#the grammar rules are explained to me with examples and I still do not understand. I will simply pretend it does not exist

[akemiiya]

you think you have a good grip on grammar and then a professional reads your writing and corrects your phrasing by citing ten million new grammar rules that you've never heard of in your life

[yandere-yearnings]

do u have any writing tips dar??? Ur stories are immaculate

nonnie?? that's so sweet of you to say, thank you😭���� in general, a lot comes to mind bc there's so many different components to writing (i.e dialogue, characterisation, structure,, even mindset!!) so if you want to hear abt anything specific pls lmk🥺 for now tho, i've summarised a few across the subject that i think are helpful, and they will be below the cut bc i'm shit at explaining things, so i ended up writing a lot hhh

i also wanna point out that these are just things that i've personally made note of over the years from my own experiences + being friends w/ other writers, but that doesn't mean they will apply to everyone!! more than anything, i always believe that you shouldn't let other ppl dictate how you do and enjoy things, so if smth works for you and you like it, there's nothing wrong w/ that even if it contradicts an opinion you got from some rando on the internet (a.k.a. me😔💔)

Know your game

I'd like to say that in writing, there's a vein of liberty that isn't echoed in very many other creative fields; a lot of the times you can go in blind, and still make something of it because the nature of fiction is liquid — if you can imagine it, it can work. So to say, I find that nine times out of ten, room for improvement doesn't necessarily lie in the content of someone's writing, and more so its execution.

You could play a desultory game of chess without knowing all the rules, but if you wanted it to be your best match, you'd have to be aware of every move you could make, no? What you do from there then becomes a matter of choice, and choice is a landmark divider between doing something and being good at doing something. There's a difference in omissions due to lacking the technical knowledge, and omissions made because you are aware they are optimal.

Knowledge on the fundamentals of literature will always serve you, and that isn't to say you have to study all forms and contexts, but if you want to write a story, for example, it will always help to know the common elements of one. Grammar, punctuation, structure — brushing up on those things will build your toolkit, and once you've got that, you have the self-autonomy to decide what to use from it. My three favourite writers only use commas and full stops, and their works are, on all levels, spectacular. Still, if you asked them how to use a semi-colon, they'd be able to tell you.

Appreciating the basics will also tie into your creative exploration as a writer, which is a cornerstone in developing your distinctive writing style. I doubt a person in any type of craft hasn't heard a variation of know the rules before you break them, so studying until you do, inside out, remains beneficial to both new and old writers alike.

2. Have a starting point

This tip is fairly applicable to a range of different types of writing, and how one would practice it depends strongly on individual preference and styles of working. Some people like to plan things out thoroughly whilst others, including myself, like to dive in headfirst, and there's nothing wrong with either approach. The commonality between both types of writer is that regardless, they will have at least a vague idea of where to start from — a scene that they've bullet-pointed prior, a lyric that resonated with them, a mental image, an emotion or even just a single word that everything branches from. What all these details achieve is writing that has motion, because you have something of substance to piggyback you to an end point (the establishment of which is also important, but I will not be covering in this post).

3. Decide a structure

Again, this can be done both comprehensively or as simply as just having the thought to adhere to a certain method. As you gain more experience as a writer, you'll begin to understand what works best for you and create a system of your own, but starting out, there are a number of templates that have already been established by writers that you can follow, and find by researching. What matters most is that by using one — whichever it may be — you're turning your text into a story.

As an example, I'll detail two that I use regularly, in their simplest forms for the sake of brevity:

A linear narrative moves from point A to point B, and from point B to point C, etc. and all subsequent points build on the previous ones until your goal is reached. It's a system that works well for shorter pieces because it has a definite structure, like a length of spine and its individual vertebrae (and although we're talking about writing here, I think Newton's Third Law of Motion sums it up very well: every action has a reaction.)

A coalescing narrative considers all points as separate elements that may or may not always interact, but all contribute to the end point to different extremes. It's a useful template for creating depth in a piece, but due to its complexity, is better applied to longer projects.

They are visualised respectively below.

