My New Word of the Day

As a writer, I'm often on the lookout for - or at least open to - language opportunities. New to me phrasing. Picking up a new word. Seeing or hearing what Jessica Morrell calls "firefly words" (or phrases). Catching a linguistic gem which crosses my visual or auditory path.

Today I received one of those in an email. And the email has nothing to do with writing or writers - except it was, obviously, written.

The email came from Chef Glenn of BackpackingChef.com. This is the place where I learned about making bark and other handy snacks in my dehydrator; no, I'm not planning a long backpacking trip where I need to be concerned about the weight of my body's fuel for the trek. But I do need some portable foods for those long days where I'd rather not have to go to a restaurant all the time or my schedule changes and I need food fuel on hand.

The word was right there, near the top of the email. Perfect. And, no, I don't really know how to say it. But here on the page you don't have to listen to my lack of accent mimicability!

Here it is - my new word, yes, it's German:

Naherholungsgebiet

... a natural or recreational area nearby where one can relax.

See? Isn't that a very good word for where I am? Perfect. Thank you, Chef Glenn - for your recipes and the word.

Lester's naherholungsgebiet is as close as the front porch.

Challenge : N is for Nerd

N is for Nerd!

When I was growing up, being called a Nerd was not a good thing. It was a significant insult if someone called you that and it was to be avoided.

I tried really hard to not be a Nerd. But it was difficult. I was tall, especially for a girl. I had long red, very curly hair, which would make itself into ringlets by the end of the school day, no matter what I tried. I wore glasses - and calico cat's eye glasses at that. And had freckles.

I say "had" as if I didn't still have those things - but I do. When I was a teenager, I hated my red hair and I hated even more that it was so curly. I tried different ways to manage the curls, calm them, but nothing worked; or not for very long. And I will admit that I didn't hate them enough to spend a couple of hours every day trying to tame them. As I got older, I came to like my red hair and it became part of my identity. It's still curly; but is rarely long enough to go into ringlets.

Recently a client said something about "the interpreter with the perm" and I wanted to tell them, "no, it's natural, look, I have a picture I just got of myself as a child. See? Same hair." Of course I didn't say anything. I just smiled.

So. Nerd. I am one. Have been for a long time.

With being tall and glasses and red ringlets and freckles which I hoped would one day all grow together into a tan (they never did) - I was also good in school. I tried to do my best and that was pretty dang good *grin* - but I also tried to cover it up and not show other kids. That would be bragging, which would be bad, and I didn't want to be called a Nerd.

Once in a while I forgot I wasn't supposed to be too good at things and wrote a play, or took on the organizer role in a class project. Things like that. Things which kids would call me Nerd over; except not usually to my face because, after all, I was taller than many of them.

Now I embrace my Nerdhood. A while ago I was in a discussion about Nerds versus Geeks. Same? Or different? I think Geeks tend to be associated with technology, which Nerds can be. I might be wrong - but Geek seems to require technology by definition; another thing I might want to look up before I go too far.

I have friends who are Word Nerds - and I count myself among them. Then there are the Language or Linguistic Nerds - which are not exactly the same but closely related, and definitely some overlap. I have several of those friends as well. And I suppose by virtue of my work - both sign language interpreter and writer - it is almost a requirement; though not really. But I think maybe it should be.

And the Technology Nerds -- I'm making this one up right here. I think that Technology Nerds are the ones who have a good amount of experience with technology, aren't afraid of it, know more than just the basics - but they're not the coders and the game developers. They love the technology but it's definitely in the "I can do it and like it" rather than the "must have it and I'm the king of XQZ" category. The others are the Geeks - more skills and more drive to master it.

Oh, and in the Technology Nerds, I count my friend and I who are Nerds about our Blackberrys. Now, don't go telling me that Blackberry is a dying or dead breed. I don't think so and I sure hope not. A friend of mine and I are trying to find a date and time to go take test drives on the new Blackberry Z10 and Q10.  Okay, if you know anything about them, you know the Q10 isn't out here yet - the Z10, yes. But I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my physical keyboard. My point is that he and I are drooling over the new devices and want to get our hands on them. My provider contract is up pretty soon and I'll be eligible for an upgrade.

