to even mention how being queer factors into that lmaoooo

for me it was easy to be like, if you have to spend time learning your own culture, is it really yours? but the answer is yes! like rereading my old writing makes me giggle a bit because since then i've spent more time with asian diaspora here, seeking out queer asian communities, reaching out to my family outside of australia, learning chinese. it's incredibly healing. in the scene where robin first meets ramy, babel captures that feeling of your walls going down when you meet another poc so unbelievably well. it's why i don't take the romanticism of it as a soulmate-ism on robin or ramy's part (even though it is also because they're gay). i've felt that feeling a thousand times! asian diasporic culture isn't any less authentic, it's its own thing. you're not alone anon!

#babel #this is truly not really a babel post but whatever we mention it twice (2)

[matan4il]

Hello. This is a rather mundane question considering all the things, but I got curious. Does Hebrew have accents? How do they vary in and out of Israel?

I understand if you choose not to reply as this is a difficult time for you. In any case, take care🩷🩷🩷

Hi Nonnie! No, don't worry, all questions that are truly interested in Jewish culture are welcome! ^u^

TBH, something to remember about Hebrew is that it has quite a unique history. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only language that was used on a daily basis as the lived in language of a native population, then "died" as a result of Jews being exiled. As they found themselves in other countries, they had to speak the local language. They didn't abandon Hebrew, but it stopped being the langauge in which they lived their daily lives. Hebrew became the language of prayer, of scripture study, and terms from it bled into the local languages Jews spoke, creating Jewish versions of these languages (Yiddish being the Jewish version of German, Ladino being the Jewish version of Spanish, Yevanik being the Jewish version of Greek, and there are also Jewish versions of Arabic and other languages, too), so Hebrew still had an impact on Jews, and they were still connected to it... but it was no longer a "living" language. It was closer to what Latin is today. A language in which religious ceremonies are conducted, that theologians study, but not a language that anyone conducts their daily life in.

Then, as a part of the project of reclaiming and reviving the Jewish native life in Israel that came to be known as Zionism, people set out to revive our native language, too. There was a realization that it had to be adapted to modern life, give it terms for things that didn't exist 2,000 years ago, so it would be useful for people who wanted to conduct their daily lives in Hebrew again. And that's how the last of the Canaanite languages became the only "dead" language to be revived, and return to be the lived in language of its native people.

I mention this unique history, because modern Hebrew isn't the same as biblical Hebrew (though about 60% of modern Hebrew IS biblical). It means if there were different Hebrew accents during biblical times, we don't know it for sure.

At the same time, the fact that Jews were spread out in the diaspora, and their pronunciation of Hebrew (as a dead language) came to be influenced by the local languages they spoke while in exile. So a Jew who returned to Israel from the diaspora in Germany, a Jew who returned to Israel from the diaspora in Argentina, and a Jew who returned to Israel from the diaspora in Yemen do not have the same accent when speaking Hebrew.

But these are not considered regional accents of Hebrew in the same way that you can find different regional accents of English when traveling across England... If we put aside the accents of Jews returning to Israel, and instead we look at the accents of Jews born in Israel, the ones born into speaking modern Hebrew, there's a myth of a Jerusalem accent. I say myth, because you'll hear all over Israel people swearing, that Jerusalemites pronounce a few words differently. The most common example is the word 'mataim' (which means two hundred), and many Israelis insist Jerusalemites pronounce it ma'ataim, with the first vowel prolonged and emphasized. I have lived in Jerusalem since 2002 and I have never heard it. I think in this sense, regional accents are usually, at least in part, a product of geography. It determines how far apart people live, how much they interact, how much they hear others speaking the same language as they do. The smaller a country, and the easier travel in it is, the fewer accents it's likely to produce. And I think that's the main reason why there aren't really accents in Israel (other than those of people who came to speak Hebrew as a second language), because it's a very small country, and because today, it's pretty easy to travel in it (you can cross it from the most northern point to the most southern one in slightly over 5 hours).

I hope that kind of answers it? Thank you for the kind words, I hope you're well, too! xoxox

#ask #anon ask #israel #hebrew #jewish history #jewish #jew #jews #jumblr #frumblr #native israeli #native history #cultural revival #language revival #native revival

[princessbubblenumbsblog]

Hi again, so the second chapter! I hope y'all like this fluff. I gave my best on this chapter, however this is my first fic and english is not my first language, so apologies if anything sounds confusing, and please let me know in the comments. Again, any spanish spoken will be translated in the end, so don't worry ;)

Title: One And The Opposite

Rating: Teens and Up (swearing, mentions of sex)

Summary: After filling the shoes of his alternate self in a parallel universe, Miguel O'Hara swiftly discovers that embodying a different version of himself is far more challenging than he initially anticipated. As he juggles with the complexities of family dynamics, with a wife and daughter who both expect him to be the man they remember, he tries to stay afloat, grappling with the pros and cons of navigating two lives simultaneously.

OR

A domestic Miguel trying his best.

Chapter 2: Sweet reunion

"Gordo, eres tú? Ya llegué!" he hears a voice shout from down the hallway, as the door slams shut, followed by the loud noise of keys rattling and plastic bags crinkling.

Miguel turns around to look at her for the first time, and it's nothing like he thought it would be, to say the least. He imagines it’s like if he were living life immersed in tiger illustrations, and then got to see the real thing for the very first time. It feels like he’s standing in the presence of a real tiger, with its raw power, the rhythmic pulse of its fur, and the untamed wilderness echoing in its eyes. His breath catches as he steps back to really look at her in awe.

Moving through the kitchen in a busy sway, she goes about putting the groceries away, all the while speaking almost too fast to understand like every Spanish speaker ever. It’s as if she hasn't even spotted him there yet — so comfortable with his presence. 

"... Tu hermano no deja de llamarme, deberías ver qué quiere. Ah, y el 'forecast' del tiempo dice que el aire será irrespirable por unas horas, así que recuerda cuando te dirijas a... estas bien?" She asks, getting on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss.

As much as he tries not to, Miguel is startled by the sudden contact, and it must show on his face because she notices too.

"Que te pasa, mi amor?" She asks, a look of confusion in her face that makes her look even more beautiful.

"I uh... I... Just got robbed." He blurts out. 

Even after a day of practicing his Spanish accent, English still instinctively surfaces as his immediate response — it's become much more natural than his native language at this point. The perplexity in her eyes immediately turns into worry as she puts a hand on his face and examines him up and down.

"Are you ok? Did they hurt you!?" She thankfully also speaks English, although with a slight accent that Miguel can’t quite figure out where it’s from. 

"No, no, yo estoy bien. I'm fine just... A little shaken. He had a gun." He answers, gently holding her hand back.

She stares at him, a twinge of shock coloring her features, then looks down at his hand. He gets worried for a second that even though his talons are concealed, something else might be giving him away. Something he doesn’t know about. He can't help the way his heart must be beating a mile a minute, threatening to jump out of his chest.

"Well, you're safe now, okay? Don't worry about it too much." The way she casually utters it confirms for him that this sort of thing happens frequently here. She only smiles sympathetically at him, not even asking what they took — if anything.

He sighs in relief as she says that, and smiles back, taking the chance to get a good look at her face. 

Brown eyes like his, a few moles here and there. Worry lines between her brows that paint a picture of a woman who hasn't had everything handed to her, or the easiest life. He can't help but think he chose well. 

"Listen, I can go pick up Briella, you stay here and I'll-" she says, swiftly turning around to grab her keys.

"No, no, it's okay, I can do it. It's fine." He quickly insists, knowing he has to use every opportunity to get to know his family, and his alternate version better. 

"Okay. Pero ten cuidado mi amor." She warns, placing another kiss on his lips.

*

He gets there early, watching from his car as some parents start making their way towards the entrance. While he contemplates waiting inside the front office — an idea that might be a bit excessive, though it would allow him to catch an earlier glimpse of Gabriella — staying in the car seems neglectful at best. So he settles on waiting near the front of the school until the bell rings.

When it finally does, a crowd of kids emerges from the building, and with them a cacophony of screams and voices as he nervously shifts his weight around, willing himself to stay calm while trying to spot his daughter in the crowd.

“¿Apá?” She asks, right next to him . Miguel looks down at her, startled. 

He must have been so distracted looking through hundreds of faces, that he didn’t even notice her coming up to him. It doesn’t help that she’s tiny, barely reaching past his hips, and the school uniform makes her blend right in with the navy blue crowd.

“Oh hi there! You scared me!” He tells her with a laugh, trying to play it off.

Gabriella blinks at him. “You didn’t wait in the car this time.” 

Uh oh. Is that bad? Maybe she was embarrassed of leaving with her father, maybe the kids would make fun of her for it now. He quickly scans the surroundings, seeing not that many kids leaving with their parents.

“Uh… Right. Well, I wanted to walk with you, if that’s ok…” He explains, fighting the urge to lean down so she doesn’t feel as small to him.

Thankfully she just shrugs, and turns to leave after he offers to carry her backpack for her. They start walking in silence, with Miguel more afraid of being found out than he was earlier, with her mother.

It’s silly, really: She’s a child, barely nine years old. However, his mind keeps racing trying to figure out what to say, what to ask that’s not going to give him away immediately, while at the same time reassuring himself that it’s okay, that she doesn’t know yet.

“So… How was school?” He asks, putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“It was alright.” She answers dryly, staring at the floor as she walks.

“Soo was it alright as in boring, or…?” He risks the question, wanting to know more about her day.

She seems pensive for a moment, considering him. “It’s just that the boys keep making fun of me and Isa again. Even Sam joined in, and he doesn't even play soccer!” She frowns, continuing. “They keep saying we’re never gonna play like Messi Jr because we’re girls.” 

He can feel his fists closing into tight balls when she says that. He knows first hand just how insufferable boys her age could get, especially dealing with Kron and all the hell he’d put him through at school, but he also knows that when it comes to girls they act ten times worse. 

So even though he has no idea who ‘Messi Jr’ is, he figures instead of speaking out of anger and cursing the hell out of these boys, he should at least try and help her with her insecurities instead. 

“Why are you worried about being exactly like Messi Jr when you can be so much better than him?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

She keeps silent for a moment, seeming hesitant. “Really? You think so?” 

“Of course I do! You’re great!” He answers honestly. 

Miguel remembers watching her play a little fútbol prior to coming here. He had been surprised to find out how good she played for her age before…  

Suddenly, he’s almost overwhelmed by the thought of what would have happened to her had he not been here. He has a vision of this lovely little girl he just met being thrusted into a childhood filled with grief. 

No paternal figure there for her. A perpetual sadness that got particularly worse on every father’s day, an endless list of things he would never get to teach her. A constant wondering of what it could have been, what would have been like to have him there. 

He can’t help but feel glad that he could take his place. That he could be there for her in this way and fill this void. It’s an impossible responsibility, yet one he’s happy to take nonetheless. 

Shaking his thoughts away, he continues. “And besides, it’s like you said, right? What does Sam know about soccer, he doesn’t even play! Also, there are some great women players around the world too.” He smiles with a sudden enjoyment, excited to play this role the best way he knew how to.

Gabriella looks like she notices his thrilled state, eyeing him sideways with a curious look. “I know, I know. It’s just that it annoys me, you know?” she says, back to looking pensive. 

“Yeah, that’s… True. And the more it annoys you, the more they do it…” He admits, more to himself than her.

Miguel didn’t want to be a walking cliché. He didn’t have much advice to give her, besides things he really wanted to say but couldn’t. Like: She’s a lovely little girl, that he’s glad to be here for her and she’s actually so much more than he ever imagined, that she could be anything she put her mind to, and already he couldn't think of a single thing he wouldn’t do if she asked him to. No, that would be too much in too little time. Instead, he had to go with what was appropriate.

