Oreb's Powers of Speech

Gwern Branwen · 15 Sep 2010, 18:48 · from 2010-September.txt.gz

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From: gwern0 at gmail.com (Gwern Branwen)
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:48:34 -0400
Subject: (urth) Oreb's Powers of Speech
In-Reply-To: <4C910DB9.4030709 at gmail.com>
References: <AANLkTikhnWH_Hq_BzRA-dkfV5caK+kYJetBA02Afr3qT at mail.gmail.com>
	<4C910DB9.4030709 at gmail.com>
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On Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 2:17 PM, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote:
> ?At the end of RttW Oreb says "Good Fishing".
> This statement as odd on a number of levels, of course, but one way that it
> did is that it felt like a FAIL regarding Oreb's characteristic powers of
> speech. Only two words, fine, but THREE syllables. But ?I figured, well,
> it's Wolfe's story.
>
> However, while rereading interviews yesterday I came across this statement
> by Wolfe:
>
> http://www.sfsite.com/03b/gw124.htm
>
> Wolfe: "Of course all of us speak differently to different audiences. Auk
> talks like I do when I'm talking to the dogs. Almost no one seems to notice
> how Oreb talks, but _Oreb can manage only two syllables_: 'Good bird! Watch
> out! Bad boy. Iron girl. Good Silk!' "
>
> I don't know what it signifies, but based on what Wolfe says, it ought to
> mean something.

Doesn't that quote mean that nothing odd is going on (beyond the
obvious Gospel allusion or whatever)?

"Iron girl" is 3 syllables by my count, as is "good fishing".

-- 
gwern

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