#language and codeswitching ...

[touchlikethesun]

i’m sorry it’s cute and all, but kageyama “why tf should japanese people speak english we live in japan” tobio is not speaking italian with his japanese bf unless it’s absolutely necessary. like i can buy hinata getting a kick out of using his portuguese/english with kageyama from time to time (like pet names etc) but kags, even tho he might learn english and italian well enough to communicate on the court and with the press, isn’t going to have any desire to speak foreign languages (something he’s uncomfortable with) w/in the comfort of his own home, and that’s okay. personally i think it’s even sweeter if tobio is relieved to call hinata while they’re abroad so he can just speak japanese without thinking too hard.

[ovalt]

there's sort of a stereotype(?) where Chinese ppl don't rlly say "I love you" to each other, and my immediate response is like "no way! of course I tell my family that all the time!"

then I had a phone conversation with my mom in front of my friend, and they were like, "why was the entire conversation in Mandarin but you two both said "bye, love you" in English at the end?"

some introspection later, and I have realized I don't think I ever say 我爱你...

[yinyuedijun]

when you wrote that translation fic and when i read it and i shed a tear and when you ripped my chest open and filled it with both tenderness and grief and when i couldn’t help but be transported to my childhood and when you said aventurine cannot lie in his language and when i remember how i change depending on which language i read and when you and when i and and and and and an

when i read this ask and got so happy 🥺💗💗

[dkniade]

脑海里想的是：“Light and dark contrast again, huh”

被翻成：“light and dark (明暗) contrast (对比) again(又来了) huh (吗)” —> “明暗对比又来了吗”

然后：等���，好像…应该是…“又是明暗对比吗”

Switching around the syntax is haaaard

[irawhiti]

managed to accidentally combine welsh, te reo, english, and german in a sentence with only seven words in it while typing something out in my notes before rereading and saying "wait what the fuck am i even talking about" so that's how my day is going

[quatregats]

Ah, Wikipedia <3

[miyamiwu]

The examples in the notes are all very valid. But as someone who speaks two languages that are closely related, the scenario above is actually not that unrealistic. In fact, it can even happen a lot.

My mother tongue is Cebuano (aka Bisaya), but I’m living in the capital where everybody speaks Filipino/Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. (To any Filos reading this: I know there’s a difference between Filipino and Tagalog, but to avoid confusion, I’m gonna refer to the language as Tagalog from now on)

Cebuano and Tagalog are distinct from each other, but since they are both Philippine languages they have an overlap in their vocabularies. Sometimes, the two have the exact same words for certain things. Other times the word is just spelled or pronounced slightly differently.

So when I suddenly use a Cebuano word while speaking in Tagalog, its because I have thought that that word also exists in Tagalog.

Example:

While at a fruit stall: “Magkano ‘tong lemoncito?” (How much is this lemoncito?)

Lemoncito is the Cebuano word for this citrus fruit:

The word has Spanish origins (the country was colonized by Spain for over 300 years), and it literally means “little lemon.”

I thought the Tagalogs also have lemoncito in their vocabulary because it’s not like the word is inherently Cebuano. It was only when the fruit seller looked at me in confusion and asked me to clarify what I said that I realized that they, in fact, do not have that word. Their word for lemoncito is only calamansi.

Example 2:

While sharing an anecdote about our rooms in the house: “Sa pikas na kwarto” (“In the other room”)

sa, na, and kwarto are words that exist in both Cebuano and Tagalog.

However, pikas (“other”) is a Cebuano-only word. The Tagalog word for it is kabila.

This time, I knew pikas does not exist in Tagalog. But I was speaking too fast and the words were just flowing out. I didn’t even realize I had codeswitched until people asked me to stop and explain.

Now, the most extreme example:

In a Discord DM: Explaining something long and complicated in Cebuano to a friend who only knows Tagalog 🥲

Yes, it has happened before. It just felt so natural while I was doing it that it was only when I finished typing everything and looked back at what I wrote that I fucking remembered that my friend doesn’t understand Cebuano 😭

I had to delete everything before she could read it because holy fuck that was embarrassing

Codeswitching one or two words? Still acceptable. Writing a long-ass rant in entirely Cebuano despite knowing I won’t be understood? I had no idea what came over me...