4. Iterate

If you think of your first draft as a block of clay, everything you do to it will equate to it being moulded and shaped, and if you think of your first draft as a skeleton, everything you do to it will equate to flesh being put on the bones. If you want your piece to be the best it can be, there's a sort of detachment you must have from it, where you won't have the fear of changing it until it is in the image of what you have intended. Write and rewrite, add things, take them away, make a separate copy for every edit if that makes it easier for you, but keep working it until you are happy.

Iteration doesn't just apply to drafts — chapters, paragraphs, sentences and even singular words can be given the same treatment. When you pick up the habit, the process becomes second-nature and you'll find that the first lines you put down are the ones that make it into the final piece, and that is in light of sorting through the renditions unconsciously. Additionally, you don't have to do things in one sitting; sometimes taking a break and coming back to your writing with a fresh outlook is valuable.

5. Analyse and apply

One piece of advice I always see given when someone asks how to improve their writing is to read more, and though it is — at its core — a tip worth acknowledging, it always comes across as unserviceable to me. There is nothing that reading will change for you if you are not actively practicing the things you learn, or even actively learning to begin with. So to address it as a matter of semantics, I feel it's best put as studying the writing of others, as opposed to reading.

If you have a favourite author, go over their works twice — once as a reader to identify what you like about them, and then again as a writer to identify why you like those things. To put it into context, if I read something and decided that I enjoyed how clear and easy to understand it was, I'd do a second pass to figure out the attributing qualities. Perhaps it's the use of punctuation, chosen sentence forms or even the simplicity of words used. My first tip of knowing different literary fundamentals is complementary here, because it makes the analysis and application of isolated features that much more smooth, and also means you'd be able to adapt them into your own style instead of just copying the other writer, which is what you want to avoid.

(Some writers I personally recommend studying are @ozzgin, @monstersholygrail, @aayakashii and @urprettylildoe for readability and clarity in execution, @moyazaika, @carnivorousyandeere and @purerae for characterisation and dialogue, @suiana and @unhappy-last-resort for engaging plots and concepts, and @sabotsen and @lirational for word choice.)

[spanishskulduggery]

In Spanish mannerisms, is it common to use the usted conjugation for your peer group? Then as you become well acquainted,you eventually transition to the tú form? Trying to gauge social norms with proper grammar. It's easy to offend when learning a language.

It is no longer common to use it that way, no

Bear with me because I'm going to have to explain how things were, and how things are now to make it make complete sense

For the purposes of general modern Spanish, usted is considered polite and formal, and tú considered more common among your peers and people younger than you. You don't usually have to use usted with someone your same age or in your peer group (like a stranger at university)

Sometimes people use usted with their bosses and superiors, regardless of their apparent age... but there are times when someone will say something to the effect of "use tú with me"

It's not a big social faux pas if you address someone about your age or younger with tú. It could be a bit rude to do it to a client/customer/judge/doctor depending on where you are, but it used to be a bigger mistake than it now is

A lot of countries have relaxed the social norms after moving away from a more aristocratic/feudal society... where usted is now a social courtesy for someone in a respected position, but not because they're "better" than you if that makes sense

-

In older Spanish it was more common to use usted with strangers as a courtesy. The roots of the formality/informality are related to title and acquaintanceship; where usted was more commonly used to address someone unknown to the speaker, and its etymology is related to saying "your lordship/ladyship" like saying "sir" or "madam" when speaking to someone

It was common to use this form of address in polite conversation to afford someone the respect that their title afforded them, or in cases of unknowns, it was to treat people with respect so as not to accidentally slight someone's reputation

The tú form was then more commonly used with people who were related to you [a sign of intimacy or kinship], and in older feudal settings, more commonly used with servants and people who were lower than your station

-

These rules have relaxed considerably since most Spanish-speaking countries either have different rules, or they're not so distinctly feudal in nature

In practice, usted is more commonly used for someone older than you; even with strangers, it's more common to use tú with someone who is your age or younger. And it is considered preferable to use usted when speaking with customers and clients