“You know, you’re gonna find people like that everywhere you go. I have people I don’t like at work, too. The thing is how you deal with them. But don't worry, you’ll learn that with time. it’s not like there’s a recipe for it, you know?” He tells her.

She keeps quiet for a moment, listening to him. Was that also too much?

But then she just nods in understanding as he opens the door of the car for her to get in.

*

“Not again, Gabriella. Again!?”

“¿Qué?” Gabriella asks, rubbing her feet on a rug by the entrance of the apartment when the both of them come in.

“¿Cuántas veces te he dicho para no jugar fútbol con el uniforme? ¡Mírate! ¡Estás cubierta de pasto!” María raises her voice, pointing to her daughter's legs.

“But mooom! It was just a quick cascarita! And I’m not even that dirty!” Gabriella insists, gesturing towards her white socks, which funny enough are covered in green and brown spots, especially by the knees.

“¿A quién estás llamando 'mooom'? Anda, take it off and give it here.” She orders after letting out a breath. 

“Sí mamá.” Says Briella, pouting and dragging her feet to her room, looking annoyed.

Miguel also drags his feet by the threshold, setting his keys on a hook next to the door. He takes off his boots, eyeing the three pairs of slippers nearby. Hesitantly, he puts one of them on, the irony in the mundane gesture settling heavy in his chest, the weight of deception tugging annoyingly at his conscience.

Since he’s already taken a quick look around the place before she arrived from work, he gets to inspect things a little closer this time around.

The entryway is adorned with sleek porcelain tiles that extend seamlessly into the living space. A smart home system panel mounted on the wall offers control over lighting, temperature, and security, right next to the hook where he hung his keys. To the side, there’s a wall-mounted shelf holding a curated display of art and what looks to be some personal mementos. 

A water bill sits on top of it, the sight striking an odd chord — in a time where holographic displays and digital transactions were the norm, a paper bill practically seems like a relic from another time — but also allowing him to find out her full name, which he immediately commits to memory.

“I think she thinks the socks make her look more like a professional player.” María tells him a while later, while slicing some meat by the sink. “We should buy her a pair of those so she stops ruining her uniform.” 

He nods in agreement, putting a plate down as he lets the reality sink in, that this is really happening. This is his life now. 

He’s married, he has a beautiful wife, and he’s also father to a beautiful little girl. And he couldn't be happier. Couldn’t have asked for anything else in life. 

It’s like he just woke up from a bad dream, straight into the life he’s always wanted to live.

Like he’s exactly where he belongs. 

So he helps María with the food. Luckily, he must be incompetent at the kitchen in every universe, because her instructions are extremely detailed, as they prepare carne a la tampiqueña for three.

María yells for Gabriella to come, and they all eat in silence after joining hands around the table for a quick, silent prayer. 

*

Later, María is washing the socks while he cleans the table, and Maná plays in the background. She grooves with the rhythm, singing and humming now and then, completely oblivious to it all.

Objectively, he knows that he’s hiding a lot from her, but his heart can’t help but ache a little at how she’s not intimidated at all by his presence, in fact, she’s used to it. For once, he doesn’t feel like a freak or a monster the way he inadvertently does among the other spiders. 

She spots him there, lost in thought as he finishes up, and says “I heard they’re reconstructing his larynx.” 

“What?” He’s pulled from his thoughts by the weird phrase.

“Maná. The vocalist, I heard they’re reconstructing his larynx to help the A.I replicate his voice better. Can you believe that!?” She explains “That’s why I’m listening to their original songs, I heard it on the news today.”

He blinks slowly, trying to figure out if he’s supposed to be used to things like these. “That’s… Crazy, honestly.”

“Right? I mean, the fact that we aren’t able to tell the difference for most artists nowadays is already pretty insane to me, and now they’re reconstructing the larynx of a dead guy to make a robot replicate his voice better? Come on now!” She remarks, turning back to look at him.

“I know, it’s so wild to think about.” He says, taking the chance to look around the room. 

Sleek countertops adorned in marble, bearing the scars of a few culinary adventures that her and his alternate self probably didn’t have the time to clean yet; Rectangular windows above the kitchen sink, lined with cheap plastic containers labeled “basil”, “rosemary” and a few other herbs, bringing a nice green contrast to the brushed metal accents; A smart fridge on the corner, adorned with Gabriella’s drawings held by magnets all throughout it. Some things never change.

He approaches the fridge, taking one of the drawings to inspect it closer. It’s a crudely drawn version of him… His alternate self, with exaggerated triangular shoulders and, most tellingly, what looks like a phone buzzing in his hand.

María seems to notice his curiosity, approaching to look at the drawing too.

“Listen I know, you must be still a little shaken from… Before,” She tells him carefully “Just… Try not to think too much about it, okay? You’re here, you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

He puts the drawing back as she places a cold hand on his face again, gently willing him to meet her eyes. 

“I know, I know. It’s just… I was afraid for a second, that’s all.” He says, sincere in his words but not the real meaning behind them.

“And that’s okay. I’m here.” She assures him, pulling him by the arm gently.

The low hum of the city outside is a distant lullaby as they settle into the living room.

She takes a bottle from on top of a cabinet, wordlessly pouring two cups. He takes a sip, letting the burning soothe his nerves.

"I didn’t think I'd make it back." He lies, gaze lingering on the symmetrical floor panels.

Her hand finds his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You did, and you're here now."

“Yeah… I am.” An inward glow softing his expression, the sensation of a smile blooming from deep within as he stares into her eyes.

As the night unfolds, the room is filled with shared glances and unspoken understanding. María lays her head on his shoulder, caressing him. 

And he can’t help but think that this could work. 

This could really work.

*

When they go to bed, after making sure Briella did her homework and wishing her goodnight of course, María takes off her bra in front of him, and slips on a loose nightgown.

He hates that for so many things that he had considered before coming here, this hadn’t even crossed his mind at all. Hesitantly, he pulls off his own clothes, not able to help how flushed red his face must be. 

Thankfully, María doesn’t seem to notice this, as she’s busy settling into bed and pulling the sheets towards herself. He sits besides her underneath them, awkwardly stiff, and she pulls him into a sideways hug, humming quietly. 

"You seem so different today." She observes, fingers lightly tracing circles on the sheets next to him.

He freezes, eyes widening but trying not to look at her.

"Yeah… It's been a long day.” He says, clearing his throat. “I'm just tired, that’s all. Besides, I gotta wake up early tomorrow. You know how it is, work.” He explains, thinking it’s a good enough excuse.

She turns to fully look at him, blinking in amusement. “It’s friday. Did you forget?” 

He closes his eyes. Fuck.

“Yeah, yeah, right. I meant workout, you know? Gym? I just need some rest.” He corrects, pulling away from her a little and cursing himself inwardly for talking so much.

She seems to get the message, recoiling as well.

“You and your Gym. Should at least try eating those packed proteins just like everyone else.” She tells him, turning her back to him, reaching for the light switch on her side of the bed and then finally lying back down.

"Well, you know how I am," He says, turning off his side of the bed lamp as well but still remaining upright. She hums in agreement.

“Goodnight?” He asks, reluctantly.

“Goodnight.” She replies, sounding already half asleep.

*

"Gordo, eres tú? Ya llegué!” = Fatty is that you? I’ve arrived! 

(Keep in mind that ‘gordo’ is a wholesome way to call someone in spanish, and doesn’t mean she actually thinks he’s fat nor that she is body shaming Miguel).

"... Tu hermano no deja de llamarme, deberías ver qué quiere. Ah, y el 'forecast' del tiempo dice que el aire será irrespirable por unas horas, así que recuerda cuando te dirijas a… estas bien?”

=

“... Your brother won’t stop calling me, you should see what he wants. Ah, and the weather forecast says the air will be unbreathable for a few hours, so remember that when you’re heading to… Are you ok?”

"Que te pasa, mi amor?” = “What’s up with you, my love?”

“Estoy bien” = “I’m fine”

"Okay. Pero ten cuidado mi amor.” = “Okay, but be careful my love.”

“¿Apá?” = “Dad?”

“¿Qué?” = “What?”

“¿Cuántas veces te he dicho para no jugar fútbol con el uniforme? ¡Mírate! ¡Estás cubierta de pasto!” = “How many times have I told you to not play soccer with your uniform? Look at you! You’re covered in grass!”

Cascarita = an informal, purely friendly soccer match in Mexico. The equivalent for a ‘pelada’ in Brazilian Portuguese, although if you search for the term, make sure to include the word ‘futebol’ after it, as ‘pelada’ on its own simply means ‘naked’ haha

“¿A quién estás llamando 'mooom'? Anda [...]” = “Who are you calling ‘mooom’? Come on [...]”

“Sí mamá.” = “yes mom.” 

Carne a la tampiqueña = a traditional mexican meat dish

Lyla, play Mi religión by Maná :) Also you can read it on ao3

#across the spiderverse #atsv #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara #marvel #spiderman 2099 #miguel spiderman #miguel spiderverse #original character #my fics #shameless self rec #my fic #fic rec

[dkniade]

English localization of Zhongli’s and Nahida’s Archon titles, Genshin Impact Character Title Localization in General, and Zhongli’s title of Yanwang Dijun

I was reading the wiki page for the current Archons (and their names & titles) and the more I think about their titles the more I feel the English localization of Zhongli’s title is strange.

Here (just the ones from the five released regions):

.

Venti/Barbatos, Lord Barbatos, God of Freedom, Anemo Archon, of Mondstadt

Zhongli/Morax, Rex Lapis, God of Contracts, Geo Archon, of Liyue

Raiden Ei/Beelzebul, Raiden Shogun, God of Eternity, Electro Archon, of Inazuma

Nahida/Buer, Lesser Lord Kusanali, God of Wisdom, Dendro Archon, of Sumeru

Furina/Focalors, Lady Furina, God of Justice, Hydro Archon, of Fontaine

.

….face in hands. Why is Zhongli’s Archon title 岩王帝君 (Yanwang Dijun / Yan3wang3 Di4jun1) officially localized in Latin (with the meaning of King of Stone). Of course I’m used to seeing it because he’s consistently referred to as Rex Lapis in English, but if you really think about it:

“Hello, I’m a god in what’s basically a Chinese xianxia setting. I’m the god of stone and contracts, and I know a lot about the traditions of my nation, which is based on Chinese culture. For some time, I was seen as the leader or even emperor of my nation. I’m worshipped with a Latin title by my own people”

…

(I’ll explain the Chinese title’s meaning further below.)

-

Some time ago, I watched the first few minutes of the Sumeru Archon Quest in Japanese. Paimon mentions the Dendro Archon by title: クラクサナリデビ.

In romaji, this is Kura Kusanari Debi. (According to her wiki page, literally speaking, this title means Little Kusanali Devi.)

I can’t confirm its accuracy, but the etymology section of her page says this:

.

The name Kusanali likely refers to the Kusanāḷi-Jātaka, one of the poems within the Jātaka, a series of 547 Buddhist poems detailing the previous births of Buddha. The Kusanāḷi-Jātaka specifically details the encounter with a tree sprite.

"Kusanāḷi" itself is derived from the Pali words kusa ("kusa-grass," a sacred plant used in Hindu ceremonies) and nāḷi ("a hollow stalk or tube").

.

and

.

In Korean, the name is 쿠사나리 데비 Kusanari Debi. The word 데비 Debi derived from the Sanskrit or Pali word devī ("goddess" or "queen").

In Japanese, the name is クラクサナリデビ Kura Kusanari Debi, where デビ Debi may be of the same derivation as above, and クラ Kura may be derived from the Pali word khudda ("small", "inferior" or "low"). Kura may also be derived from the Persian word خدا Khuda ("Lord" or "God").

.