Some more words which I suddenly codeswitch to unintentionally: (Cebuano words are violet, while Tagalog words are orange)

To eat: kaon instead of kain

To write: suwat instead of sulat

Dipper: kabo instead of tabo

the color black: itom instead of itim

The words above only vary in spelling a little, so it’s easy to forget that they’re actually from two different languages, and hence, the codeswitching.

Now, this one is not really codeswitching, but it’s still related…

Conjugating Verbs

[Context: Cebuano and Tagalog both conjugate verbs by aspect (fabric of time), which is in contrast to English that conjugates by tense (location in time).

But I’m not gonna go too deeply in that, so for now I’ll just use the term “tense” to avoid confusion.]

In Cebuano, the present tense form of a verb is made by adding the prefix “nag-” to the root word. However, this way of conjugation coincides with the Tagalog rule of conjugation for past tense.

And so, we get this mess:

Cebuano: “I am writing” -> “nagsuwat ko”

Tagalog: “I wrote” -> “nagsulat ako”

The present form of a Tagalog verb requires that you also repeat the first syllable.

Tagalog (present): “I am writing” -> “nagsusulat ako”

Many times, I mean to say something in the present tense (“I am writing/nagsusulat ako”) but I end up talking in past tense (“I wrote/nagsulat ako”) without even realizing it. It’s like I would subconsciously apply the Cebuano rules (nagsuwat -> nagsulat) instead of the Tagalog ones when conjugating verbs...

So yeah, switching to a different language is actually not that weird when the two languages are closely related to each other.

[shitty-malevolent-aus]

AU where John constantly codeswitches between English and otherworldly languages ​​he speaks

That would honestly be so real of him

[sunburstbomi]

YAHAA 💥💥💥

I made an RP acc for Original Characters bc its getting messy on my art blog and I dont like being disorganized. I wasn't planning on making one bc I didn't think people would want to x).

RP Rules:

Interract however u want. As long as you're not rude then we're 👌

Make sure to indicate which OC you want to talk to: Bomi, Fink, or Miyu. If not indicated then Chromoya Bomi will answer by default.

If I have 0 idea on how to interract with you then I'm sorry bestie I'm not gonna (unlikely to happen tho)

Make it fun for everyone, okay? Okay.

I'll respond with art but that doesn't mean I'm accepting art requests for free.

Yellow font texts indicates the author (Fell) speaking.

Character Description via Toyhouse:

Bomi 💥

She has two versions, pick your fighter

Chromoya!Bomi

Soul Eater!Bomi

Notes to remember:

Bomi is the personification of the color yellow and the 💥 emoji.

Bomi isn't necessarily kind, Chromoya!Bomi will fight you when provoked.

Bomi might codeswitch during the conversation but I'll still put the translation. She's conyo. If your character doesn't know the language then keep acting like it. I'm only putting translations in case you're curious about what she said. It's not necessarily meant for your character to understand.

Fink Cartridge

Chromoya! Fink

Soul Eater! Fink

Summary:

Fink is self-absorbed and you might be surprised of the things he can do.

He's easily embarrassed when proven wrong.

He's sweet and laughs a lot.

Miyu Inuoe [Oc x Canon]

Currently doesn't have a toyhouse yet.

She is Death the Kid's love interest.

Think of her as a golden retriever.

She is a witch that specializes in alchemy. She can create a lot of things as long as the materials are present. Kid brought her to Death City in secret because he wants to commission her for construction, restoration, or whatever he needs her power for.

She only speaks to people she loves. But she likes everyone! Hence you'll often find her respond in dog kaomojis instead. ૮₍ ´ ꒳ `₎ა

She's a mix of my two main OCs: Miu and Carn. In case you're wondering about their similarities.