HOWEVER - this will largely depend on the country in question

As an example, I was taught [in the US] that you should talk to doctors and teachers with usted. However, I've been told by Spaniards for example that they use tú with their teachers, and their teachers use tú with them

Argentina is completely unique in that they use vos for everything and that tú and usted are less commonly used now

Some countries in Latin America prefer to use usted even with children or people they know

And many countries have some kind of use of vos which is in some places more informal than tú and vos is used among friends/relations

Chile, for example will use vos among peers and it's considered more common among the younger generation. But I've been told that vos is considered impolite, practically rude, when used with the older generation - sort of like if you called your grandmother "dude"

-

You will find a lot of variation in countries - everyone will understand usted and tú and they're understanding of you being a foreigner and not exactly fitting in with the country's particular social norms regarding formality

Still in a place like Argentina I would expect them to call me vos even if I'm using tú because I never learned the vos conjugation; if I were living/working in Argentina I would go out of my way to learn the vos to fit in better

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/730567395513679872/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic730187969463

I’m the anon here. I’ve heard the stuff ceerosa mentions before about “learning rules is not helpful” but I’m sorry, I think this is a “not all brains work the same” thing, because while I’ve seen that be true for others it’s never been the case for me in language learning. And I’ve done immersion programs. Learning what the patterns are, like how articles change based on case in German or based on several different things including end of the word in Haitian Creole (seriously it’s so unintuitive) is how it stuck. Just having stuff thrown at me doesn’t help. I’m autistic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a factor; the other people I know who’ve told me they’re similar are autistic. Autistic brains process enough stuff differently I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a factor.

But yeah, just to be clear: I’ve seen and read that research. It doesn’t change that it’s not actually true for me.

And the particular way Duolingo throws stuff at you doesn’t seem to work well for anyone, in my anecdotal experience

--

Well... I think we were talking about slightly different things.

Some students have a desire for there to be reasons for language to work how it does, and they mean reasons that make logical sense today, not just "It evolved from this other historical thing". If there's a word that's an exception, they want there to be a reason for that too that isn't "Sometimes there are exceptions, particularly among very common words. Here's a list."

And from that perspective, yeah, we need to curb that impulse because it's not helpful for how languages actually work.

But yes, the pure immersion, no explanation stuff you get with some programs is not that useful, and the research supports this. It's an idea based on a shallow understanding of how small children learn their first language rather than studying how adults acquire foreign ones.

I did a couple of famous summer language intensives, and the way they typically worked was that there was a bunch of memorization homework for the kinds of things that native speakers just say without thinking about it (e.g. "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Christmas" for Americans—there is no why, and there is no innovation, just this set phrase). We then did conversation drills, some free practice coming up with novel sentences, and listened to natural examples in most of the day's classes...

But we had one class that was in English where they laid out the grammar patterns and such very clearly. If we'd been higher level, maybe they would have explained in the target language, but we weren't, so to get us ahead faster, this part was all in English.

Brains do vary, but I'm not sure they vary that much when it comes to these parts of language learning. Some people despise practicing speaking, for example, but they'll still improve more if they're forced to do these tasks they hate than if they do ~for text study~. Another learner who hates the task less might progress faster, but they're not a categorically different type of learner.

A bigger factor is that the really hard part with language study is staying excited about it and sticking with it, so if you enjoy one style of explanation or practice more, having more of it will make you actually stick around, and I'm sure that does vary a lot by learner.

[drdemonprince]

I've been working my way through Unmasking Autism, and am very curious about the "bottom-up" or systematic processing definition of Autism. I am autistic, and consider myself a pretty intuitive person-- I lack certain common kinds of intuition, certainly, like social intuition-- but I find that I tend to learn or internalize information only when I get the *vibe* of it. I rarely remember things word-for-word, for instance. I feel that my most important ideas and insights are intuited; if I systematize them or justify them, it's after the fact. Some other autistic friends of mine have a similar feeling about this.