Genshin Impact doesn’t have Sanskrit as an available subtitle language but I wonder what would her title be in Sanskrit…? And if any of the official subtitle languages are similar to a theoretical Sanskrit title…

-

Oh, also, a note on character titles in Genshin Impact:

Since the original language is in Chinese, it seems most of the time a (non-Liyue) character’s Chinese title will not be a phonetic transcription. Instead, the Chinese title will be based on meaning, and the English localization will likely take that meaning and either localize it into English, or into the language “native” to the in-game region (and real-life culture).

For example, a Fontainian title, a Mondstadtian title, and a Liyue title would all have Chinese meaning in the Chinese version, but they’ll probably be localized into either English for all three, or French, German, and Chinese pinyin respectively (….or Latin. It’s not very consistent in Liyue) in the English version.

Here:

.

Lyney’s Chinese title (from his key visual) 惑光幻戏 (Magic of Puzzling Lights) is localized as “Spectacle of Phantasmagoria” in the English version, but theoretically they could also localize it into French as “Spectacle de fantasmagorie” (as it is in the official French version)

Albedo’s Chinese title 白垩之子 (Son of Chalk) is localized as the German “Kreideprinz” (Chalk Prince) but theoretically they could also could localize it into English as “Chalk Prince”

.

(What’s a good example for a Liyue character that doesn’t need extensive explanation on Daoism… Ah whatever. I’ll explain Zhongli’s own Archon title.)

.

Zhongli’s title as an Archon is 岩王帝君 (Yanwang Dijun, roughly meaning God of King of Stone). The first two hanzi characters mean stone and king (hence the English localization of Rex Lapis, Latin for King of Stone). But that lacks the nuance and cultural significance in the Chinese title.

.

帝君 (dijun) is (I believe…) a Daoist title of reverence added to a god’s name. So putting it together, 岩王帝君 can either be localized into pinyin as Yanwang Dijun (in a similar way that MDZS’s 夷陵老祖 Yiling Laozu is known as the Yiling Patriarch)… Or Lord Stone King if you really want but that has different religious connotations…

帝君 is similar to 真君 (zhenjun, another Daoist title for gods) which is often used for the Liyue 仙 (xian, localized as Adepti) characters. (In English, an adept, plural form adepts, refers to someone who’s very skilled at something. It seems in the game 仙 includes both Adepti with animal forms and Adepti with human forms, and 仙人 xianren specifically refers to Adepti who appear human, like Xiao.)

#Zhongli #Rex lapis #Yanwang Dijun #kusanali #lesser lord kusanali #nahida #archons #Genshin impact #Adepti #Liyue Adepti #岩王帝君 #璃月仙家 #原神 #dusk analysis #Genshin translation #lyney #albedo #Little Kusanali Devi #English translation #fan translation

[bluedalahorse]

August and Rousseau are functionally the same character: the serious version

On Thursday evening, at my fanfic co-author’s encouragement, I posted about August and Rousseau being functionally the same character. This post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s always been a serious, liberal arts college analysis version of it lurking in my head. I decided to go ahead and share it because what is the point of rejoining tumblr if I can’t torture the world with my Young Royals meta? (Do we even call it meta anymore? I am Fandom Old.)

So anyway, I have now written too many words about how Rousseau the horse is a narrative shadow for August, and how horse tropes are used to communicate August’s character arc. My ~credentials~ are as follows: I’m currently doing a terminal degree in writing literature for children and teenagers, and I have re-read the Felicity Merriman American Girl Books more times than I can count. I was not a horse girl in childhood, despite my mother trying to get me to be one by buying me Breyers and an alarmingly technicolor Lisa Frank notebook with a horse on its cover. (For Not Being A Horse Girl reasons there may be some errors in equestrian terminology here, but I’m gonna do my best. I invite genuine Horse Girls to weigh in with their knowledge and insight.) I have more thoughts about August as a character than I know what to do with, to the point where those thoughts have in part inspired the critical thesis on justice and privilege in YA lit that I am going to write for my MFA. These thoughts here on tumblr are merely for a fannish intellectual experiment, however, so I will not be as aggressive with the MLA and the footnotes as I would be in thesis work.

While I am an American of Swedish descent who has celebrated her Scandinavian heritage since childhood, I am still very much an American and my native language is English. Most of my lit theory here is therefore informed by the Anglo-American Horse Girl tradition, which I know got imported to a lot of other countries in translation. At the same time, I am aware that there are Swedish Horse Girl books out there, and I do not know as much about where they overlap with the Anglo-American tropes and where they differ. If anyone has knowledge in this particular area, please feel free to chime in.

Before we begin, I feel it necessary to issue a few notes about content. The first and most obvious content note is that this meta deals with August’s character arc, so I will naturally mention his releasing of the video and his other toxic masculine behaviors that harm the people around him. I will also make reference to his drug addiction, mental health issues, and possible disordered eating. In addition, there will be discussion of abusive relationship dynamics and adults invading the privacy of teenagers with the goal of controlling their romantic, sexual, and reproductive futures (particularly in the context of a monarchy securing its lines of dynastic succession.) You have been warned.

TOPICS COVERED

Horses in Literature and their General Vibe

Cinematography and Film Language in Young Royals

August, Felice, and Sara

Bloodlines and the Line of Succession

What’s next for August and Rousseau?

Horse/Power

Horses have long been symbols of wealth, status, and nobility. While literature and folklore offer their fair share of ordinary workhorses, the prince on a fancy white horse is an iconic fairy tale image. Historically, the ability to maintain a stable full of horses, specifically bred for battle or fine riding, was (and still is) a privilege only the rich can afford. Among the Romans, the second highest ranked social group after the senatorial class were the equites, named for the fact that they were rich enough to own horses they could bring to war. Fast forwarding to the modern day Young Royals, we see the wealth of Hillerska on full display in the stables. Even Felice’s parents, who have plenty of money to burn, remind her how much they spent on Rousseau.

August, of course, defines himself by his status. When we first meet him, he’s always going on about his father’s estate, bragging about flying off to restaurants in France, separating out who is nouveau riche and who is ancien regime—and so on and so forth. So what? you may be saying. Plenty of Young Royals characters are wealthy and own land. Why single out August and make him the character shadowed by the horse, just because of his money? Probably because of the other ideas horses get associated with in popular media. Horses in fiction are often temperamental, but their humans often work to control and tame horses in spite of that. There’s a certain tension and troubledness to fictional horses that makes them dangerous. Rousseau is no exception to this—Felice and others have difficulty managing him. We know August has a temper that gets the better of him. We also know he’s obsessed with control, and the first person he tries to be strict and controlling with is himself.

To put it more briefly, horses in stories can be used to open up a lot of questions about wealth and power and how that power is, well, reined in. Thematically, having Rousseau as a shadow to August’s character arc is an obvious choice.

Framed by the Stable Doors

The cinematography of Young Royals visually links August and Rousseau from the very beginning of the series. As early on as episode 1.2, a shot of Sara taking Rousseau out for a trot is followed immediately by a shot of August out on a run. (Or maybe it happens in the opposite order? Help.) These moments mirror one another—both of them are scenes of a moment of discipline and exercise, underscored by tense background music. Throughout season 1, even when August and Rousseau aren’t paralleled by the editing, they are at least paralleled by the writing.

As we move into season 2, the shots of Rousseau become more constrained as the threat of prison looms over August’s head. Rousseau is almost always behind a fence or restricted by some other architectural features. The bars(?) of Rousseau’s stall door echo the bars of a jail cell, while the trailer belonging to the Worst Kind of Horse People (TM) suggests a police van taking August away after a future arrest. These scenes almost always include Sara somewhere, and she’s often having reaction faces. As others have noted, Sara doesn’t speak much, but these visual cues offer hints about her internal mental landscape while also foreshadowing her eventual role as the one who turns August over to law enforcement.

I’m inclined to read these “imprisoned horse” scenes as Sara having internal conflict about her relationship with August. On some level, she is attempting to grapple with the fact that they’re already doomed because of August’s prior actions with the video. I don’t necessarily think this means that Sara is always thinking these things consciously and in words. Maybe it’s just a sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach. Instead of having Sara try to articulate this in any sort of literal way, my guess is that the YR production team wanted to convey this part of her arc through visual language and symbolism. I think it works, once you’ve decided to buy into the horse parallels.

Does this mean we’ve segued into talking about the girls now? Probably. Might as well gallop ahead…

Enter the Equestriennes

Even outside of Horse Girl books, women on horseback are a repeating motif in Western literature. As various academics will tell you, equestrian women occupy a complex and problematic (in the academic sense) space on the page. On one hand, riding horses confers status upon these women and gives them some freedom of movement. On the other hand, equestrian women are often being trained for the patriarchy in subtextual ways. One thesis I looked at explains how in Victorian literature, riding was often used to facilitate female characters’ interaction with men in ways that eventually lead to marriage. You also examine the common Horse Girl cliché of that one special teenage girl who knows how to calm down the impossible horse, and understand it as a little sister to the “I can fix him” romance genre. As bastion of literary analysis TVTropes points out, ponies and the Troubled But Cute Boyfriend sure do have a lot in common.

Young Royals knows the tropes, and it wants you to know that it knows them.

Felice Ehrencrona doesn’t want to be a horse girl. Felice’s mother wants her to ride, because riding is what archetypal rich girls from Hillerska do. Throughout season one, we see Felice struggling with her riding classes and being afraid of Rousseau. While she gains more confidence with the help of Sara, she never truly grows to love being around Rousseau (as we can see by the way she quickly abandons her hobby later.) Still, for a while, Felice maintains the public image of the happy equestrian by posting pictures of herself and Rousseau to her Instagram and making additional posts that say she’s in the stables when she isn’t. Felice’s mother, believing this to be true, is delighted—until in 1.3 it comes out that Sara has been riding Felice’s horse instead, and Felice’s positive relationship with Rousseau is just a facade.

What holds true for horses holds true for boys, too. Felice’s mother is constantly putting pressure on her about boys, specifically in the way she encourages Felice to pursue Wilhelm. The fact that Felice knows stuff about the line of succession and whose babies get what rank (something she explains to the beleaguered American Maddie) suggests that Mamma Ehrencrona isn’t just interested in Felice having a nice boyfriend, she’s actually bringing marriage and babies into it. Which… is a lot. It’s so “a lot” that Felice rebels against her mother at the end of 1.3 by hooking up with August.

Although Felice’s initial act is one of rebellion, she ends up trapped back in the same place she started from, where socioeconomic status and performative gendered nonsense is prized above all else. August, after all, is still from the nobility and still comes with all that baggage Felice is getting from her parents. Felice’s relationship with August is very bad, especially behind closed doors where he’s constantly questioning her about who she’s with and where she’s going. To Hillerska at large, however, they give off the impression of being the school power couple. During moments of characters scrolling there phones we can see that in addition to being seen together, they also included photos of themselves together on one another’s instagrams. This contrast between the image and the reality of Felice’s relationship with August echoes Felice’s selfies with Rousseau.

As for Sara… well, if you nodded along to what I said before about the special teenage girl who is the only one who can tame the troubled horse, you probably already know where I’m going with this. Sara and August’s relationship doesn’t really come out of nowhere. Rather, they’ve spent an entire season taking a step closer to one another, literally and figuratively, every few scenes. You know the cliché where the horse girl visits the troubled horse every day and gets a little bit closer each time until the horse finally trusts the girl enough to eat sugar cubes out of her hand? Yeah. Same rhythm/pacing as the Sara/August scenes, and it only gets more obvious in season 2. That scene where he’s having a panic attack and she calms him down? He is a scared horse. We’re all on the same page, right? I hope we’re all on the same page.