[dykepuffs]

Thinking about the idea of therapyspeak as a dialect that is no better or worse than any other - Because of course it shapes your way of thinking, just like any dialect does, but also most people who always or almost-always speak in therapyspeak are expressing things that could also be expressed in other dialects with exactly as much nuance... Even though some therapyspeakers get very annoyed at the idea that it is no more or less good, as a way of speaking, than any other dialect.

Eg "My nose is really out of joint, he's just chewing on and I might as well be nutty slack" - "I feel invalidated and dismissed, because he is ruminating unhelpfully."

I feel like the most fluent and consistent therapyspeakers that I know are people who were (for whatever reason!) not able to get along on an equal footing in their home dialect: whether that was being queer or disabled, so marked as "other" for their appearance, desires, and experiences, or specifically being neurodivergent so not necessarily using language in the same way as a neurotypisch person in the first place, or being multilingual and therapyspeak becoming an extra option for codeswitching.

It's definitely something I want someone brighter than me to do some real research into - It feels like a parallel to various other dialects and accents that are gained in adulthood or adolescence, via affinity communities rather than family communities (eg, Gay Voice, aristocratic rhotacism, MUBE/MLE/MYE for many speakers...) but also like it is different, because so many people who speak it think of it consciously as NOT just a dialect but as a "better" or "clearer" or "less confrontational" way of speaking, even when the people they're speaking to, often do find it patronising or confrontational or just unclear.

It feels (to me!) Like it fits into a similar place as prestige dialects like Standard English, where non-speakers are expected to understand it and to feel ashamed at not speaking or understanding it... Which is interesting, considering it's (as above) often used by people who are not themselves privileged or given prestige.

Thoughts to think, basically, lots of people I want to ask and pick their brains.

[starryflix]

I fucking love language and linguistics, I love the social aspects of it, the storytelling, the music, the sounds, the comparisons, the loanwords, the differences, the history, the changes, the communication, things that transcend that, non-verbal languages, the dialects, unconventional ways of communication, the mixes of languages, the pigins and creoles, the bilingual or multilingual speakers, codeswitching-

I love it all. I love how humans express themselves. How sometimes translation isn't needed because everyone understands anyway. How it can catch you offguard, how words aren't possible to translate-

How silences are often louder than words.

[olive-garden-hoe]

Tmnt 2012 hc:

I think that if the turtles were humanized they would all be black and/or blasian since they’re siblings and would have to have the same genetic tree (in 2012 I’m pretty sure they’re biologically related). However I love idea that they have slight differences between them since they hang out in different areas in nyc (a diverse city with a bunch of different cultures that I think would really interest them).

So anyways I hc that Splinter brought them all up to be bilingual, however Raph and Donnie aren’t as good at Japanese anymore since I think they aren’t as good with languages and they would consume a lot of English content growing up + Leo probably started translating Splinter for them and they kinda stopped needing to use it, so it faded a bit. I think Raph stopped speaking Japanese but can still understand it and could speak it (with some grammar and pronunciation errors) in a pinch. Donnie rarely speaks Japanese but he speaks it from time to time with Splinter, Leo, or Mikey. Leo is probably fluent in Japanese and English and I think her (Leo is transfem in my books) and Mikey can read Japanese while Raph and Donnie can’t. However, I think that Leo code switches and sometimes makes tiny grammar/pronunciation errors, with Mikey being the best at Japanese of all their (Mikey is aroace gender-fluid) siblings.

I don’t think Raph is a big language buff (unlabeled he/him non binary Raph supremacy), so he probably just knows English and Japanese. Meanwhile, I think Donnie knows code languages and probably taught themself (They/them for Donnie, source: me) obscure/dead/constructed languages like Esperanto or Latin. Leo probably can understand/read Spanish to some extent, though she’s barely conversational speaking it. She might also know certain phrases in a bunch of different languages since I hc that she wants to travel. Mikey, in my opinion, will be the best at picking up languages, probably fluent in Latin American Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese, conversational in Italian and Korean, and has begun to pick up some Haitian Creole (though her pronunciation isn’t good because she probably sounds either very American or has WAY to heavy of an accent). They also codeswitch and mesh together languages pretty often, so his siblings have begun to pick up a bit of their languages, especially Leo (how she learned Latin American Spanish)

I think they speak primarily English among themselves and Japanese/English with Splinter, who is plays a little game with himself when he hears music to guess the language it’s in

[willowbilly]

Your post on Silna’s ethnicity was very interesting! After the end of the show, could Silna have been able to join another group or find the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut? If she wasn’t in exile for the death of the Tuunbaq.

