Ersatz TLS discussion
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Weekly TLS
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What Are We Reading? 5 July 2021
Georg wrote: "You ask for 'un verre de l'eau'. Their eyebrows raise. They give you a very condescending look. You try again. Their facial expression does not change. After the third try they usually take pity and say: 'Aaaaah, un verre de l'eau pour madame!' "Perhaps that wasn't your accent they couldn't understand, but what you actually were asking for? As it's not "un verre de l'eau", but "un verre d'eau", they might have thought you wanted a "verre Deleau" or something like this - so puzzlement at what this liqueur might be.
And to scarlet, I think waiters making the effort to speak your own language can hardly be seen as evidence of "snotty" behaviour. But I guess people with Anglo-Saxon sensibility might be offended by this. My husband, upon trying to speak German in Germany, was offended repeatedly when the Germans he was talking to immediately started speaking English back to him. I don't quite understand yours and his reaction tbh.
AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Age is a funny thing, at 45 i find myself embracing more things i rejected in my teens.Coming from a francophile family over two generations, holidays in Corsica(all..."
I'm 73 and just reached middle age! 😃
giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Age is a funny thing, at 45 i find myself embracing more things i rejected in my teens.Coming from a francophile family over two generations, holidays i..."
hehehe!
My next classic novel to follow O'Flaherty is Sao Bernardo by Graciliano Ramos
Newly translated and out in a lovely NYRB edition i am looking foward to reading it. Ramos seems to be get less attention outside Brazil and well done to NYRB for getting this out there.
Georg wrote: "My (small-minded) pet hate are American tourists who ask for directions without preceding the question with a polite: "Excuse me, do you speak English?""
Reminds me of the time I was in China and and American tourist was heard to say "We went to this little village and nobody spoke English!" I kid you not.
Mod
A lot of people do feel that way. In the past (I don't know about now) the staff of the Ritz were forbidden to answer guests in their own language if they had been addressed in French.
When I first came to Paris after living in Lisbon, I saw a big difference in reactions to foreigners speaking the language of the country. Just before leaving Lisbon I was introduced to the father of a friend and I put together a few halting words in a sentence. "Oh, she speaks Portuguese! How wonderful!"
My French was terrible at the time, as I knew very well, I'd done O Level and had little contact with the language since. I went into an estate agent's looking for a flat. We talked for about 15 minutes and I was feeling quite proud of myself, he'd understood what I wanted, I'd understood what he said. Then one of his colleagues came in: "Oh, no, she doesn't speak French." said the young man. That time I did feel offended!
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Sandya wrote: "One of the things I love about Caltech where I worked for nearly a decade: no frats and no religious groups allowed on campus, unlike most US unive..."Maybe, but I for one get very tired of being told I will burn in hell if I don't join some religious cult or other. That was my experience of the CU at university in England and my family member fell for this crap in England. In grad school at St. Andrews there was a notorious religious nutcase called Mrs. Ross who would stand in the street all day condemning us sinners to hell-just trying to get a PhD here and do something useful with my life, unlike you Mrs. Ross-as we walked past. Someone should have removed her. Mad as a Hatter. There was a joke going round that after they put in a bus service connecting all the coastal villages in Fife, the incidence of religious mania dropped drastically.....
The first church my family member joined was racist too-she felt pressured to join another of the same sect in the end because they were not comf. having an INDIAN in their congregation. This is Xtianity? Keep it. It isn't just the US, though as you point out bible literalism is rife here. I once ran into some Hare Krishnas at the DMV of all places and THEY tried to convert me. I think they assumed I was Hispanic. So many levels of stupid + racism. I set them right and then they started referring to "my people", to my face, which is beyond offensive. I am a Hindu. I don't need a bunch of doped out HKs to tell me how. Morons.