Now, I recognize that I'm approaching this explanation in a fairly (autistically) systematic way, and I'm do wonder if what I'm describing is the experience of someone with a largely systematic mind grappling with the fact that it occasionally intuits. I wonder to what degree it's really possible to understand or measure this kind of thing, or if it's an "is my red the same as your red" kind of situation? Or is it just another way that every autistic person varies?

In my experience at least, a lot of Autistic 'intuition' is finely tuned pattern matching and systemization of information that feels so first-nature to us that we don't think of it as an effortful data organizing process, but the second we share the fruits of that process with allistics theyre totally fucking gob smacked by it and cant believe we bothered putting something so intricate together because they operate primarily on vibes. Distinguishing between vibes and systematized intuition is tricky to do, but it's the difference between having a gut feeling you cant describe even when pressed and having a framework that makes so much sense to you that it now operates effortlessly (but can be called forth when needed). For example, I never was taught grammar rules and never had to effortfully learn them, I just have a natural fluency for language that allows me to pattern match and adopt new linguistic rules on the fly without much effort, but then i can think through what i'm doing by instinct and describe it to conclude what the norms actually are. (prescriptive grammar sucks but i do like learning descriptive norms ' "rules" in the sense of the dominant social tendencies).

this is all further complicated by the fact that if your an AuDHDer, you might just have a more intuitive processing style! the bottom-up versus top town model of Autism is still just a model, it's a summary and a way of explaining a lot of different disparate features, so if it doesnt work for you that just speaks to the limited rendering capacity of the model, and it's not a sign youre not Autistic or anything like that

[spacetortoisenavigator]

Edit: Disavowed by OP on fair grounds. What follows is my opinion, and I have been too cavalier about seeing it as the message they were trying to convey. This is still my opinion and I do still think it is also a problem worth talking about, but it is not what OP was talking about. Please treat this post as a tangent from the discussion; it is not a relevant response to the post above.

As a french speaker, i see it, rather than a statement that french is complicated (because it is, don't take me wrong), more as an example of how purely grammar-oriented textbooks fail people. This kind of explanation that goes: "you use preposition x with case x to say x. You use preposition x with case y to say y. In this configuration, the present aorist stem of 1st group verbs often has a stress shift that [useless gibberish]". This is how latin is often taught, and it's fine if you want to parse a language, not understand it. This is a grammatical tradition that was devised to teach monks, not speakers of a living language.

The example in this post? In a few example sentences, you could have shown the same thing. As a reader unfamiliar with the language, you can still understand what the preposition is doing there, and through habit use it correctly.

Need an explanation? I'm sure we can muster a better one than the one offered here; all of these uses for "sur" are linked by a common mental image: that of a thing sitting on top of another. The house is "sur" the right? Sure, it's sitting on the ground on your right. The paper is "sur" the reproductive habits of feral cats? Picture its words litterally sitting on the subject of the reproductive habits of feral cats! This is how a french speaker (or at least, I) pictures the way it works.

I know the point of the post is to illustrate how different of a starting point some languages are to learn some other languages, but the fact that the difference is felt this deeply is the fault of the method of explanation. You don't know a natural language by learning rules. You know a language by feeling it, visualizing the meaning of what you say. A proper language teaching method ought to show these kinds of intuition, or at least to help find them.

Look at the examples given. What makes the usage of "sur" easier for english speakers to grasp is that a lot of the mental imagery that comes with it in french is also already present in english. The chinese person has to learn all of it.

The thing to note is that this means that teaching through rote rules like this is not what makes the english speaker understand; the english speaker understands the examples not because of the way they're explained, but because these examples are already mostly familiar to them from english. The english speaker does not learn the grammar, but merely learns to see a french sentence through the prism of english, which is a brittle way of learning.

The chinese speaker mostly does not have these same bricks. The textbook is useless, or at least way harder than it needs to be. You do not learn a language through rote rules.

Anyway, this was me bitching against language textbooks. This has all been said before, but i wanted to underline how the problem is the way the language is explained here. Thanks for reading my rant.