N is for Nerd. What's your Nerd quotient and category?
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Challenge : L is for Luck

Today L is for Luck.

It could also be for Lucky, but I think I like Luck better.

As in, "good luck," which is kinder and more authentic than simply calling someone "lucky." "Good Luck" implies that you mean them well and have good intentions.

No, I'll take that back, as well. Because a person can also say "Good Luck" with a sneer in his voice, with equal emphasis on both words, and in comes out as sarcastic, which is not positive and may not be said with good intention.

So maybe Language and/or Linguistics are other good words for today, as well. Yes, I think so.

And isn't it appropriate that I, as a writer and as a sign language interpreter, would say a few words about L

from Wikimedia Commons

being for Language and Linguistics. And Luck, as well. I hope as an interpreter that my preparation and skill would be more of a factor than just Luck. Although there were days when I was doing 100% freelance interpreting and it was the end of a busy week and I was tired that that I might wish for a little bit of Luck that a meeting would end thirty minutes early so I'd have time to take a break and write a poem or work on a short story between interpreting assignments.

Or as a writer I might sometimes wish for a bit of Luck as I sit down at the computer and turn it on - or wake it up is more accurate unless we're talking about meeting a friend for writing in a cafe or midnight:01 at the beginning of NaNoWriMo which is usually at a cafe or some other 24-

from Kwantlen Polytechnic University

hour location. Or I might even be getting out pen and paper to write; yes, it's true, sometimes I do write by hand. My point being that sometimes as a writer I hope that I have something to say, or that a character shows up, or that I can catch the story as it happens.

All very good L words and I'll take all three today.

L is for Luck and Language and Linguistics.
*

Context: Is is really necessary?

As a writer, language is important.

Duh, Dot. Tell me something I didn't know. Right?

And as a sign language interpreter, language is also important. Not just language, but the context in which the language takes place. Which includes the setting, the purpose of the exchange, the people (of course, another "Duh, Dot"), culture, background, and so on.

So there is a lot in common between the two things I do: writing and interpreting. And theater. Language and context is very important there, too. Theater for me is a crossover activity, involving both my interpreting and my writing, or at least my creative output although I have plans for more theatrical writing in the very near future. But, shhh, on that last part because it's not public yet.

Context. Necessary? Yes. And maybe no.

Not "no" really, but more like: What tools do you have when there is no or less than optimal context?

When we're writing, we have time on our side for the most part. Even if you're doing the 24-hour Short Story Writing contest or NaNoWriMo, you still have time. Even if you're writing quick writes or flash/instant fiction on the fly, you have a little time before it goes public. So you can tinker with the context, show it or exclude it or alter it as needed, depending on your intent.

With interpreting, context is - I was going to say imperative and you can't do your job without it. But that isn't true. Because with video relay interpreting, sometimes we don't get the context and we have to do our job anyway. Interpreting requires context. Really; it is imperative. But with video relay we have instant connections, sometimes we're are dropped into the middle of drama or incidents in process and we don't have any background or context except what we see on the screen with the video caller and what we hear through our headset with the hearing caller. So context is necessary, but we have to have tools to deal with it and maintain the accuracy of the interpretation because, sometimes, it just isn't there.

Context. A tool to help our readers understand our characters. To help move the story forward and keep the energy flowing, interest, and reveal as things unfold.

Context. To give us language clues. Culture clues. Behavioral and emotional clues.

Context helps us to make sense of the what is happening around us.

*

Now let me tell you how I got on this topic. Not that I need a reason. Like I said, as a writer and an interpreter, language context is central to everything I do. What any of us do.

But there was a catapult to today's writing. Let me take you on this little journey with me.

It all started with this bumper sticker, on the rear bumper of a vehicle:

??????

The design isn't 100% what I saw; all of the parts are the same and the words are in the same order and the symbols are the same.

So - my first question when I saw this was: what's the driver's point? Some of you may be thinking it's obvious and others may see different persepctives, as I did.

Because "Red" was used years ago as in the "Red Scare" to warn of the threat of communism, that was my first thought.