Since we’re on languages and translations, can one of the native French speakers here help me with something cinematic? The title of Truffaut’s “Baisers volés”, which I’ve watched I don’t know how many times, is translated as “Stolen Kisses”. The words come from the wonderful Trenet song on the title track, “Que reste-t-il de nos amours?” My question is whether a better translation would give the idea that the kisses he remembers from his youth have flown away, rather than been stolen, i.e. whether it is at all possible for “volés” to be understood as meaning “envolés”. The idea of the kisses flying away, escaping, being lost in the wind, yet fondly remembered, seems to fit much better with the nostalgia of the song and the other phrases in the verse from which “Baisers volés” comes:
Bonheur fané, cheveux au vent
Baisers volés, rêves mouvants
Que reste-t-il de tout cela
Dites-le-moi
Bonheur fané, cheveux au vent
Baisers volés, rêves mouvants
Que reste-t-il de tout cela
Dites-le-moi
Hushpuppy wrote: "Georg wrote: "You ask for 'un verre de l'eau'. Their eyebrows raise. They give you a very condescending look. You try again. Their facial expression does not change. After the third try they usuall..."I admit that my French is basically non-existent. But it surely would have been easy to guess what I wanted? They could have said: 'Ah, un verre d'eau?' Couldn't they?
Such a difference to the Italians, eager to find out whether you wanted still or fizzy when you ordered "acqua".
Russell wrote: "Since we’re on languages and translations, can one of the native French speakers here help me with something cinematic? The title of Truffaut’s “Baisers volés”, which I’ve watched I don’t know how ..."Hi vermontlogger. I've read all the lyrics again for a bit more of a context, and I think that, within that very single line, it does mean "stolen kisses", as it seems to depict then some youthful and idealistic adolescence youth, rather than contrasting it with what it is now, where "envolés" would work very well with the nostalgic feeling.
If we go with your premise, no word seems to do a good job. "Envolés" might be best actually! See also maybe "fuyants", or "éphémères"...? Or "évanescents", but then again, it doesn't sound very good in juxtaposition with "baisers". Sorry I can't be of more help! (Btw, a good resource is the cnrs dictionnaire des synonymes: e.g., https://crisco2.unicaen.fr/des/synony...)
Berkley wrote: "Sandya wrote: "I was horribly shocked when the Xtianity in the Narnia stories was pointed out to me at age 18-I loved them as a child but I don't feel the same about them now (and prefer Tolkien). ..."Yes-I agree. Read the story "The Problem of Susan" by Neil Gaiman-it can be found online.
http://readingtheend.com/2009/01/13/t...
CSL had a wonderful imaginative gift and he ruined it with his "allegory". I now understand why JRRT hated allegory. This is the main reason I have never wanted to read The Faerie Queen by Spenser. All the nonsense about Una (QE1), Duessa (MQoS) and other such obvious equations.
I recall Sir Richard Burton commented-I think in a footnote to his translation of the Arabian Nights, which I read at Uni-that Xtian Missionaries tried for years to convert the Eskimos, to no avail. They only started gaining converts after they described Hell as an eternally frozen wasteland, not a pit of fire, which the Eskimos thought rather attractive as a destination. It's so bogus.
My reading of SF dropped off quite a bit many years ago when I realized that I kept encountering Messiah figures in the stories: variously called Valentine Michael Smith, Paul Atreides, Severian, Karl Glogauer, and many other names beyond recall. I never thought that the authors were trying to convert me (I never read C. S. Lewis’ fiction), but I just found the constant reliance on this trope kind of tiring and not especially compelling as a theme. (I should note that Michael Moorcock’s Glogauer is a kind of anti-Messiah and something of an antidote to other, more straightforward saviors.)I’ve also noted the theme showing up in SF films: The Day the Earth Stood Still, E.T., Blade Runner, and Starman are ones I’ve seen and can immediately recall.
(Oh, and @AB76, you are middle aged. As Sondheim says in Company: " You're not a kid anymore, Robby. I don't think you'll ever be a kid again, kiddo." Don't imagine yourself a strapping youth, but don't miss out on enjoying what there is to enjoy in middle age before you are, in fact, elderly.)
scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Note--TV adaptations are just not for me. I have a hard time sitting through the news..."Pity, since the wonderful Derek Jacobi was a superb Cadfael in the adaptations. He was also bri..."
If you like police procedurals, Cadfael is hard to beat.
Bill wrote: "My reading of SF dropped off quite a bit many years ago when I realized that I kept encountering Messiah figures in the stories: variously called Valentine Michael Smith, Paul Atreides, Severian, K..."lol thanks Bill.....
Hushpuppy wrote: "Russell wrote: "Since we’re on languages and translations, can one of the native French speakers here help me with something cinematic? The title of Truffaut’s “Baisers volés”..."