In some ways, it’s not a perfect analogy and doesn’t always match up in a one to one way. Most horse girl books stay wish fulfillment and there isn’t always a moment of “the horse is Bad Actually, and we will remind you that the horse released a sex video of the horse girl’s brother.” But I think the horse girl novel coding speaks to what makes a relationship with August appealing to Sara in the first place. Deep down Sara wants to be special and exceptional to someone else, and she feels she understands things about August (and how to keep his emotions regulated) that other people don’t. As Sara sees it, she’s taken time to build trust with August. It’s the two of them together against really difficult odds, and she’ll take the difficulty that comes with that.

Also, while we’re here, the first place August kisses Sara is the stables. And there’s that entire conversation Felice and Sara have when Sara comes back after having sex in 2.3. I’m just saying. It’s right there. We’re all doing the math, right? We all see it?

People Of Good Breeding

Here’s where it gets even more icky.

In season 2, Felice decides to quit riding. This makes keeping Rousseau a bad investment, so Felice plans to sell him, and Sara decides to tag along. When a particular family expresses interest in Rousseau and comes to Hillerska to assess him, Sara swiftly dubs them the Worst Kind of Horse People.

What makes the Worst Kind of Horse People so upsetting to Sara? They don’t know how to respond to Rousseau, and they don’t treat him with the compassion Sara does. They’re willing to endure Rousseau’s volatile moods, however, because of he’s a thoroughbred and has a prestigious pedigree.

Things I did not know before watching a documentary about it: apparently all the thoroughbreds that exist in the world now are descended from three historical stallions. They are inbred af. IRL people who own thoroughbred stallions now will charge ~$50,000 per insemination in like a horse breeding hookup situation. Which… what? What the literal fuck. I get that this is a hobby people feel very passionate about and find fulfillment in, so I am trying not to be judgmental… and also that is a lot of money (more than half my yearly salary) for just one instance of breeding horses. So I’m still wrapping my head around it.

It stands to reason that the Worst Kind of Horse People could want Rousseau for his, um, genetic material. Anyway, let’s talk about the monarchy and the line of succession.

At the same time that the Worst Kind of Horse People are expressing interest in Rousseau, the royal court has started to pay attention to August. According to the YR fictional family tree, August is next in line for the throne after Wilhelm. Kristina’s advisors have plans to groom (see what I did there) August as a backup heir if Wilhelm keeps insisting on having free will. (Really! The audacity! Good for Wilhelm, though, we’re all rooting for him.)

For August, the idea of being elevated to spare prince, or potentially even king one day, feels liberating. Based on how he’s acting at the shooting range after his visit to the palace, he sees a chance for himself to leave his crimes behind and not be caught in his guilt. But I want to pause for a moment and consider the scene in 2.4 where he gets the phone call from the palace. Jan-Olof asks August a series of privacy-invading questions, including ones that touch on his sexual history. The final question (and therefore the one the writers want you to notice) is simply “are you heterosexual?” to which August replies that he is.

There’s a tempting rabbit hole I could go down about what it means for August to go beyond just engaging in toxic heterosexual behavior, and actually embrace heterosexuality as a label, and because it’s a tempting rabbit hole I will save it for another meta. What I want to focus on here is how sinister this scene feels. Part of that is because we (and Sara) know how blatantly and easily August is lying, and that he’s slipping back into his old, status-loving, drug-abusing self. In light of the established Rousseau parallels, however, I can’t ignore the subtext that the royal court is interested in whether or not they can “domesticate” August just enough that they can get him to eventually marry the right girl and produce a legitimate heir to the throne. That’s it. Nothing more. They aren’t interested in helping him with his addiction or getting him into therapy for his disordered eating or helping him process his dad’s death—all of which would put him in a better emotional place, and maybe even prevent him from returning to the emotionally dangerous mindset he was in when he outed Wilhelm and Simon to the entire world. On a metaphorical level, the royal court is basically treating August as livestock. Which. Is gross, actually.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all know that August himself perpetuates a lot of gross sexual behavior toward others. Aside from releasing the video, he’s selfish and borderline emotionally abusive toward Felice, especially about sex. He constantly eggs on his classmates to stand up on the breakfast table and brag about their “conquests.” He eventually becomes extremely sweet and tender with Sara, but that’s only after he’s tried to get her to sell him drugs, bullied her family about not being able to eat lunch on Parents’ Weekend, and kissing her without her consent in the stables. August is very much Not Someone Who Respects The Sexual And Reproductive Autonomy Of Others and yet! There is this whole entire system of hereditary monarchy behind him, aiming to control every aspect of his life and violate his privacy, and he is a teenager. It’s not okay that they do it to Wilhelm either. We know they’re trying to do it to Wilhelm even now, and we get the sense they did it to Erik too, given the lines about the OnlyFans girlfriend needing to be hushed up.

I think it’s easy to say, well, August is power hungry and amoral enough that he consents to having his privacy invaded, and he does, but I legitimately wonder if he knows what he’s getting into. (Case in point: I think August really believes that the palace crowd would let him publicly date Sara. And, no. Even if Sara weren’t Simon’s sister, I can’t imagine they’d be excited about him dating the neurodivergent daughter of an immigrant mother and a father with a shady drug past. At the very least they’d force Sara to sign some pretty hefty NDAs.) My point is, you can consent to something and still end up in a weird power dynamic that’s bad for you and doesn’t honor where your feelings are. You can be a person of privilege who harms others, while still being harmed by systems of privilege yourself. And that’s precisely part of what makes August a compelling and complicated character.

Look, I just wish more people nowadays had seen the legendary 1990s anime Revolutionary Girl Utena because they would then get what I mean when I say that August isn’t Akio, he’s Saionji.

…I’m off track. My point is that the reproductive subtext in that scene is deeply unsettling and August’s nakedness in front of the window only makes it moreso. Right. Moving on.

What’s Next? The Horse and His Boy

(Apologies for naming this last section after a problematic Narnia book.)

Man. I wish I could just write August off and clamor for his untimely and violent death without a care in the world. The reality is that I’m under a curse, and that curse makes me want to see him eventually sort his life out, one way or another.

Let me be clear about what that does and doesn’t mean: I don’t mean that I don’t want to see him face consequences for the very real crime he did. I don’t mean I think he should suddenly be perfect and woke. I don’t mean that he and Sara should get back together. I don’t mean I want to see everyone forgive him. I just mean I want August to honestly confront the truth of his life so far and go “you know what? I suck. I can do better. I’m not even sure how, and I’m gonna make mistakes along the way, but maybe I can suck less.” And maybe he takes one tiny step where you’re like, if he keeps taking steps like this, this kid could turn out okay by age 40. Maybe. I feel incredibly exposed even saying this, since I know August is so widely despised by so many people in fandom, and I know other people who are okay with letting him stay in the villain zone, but I also feel like if anyone can pull off this story, it’s Lisa Ambjörn. She gets nuance, and she gets young people their flaws and their family conflicts. If YR were a different show, with a different writer and a different morality underlying the stories it tells, I would feel differently. But I don’t, and I think Lisa can pull off a complex story like that. So here we are.

(For examples of YA novels that pull off this kind of narrative catharsis, check out the character arc of the protagonist Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley. Or pay attention to the uncle’s character arc in Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing.)

There’s a very soft acting choice of Malte’s in 2.3, where August goes to meet Sara in the stables, to ask if she wants to come by and talk later. Sara’s getting Rousseau settled for the evening, and August reaches out and pats Rousseau on the nose. If I’m remembering the scene correctly, the usually temperamental Rousseau is calm in response.

We’ve seen August act self-aggrandizing before so he can build himself up and threaten other people. We’ve also seen him engage in escalating acts of self-harm (via excessive exercising and calorie counting) when he isn’t living up to his own strict standards. What we don’t see a lot is him having compassion for himself. If we accept that Rousseau is August’s shadow-self, then this nose pat is a rare moment of self-compassion. It’s at this point in the season that August realizes he needs to exist in community with other people, and that he needs to actually process his overwhelming emotions instead of lashing out at others. He makes an effort to try and quit using drugs, genuinely connects with Sara, and even briefly defends Simon when Vincent gets on Simon’s case after the indoor rowing match. It’s a positive trajectory and a glimmer of what could have been. That lasts until his visit to the palace, when August is offered the position as Wilhlem’s backup and starts to go back to his old ways. Moreover, the pressure of becoming the spare creates new complications for August’s mental health, and he slides back into lashing out at others again.

At the end of the season, August views Rousseau as a commodity and buys him for Sara in a Grand Gesture (TM) that’s actually pretty alarming and could be categorized as love-bombing. Sara is not impressed (I suspect she’s witnessed Micke love-bombing Linda, and all her alarm bells are going off) and continues her trip to the bus stop so she can report him to the police.

I could talk about the police call and the part where Sara is playing with a small horse keychain at the bus stop, but that might be the topic for another meta. Instead I want to take a moment to think about the practical fact that August owns a horse now. This opens up a few questions: if Rousseau continues to be August’s shadow-self, what does it mean for August to buy and own Rousseau? Is August going to have to learn to take care of Rousseau now? How much farther can we extend this metaphor?

Patience, comrades. We’re almost to the finish line.

By buying Rousseau, August has allowed himself to be bought by the aristocratic power structure that’s been trying to maneuver him into royal life. He’s started to actually use the inheritance left for him by his father—not because he’s finally started to process his grief, but because he’s doubling down on the idea that he deserves his inherited wealth and that he can use it as lavishly as he wishes. What’s interesting is the way he thinks this makes him into someone Sara will stay in love with. There’s the quid pro quo of it all, which is the obvious surface reading, but there’s also another level wherein August has been raised to believe that this is the ideal of aristocratic masculinity, and therefore what Sara would be attracted to. He assumes Sara wants the prince (even if he has to be a little bit Machiavelli’s the Prince behind the scenes to play that role.) But Sara wants the trust and care and connection, and a bond that’s a little bit weird and unique and ultimately private. She also values honesty and accountability. Sara doesn’t want the prince—she wants the horse. But not the literal one. And not necessarily in a material ownership kind of way, either.

As we move into season 3, I find myself wondering what’s next for August and Rousseau. Like. August owns a horse now. Is he going to have to take care of it? Like is he going to have to learn how to groom Rousseau and muck stalls and such? I get that he’s rich and can probably pay someone to do that for him, but given the way that Rousseau is meant to be a commentary on August’s character arc, there’s a lot of narrative potential (and dare I say… humor?) in August just having to learn to take care of the horse his own damn self in season 3. I feel like it could allow for some great moments of introspection on August’s part, if done well, and could lead him to a place of radical acceptance. We don’t even have to rule out August going to jail for his crimes, but knowing that jail is not the kind of thing that will happen in the first five minutes of the first five episodes, why not facilitate some internal character growth via horse chores first?

Alternately, August will just keep doubling down on making someone else do the horse chores. This would be consistent, if nothing else. He may just continue to be horrible, in which case I am worried for Rousseau.

(Please, Lisa Ambjörn and/or god and/or Epona. I am so desperate for this as-of-present unrepentant fuckboy to have to do symbolic horse chores that end up being about him finally coming to terms with the impact his counterrevolutionary behavior has on others. Is that so wrong?)

Anyway, I guess we won’t know until season 3. Thank you for sticking around if you’ve read this far—it ended up being way longer than intended! I’m back on tumblr after being away since 2015 or so, so this post feels like a wild way to reappear. But I’m glad I shared my thoughts all the same. Have a blessed Saturday, fandom.

#young royals #young royals meta #august young royals #sara eriksson #felice ehrencrona #unabashed horse girl propaganda #mfa musings

[moonlight404-translates]

A3! Izumida Azami | SR - my dear friend | Translation

Quote: “I’m gonna spend some time with the robot dog first. Microraptor feels so long. So its name will be Mictor."

Special thanks to my friends for helping me with ideas for some lines  (´｡• ᵕ •｡`).

————————–

Disclaimer: Neither English nor Japanese is my native language, but I did my best with the translation. If you find any mistakes, feel free to mention it. By the way, Director’s name will be Izumi.