Teaching French to English Speakers:

French lesson: The word "sur" means "on" English speaker: Okay. French lesson: For example, 　The vase is [on] the table. 　The house is [on] the right. 　I read this book [on] his recommendation. 　Bring me the file [on] copyright licensing. English speaker: Right. Got it. "Sur" means "on."

.

Teaching French to Chinese speakers:

French lesson: The word "sur" means "on." Chinese speaker: Okay. French lesson: For example, 　The vase is [on] the table Chinese speaker: Right. Got it. "Sur" means "on." French lesson: The word "sur" also means "towards." Chinese speaker: Eh? French lesson: For example, 　The house is [towards] the right. Chinese speaker: Oh...kay. French lesson: The word "sur" also means "because of." Chinese speaker: What? H..how? What? French lesson: For example, 　I read this book [because of] his recommendation. Chinese speaker: Why does this one word mean all these things? Don't y'all have any other words? French lesson: The word "sur" also means "containing information pertaining to." Chinese speaker: Stop fucking around with me. French lesson: For example, 　Bring me the file [containing information pertaining to] copyright licensing. Chinese speaker: What the fuck is wrong with this language?

[gamesweetdreaming]

In the same theme abt AI let's talk Abt neurotypicals.

All warnings aside "let's not other people" "we should stop us vs. them discourse!" Yada yada

The MOST annoying thing I go through dealing with neurotypicals is how THEY insist in a mentality and refuse to look further into it or understand why things are in a certain way. Yes I may get angry or even confused if I have to change my mind about something but these mfs are living like "it is what it is"

Examples:

Situation 1

Coworker: hey are you not gonna have your one hour break?

Me: sorry, I have that at this shift? I didn't know that?

Coworker: omg did you get your ticket?

Me: um... No, I thought I only had 10 minutes of break in this shift

Coworker: omg girl, you have to have your break, get the ticket! You have to get it!

Me: okay okay! *Does it and prepares to have one hour of break*

Coworker: you have to remember to get your ticket or else you can get in trouble!

Me: alright, I just didn't know I had an hour break in this shift, no one told me.

Coworker: but you have to do it everyday! Did you get your ticket yesterday too right?

Me:...yes, I did, that's not the... Sigh.

*proceeds to follow me around not answering my questions and repeating over and over I have to get my one hour break*

Situation 2

This is a Tumblr one

The idea that there's a set of arguments that are a 100% true to defend an ideal. For example, in this instance, OP was saying how some trans people like to say they "used to be" the certain gender and see their past self with the gender and pronouns they went at the time. He explained how they had a 'friend' that got mad at him for explaining he doesn't see it as "always been a man".

Let's be real that if your support for anything stops when it doesn't work with a certain set of that thing that doesn't fit your narrative then you don't really support that thing. Life is not set in stone nor are our identities bro.

Situation 3

Me: hey why do we have [certain rule]?

Coworker: well because we do

Me: ...you don't know why?

Coworker: ... Now that you say it I should look up why we have it.

Situation 4

Me: they denied my leave paper just because there was one day instead of two, although the grammar suggested it's still valid.

Coworker: no, the leave paper have to be two days if you're getting it for the next day

Me: he said it's worth 24 hours, I got it at night, it should still apply.

Coworker: you're not understanding, it has to be two days for them to accept it.

Me, to myself: could you please not just repeat what I heard five times already and tell me the LOGIC behind it?

Bonus

This happened constantly at school too. When asking to explain something, the teacher would not actually explain, but repeat what they just said with a different wording.

The idea of remembering information instead of learning it is deep rooted into learning systems, since I believe neurotypicals are much more adaptable to the outside influences they have it deep ingrained in their brains probably.

I can't understand how people can just live with rules they did not create or learn about and not have a bit of curiosity over it. It's like living in sheer ignorance on a world that is so complex and detailed.

The many times I talked about science, medicine and history and they looked at me weirded out how I know much and with sheer uninterest is... Why, how.

[studykorean101]

What is the difference between -게 하다 and -게 되다?

Great question! First, we need to understand that 하다 is active whereas 되다 is passive! Your next question might be, “but omg, SK101, I’m not good at English grammar, too; what the hell is passive and active?”