And some more questions (if you don’t mind!) - in a modern AU, what ethnicity do you think Silna would identify as? If she could speak an Inuit language/dialect, which one? Most of the people I know who live around Franklin Expedition related places speak Inuinnaqtun or Natsilingmiutut (which I believe is Utkuhikhalik, from Gjoa Haven) but I know next to nothing about linguistics.

Prefacing this with the caveat that these are all merely the opinions and cultural understandings of a white non-Native person from Alaska. Much of this more specific ethnographic and linguistic info is from Knud Rasmussen, Jean Briggs, Alana Johns, Joke Schuit, the Interviewing Inuit Elders series from Nunavut Arctic College, the Ikajuqtigiit Society's Natchilingmiut Uqauhingit, tusaalanga.ca, and the few years I've had of Iñupiatun lessons. I am by no means an expert! 

If Silna were to reconcile with Tuunbaq's spirit after its death, then her exile might be lifted because her shamanism would no longer be an uncontrolled threat to those around her. But that's just me desperately postulating; perhaps Tuunbaq's death itself imposes a lifelong spiritual quarantine upon any person in its proximity. I don't know the precise taboos at work, but the application of traditional taboos was most strict around occasions of birth and death. Adhering to spiritual prohibitions, such as observing a set period of isolation, was believed to help avert misfortune and illness. 

But were she not a danger to people, Silna absolutely could join the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut! Though hostilities with Natchiliŋmiut and Iluilirmiut are said to have contributed to movement of Ugřuliŋmiut southward, and while kin endogamy was preferred, intermarriage between neighboring Inuit groups was relatively commonplace, and migration already obligatory. Inuit in the region were mostly patrilocal nomads: women were more likely to marry out due to typically not needing as intimate a familiarity with their family's hunting grounds as men. Warfare also sometimes involved the abduction of wives; the custom of female infanticide especially during times of extreme hardship resulted in an unequal ratio of men to women. Which is to say that Silna, as a probable Ugřuliŋmiutaq, might join or be joined with any Inuit group in reach. 

Ugřuliŋmiut emigrants are known to have become Utkuhikšaliŋmiut, Hanniŋajurmiut, and Ualiakliit, all of whose subdialects are labeled Utkuhikhalik. The Ualiakliit might speak what is a variety of Hanniŋajurmiut subdialect. Speakers were later resettled largely in Uqšuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven), Talurřuaq (Taloyoak), and Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), influencing the Natchilik, Arviligřuaq, and other dialects likewise pushed into the same settlements. Out of the Natsilingmiutut varieties, Utkuhikšalik language is most distinct from Natchilik and Arviligřuaq, with some lexical and phonological differences. Inuinnaqtun is very closely related, and is also now spoken in Uqhuqtuuq! 

Either Utkuhikšaliŋmiutut, Natchiliŋmiutut proper, or Arviligjuarmiutut would make obvious sense for a modern Silna to speak, and if her family now or then is made of speakers from multiple dialects she'd quite likely be able to codeswitch between those dialects. And nearby or coexisting dialects such as Inuinnaqtun make sense too! The more recent the AU, the more one can probably cast other, farther-away Inuit as Silna's family, given a believable enough backstory (though I do suggest that one keep some direct connection between her and the Qitirmiut region, as for instance still having her father or a direct ancestor be an Inuk from Uqšuqtuuq). 