Thanks, Hush, very interesting. My revised theory is that Trenet wanted to say “envolés” but decided he couldn’t as it was one beat too many. But you may be right and he meant “volés” all along!
That link is great. It took me straight through to 35 rather poetic synonyms for “fugitif”.
Thanks, Hush, very interesting. My revised theory is that Trenet wanted to say “envolés” but decided he couldn’t as it was one beat too many. But you may be right and he meant “volés” all along!
That link is great. It took me straight through to 35 rather poetic synonyms for “fugitif”.
Late to the party as being really insanely busy with work.On the subject of maths teaching from last week... I was very lucky, in retrospect, that nobody - maths or physics teachers - ever questioned my abilities or the fact that I was top of the class/school (this being the 90s though, so less bigoted than before I suppose).
I still had to contend with two terrifying teachers. One (a woman) clearly decided to target me when I was 12, as I had come to her class basking in the halo of my top 20/20 grade averaged over the entire previous year. She was undermining me at every turn, and awarded me a 6/20 for my first grade, and an E for quality of maths writing. I was rocked to my core, reassessing everything I thought I knew, and my work and grades spiralled out of control for a few weeks across all disciplines, not just maths. I was working far too hard, getting sleep-deprived in the process. My teachers and parents stepped in, and I had a curfew of 9pm, forcing me to optimise the limited time I had for homework. I had to learn to work efficiently, something I never had to contemplate before. It was a life saver, to this day. So in a sense, I am grateful to that awful witch of a woman... (She happened to have had a very unhappy marriage, something I learned later on - she did look like the most austere matron ever, somebody straight out of Jane Eyre).
@Sandya, I’m so sorry this happened to you. We need more teachers like @scarlet, to stand up to the morons, privileged and bigoted. (Poor Steven Rogers though - unless he was part of the bullies! - it wasn’t his fault that he got placed first because of his Y chromosome; and wall-propping, while academically not particularly advanced, is a useful skill.) I remembered from TLS you being on University Challenge, and I tried to find footage of it some time ago, but no luck so far!
On the subject, I don’t know if people have realised that UC and Only Connect were back on last Monday? There was also a good Only Connect quiz on the Guardian to accompany its return on our TV screens. And another set of maths/philosophy puzzles by Bellos (once you've solved one, you've solved them all though), and again that was a lot of fun - for those who like these things, that is!
@Fran, thanks for your link to a piece encouraging men to read more women (Why do so few men read books by women?). In other words, women are prepared to read books by men, but many fewer men are prepared to read books by women. (…) What does this tell us about how reluctant men are to accord equal authority – intellectual, artistic, cultural – to women and men?This reminds me of a massive gender bias that exists in science. It’s been now demonstrated time and time again, for grant reviews, scientific paper reviews, amount of money awarded, tenure, etc. One such bias exists too about citing other people’s work (references in scientific papers). If the first and/or last author is a man, then they will tend to cite the work of more men. If this is a woman, then there is no bias. As the piece intelligently says:
Why does this matter? For a start, it narrows men’s experiences of the world. “I’ve known this for a very long time, that men just aren’t interested in reading our literature,” the Booker prize-winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo told me in an interview for The Authority Gap. “Our literature is one of the ways in which we explore narrative, we explore our ideas, we develop our intellect, our imagination. If we’re writing women’s stories, we’re talking about the experiences of women. We also talk about male experiences from a female perspective. And so if they’re not interested in that, I think that it’s very damning and it’s extremely worrying.”Trudat, in literature as much as in science!
If men don’t read books by and about women, they will fail to understand our psyches and our lived experience. They will continue to see the world through an almost entirely male lens, with the male experience as the default. And this narrow focus will affect our relationships with them, as colleagues, as friends and as partners. But it also impoverishes female writers, whose work is seen as niche rather than mainstream if it is consumed mainly by other women. They will earn less respect, less status and less money.
To @scarlet, @vtlogger, @give and others, on the subject of Dupuytren... It is indeed highly genetic (I have my fingers crossed - badum tish - as my dad has it). There’s been some recent scientific work showing in particular that while there is a clear benefit of getting surgery for it, repeat surgery is much trickier.
