Digest whorl.v009.n005

Matthew Malthouse · 01 Nov 1998, 20:35 · from whorl-v0009.mbox · original

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From: Matthew Malthouse <matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v009.n005
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 20:35:05
Message-ID: <whorl-v0009-0023 at digest.urth.net>
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Greg Neyman wrote:

>     Thank you Keiran for replying to my question bout Hy ... as for Engli=
sh,
> two things ... first of all, as Ranjit points out, French and  Latin are
> mentioned BY name .. second, poetic effects like puns and deliberate
> alliteration (Overseeing Outsider, marvelous molpe, etc) are bound to the
> language they originated in, and would be lost in translation.  Plus note
> the use of shag as their "f" word, a throwback of British English.
>     that's it for now ...

Tolkien, in his exposition upon the Common Toungue and the languages of Mid=
dle
Earth, says that he uses English to _represent_ the Common Tounge and as su=
ch
names like Merriadoc, Samwise and Brandywine/Branduin have been changed to
"work" rather than leave them in the "original". I haven't got a copy but t=
he
"real" names are given.

I've usually taken this to be a reasonable way of looking at much fantasy/sf
so that the language doesn't intrude. It certainly covers the alliterative
phrases in Whorl and the French & Latin as "analogue foreign/ancient langua=
ges
in Urth.

Matthew

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