The +miut postbase is also used in more than ethnonyms, because it is tied to dwellership! One may see it lexicalized in other terms as well, such as in aŋutikšat imarmiutat: “sea mammals,” with aŋutikšat “mammals, beasts, wildlife” in apposition with imarmiutat “inhabitants of the water.” The postbase naturally may be attached to the names of modern settlements and other placenames, so nowadays a resident of Gjoa Haven is an Uqšuqtuurmiutaq, a resident of Kugaaruk is a Kuugaarřuŋmiutaq, and so forth. 

Were Silna to join the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut, she would both become and would not really be an Utkuhikšaliŋmiutaq; she'd retain her ethnic identity as an Ugřuliŋmiu even while identified with the local community and its country. The context and situation would inform whether she is defined as an Utkuhikšaliŋmiu or not.

Silna would probably identify as Inuk in a modern AU! Although one could very easily conceive of a modern AU wherein she has heritage from any Inuit-Yuit-Unangan language-speaking people (especially what with the book applying the meaning of Iñupiat, Inuinnait, et cetera: “Real People” to the word Inuit: “People;” the show taking inspiration from Yup’ik mask traditions for Aja's mask; Nive Nielsen being Kalaaleq; etc.). In which case, she'd use the most common ethnonym (Kalaaleq, Iñupiaq, Yupiaq, Yup’ik, Cup’ig, Sugpiaq, Unangax̂, etc.), and if she has inherited multiple tribal affiliations she would formally introduce herself with all of them. These are related but very distinct languages and cultures! 

“Eskimo-Aleut” is the older academic name for the Inuit-Yuit-Unangan language family, with “Eskimo” encompassing the languages of Inuit and Yuit including Sugpiat, and “Aleut” being the language of Unangan, but “Aleut” is the exonym first applied to Native peoples during Russian colonization and is still preferred by both Unangan and Sugpiat/“Alutiit” over the other later exonym “Eskimo.” Some organizations and people, particularly elders in rural Alaska, might still identify themselves in English as “Iñupiaq Eskimo” or “Yupiaq Eskimo,” with acceptance of the exonym in its function as an umbrella ethnonym, but it is more often a slur in Canada and Greenland, and more neutral, precise endonyms are generally preferred, especially by younger or urban people. “Esquimaux” is the older French spelling that may carry slightly less stigma in English. While “Inuit” is sometimes applied to Inuit, Yuit, and Unangan collectively as a replacement umbrella term, it is not totally interchangeable, for it remains an exonym to Yuit and Unangan etc.; though the words Inuk, Iñuk, Yuk, Cuk, and Suk are all clear cognates. “Kalaallit” is the ethnonym for Inuit of Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat, probably borrowed from a Norse exonym. 

Lowercase “inuit” in Inuit language is the generic noun for all humans (lowercase in Latin orthography, whereas syllabics have no upper/lowercase distinction). An “inuk” is also the yolk of an egg, or the resident spirit of something such as a natural feature, e.g. of siḷa, sila, hila: the air, weather, atmosphere. Iñupiatun for “the resident spirit of the air” is siḷam iñua; the Terror novel appropriates this phrase with unconventional orthography for Silna's group name: “sixam ieua,” but the “spirit-governor-of-the-sky” is literally of the air, its resident spirit. Siḷam is in the singular relative noun case: “of the air” or “the air's.” Iñua is the absolutive noun iñuk with the singular-to-singular possessive noun ending: “its resident spirit.” Hilap inua is the same spirit as the one whose Inuktut proper name is Naarjuk or Naarřuk, who may also be referred to by residence alone: Sila or Hila. These three concepts refer in fact to the same spiritual figure, whereas they are misrepresented in the book as being separate from each other. None are to my knowledge an actual ethnonym, though Naarřuk, Hila, etc. are indeed anthroponyms. Do not listen to Dan Simmons. 

“Indian” historically was and is not an English ethnonym usually applied to Inuit, Yupiit, Sugpiat, or Unangan peoples, but is an official legal term that is identified with other Native nations of Alaska. It may also be used as a slur, but many people still self-identify with this word, particularly as its own umbrella. “First Nations” is the main Canadian term, with “Native American” being more U.S. American. The modern ethnonym “Tinaaq” was borrowed into the Iñuit language from the Dené language endonym “Dena,” as the old Iñuit language term means “one that has or has the quality of or association with louse eggs” and is therefore considered offensive. 