And finally, to @Sydney, as I mentioned as a comment below your status update, I’m so glad you've loved the first three Jim Harrison novellas you've read!@scarlet, I’m surprised you didn’t like it - although I cannot remember the one you’ve read. I remember thinking that for the more “macho” ones, for want of a better word, they reminded me a bit of Crumley, and it made complete sense to me that these two were really good friends. His novels Dalva and The Road Home are very different though, and I think you’d like the deftness with which he depicts his female protagonist, and the masterful way he weaves the different generations of Dalva’s family. I also rate his prose very highly.
You remind me of what I miss… Not surprised it was championed by Ongley.
That exchange is most likely how it made my tbr list.
Our group here is great, but that wider audience, and occasional newcomers meant that almost every book we commented on provoked a response.
Hushpuppy wrote: "@Fran, thanks for your link to a piece encouraging men to read more women (Why do so few men read books by women?)."These pieces, including this one I think, tend to give off an "eat your broccoli" kind of vibe: it won't necessarily be pleasant, but it's good for you.
Anne wrote: "Hello everyone. This is to let you know that I've volunteered to share Ersatz duties with Lisa, so that she has some back-up. Lisa has to grant me moderator status so that I can put up a new thread..."Tam wrote: "And I have to add that privilege is relative. There is a lot of evidence that Sally Hemming's family were certainly privileged compared to the other black slave families that lived at Monticello, s..."
Machenbach wrote: "Anne wrote: "You'll probably see my name as a moderator soon, but I don't visit this site every day and have no intention of acting as a moderator in the Guardian sense of the word. I also have yet..."
Press on, o guardian of the gates.
Bill wrote: "These pieces, including this one I think, tend to give off an "eat your broccoli" kind of vibe: it won't necessarily be pleasant, but it's good for you."Correction: you might initially think it won't be pleasant (because of some preconceived idea), but if you know how to pick it right, it can not only be good for you, but also very enjoyable. Love me some roasted tenderstem broccoli. Ah!
Tam wrote: "And I have to add that privilege is relative. There is a lot of evidence that Sally Hemming's family were certainly privileged compared to the other black slave families that lived at Monticello, s..."The most important question about Sally Hemmings was: who were her parents? Jefferson's wife Martha outlived her mother and two stepmothers. When the third wife died, Martha's father bought Betty Hemmings, and kept her as a mistress. When he died, Martha Jefferson inherited her father's mistress, and her own half-brothers and sisters. The Hemmings family had a certain status; the boys were trained in skilled crafts, and the girls worked in the big house. Jefferson outlived a wife he had loved passionately; as a widower, he went to Paris; his younger daughter, Maria, came to join her father in France, together with a too-young "servant," Sally. (Abigail Adams thought these two girls were too young to take care of themselves, let alone each other.) That is, Jefferson now owned his wife's young half-sister....
CCCubbon wrote: "AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Age is a funny thing, at 45 i find myself embracing more things i rejected in my teens.Coming from a francophile family over two generations, holidays i..."
I gave my mother a refrigerator magnet; the caption was, "No matter what their age, a mother looks at her adult children for signs of improvement."
Russell wrote: "That link is great. It took me straight through to 35 rather poetic synonyms for “fugitif”."Yes, that's a really good dictionary (I've picked that example on purpose for you!). I've discovered it ~20 years ago - it has evolved since - and I go to it frequently...
Another one you might like, which I think was introduced to me by @booklooker, is the dictionnaire francophone. For instance, it'll tell you something I've just discovered this week with @MarGar, which is that "bleuet", while being a cornflower in mainland French, is a "myrtille" (blueberry) for Canadians (and a small bird for Guyanais, or a kingfisher in Provence). https://www.dictionnairedesfrancophon...
Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "I do miss TLS, and it’s wider field of contributors; there was usually someone who had read what I’d just finished, and wanted to discus it. With Argentinian literature it..."There is a good Argentine novel called "Santa Evita." Unusual structure; it starts at the moment of Evita Peron's death, and moves both backward and forward in time. Back through her relationship with Peron, her obscure childhood, her time as an actress. Forward, as the Peronists try to make her body a shrine, further forward, as the Argentine military tries to hide Evita, in one odd site or another, then tries to smuggle her abroad. Quite a read!
Berkley wrote: "Sandya wrote: "I was horribly shocked when the Xtianity in the Narnia stories was pointed out to me at age 18-I loved them as a child but I don't feel the same about them now (and prefer Tolkien). ..."For Lewis in an unexpected mode, you might try "Til We Have Faces," a Bronze Age story with a warrior princess as the central character.