My Pet Dog Mictor / 1

Izumi: Coming~ Deliveryman: We have a package for you. It’s pretty big. Should I leave it here? Izumi: Ah, sure, this is— Azami: Sorry, Director. That seems to be mine. I’ll take care of it. Izumi: Oh, Azami-kun. Did you order a package? Azami: Uh-huh. …Yeah, I knew it. Azami: Thank you. Deliveryman: At your service!

Izumi: You knew very well it was yours. Azami: It was set to come today, after all. Izumi: What did you order? Azami: This. An AIDO. Izumi: Ah, the famous robot dog. …Wait, you bought one?! Azami: No, I rented. There’s a site that lets you borrow it for a week. Izumi: So you can rent it too, huh. Is this part of your role study for your next performance? Azami: Yeah. I play an android whose friend was a dog that passed away. The sadness he felt made him fall into a slumber. Azami: And wakes up thanks to a robot dog. However, I couldn’t get the idea of it. Izumi: I see. So that’s why you rented an AIDO. Azami: Yeah. I think I should make it move first. Azami: “AIDO needs a name to recognize you as its owner. Give it a name in the indicated application”. Azami: …That’s what it says, but I don’t know what name to give a robot dog. Izumi: Since this is for your role study, I think a name from something you’re fond of can be a good call. Azami: I get what you mean. In that case… Azami: Mictor. Mictor: Woof! Izumi: Mictor? Azami: …Well, microraptor is so long. Izumi: Ahaha. So it comes from Azami’s favorite dinosaur. Izumi: Oh! This says the switch isn’t the only way to turn it on or off. If you call it by its designed name, it will start to move. Azami: Heh, let’s try out. Now that I turned it off… Mictor. Mictor: Woof! Azami: It really worked. That’s convenient—. Mictor: Woof! Woof! Azami: Hey, don’t move around so suddenly! That’s a wall… wait, you’ll bump into the sofa! Mictor: Woof?! *whimper* Azami: Sigh, are you okay? Why is it roaming like that? Izumi: The manual says it will walk around the room the first time to learn its composition. Azami: Is that so? Okay, but be careful. Azami: We’ll be together for a week. It’s a pleasure. Mictor: … Azami: It didn’t answer when I stroked its head. Maybe because it’s a robot… Izumi: Why don’t you say its name while doing it to get a response? Azami: Ah, I see. Let’s get along during this week, Mictor. Mictor: Woof! Azami: You were right. Izumi: So you can only rent the robot dog for a week. Azami: Yeah, it’s like a trial version. Azami: I will need this box and cardboard to send it back later. Can I leave them in this corner? Izumi: Sure. Azami: Thank you.

Azami: Okay, you’ve learned to shake paws and sit, so next is… Azami: Bang! Mictor: *whimper* Azami: You got that too. There, there, good boy.      - Unknown sound - Azami: Mhm? What was that sound just now? Mictor: ? Azami: …It might just be my imagination. Azami: Here is a prize for you. It’s a bone toy. Mictor: Arf, arf! *whine* Azami: Hey, are you saying you’re happy, or do you want me to pet you? Pick one.      - Unknown sound - Azami: I heard it again. What’s making it…?  Izumi: Azami-kun, dinner is ready. Azami: Ah, it’s already time for that. I’m coming. Azami: …It’s a bit sad to leave you here. Wanna come with me, Mictor? Mictor: Woof! Izumi: Wow, it’s following you! Azami: It’s like Director said before. It will hear you if you call it within its calling range. Azami: Right, Mictor? Mictor: Woof!

My Pet Dog Mictor / 2

Mictor: *whine*! Azami: Looks like you really liked that bone. Juza: It’s a robot, yet it’s that fond of it… Taichi: Just like a real dog! Banri: It must be true if our doggie says it. Taichi: Are you talking about me?! Omi: How you look after it feels more like a friend than an owner. Izumi: That means his role study is working. After all, Azami’s role gets attached to a robot dog and wakes up from his slumber. Sakyo: I can see that. He has been teaching it tricks and looking after it in our room. You like it too, ain’t that right, Bou? Azami: …I guess. I rented it as part of my role study, so I might as well spend as much time as possible with it. Azami: It’s only here for a week too. Omi: Oh, when do you have to send it back? Azami: The day after tomorrow. Izumi: I can’t believe it’s almost time for it. Time flies by so fast. Banri: But won’t you be sad when you send it back? Azami: Hah? ‘course no. Sakyo: You don’t want to be honest, huh? Azami: Shut up! Didn’t you hear I said I won’t? Mictor: Grrrr… Banri: Oh, what’s this? A threat? Omi: It’s growling toward Banri and Sakyo-san. Juza: Did it get that Azami was angry…? Taichi: It got angry because A-chan was angry. So cool! Azami: Hey, Mictor, that’s enough… Mictor: *whine*... Izumi: Yeah. It seems to understand and respond to Azami-kun’s feelings. Banri: Really? Sakyo: Robotic technology can reach that far…? Azami: There, there, good boy. 

Izumi: Azami-kun! You’re sending back Mictor today, right? Azami: Yeah. I’m about to reset it to put it in the box. Izumi: Have you downloaded the photos yet? I want to see what kind of photos Mictor took. Azami: Huh? Photos? Izumi: Eh, you didn’t know it, Azami-kun?! Good thing I told you now…! Izumi: Well, you see. AIDO comes with a camera in its nose and takes photos every day. Azami: I see, so the sound I heard from time to time… Izumi: I think the photos are in the application. Why don’t you check them? Azami: On it. Izumi: Ah, look, there they are! You have a sleepy face in this one. Azami: Uwah, what’s up with that?! Izumi: You got along so well that you even slept together. Azami: That’s not true. It was just because yesterday was its last night here, and it was trying to come to the futon….!  Izumi: Fufu, okay, I get it. Azami: Since this one is the latest, they might be in chronological order. Sigh, there won’t be more weird photos, right? Azami: This one is when I got mad with Sakyo and Banri-san. And this one is when I taught it to shake paws—. Azami: This was when it was walking around the room for the first time… Azami: Pff… I panicked so bad back there, huh? Azami: … Izumi: Azami-kun… Azami: …It’s nothing. Forget it.

Choice 1: You’re feeling sad. 

Izumi: It’s a bit sad, isn’t it? Hey, now that I think of it, I’ve watched it with you since the first time you gave this little one a name. Azami: Yeah, you even receive the pack first, Director. Azami: A week has passed since then. It felt so short… Izumi: Still, Mictor took some great photos of you, Azami-kun! So even if the time was short, the memories will persist for long. Azami: …Well, I guess they came out good. Azami: You were a great cameraman, weren’t you, Mictor? 

Choice 2: It was adorable, wasn’t it? 

Izumi: You were so adorable, Mictor. It was like that, especially when playing with you, Azami-kun. Azami: You’re right. It makes me feel more nostalgic than I thought. This one really liked to be pampered—. Azami: Wait, no. Robots don’t have personalities. Izumi: That’s not completely true. AIDO’s personality and quirks can change depending on how the owner treats it. Izumi: So Mictor might have been like that because you were quite fond of it, Azami-kun. Azami: Well, I could get attached to Mictor thanks to you, Director. …I think this was a good week.

Azami: Okay, the photos are downloaded. Thanks, Director. Azami: …Then, time to reset it. I think I have to do it from the application. Izumi: The screen says “Reset completed. Please try to call its name to make sure it doesn’t move”… Azami: …Mictor. Robot dog: … Izumi: It seems like the reset worked. Azami: Yeah. …Thanks for this week. Azami: At first, I thought it was only a robot, yet it made me feel so many emotions during this week—. Azami: I’ve come to understand my android role feelings, so I think I can use them for the performance. Izumi: I see. I’m glad that’s the case. Azami: (Until we meet again, Mictor.)

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

Notes: Azami’s name for the robot dog comes from ミクロラプトル (ミクトル = Mikutoru), so following the same formula in English Microraptor (Mictor).

Was it worth to use all my gems to get this card back then? Yes. Yes, it was. I love this backstage so much (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

#a3! translation #azami izumida #a3! #a3! azami #a3! android 001 scout #a3! backstage story

[atthebell]

Pac mentioned today that he had to speak really slowly in portuguese for the translator to work for him because it doesn't understand his accent, and that reminded me of what you said yesterday about which portuguese speakers were easiest for a non-native portuguese speaker to translate! Does Pac have a stronger accent than cellbit and bagi? Is it influenced at all by the time he spent living in Canada?

i wouldn't say pac has a stronger accent, although i'm not an expert at portuguese obviously, i would just say he has a different accent that is more difficult to parse for both non-portuguese speakers and machine translation. the pronunciation is different and that makes it harder to pick up on what he's saying without paying close attention, which machine translation isn't able to do.

i really doubt spending time in canada would change his accent very much-- idk if i've talked about it before, but typically, your accent is far more impacted by how your parents speak and early childhood than it is by anything later in life, although that's obviously not universal and accent changes along with language loss, even of native languages, is something that can happen, i just doubt it happened with pac. so no, i doubt canada would have changed his accent much, he just talks differently than bagi and cellbit, just as forever talks differently since he's from rio (and forever's accent is MUCH harder for both non-portuguese speakers and machine translation to pick up on, although now that i've been exposed to and learning portuguese for way longer i personally can understand him pretty well).

there are a few reasons for this-- from a human translation perspective, paulistano accents sound closer to vowel sounds that are familiar to english speakers, so that makes it easier. from a machine translation perspective, i would suspect that more of the corpa (that is, the sets of data that machine translators are trained on, so an enormous series of documents, recordings, etc. that get fed into, for instance, google translate, and then learn how a typical sentence, phrase, or word in said language usually translates) for the translators used on qsmp (so, from my understanding, google API & amazon API, although i believe they might use other ones?) are trained on material using paulistano accents, so those most similar to cellbit and bagi, versus being trained on accents from elsewhere in brazil. although, i know much of the traditional media in brazil is produced in rio, so i'm not sure how much of it would be included in these kinds of corpa-- google translate used to get all its training material from UN documents, but they've expanded since then (which is why it's improved and added many more languages, although again, not perfect). i would say paulistano accents are also just clearer and easier to understand for both humans and machines for that reason, which is, again, not a value judgment, just an element that i think plays a role in why people and auto-translations struggle to understand other accents.

this is the same in english, i'll also point out-- if they had, for example, a scottish person on the server, the translator would struggle to understand them well, or any accent that diverges from the standardized versions they have available for input (which i believe are fairly broad-- they have various countries, but the amount of data the machine translator has for each of these countries probably varies, and besides that, there are many dialects within countries. again, the translator would have a very rough time with something like cajun english, whereas with fit's fairly standard general american accent, it doesn't have any trouble. if you remember, the translator had a bit of a hard time with phil way way back, since his northern english accent is less standard than, say, wilbur's, as a more southern english accent).

tl;dr there's a myriad of factors as to why the translator struggles with pac's accent, and also as a non-native portuguese speaker and not a brazilian, i wouldn't be able to tell you the exact nuances of pac's accent regardless.

#asks #anons #tbh i forgot that pac had lived in canada for a while #also yes i know way more about machine learning than you'd expect lol i went to a compsci heavy college for undergrad #and its just a huge part of linguistics discussions these days

[britneyshakespeare]

So yesterday I read "Slimed with Gravy, Ringed by Drink" by Camille Ralphs, an article from the Poetry Foundation on the publication of the First Folio in 1623, a major work without which most of Shakespeare's plays might very well have been lost today, possibly the most influential secular work of literature in the world, you know.

It's a good article overall on the history and mysteries of the Folio. Lots of interesting stuff in there including how Shakespeare has been adapted, the state of many surviving Folios, theories of its accuracy to the text, a really interesting identification of John Milton's own copy currently in the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the fascinating annotations that may have influenced Milton's own poetry!!! Do read it. It's not an atrociously long article but there's a lot of thought-provoking information in there.

