Thinking internationally

[jon.hayworth]

Re: Education

I've been reading a lot of Terry Pratchett lately, and he steadfastly refuses to bend his language to an international readership. I love the way he writes.

I learn things like:

"Sweet Fanny Adams"
"done a treat"
"a dab hand"
etc.

My thoughts on this are. You can do this with paper published writing, because people read from paper in a different way to reading from a screen.

I once tried writing a period piece Talisman - Doctor Forman's Discoverie, written in my approximation of 16th century English, it recieved the least number of votes of all the chapters of that Chain Story. - I mean really low!

There are a lot of literate people on Lit, many of whom have read Shakespeare for pleasure, but haver not tried this on a screen. I recently downloaded the AngloSaxon Chronicle from the Gutenburgh project, but I will print it out before I read it.

I think on a screen we like things that are easy on the eye and easy to assimilate.

jon

 

[wildsweetone]

For myself, I really enjoy putting into my stories snippets of information about New Zealand.

No, I don't change my style to make it more palatable for specific Literotica readers. I just write.

I figure that whatever style I have is a part of me and that's important

I keep getting feedback from New Zealanders living overseas who have been completely overwhelmed with memories of 'home' after they've recognised some settings I've written about. It's a neat feeling knowing that I'm sending a bit of the old homeland to them. And in fact, it's made me very much more aware of exactly what we do have here in this country and has me thinking seriously hard about how I can include it within my writing.

I don't see much of a point in being a clone of my american peers. I'm happy with what I do.

I don't believe I would change the above opinion if I was offered a job as a writer either. It's a point of principles I think.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I would be interested to know which English is on the Spellcheck setting of Svenskaflika and others who speak / write English as a second or whatever language.

I don't use a spellcheck. I'm confident of my abililities too speak and right correct English.

 

[Un-registered]

In any case try British English spell checking:

Sew much four spell chequers.

 

[NoJo]

Re: Education

I've been reading a lot of Terry Pratchett lately, and he steadfastly refuses to bend his language to an international readership. I love the way he writes.

I learn things like:

"Sweet Fanny Adams"
"done a treat"
"a dab hand"
etc.

Did you know that Sweet Fanny Adams comes from Sweet F.A. (sweet Fuck All)?

My very working-class uncle used to bemoan the fact that his nephew (me) was not brought up to speak proper Cockney, becasue his brother (my dad) wanted his kids to speak better that what he did.

Among the things my uncle used to say me was "What's the bird, saucepan?" (bird = bird lime = time, saucepan = saucepan lid, kid)

Cold weather was "taters" (= 'tater's (potatoes) in the mould/ cold)

A lot of British people call each other a "Berk", which is considered vey mild, and used to heard on TV all the time when I was a saucepan in the 1960's. My uncle explained that this was actually rhyming slang, for the number one taboo word for TV (Berk = Berkshire Hunt). I thought it was great that people who probably wouldn't even say "shit" on TV were happily calling each other cunts.

As discussed in another thread, in Britain you NEVER call a woman a "cunt" -- this is not simply because it's considered extremely rude to use this word, but also it's an incorrect usage to apply it to women -- the exact opposite seems to be the case in the US.

 

[MathGirl]

Re: Re: Education

Did you know that Sweet Fanny Adams comes from Sweet F.A. (sweet Fuck All)?

Dear SubJoe,

That makes SFA make more sense.

I can't make out much of your new avathingie, but it looks like something by H. Bosch.

MG

 

[NoJo]

Re: Re: Re: Education

I can't make out much of your new avathingie, but it looks like something by H. Bosch.

MG

It is Bosch- Garden of Earhtly Delight. You can just make me out in the bottom right corner, with my laptop.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

It is Bosch- Garden of Earhtly Delight. You can just make me out in the bottom right corner, with my laptop.

Yeah, but are you sending a blow-by-blow, stroke-by-stroke, live action account to your old buddies back at Lit?

RF