Hushpuppy wrote: "Correction: you might initially think it won't be pleasant"I disagree. I believe serendipity is important to reading pleasure. If you read something out of a sense of obligation you probably won't enjoy it, regardless of how you would have felt about the text if you came to it independently. I made a conscious decision a while back to read more books by women for aesthetic reasons, which is fundamentally different.
SydneyH wrote: "I believe serendipity is important to reading pleasure. If you read something out of a sense of obligation you probably won't enjoy it, regardless of how you would have felt about the text if you came to it independently. "Define serendipity. If I decide to read more women, but I let my choices be guided by a title I find evocative, a friend whose judgment I trust who recommends a novel, a film I watch that is an adaption, or a cover that is attractive on a book stall, that is still serendipity, of a kind (complete randomness is a myth*).
And let's be clear, nobody's obliging anybody else in this scenario. Not in this piece I (and Fran) linked, not in my post, not even in Swelter's post. It is a suggestion, just as eating 5 different vegetables and fruits a day is a suggestion. Or just as you could decide to join the Guardian's RG that month featuring Zadie Smith/Doris Lessing/Penelope Lively/Edith Wharton/etc., or not. Would this make anyone a better person to read more women/work in translation/BAME/LGBTQ [delete as appropriate]? You bet. Should they? Absolutely. Should we force them to (outside of a school curriculum)? Hell, no.
Finally, you never, ever come to a text "independently". Even if you do not make a conscious decision about it, so many factors act to make you reach that decision, often hidden from consciousness (so that you believe in serendipity). It can be the design of the book or its smell that reminds you of the books your parents had in their old library, it can be the PR effort that has worm its way through the media you read, it can be the tales your grandmother was telling you about when you were a kid, the travels you've undertaken, the documentaries you've seen, the teachers who've influenced you, the forest dwellers who've mentioned it. There is no such thing as "independent", ever.
*I say this as somebody who's trained in pure maths (and also in neuroscience), not as a creationist!!
Georg wrote: "Hushpuppy wrote: "Georg wrote: "You ask for 'un verre de l'eau'. Their eyebrows raise. They give you a very condescending look. You try again. Their facial expression does not change. After the thi..."Old Punch cartoon. Two British soldiers in France.
"How do you ask for a egg?"
"You juist say 'oof.' "
"Suppose you want two?"
"You juist say twa 'oofs,' then the auld fool wife will give you three, and you give back one. Man, it's an awfully easy language."
AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "Lewis never claimed not to be a Christian; it isn't surprising that when he dealt with epic myth, he included Christian tropes."yes, Lewis was a Anglican of strong faith, re-discov..."
As an Ulsterman, Lewis had no contact with an intellectual Catholic until he made friends with Tolkien.
Hushpuppy wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "I believe serendipity is important to reading pleasure. If you read something out of a sense of obligation you probably won't enjoy it, regardless of how you would have felt about t..."Serendipity might be picking up an unexpected book on a remainder table at a supermarket, or tucked among familiar celebrity books in a big box store.
Hushpuppy wrote: "that is still serendipity"I agree - hearing a recommendation and finding it appealing counts as serendipity. But men generally don't read as much by women because they don't think they will enjoy a specific text. Just like when someone on here advised me that the Elena Ferrante books wouldn't be for me because they focused on a young girl's experience. Encouraging men to read more texts by women than they are currently is telling them to fight that impulse and read books they don't think they will enjoy. I think some women underestimate the extent to which narratives like this can exclude men.
Would this make anyone a better person to read more women/work in translation/BAME/LGBTQ [delete as appropriate]? You bet.
I strongly disagree with this also. A person can be a good person without reading at all, just as someone can live a moral life without following a religion.
Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are recorded when online but not others. I cannot think of another way that the views of the Justine poems continue to rise , now at almost 400 and we do not have that many members. You will remember that only the first view by someone is recorded so it is not returnees.
I don't know how we could persuade them to join/contribute, it would be grand to hear from them.