There's one paragraph in particular I keep coming back to though, so I'm just gonna quote it down here:

...[T]he Play on Shakespeare series, published by ACMRS Press, the publications division of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University... grew out of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s plan to “translate” Shakespeare for the current century, bills itself “a new First Folio for a new era.” The 39 newly-commissioned versions of Shakespeare’s plays were written primarily by contemporary dramatists, who were asked to follow the reasonable principle laid out by series editor Lue Douthit: tamper in the name of clarification but submit to “do no harm.” The project was inspired by something the linguist John McWhorter wrote in 1998: “[the] irony today is that the Russians, the French, and other people in foreign countries possess Shakespeare to a much greater extent than we do … [because] they get to enjoy Shakespeare in the language they speak.”

Mainly it's the John McWhorter thing I keep coming back to. Side note: any of my non-native-English-speaking mutuals who have read Shakespeare, I would love to know your experiences. If you have read him in translation, or in the original English, or a mix of both. It's something I do wonder about! Even as an Anglophone reader, I find my experience varies so much just based on which edition of the text I'm reading and how it's presented. There's just so much variety in how to read literature and I would love to know what forces have shaped your own relationships to the stories. But anyway...

The article then goes on to talk about how the anachronistic language in Shakespeare will only fall more and more out of intelligibility for everyone because of how language evolves and yadda yadda yadda. I'm not going to say that that's wrong but I think it massively overlooks the history of the English language and how modern standard English became modern standard English.

First of all, is Shakespeare's language completely unintelligible to native English speakers today? No. Certain words and grammatical tenses have fallen out of use. Many words have shifted in meaning. But with context aiding a contemporary reader, there are very few lines in Shakespeare where the meaning can be said to be "unknown," and abundant lines that are perfectly comprehensible today. On the other hand, it's worth mentioning how many double entendres are well preserved in modern understanding. And additionally, things like archaic grammar and vocabulary are simply hurdles to get over. Once you get familiarized with your thees and thous, they're no longer likely to trip you up so much.

But it's also doubtful that 400 years from now, as the article suggests, our everyday language will be as hard to understand for twenty-fifth century English speakers to comprehend. The English language has significantly stabilized due to colonialism and the international adoption of English as a lingua franca. There are countless dialects within English, but what we consider to be standard international "correct" English will probably not change so radically, since it is so well and far established. The development and proliferation of modern English took a lot of blood and money from the rest of the world, the legacy of which can never be fully restored.

And this was just barely in sight by the time that Shakespeare died. This is why the language of the Elizabethans and Jacobeans is early-modern English. It forms the foundations of modern English, hence why it's mostly intelligible to speakers today, but there are still many antiquated figures within it. Early-modern English was more fluid and liberal. Spelling had not been standardized. Many regions of England still had slight variations in preferences for things like pronouns and verb conjugation. We see this even in works Shakespeare cowrote with the likes of Fletcher and Middleton, as the article points out. Shakespeare's vocabulary may not just reflect style and sentiment, but his Stratford background. His preferences could be deemed more "rustic" than many of his peers reared in London.

Features that make English more consistent now were not formalized yet. That's why Shakespeare sounds so "old." It's not just him being fancy. And there's also the fact that blank verse plays are an entirely neglected art nowadays. Regardless of the comprehensibility of the English, it's still strange for modern audiences uninitiated to Elizabethan literature to sit there and watch a King drop mad poetry about his feelings on stage by himself. The form and style of the entire genre is off.

But that, to me, is why we should read Shakespeare. We SHOULD be challenged. It very much IS within the grasp of a literate adult fluent in English to read one of his plays, in a modern edition with proper assistance and context. It is GOOD to be acquainted with something unfamiliar to us, but within our reach. I'm serious. I do not think I'm so much smarter than everyone else because I read Shakespeare. I don't just read the plain text as it was printed in the First Folio! The scholarship exists which has made Shakespeare accessible to me, and I take advantage of that access for my own pleasure.

This is to say that I disagree with the notion that Shakespeare is better suited to be enjoyed in foreign tongues. I think that's quite a complacent, modern American take. Not to say that the sentiment of McWhorter is wrong; I get what he's saying. And it's quite a beautiful thing that Shakespeare's plays are still so commonly staged, although arguably that comes from a false notion in our culture that Shakespeare is high literature worth preserving, at the expense of the rest of time and history. It is true that his body of work has such a high level of privilege in the so-called Western literary canon that either numerous other writers equally deserve, or no writer ever could possibly deserve.

The effort that goes into making Shakespeare's twenty-first century legacy, though, is a half-assed one. So much illustrious praise and deification of the individual and his works, and yet not as much to understanding the context of his time and place, of his influences, forms, and impacts on the eras which proceeded him. Shakespeare seems to exist in a vacuum with his archaic language, and we read it once or twice in high school when we're forced to, with prosaic translations on the adjoining page. This does not inspire a true appreciation in a culture for Shakespeare but it does reinforce a stereotype that he must be somehow important. It's this shallow stereotype that makes it seem in many minds today that it would be worth it to rip the precise language out of the text of a poet, and spit back out an equivalent "modern translation."

#this is just a stream-of-consciousness rambling. ignore me if im not making sense which im probably not #long post #text post #rant #shakespeare #also to clarify on that last point i am not shitting on the art of translation. AT all. #into other languages that is. nor am i knocking all modern adaptations of shakespeare's works #made with good intent. and also if you enjoy modern translated english shakespeare a la no fear shakespeare #genuinely good for you! that series has helped a lot of people and im glad for them to have that resource #HOWEVER. i WOULD like to challenge the idea that that is the best way to READ shakespeare #i think it's simply a shortcut. #and by all means take a shortcut if what you're reading shakespeare for is the plot. especially if youre new to him! #i DO on the other hand think it is entirely possible for any general reader to eventually be able to read shakespeare #in other types of editions. with the plain text and academic footnotes or annotations. #i do think enjoying the poetry of the works is as enriching as the characters or plot #in fact in the case of characters. the intricacies of the poetry of course enhance them! #you know. like i think the challenge is more doable than we ever really talk about in the mainstream #when you read him in high school you most likely had your english teacher holding your hand through every line #that's basically what the literal prose translations do too. in my opinion. #at least a la no fear shakespeare because those aren't meant to be performed like an equivalent art. #the translations are clarification. #again i think it's entirely possible to adapt the language of shakespeare and even a worthwhile project #but that's not. you know. the thing on the shelves to be read. #we can all still read shakespeare and we are all smart enough to do so. #if we think of early-modern english as another dialect rather than a whole different language #and there are so many mutually intelligible yet very distinct dialects of english around the world today #(the literature of which is also well worth reading) and if one seems approachable. well they all can be.

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Hi Sky, I don't know if this is a question, a thought or a mixture, you decide, but here I go, also English is not my native language so I'm sorry if I don't use the words correctly or you don't understand what I mean

On the day of the BBA nominations, the Jjks complained that 7 was nominated in the Kpop category and not in the general category, arguing that both lyrics, producers, etc. were in English and therefore made more sense, from what I heard and I read these days that I know that the BBA uses different data that gives points (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Therefore, 7, not being nominated, would mean that It did not reach those points, which brings me to the next point

I get the impression that since its launch, the fandom in general measured the success of 7 only based on the streams which is not fair given everything that surrounded it in terms of promotion, radio play, etc., we also know that the only reason being a 7 was to position Jk as the outstanding soloist especially in the US, so not being nominated in the general category could serve as a way to measure success in the US? Why, in that case, the winner would be LC

I also know, in case anyone asks, that LC has more time, but without forgetting that it has not been restocked since the first week, while 7 have been restocked even before the end of that first week

so do you think that 7 not being nominated means that in the end it did not make it into the GP despite all the effort and money behind it or that the industry will always treat people from outside as a separate category, although in this Is everything thinking from a US market point of view?

woo, I'm sorry for this essay and if you read the whole thing and give me your opinion or point of view I would appreciate it, thank you

Hi anon,

So I'm not an expert at these things but this is what I understand:

We view these kpop categories as somewhat xenophobic but, in reality, they are giving kpop a chance. If it wasn't for these categories, all these kpop artists wouldn't have been nominated. Only Jimin would have been nomimated for Top Selling Song and that's with the fact that it never got its cd restocked like Seven did.

Like you mentioned, BBMAs are based on chart points during tracking period. Jk was simply released too late into the tracking period to be able to compete with songs that had been accumulating points since January and February.

People also failed to recognize that BBMA focuses on each version of a song. Each song has its own points so Seven having a lot of versions didn't help as the streaming and buying has to be divided into all the versions and Like Crazy having 2 versions helped because people focused only on those 2 versions.

In this case, I don't feel like the BBMAs are treating kpop as outside people. I think they gave kpop a chance and it increases their viewing numbers, which is probably what they like the most.

Leaving the charts aside, I think that Seven is not as popular as people think it is. It's hard to know that considering all the resources that were used to push the song and because army is a fandom that will hype anything just for records. But this is just my opinion.

Awards seem to always be unfair when they are based on nominations coming from the labels or fans, but since these awards are actually data driven, I think it shows organic success for Like Crazy despite not being playlisted, being separated on Spotify, a bunch of weird problems with Spotify, not having radio play, not getting promo in the US despite having an English version of Like Crazy, and no restocking of cds.

Hope this answers your question!

[real-life-senshi]

for the pgsm subtitles, I was wondering if you knew if the seaofserenity subs are more accurate than the ones you're watching? that was the version I watched, and I'm curious to know the difference.

thank you so much!

Hello hello!

Yes, I can confirm seaofserenity subs have better translation and subtitle quality than Miss Dream subs! It's generally more accurate and has a better grasp of the nuance in the Japanese dialogue!

Here's an example comparison using the scene I was most critical of for mistranslation with the Miss Dream sub.

Seaofserenity sub

Miss Dream sub (+ my own re-translation)

The fact the Seaofserenity managed to eloquently include the piece I mentioned about Ami aiming for "100 points" into its subtitle as a "perfect score" shows they are much more proficient in writing subtitles than I am as well!

However, as you can see from my screenshot, the copy rendered by Seaofserenity has a stretched video ratio horizontally, turning PGSM's 4:3 video ratio into 16:9. The visual colour quality is also a bit off (slightly faded)with Seaofserenity. As a video editor, gif maker and visual-quality snob, that's why I went with Miss Dream with live blogging. haha

That being said though, a perfect translation across languages is nearly impossible to achieve. While Seaofserenity sub is generally more accurate, they still may not always be catching the same nuances from the original dialogue I bring up in my live blog.

Another example from this scene is this:

Miss Dream sub & my own re-translation

Seaofserenity subs

Both Miss Dream and Seaofserenity translated "ura" as "dark", instead of "hidden" like I did.

I hope this helps, and hope you get to enjoy watching the show! :D

While I know you were only asking basically a Yes/No question, I want to also take this chance to explain myself a bit better...

While I have been critical of Miss Dream's sub, it's important for me to continue to reiterate that the efforts Miss Dream sub has made for this fandom are tremendously positive and should be celebrated, and the only reason why I can make those critiques and go deep into semantics is that I'm NOT actually trying to sub a show fully. It's incredibly hard to rewrite a script and try to make every single line cohesively written, especially when Japanese has such a different grammar structure. I can do what I do when live blogging because I can both "re-translate" and have the space to explain myself. When you are actually subbing a full episode, not to mention a full series, that space for explanation does not exist and you can only make the best choice forward. I would also weigh writing a good story through the scripted lines above aiming for full accuracy. At the end of the day, both Miss Dream and Seaofserenity undoubtedly delivered a great story to non-Japanese, English-speaking audiences via subbing the live-action!