For those in Alaska the preferred English umbrella ethnonym is “Alaska Native” (applied to all Native peoples of Alaska, listed alongside “American Indian” on the census) as well as simply “Native.” I don't know enough about Russia, Canada, and Greenland to speak on preferred terminology there, other than that “Indigenous” is broadly accepted as a general term. Should Silna in one's modern AU have friends or family who are of another, non-Inuit-Yuit-Unangan Indigenous nation, be sure to do one's research on/take into account the relevant histories, intercultural relationships, attitudes, and experiences of whom one is representing, as one ought to best do anyway. Of course, multiethnic/multiracial people will face specific sets of circumstances. 

If one's modern AU does expand or change Silna's ethnicity so that she grows up, say, Yup’ik in Alaska, remember that the language landscape will be different depending on the area and its history, e.g. with Moravian missionaries in much of that area having learned and translated into Yugtun as opposed to having suppressed it, there was a somewhat higher level of postcolonial Native language preservation than elsewhere in the state. The impacts of cultural assimilation and boarding/residential schools were widespread and considerable, vary a bit in different places, and if Silna or her parents were fostered or adopted by non-Native people it is very unlikely she would be a first-language speaker/signer of her heritage language(s). English also now dominates as the lingua franca even when it is not already instilled as a first language for many. Other major colonial languages across the larger region include Russian, French, Danish, and ASL. 

I operate on the basis of my headcanon that Silna's father, Aja, and therefore Silna, must have known a local variety of Inuit Sign Language, since it would be indispensable for a person whose tongue is removed, presuming a sign language is still permitted to them. The novel has Silna and her family using a sign language of string figures. This is inconvenient and unrealistic in that using string figures as morphemes ideally requires a string and is more tedious; the spirit of the string games, Tuutaŋŋuarřuk (who makes string figures with his own intestines), is said to attack those who want to play too much; and there is already a preexisting normal sign language. While the language's history is not well-known, it is thought to have developed among Deaf Inuit, from and with the signs that hunters used to coordinate and that facilitated the communication between speakers of different Inuktut dialects as for instance during trade relations; it is signed by both Deaf and hearing Inuit. The absolute certainty of this headcanon of mine decreases for a modern AU, since modern schooling has so stifled Native languages and ensured that most Deaf/HoH Inuit learn American Sign Language (ASL) and Manually Coded English (MCE); ISL or Inuit Uukturausingit (IUR) is thus very endangered today (estimated <40 monolingual signers). IUR is, however, currently attested to be signed in Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet, and Taloyoak, and so Silna's family being signers who are from one of these places is more than plausible! 

It is valuable that one decide Silna's specific heritage and community for one's AU, because this will inform what she speaks and/or signs. In introducing herself to someone nowadays she may say who her parents are and where she's from, or this would simply be integral to the grounded establishment of her character. I don't know if she would use the “Natsilik Inuk” umbrella term for herself in a modern AU; please defer to the opinions that Inuit from the region have about its usage for themselves! But if in use as an umbrella term, it would be in addition to the particular ethnonym(s) inherited from her family. 

Silna in a modern AU being among the many who are struggling against Indigenous language loss would make for one of several meaningful, tragic, yet more prosaic analogs to her canonical speechlessness. She could have Inuktut, IUR, and English as her first languages, and, frustrated to see the loss underway, partakes in revitalization work, or perhaps she is monolingual in a colonial language and is only just beginning to learn her heritage Native language(s) after a difficult, discouraging history. Either way, it depends on how she was raised, on what her community, family, and father passed on to her, and that depends on communal and personal reactions to the traumatic impact of forced cultural assimilation.