And let me explain a little more. The vehicle was a large white pick up with an extended cab; probably a 3/4 ton or a little more (I was co-owner of a 3/4 ton truck many years ago, and this was a little bigger than that - but the extended cab may have altered my assessment, as may have the larger than normal tires and jacked up height. I was focused on  deciphering which side of the Green issue this guy was on.

So my first thought was that it was negative - he was against Green. But then I thought that, maybe, he was supporting going Green and saying that people were acting like it was the big bad evil monster but it wasn't. I wasn't sure.

So I started looking at the other stickers plastered on the rear window of the cab, the bumper, the flap. Clues.

Yes, the context. I'm not going to paste or link in any of the other bumper stickers I saw. But the message was clear. I know which side of the Green/Red issue he was on. I'm not saying anything about big truck drivers, really I'm not. Why, some of my friends drive big trucks and I suspect I have some relatives who might drive trucks. It was a nice truck. But some of the other bumper stickers said things like "Does this truck make my ASS look bigger?" with a charicature of Obama (which I also don't understand; I'm missing a connection and that's okay; some things maybe I don't wnat to know); there was one on the rear window of the cab which said "MORON" and the "O"s were the Obama campaign Os; an "Impeach Obama" sticker; gun control, America-love-it-or-leave-it, and so on. So I'm confident which side of the Green/Red issue he sits.

Context.

The words on the bumper sticker alone definitely go either way. The hammer and sickle are clues. The other stickers are clues, definitely.

And when I was poking around online, gathering more information, deciding what way to take this writing, I found even more conflicting sites and viewpoints. The "Green is the New Red" is being used by opposing sides. So I wasn't "off" with my initial reaction. There are "left" groups claiming the phrase, saying that environmentalists and animal rights advocates and such are being targeted. There are "right" and extreme "right" groups claiming that Green is like throwing socialist (which is bad in their view) policies at a bad situation and that Green groups are creating problems. Opponents using the same phrase.

Context.

And for me this all started with a drive to meet with my writing buddy yesterday and a big white pick up.
.

dot's small stone: January 23

language barriers dissolve
in shared love of poetry.
a collaborative project is born.


small stone #23
by dot.
.

random rant: the nature of language

I know that language is dynamic, but...

Would someone please contact those who make the radio commercials to tell them that the correct pronounciation of 'comparable' is *not* "compare-able"?

...posted from a rest stop on my way to an out of town job after hearing it twice in less than an hour...

same movie: two views

I had an interesting experience today. My partner and I went to see a movie. It was a last minute decision. We went for a walk up to our little "strip," as we call it (yay, our neighborhood has developed a little personality over the last couple years!).

Part of the plan was for her to drop off some flyers for a couple of upcoming classes. But the shop, PaperDoll, was closed. So we went down to the Bipartisan Cafe for some soup and coffee. While we were sitting there, we looked at the marquee across the street at The Academy Theater to check again what movies were playing and the times. We had a music gig to check out later tonight and a friend's birthday party; both of the events started at 8:30 pm and it was just past five. I looked up a synopsis of one of the movie's on my crackberry and we decided to go to the 6:30 showing. That would make us fashionably late to the party, which was just up the street from our house.

The movie we saw was Happy-Go-Lucky. We both enjoyed the movie - but some of our perspectives were interesting. It was like we were sitting side by side but watching a different version of the same film. The walk home provided us a nice opportunity to discuss what we saw and how we interpreted the story. I can't say that either of us is right or wrong -but I found it fascinating how differently we understood what was going on in the film. We watched the same movie at the same time, side by side, and yet we walked away with nearly polar opposite beliefs in why what had happened, happened.

Good movie. Interesting responses.

ps: We didn't make it to the music venue, because the we didn't know the time the musicians we were going to hear would be on. We did make it to the friend's birthday party up the street, but left when they were preparing to go out for karoake. I have a 10K walking event tomorrow morning in Forest Grove and need to get up early....which is why I'm calling it a night now and heading off to slumber land.

pss: Think about something you've read or seen. What could be viewed in a different way from your own interpretation of the event? Try writing the scene from a different perspective than your own and make it just as believable and true as your experience.