I'm also not sure about Seaofserenity and Miss Dream sub if either subtitle team members are fluent Japanese speakers, or may include native Japanese speakers or not. Where I do feel very fortunate is I'm Cantonese born and grew up in an environment where Cantonese and English are simultaneously being regularly used, which means trying to translate and navigate two languages with significantly different grammar structures is quite second nature to me in my mind to catch all these nuances. Japanese grammar and vocabulary are much more relatable and connected to Cantonese/Chinese than English, so that gives me an edge in understanding some of the cultural and linguistic context just from hearing the dialogue, including recognizing and grasping the full meaning of words or idioms that English just doesn't have a direct equivalent for.

I also studied linguistics in my undergraduate studies with a special interest in semantics, so analyzing text and going hard on explanation is something I'm very used to and enjoy. lmao

#khmyh replies #anonymous #khmyh translates #pgsm act 16

[burningvelvet]

still continuing my shakespeare journey - got halfway thru love's labour's lost 1975 but have sadly comprehended none of it so may have to restart it in another format/version.

the thing with shakespeare is that its so much better to be able to see/listen to his works since they were meant to be performed, but if you come across a lesser performance then it can really negatively tinge a piece you would have otherwise liked. conversely a superb performance can really put you on to a play you otherwise would have been lukewarm about.

and for these reasons, along with my gen z attention span, genetic adhd, & struggling sometimes with older british dialects & EME (even though i've taken classes on historical english linguistics, shakespearean studies, and renaissance literature, & have immersed myself in classic anglo lit for years, & am a native english speaker albeit an american, etc.) — my shakespeare journey has been more bumpy than expected.

but i hope it will be worth it in the end, and that by studying his work i'll improve my overall writing/reading abilities, particularly when it comes to poetry & scriptwriting, but also storytelling in general. and this, not by mere passive absorption (which i have to combat the urge toward), but by active studying, & seeking to discover what it is that has given his works their legacies in the canon, for whatever it be worth. i think tradition has its place. i believe in learning from the greats, and i agree with that quote about how one must know the rules before they can successfully break them - & would add that too many attempt to break without knowing.

i've been casually watching the famous "working shakespeare" acting workshop series wherein they assess the language. there are exercises dor actors re: script analysis, understanding the diction, etc - & i've been practicing some of that to build my grasp on language in general. some actors like samuel l jackson, toby stephens, robert sean leonard, victor garber, claire danes, blyth danner, etc. are in it - its on youtube. i'm also going to look into playing shakespeare, acting shakespeare), shakespeare in italy, and looking for richard. these are all famous films/documentaries about understanding shakespeare & his works.

it can be so overhwelming to dive into shakespeare, as i previously mentioned - but the relieving part is the wealth of information which exists to aid in the experience. i knew an actress (we did a play partly about shakespeare, lol) who had said that she found a copy of shakespeare for dummies to be really helpful, undignified title aside lmao. there are so many databases & websites & books & all freely accessible online. the sad thing is that some of the live performances are really hard to find, but that's an issue with theatre overall.

but my university's digital library (even though i graduated, i still have access) has a lot of databases including some shakespearen-centric, national theatre, & royal shakespeare theatre stuff. so if any of you are uni students or alumni i recommend you to use your lib databases to find whatever learning resources you can - you already paid for it all with your tuition money anyway!

#currently reading #shakespeare #rsc #royal shakespeare company #shakespeare studies #early modern era #theatre #plays #studies #literature #english literature #lit #opinions #my writing #me #updates

[respectthepetty]

I read your lost in translation post and it is really interesting!

I studied translation, and have made subs myself, and it is so so hard to bring in nuance (I translated between two germanic languages, which is so much easier than between non-related languages). Which is why my mantra is: PAY your translators and hire professional ones.

I grew up with subs (grew up in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, everything is subbed here). It is so interesting to see how people react to subs. Subs will never be perfect. They have a standardized format, and will not translate everything.

What is gets me is when people make analyses and don't factor in that these are approximations of what has been said. Sometimes, the meaning you think is there is NOT. Sometimes the meaning is lost. Subs are a window to other cultures and languages, but they will never be able to convey the whoke complete picture. We have to accept that. I just wish translators were payed their worth, so they could make the approximations more nuanced (also, if it is a non-native/a person with insufficient knowledge of the themes/material/culture depicted, a lot can be lost or you even get outrage which could have been completely avoided!)

Thank you for your post, it really made me think 😊

Fair Warning: This is going to turn into a rap appreciation post.

When it comes to translations, I always have to remind myself that Destiel is canon...in Español.

Translating is difficult because of nuances, but examining language through an outside perspective helps people see and understand their native language better.

I truly believe if more people studied a second language or consumed media in another language, they would appreciate their own language more and the work that goes into translations. It would also allow people to understand how they see the world is a direct result of the language they use and the culture they were raised it, which isn't how everyone else sees and operates in the world.

I mentioned this in the comments of the post you read, but I see this often with the translation of "wife" or "wifey" in BLs. I understand people's issue is with the feminization of a man or the lack of men stating they are "gay", but many of these languages don't directly have a word that translates to that or they must borrow the English word, which doesn't have the same significance as a word in their language.

Example: Some Americans use slut affectionately, so seeing Porsche call Kinn a slut probably came across as cute to some,

while others might have felt he was being judgy. But the original language is Thai, so whatever feelings we have about that scene come from within us and our previous experience about the word it was translated into and not the actual word that Porsche said.

This is where it turns into a Rap Appreciation Post:

Translations can be difficult even across demographics and regions within the same language. I believe that's why many people don't like rap - they don't understand the nuances and don't have the previous knowledge needed to get the word-play, so their enjoyment, or lack of, is based on the way they feel about the words instead of what is actually being said.

If any Americans have ever been to a rap concert, think about an American Sign Language interpreter (ASL is its own language, and is not a signed version of English) on the side of the stage interpreting Jay-Z's lyrics from "Brooklyn, we go hard" "I jack, I rob, I sin. I'm Jackie Robinson, except when I run base, I dodge the pen."

To interpret that, there has to be a sign name for Jackie Robinson, and if not, his name has to be interpreted. Then an understanding of what jack means would have to be interpreted, but when interpreted, it loses the word connection to Jackie Robinson. Then, running base, and dodging the pen have double meanings about baseball (the Jackie Robinson connection) and doing illegal activities but not getting caught (connection to the jack, rob, and sin line), but which does the interpreter keep? Something has to be lost when interpreting the line, and the first is the word play because the words will not remain intact since the interpreter has to use an equivalent in the language it's interpreted into. It can only be fully enjoyed in spoken English with an understanding of hip-hop and Black culture, but the interpreters are doing the BEST job they can to get the essence across to the audience.

*famous hip-hop ASL interpreter, Amber Galloway, who is also a lesbian

Another example of lost in rap translation: Villano Antillano is a Puerto Rican rapper. She is also a trans woman. She collaborated with BZRP on Music Sessions #51 (this is a BIG deal). Since Spanish has feminine and masculine versions of words, she consistently used the feminine version of nouns to describe herself (la G.O.A.T, la principal, cobrona) in the rap. That power move is lost in the translation since English doesn't have feminine endings. The words merely translated as the best, the first, and bastard. It lost its spark.

Snow Tha Product, a bisexual and bilingual Mexican rapper who easily switches between Spanish and English, also collaborated with BZRP on the Grammy-nominated Music Sessions #39 in which she began the rap with "Hola, what's happening, no cap in my caption" to establish that regardless of what language the captions would be in, she would only be rapping facts ("Así que en inglés o español, es lo mismo en los dos"). She is letting the audience know that even if her words are lost in YouTube's translations, she is telling no lies. Basically, she is beating people up with her word-play in TWO languages and points out that if others want to "make a diss record [they have to do it] with a free translation." If a person doesn't understand both languages, the genius of her rap gets lost in the translation, and the captions didn't even try to translate the song or make it clear what she was rapping.

But one thing Snow does makes clear in the song, and a point you bring up as well, is that translating between two languages is a SKILL and deserves to be respected and adequately compensated. In Snow's words:

Hasta en seña', fuck you, pay me

#This is a lot and includes a lot #But the bottom line is respect and pay translators and interpreters #it's a SKILL #snow tha product #Villano Antillano #destiel #thai bls #kinnporsche #rap appreciation post #amber galloway #highlighting the queer community #bilingual

[linklethehistorian]

sorry if this is a weird question I saw you saying the official translation for fifteen was inaccurate and i was wondering if you speak japanese fluently? /gen because i really dont want to read an inaccurate translation but i can barely read english lol nevermind any japanese

Despite my fear that this question is not actually genuine at all, I will go against my better judgement anyhow and answer it.

As to the question of do I speak/understand Japanese, the answer is yes; it should be very obvious to everyone by now, considering I do believe I’ve mentioned this several times, talked about translating the Fifteen stage play when I have spare time sometime back, and have watched and commented on the accuracy of the Fifteen and SB Stage Plays back while they were still (and in the case of Fifteen, still is) in Japanese only, as well as primarily own and read the JP Fifteen and Storm Bringer and have posted pictures of them before stating I was “bringing them along for reference” when I was going on a trip but still planning to work on my article during that time.

However, I find the question specifically being worded as “are you fluent in Japanese” to be extremely baiting, because with Japanese as a language especially, that is a point that has no universally agreed upon standard and can range from completely reasonable to utterly absurd.

Some people think “fluent” means having enough knowledge of the language to get comfortably by in day to day life while living in Japan.

Some people think “fluent” means knowing 1K-2K words.

Some people think “fluent” means knowing 10K words.

Some people think “fluent” means knowing the entirety of the Japanese language ��� which, newsflash, not even most native-born Japanese speak can hit that mark bro. Hell, English is my first language, and while I am obviously very familiar with it, I don’t even know all of its words that exist. Most people do not.

For fuck’s sake, I know someone who lives and teaches in Japan (which by some people’s definition would make them far more than fluent) and even they don’t consider themselves fucking fluent yet, by their own definition.

Do I know enough to get by with reading the source material cover to cover? Obviously, or I wouldn’t have the fucking book and use it as reference. Am I confident enough to say I can 100% accurately translate every sentence in it without any help or consulting? No. I’m still learning.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know enough to be able to tell when certain sentences are obviously off between the original and the translation, and then hunker down and do enough research and cross-checking with other people who speak the language to accurately and confidently speak on and translate those certain specific sentences in the book(s).

You don’t have to be fluent by any definition of the word to do your research and not be a dumbass about certain specific sentences and words that seem to be suspiciously heavily different between to versions of a given text.

I want to make an actual proper mini-article about this someday, and if I talk about it now, I won’t have any content left to do so, but what you need to understand is that entirety of the Fifteen Eng novel is not inaccurate — it’s very specific but important parts of it that are.

And the reason most people haven’t complained about it isn’t because the problem doesn’t exist — it’s because a) there aren’t that many people who are going to bother to read the novel in a language that isn’t their native one when they have the option of reading it in their native one, b) the ones that do speak Japanese and prefer to read the source material in its original language only are going to just do that, c) people who do bother to start comparing the two are likely going to start out by seeing that it’s mostly a decent enough translation and not continue to look for issues unless they’re pointed out to them, and last of all d) unfortunately people tend to just implicitly trust official translations to begin with, despite that things have happened in many, many fandoms time and time again to prove that no official translation should just be assumed to be accurate by virtue of it being “official”, as the frank reality of the matter is that official translators are no less prone to error or intentional creative liberty than unofficial ones (have I mentioned there is a frighteningly long thread somewhere here on Tumblr of official translators for various books talking about how they feel they have the right to transform and ‘improve’ the stories however they wish simply because they are being put at the wheel to translate it? not to mention fan translators even if not infallible at least tend to actually specialize in the specific series, understand its context better, and care about the project on a more personal and dedicated level than people who have likely translated hundreds of different series and are doing it primarily for the cash), and 99.9% of the time the original creators — for reasons that should be obvious — have minimal to no involvement in the process whatsoever.