[myautumnrose]

My "Laws of Attraction" MC

Name: Mamoru Ivy Vine

Age: 28

Nationally: Flowaian(Mother)/Japanese(Father)

Religion: Atheist

Sexuality: Heterosexual

LI: Aislinn Tanaka

Facts:

-He and his siblings are the only ones not to practice Flowaian spirituality.

-Is a natural born loner.

-Loves to read fiction novels

-Codeswitches…

-Has a Flowaian tattoo on his arm, it’s his only tattoo

-Loves to eat A LOT

-Went to become a lawyer after father was incarcerated.

-Has to defend younger brother in court sometimes.

-Can speak two languages(English and Japanese)

-Doesn’t like loud noises

-Has met Yarrow(THM MC) crew…only likes Miranda

-Always wears long sleeves, even in summer

[bucksboobs]

I think part of the issue is that the media does write articles talking about lgbtq code switching. In these articles expressive behaviors are described as part of code switching. However, they mean changing mannerisms and not “he can cook now.” This still isn’t how code switching was meant to be used as a term, but it’s not random tumblr users pulling something out of thin air. They think they’re on to something because they’ve been told it’s a real thing.

Yeah when it comes to LGBTQ code switching (/queening it up or whatever we want to call it) it’s much more about body language and certain word choices than speaking an entirely different dialect of English like it is with Black codeswitching and there is something worth talking about there. Overall, I still don’t think that excuses thinking cooking makes someone queer coded or referring to Twitter Liason Eddie as code switching.

[showroom-flor]

and we're back at it with a few new entries in @batmanisagatewaydrug's bingo! getting so so close to a bingo here, if i could JUST finish fellowship............

no longer human - ★★★ honestly, i feel like this one could've been better served by reading a different translation, and better still if i could read it in the original japanese. the themes of alienation made me feel like i was inside a fishbowl, and the narrator was my only company - which is, at the best of times, suffocating. yozo is a horrifying person to be with for the whole novel. he's misogynistic, bitter, hateful, and completely self-absorbed. the worst part is that i pity him through the whole thing, and he makes it so hard to do so. i'm giving it a 3/5 not really as a mark of quality, but because i don't think i got the full experience. i plan to read junji ito's manga adaptation later on, which i hope will do better at communicating the mood to me.

james - ★★★ 1/2 woof. is there anything worse than being kind of underwhelmed by a book everyone has been so excited about? everett is a sharp writer, undoubtedly. he's also very close to twain's voice. if you like mark twain, you'll probably like james - i'm just not a twain guy. i like the premise a lot: giving a full narrative to huckleberry finn's jim. i love that he's not the dumb-and-happy character from the original novel, but an angry man with no outlet and a deeply loving father. his awareness of the institution and philosophy of slavery is striking, and his inability to act on what he knows is gut-wrenching. he's deeply intelligent and has to hide it - the back-and-forth of his dialogue, codeswitching from academic language to what everett calls the "slave language," made me cry a few times. (that said, i read the audiobook, and hearing it aloud is an experience!) but, like its predecessor, a lot of plot threads were left unfinished. maybe that's the point; it just doesn't work for me. there are also a few choices everett makes that are, frankly, baffling, and he has a profound blind spot for women. if you're curious, if you like twain, if you dislike twain, give it a read - it's worth it, imo!

read so far: the death of expertise by tom nichols (essay collection) too much and never enough: how my family created the world's most dangerous man by mary l. trump (nonfiction) tender is the flesh by agustina bazterrica (set in a country you have never visited) the bug collector by wrath james white (horror) heroes' feast by jon peterson, kyle newman, and michael witwer (read and make a recipe) the bighead by edward lee (indie publisher) persepolis by marjane satrapi (graphic novel, comic book, or manga) the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain (literary fiction) no longer human by osamu dazai (published before 1950) james by percival everett (2024 award winner)

currently reading: the fellowship of the ring by j.r.r. tolkien (fantasy) (yes. still. don't @ me) sunrise on the reaping by suzanne collins (sequel) (to ballad of songbirds and snakes do NOT @ me!!!!!)

to be read: a day of fallen night by samantha shannon (animal on the cover)