December in Oaxaca

Earlier today I had to write the date. I found myself struggling because, well, it just doesn't feel like December to me. Not down here in Oaxaca, Mexico. It was hot - in the upper 80s in the sun; we went out for our exploration after the workshop and I had on capris, a light cotton shirt over a string undershirt, and my Kumfs sandals. And sun screen. There are fake Christmas wreaths hung on balconies and over doorways; real and plastic and metal trees in restaurants and shops and homes; garlands of green, glass and plastic tree decorations, and twinkling Christmas lights on the trees in the Zocalo. Christmas is here and, well, it's hot and sunny. Disconnect!

Whereas I see that home in Portland, there was a snow storm. It looks like there are two to four inches of snow around the area - which is unusual. The temperatures will be dropping into the teens at night for up to a week, the latest forecast says. The high temperatures will be about ten to fifteen degrees colder than the low temperature here.

This is a new - and not at all unpleasant - experience. We have tended to go to colder than home regions the few times we've been somewhere in December. So going someplace warm is a treat. And I did not expect my reaction of "what's wrong with this picture."

The workshop is fabulous.

The food is yummy.

The culture is comfortable and I am finding that, while I don't speak Spanish, I am being able to pick up some things I'm being asked. If they go at gringo speed, I know - slow. And I have actually been able to ask for a few things myself. Another new experience. I've needed to rely pretty much entirely on my partner for the language part of the trips to Italy or Mexico (all one time to each I've done in the past!) - being completely unable to comprehend or produce anything myself. But this time I've been able to do just a little bit myself.

I must end this post for now, because tomorrow morning we have an early continental type breakfast at 7:00, then it's off to Monte Alban at 7:30 am to walk up the ruins - where we will hold tomorrow's workshop. So I must stop to sleep.

With a smile of contentment.

what you say ... part II

In part I I talked about the Commissario Brunetti series book I was reading, The Girl of His Dreams, written by Donna Leon. Part I focused on how language is used in the books and in life to help place people in relation to each other and in relation to place. There is another use of language in the books which I also found myself contemplating between readings.

The books take place in Venice - at least most of the stories are there, though they may venture to other places in the course of investigations. Brunetti was born and raised in Venice and continues to live and work there. The books are written in English, and yet the characters are speaking Italian and Venezian (part I of this discussion focused on Venezian as an indicator of status).

As I read the books, I totally believe they are speaking Italian and I am somehow able to understand them. I don't speak Italian. I don't flinch when Brunetti and a character are having a conversation, visually on the page in English, and I read Brunetti saying that he responded in Venezian to test the credibility of the other person. It flows, no disconnect, even though I see English. This book, and previous ones in the series, are written so that I believe I'm witnessing and comprehending the story taking place in a language I don't know.

One thing I've been trying to notice is how Leon uses language to give that illusion. I wonder how the decision is made about which Italian words to leave "as is" and if there a conscious decision about how many of them should be included.

I don't think there is so much Italian that a reader would feel a need to skip over part of the story or put down the book to look it up, being stopped by language. It seems there is just enough to keep that connection to place.

And I wonder: how much language does it take to be rooted to place? How many ciaos, campos, grazies, commissarios, and other Italian words need to be sprinkled for the reader to feel like they are among the Venetians? How many more would it take to cross a line to feel forced and ktichy-cute? Did someone actually figure this out and count them or is it a developed ear for what constitutes "just right?"

What are some other authors who write "in the native language" from the characters' perspective, yet what appears on the page in the original is English? I'm also curious if others have a similar experience to these stories.

above photo by Ian Blair Hamilton

found: kup'it language

I had the opportunity to go to the Anchorage Museum for their 40th birthday & expansion celebration. The special exhibit, Yuugnaqiallerput, was about the Kup'it (kupiit) in northern Alaska. The exhibit was alive with culture, life, dance, and celebration. And language. Below are some phrases I wrote down which touched me in some way as I wandered and looked and watched.