If you don’t care about the book having an accurate tone or accurate characterization of all characters, then read the official Eng to your heart’s content, but personally I feel if you’re going to go that route, you’d honestly be just as well or better off reading any one of the Eng fan translations that exist, given you’ll get just about as many inaccuracies and at least generally a slightly closer tone to the original from what I’ve seen (though there is a major pitfall or two in regards to some of those, as well).

Oh and for the record this is only about Fifteen; Eng SB — for as far as I have gotten in it, at least — seems to be pretty decent overall, though I myself am not infallible and could have easily missed something.

In general, just don’t inherently believe everything simply because it has the words “official” slapped onto it; not everything that is ‘official’ is automatically perfect and good and fully looked over and fully controlled by Asagiri by definition.

Especially with translations in general — always take them with a grain of salt. Always. There’s nothing wrong with engaging with things in your own language, but never ever just assume they are 100% accurate and infallible because I assure you they are not. No matter how good or close to the original a translation may be, it will never be that original. There will almost always be at least tiny changes made here and there in order to make something read better or more comprehensively in a different language. And sometimes that’s okay and still makes something a close enough experience. And sometimes it isn’t.

All of that being said…

The sad reality is that as a person born and raised with a certain language or languages, we will never be able to reasonably consume everything in their original form; there will always be limits to what we have the time and ability to learn and what we don’t.

And that’s okay. That’s what translations exist for — to make a certain piece of media able to be enjoyed by those who for whatever reason can’t experience it in its original language. Is it always better to experience the original if you can? Yes. But is that always realistic and possible? No.

What is important isn’t avoiding translations like the plague even if they’re the only things you have available to you, it’s going into it knowing that they are not infallible and not using them to make arguments about the original, uppermost official canon without first double-checking that they are accurate to said original — and, god forbid you ever do and someone calls you out on it, being willing to check in with multiple people familiar with the language to ensure that your argument is indeed solid, and if it is not, being willing to admit you are wrong.

There is no shame in experiencing translated media. There is no shame in engaging with only translated media. There is only shame in being unwilling to doubt that the translated media is accurate and insisting that it must be simply because it is “official”.

And that is all I will be saying on the matter.

I also don’t mean to be rude, but for full transparency, if anyone sends me any further asks on the subject, I will discard them, and, if continued, block the individual(s) involved. It may be the case that you yourself intended this question genuinely, anon, but people who approach others with questions like these rarely do so in good faith and are usually actually looking for an excuse to dismiss someone’s thoughts on something, which is why I find the use of the word “fluent” to be beyond suspicious — because not only do you not have to be completely fluent in a language to be able to recognize and point out specific issues within specific parts of a translation to begin with and this ask inherently implies that one does, but also the meaning of that word is so incredibly broad and vague and varied from person to person that anyone could easily make the argument one is not “fluent enough” no matter how you answer it.

You could very simply have asked “do you speak/read/understand Japanese?” and have left it at that, but the fact you went out of your way to use that specific term instead every time you’ve asked about it makes me question your intent.

#linklethehistorian #my thoughts #thoughts #bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd novels #fifteen #storm bringer #stormbringer #official english translations #ask #anon #ily anon #it’s nothing personal but I feel very suspicious of the wording #and quite frankly that’s why I held off on answering in the first place

[tiend]

putting it out there again, because i suck at making up names. maybe you do too. but! this makes it a lot harder for people to tell. i love it and i use it allllll the time for worldbuilding because phonological consistency:

if you use the paid-for version you get to have a customisable list of words to drop in! and a tick-box for science fiction vocabulary! and!

this is partly because imo the average star wars citizen who can't afford a protocol droid would be a casual polyglot in the way that makes my native english speaking self extremely jealous, and partly because i like worldbuilding. mehitabel, for instance, knows five or so languages passably well for important characterisation reasons.

(you can also import vulgar lang conlangs into world anvil if you want to link them to a particular species/race/culture and get super organised so's not fuck yourself up on timelines)

honourable mention to:

so useful to flip through to just figure out the possibilities of your language(s) and its orthography - one thing that annoys me immensely about some star wars languages is that they're first and last and obviously fonts. no one has considered what it would be like to write the alphabets with a pen (oola thurman's heroism not withstanding).

tolkein would never, etc.

#vulgarlang #conlang generators #conlang #for people don't want to replicate space english again #i <3 making non-base 10 number systems #also orthography in worldbuilding #what do they write with #and on #and etc

[insurrection-if]

If we select for our MC to know multiple languages, is there any expectation that the reader knows these languages? I've seen a few IFs where multilingual MC is actually just code for toggling on text in another language, so I *have* to say no so that *I* can read it even if I feel like my MC would know that language.

No worries, that won't be the case! I know there are certain preferences held when it comes to how multilingualism should be handled in a written narrative, but I want to allow this feature to be accessible to those who roleplay a character that is not a direct self-insert of themself. Aha, not to mention that the pressure for nailing the specific grammar, dialects, slang, structure, etc. for each character's native / multiple languages (taking into account their upbringing / background with that language) would be a terrifying prospect for me!

For the most part, it will be sort of generalized. For some quick non-canon examples:

(Dutch Proficient Version)

Imka hums a song beneath her breath, her voice filling the cold air as you awaited the others. The wind seems to carry her voice and all its lightness with care as the lyrics become clearer above its whistle.

The tune is unfamiliar. Neither are the words reminiscent of any lyrics you know. But she sings with such a calm that you can sense the lyrics, the notes, are ingrained into her heart. For once, there is no fragility to her voice. Only a peace, gentle and soft.

It speaks of stars. It calls to the sea. It harkens to a longing, a wanting or something that could never be. And it is lonely in its melody.

When it ends, she sits still for a time. Her hair has been tousled by the oncoming storm, as that's what you now recognize it has slowly become, but it does not obscure the vision of her colorless eyes.

She calls to her father. She asks to be taken home.

vs.

(Non-Dutch Proficient Version)

. . . The tune is unfamiliar. Perhaps it is a folk song, some lullaby or tune from a childhood long gone. Maybe she hopes to soothe herself as her nerves arise in this endless test of patience. Better she sings than worry herself sick over what she cannot control.

Her head tilts up towards the stars. You wonder where her sight truly lies. On them. On you. On him, though you know it is only a form of self-punishment when she does that.

The end of her song arrives gradually, a wistful finish to her smooth and melancholic tune. Its final note seems to steal her breath, though it takes but a moment for her to find it again.

She speaks at the end in a near whisper. She mentions him, her father you assume. She asks for something that makes tears trace down from her vacant eyes.

Or:

(German Proficient Version) - Proud, Expressive, & Sarcastic MC

"It would be nice to be together. Here."

His tone is low, steady but quiet. It's that quiet that betrays his hesitance.

It's the subtle switch in his native tongue that tells his shyness.

To think you, little old Mockingbird, could make a man like Sigmund shy. It would be an achievement to bask in if you didn't know the true reason behind his veiled attempt at proposing a date. He thinks he's keeping you safe, but all he manages to do is slowly break your heart.

You tap a finger to your earpiece as you contemplate your response.

"Don't tempt me, sweetheart," you soon sigh, your lips pulling into a smirk when you switch back to English at the last second.

He scoffs, the sound more like a vaguely choked-on laugh, and you can definitely imagine his broad grin now: the way in draws attention to that little scar, the sudden prominence of that dimple on his cheek . . . you really do wish that you could be there with him now.

"Spottdrossel," he finally manages to call once he's relaxed that far-away smile enough, "I am not sweet."

vs.

(Non-German Proficient Version) - Proud, Expressive, & Sarcastic MC

"Herzblatt," he hums in a way that hints it comes with a smile, "You would like it here."

His attempt at teasing envy from you cannot mask the genuine thought he had of you, unprompted and welcomed by him. You smile over the little victory that truly is from a man as stubborn as him.

"Oh, new nickname! I'm honored, Siggy," you respond with a playful tune, happy to have yet another excuse to throw out his nickname once again. His dislike towards it only makes it cuter.

"You better watch out once I get my hands on an English-German dictionary. I'll be a real threat once I have something to throw back at you. Or, worse, once I can finally learn what you really keep whispering to me with that stupidly handsome smirk, you tease."

You expect his laughter: loud and barking or low and chuckled, any form of it sparking a similar urge to laugh along with him. But . . . it doesn't come.

You wince, your pride taking a stab at the realization that he isn't willing to entertain that. The truth. A truth so obvious that it hurts, more than anything he fears might come from accepting it.

And yet . . .

"Spottdrossel," he eventually calls, his tone steadying with a genuine softness that sounds strange without the image of him with it, ". . . I look forward to it."

Anywho, I hope this approach is okay with most readers! (´ﾟ 艸ﾟ)∴ Also, I am writing this really late at night / early in the morning, so please forgive any horrible mistakes in grammar, structure, etc., haha!

(；´∀｀) Thank you for the ask!

#author

[theytistic]

May I offer some nitpicking commentary about your power system?

The Turtle's Aura, I remember it being able to build constructions, but now when it can make any object, it kind of becomes just another Lucky Charm/Genesis and stops being about Protection.

What is the difference between the Bee and Dog? I like your version of the Bee's power, but your Dog has both basically the same concept (about authority) and very similar power (you can block a person's skills and give them orders via either the Dog or the Bee's toxin)

Your Rooster being future sight makes it a bit too similar to the Snake? The purpose of Second Chance is to learn future, and while it isn't this notable in Kari's system because of ~60 Miraculouses, in a 19 Miraculouses system it kind of strikes the eye more.

I like your idea of Rabbit's multiplication vs Mouse's shrinking, it works very well both with the animals and as a pair (Rabbit's extraversive power to "be everywhere" and Mouse's introversive power to hide in holes), but if your Mouse allows also to grow it kind of disrupts this picture? Less sure on this one, through.

The Horse's weapon being a sniper rifle doesn't fit the Miraculous world much, especially considering the Miraculouses were made in ancient times.

First of all, thank you very much for taking an interest in my au and thank you for your comments.

1 - About the Aura, I thought about protection, because it's almost unbreakable, and although it's not a Lucky charm and Genesis, since even if I tried to create something functional, it would only be the format; I didn't really think about it, it's a bit far from protection. I have some ideas that I've left out, I'll review them, of course they may also be a bit out of protection, but I don't think I'll be back with Shellter from the series.

2 - Ah, I think I know what happened, in the first version of the bee's power, it was to free people from the influence of akumatized people, but then I ended up changing it because it was similar to the Bee Palm from Scarlet Lady, and again I ended up not noticing the similarity in the exchange. I'll probably change the bee rather than the dog, since it hasn't been changed.

3 - I consider the second chance to be more of a save point than a vision of the future, since you have to live and try again and again, just like in the series, the longer you use the second chance, the older you get, not to mention that the vision of the future is more accurate, even if it is limited. But I think it's even better to change the second chance, since it's the only one that hasn't changed its power.

4 - Oh, that wasn't initially thought of, but it really is a good analogy, the rabbit was just one part of the original Mullo's separation of powers, but as well as making sense with his new concept, proportion, he was slightly influenced by two Yokais, Tesso and Kyuso, with Tesso being the main one, since in the legends I've read, he can change size, small or large.

5 - Oh, that was a translation error, English isn't my native language, I use a translator, originally it was supposed to be "rapieira", but I don't know why it came out snipe rifle. Here's my notepad in Brazilian Portuguese.

Thank you very much for warning me about this, I will change it, but I'm confused, when I put "rapieira" it comes out "snipe" Your comments will help me enrich my au, thank you very much.

#miraculous dimensional error au #miraculous au #ask #miraculous ideas #au #miraculous ladybug