Robert wrote: "Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "I do miss TLS, and it’s wider field of contributors; there was usually someone who had read what I’d just finished, and wanted to discus it. With Argentinian ..."i have read it....a very interesting novel
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "Lewis never claimed not to be a Christian; it isn't surprising that when he dealt with epic myth, he included Christian tropes."yes, Lewis was a Anglican of strong fai..."
reading his autobiog "suprised by joy" earlier in 2021, was fascinating to see how his faith grew, hardly a mention of any catholics and as you say
CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are recorded when online but not others. I cannot thi..."
so a swathe of lurkers then?
Andy makes a good point that there was more chance a post on a book would get 2-3 responses on the Guardian TLS. I have lost count of how many books i have read that have sunk without comment on here but i guess there are people who read the posts but dont comment.
AB76 wrote: "I have lost count of how many books i have read that have sunk without comment on here"Yes, I know that can be frustrating, and apologies. I had a poke around for an online preview of the Puritan but haven't found one yet.
CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are recorded when online but not others. I cannot thi..."
I was a lurker for a very long time. Even now, I will read most of the comments posted here, but only post replies about topics/books that I have some knowledge of.
I've learned about new authors and historical events from the engaging discussions held here. I've certainly been enlightened!
I'm still in awe at some of the writing skills evident here. That was probably what held me back from posting previously - fear of appearing foolish in my written responses. Perhaps this is what holds others back too.
Thankfully, this is a friendly place and very welcoming, hopefully others will dive in :)
SydneyH wrote: "AB76 wrote: "I have lost count of how many books i have read that have sunk without comment on here"Yes, I know that can be frustrating, and apologies. I had a poke around for an online preview o..."
its ok Sydney, it has suprised me though, summaries of reading, new books and ideas just sink without trace. Guardian TLS used to always suprised me with the comments i would get and on the obscurist books. On here, i think 75% of what i have read in 2021 has gone without comment, though admittedly i eschew the modern reading that dominates on here
Fuzzywuzz wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are recorded when online but not oth..."
good point about writing skills....am pretty sure 30% of posters are academics or writers(must be careful i dont slate an author who could be a lurker!!!). I dont come from either background, though am a history graduate but i am thick skinned on commenting and how i may come accross!
Sometimes it's the small things that can make a cake and put the icing on the top.Thank you to the lovely lady at the till at my local supermarket last night who gave me the time to go to my car and get my clubcard out of my jacket pocket.
I've been a bit flaky with reading. I finished The Poet by Michael Connelly this morning. I've not updated what I've been reading on this site, out of lazyness, but I keep a list on my phone for the current year. This is book 23.
What started out as in interesting and clever idea for a story ends with rather formulaic twists and turns - what appears to be police suicides are linked by their suicide notes - each bearing lines from poetry by Edgar Allan Poe. The deceased policemen were chasing a man linked to child pornography.
Maybe I'm getting cynical or perhaps have read too many crime/thrillers, but red herrings and twists are testing my patience somewhat.
Despite this, one of two books I'm going to the library to collect today is called My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. The other is Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver.
Fuzzywuzz wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I am glad that you decide to dive in fuzzywuzz.
We're not so clever really, all having feet of clay, things we don't know but you do, certainly don't think of myself as an academic.
AB76 wrote: "Fuzzywuzz wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are recorded when ..."
I'm a science graduate. The last piece of work requiring a written submission at my workplace was completing an audit, using a template, dull-as-dishwater and matter-of-fact. I think I would have had more fun pulling my eyelashes out. But, it was easy to do.
I find writing subjectively is a whole different kettle of fish.
Fuzzywuzz wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Fuzzywuzz wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Andy wrote 'You remind me of what I miss… I believe that we underestimate greatly the number of people who read these threads. Ersatz members are r..."
good point!
Gpfr wrote: "I would have said the contrary (not that I'm saying I don't believe you) - Loch Lomond, Loch Ness ... all pronouced 'lock'... "You may well be right - our Scottish friend on YouTube certainly thought so!
Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Berkley wrote: "I remember when I spent a month or so in Gemany in 1993, I never was able to master the ch sound - 'ich' usually came out as 'ish' and if I tried for a more corr..."Maybe they don't want to serve you a free glass of water? ;-)
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i remember hearing a german reading the news in french on a clip from the Vichy days and it struck me it might sound like an englishman speaking french. while english has a slightly stronger romance language infusion than german, we both probably sound quite "flat" speaking french. when i spoke both languages fairly well, i was happier with my german accent than my french one