How does this relate to writing? Because it's language. Each trip I take I find myself being exposed to new pieces of this world and this country where I live. And I am picking up pieces of language, be it other uses of words I know or, as in this case, a unique language on its own. And I see where we overlap or compliment or how, as in Kup'it, a whole idea is embodied in a word or two. And my sense of the world and the choices I have to make while writing are bigger, more open. Potentially more colorful. Who knows, maybe a future story will include a character meeting someone who it Kup'it or running across a phrase on an old piece of wood stuck in the snow as he snowmobiles in several miles to catch a glimpse of the Iditarod....

Alfred Milotte, Alaska State Museum
Pair of masked dancers performing at Hooper Bay in 1946

Cat Tamarmeng Elpengqertut : all things have awareness (One of my favorites)

Kenekngamceci Qanrutamceci: we talk to you because we love you

Qanruyutet: words of wisdom and instruction

Tuvqakiyaraq Kalukaryaraq-llu: sharing food and feasting

Aruqutkat: gifts

Tuaten-gguq ayuqellria tuvquyutuli cali ingna erneq aipirluku unguvaaqut: they say those who are generous with food are given another day to live. (Paul John, Toksook Bay)

Cauyarnariuq: time for drumming

Agayuyaraq: requesting abundance (at the final winter ceremony; involves singing songs of supplication to the animals' yuit [their persons])

Ciimat: stones

Kenngessuutet: a fire-making tool - nasal mucus was smeared on the edge of the fireband, which made the fire start right away

Yuungnaqpiallerput: The Way We Genuinely Live

it's not what you say but how...part I

I'm currently reading The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon. This is the most recent of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, all of which take place in Venice. Brunetti is a member of the native Venetian minority. He was born and raised in Venice, and is one of the few who can speak true Veneziano, complete with the Veneto cadence, and is able to recognize others who are of this dwindling group. Their knowledge and use of this language provides a shared intimacy and connection on one level, even if they do not interact with other members of this group on a daily basis. This issue of language within the stories plays out not only between the characters (who can and can't speak the language, or who may attempt it but their cadence or misuse of a word gives them away as an outsider), but also between reader and writer.

Later I want to talk about my perceptions of how the reader is participant in the intimacy of Veneziano and some specific language features of the writing. What I first was thinking of was use of language as a cultural identifier to show membership of a group or affiliation with a particular subculture of a group.

Thinking about this led me to think how an association by language also occurs within the Deaf community, which can include interpreters and other non-family hearing people who sign. This was not news - but I did gain a new perspective on Commissario Brunetti when I made the connection, and, conversely, on the function of true American Sign Language (ASL) as an identifier within the larger Deaf culture. I remembered two incidents where my signing style was commented on by people who are deaf, which placed me in a context for them.

In one situation, the person who is Deaf asked me if I knew DL, because my signing was very much like hers. DL is Deaf and was one of my early ASL instructors, and my ASL linguistic instructor when I was in the interpreter training program. This person knew DL and respected her, and when I told him she was one of my teachers when I was first learning, I had an "in" by association. The other example was after interpreting a concert. A few days later, I ran into one of the audience members who was deaf. He asked me if I knew TB, who was very well known in this area for music inerpretation. And, again, the person was right on target! TB was my first ASL instructor and had a strong influence on me going on the become an interpreter. He was also an influence and mentor for me on music interpreting. The audience member liked TB so, again, I was "in" due to a connection by language which went beyond me using ASL.

Once again the old saying is true: It's not what you say but how you say it!

Venice photo by Kevin Ashbrook

- - - - - - - - - NOTE - - - - - - - - -

When I wrote the beginnings of this post, I was on a plane to Alaska and hadn't yet looked up "Veneziano" to find out the facts beyond what I'd read in the Brunetti books, despite having read
most of the books of the series over several years. When I returned home, I did look it up and found the following on a Venetian language resources website:

"Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy. The language is called vèneto in Venetian, veneto in Italian; the variant spoken in Venice is called venesiàn/venessiàn or veneziano, respectively. Although commonly referred to as an Italian dialect (dialeto, dialetto), even by its speakers, it does not descend from the Italian language but has its own morphology, syntax and lexicon."