Another great question! 

The active voice is when the speaker/subject performs the action or is described directly–they did it, caused it, performed it; you’re gonna see people commonly use these ways to explain the active voice. In English, the active voice can look something like this:

I studied Korean; (저는) 한국어를 공부했어요 

As you can see, I (the subject) am the one that studied Korean of my own volition. I caused the “Korean studying.” 

The passive voice is when the speaker/subject does not perform/cause/do the action. Instead, the subject is affected by the action/performance. I understand this may be difficult to understand, so I’ll spend more time on this. 

When can you use the passive voice?

When we have more interest in the object that experiences the action

When we don’t know (or don’t want to express) who performed the action (this is an academic loophole when we didn't do the proper research to support a claim)

When we want to emphasize the action!

The passive voice is not grammatically incorrect (take it from a linguist and someone who minored in creative writing). You will hear people say that the passive voice is not good or is ungrammatical (some bs like that). Even in Korean, the passive voice is entirely natural and used in everyday contexts. 

The passive voice in Korean may look like this:

한국어가 (저에게) 공부됐어요; Korean was studied (by me)

The prepositional phrase “by me; 저에게” shows that we know who studied Korean. This may still be confusing, so let me give you another example:

부엌을 청소했어요; I cleaned the kitchen.

부엌이 청소됐어요; The kitchen has been cleaned.

Let’s add more context to the sentence to understand the situation better. 

집에 도착했을 때 부엌을 청소했어요; When I got home, I cleaned the kitchen (meaning, I saw the dirty kitchen and cleaned it)

집에 도착했을 때 부엌이 청소됐어요; When I got home, the kitchen was cleaned (meaning, someone (unknown or otherwise) cleaned the kitchen when I was out)

*gasp!* Yes, by now, you've noticed that 이/가 goes with passive!

Now, onto your question: what's the difference between -게 하다 and -게 되다?

-게 하다: causative

The causative aspect shows that A causes B to happen. Pretend you have a younger sibling–here are some examples:

동생은 저를 늦게 했어요; My sibling made me late

저는 동생이 문제를 이해하게 했어요; I made them understand the problem

저를 귀찮게 했어요; You (the sibling) bothered me! 

(저는) 동생을 화장품으로 예쁘게 했어요; I made my sibling pretty with makeup

A (동생/저) causes B to happen. B does not mean the recipient (저/동생) of the action – B represents the action. 

-게 되다; to become (passive)

This grammar point shows that B changes A! Let’s use the examples from above. 

동생이 화장품으로 예쁘게 됐어요; my sibling became pretty with makeup

동생 때문에 제가 귀찮게 되었어요; my sibling has been bothering me

문제가 동생에게 이해하게 되었어요; my sibling came to understand the problem [more literally; the problem was understood by my sibling]

동생 때문에 제가 늦게 되었어요; I became late because of my sibling

Now, I'm sure you've noticed that there are two spellings of a conjugated '되다'. The only difference between '되었어요' and '됐어요' is that '됐어요' is a contraction of '되었어요'. You may have other Korean learners attempt to tell you that you write one [되었어요] and speak the other [됐어요]. This isn't not true; it's just not a rule written in stone. You are very much able to write the contracted '됐어요' instead of the regular '되었어요'. In fact, native Korean speakers do this all the time. It would be like saying we shouldn't write any English contractions because it's not grammatically correct--it's just wrong. The rules of '되다' are more complex than just written and spoken, but that's a blog for another day.

I hope this helped answer your question! If you're still confused, don't hesitate to send me another ask or pm me! I'm always open to clearing up any confusion or directing you to a source that may help!

Happy Learning :)

~ SK101

[daydream-reblog]

Wait I do this all the time.

Even in texting, I look at how people make emojis, how many times they use them, what lingo they tend to use more than other, and how many times they use contractions and abbreviations.

When speaking I try and notice accents, word choice, the way people move and do things.

I like linguistics a lot because I like to analyze how people say and do things, the differences between prescriptive and descriptive grammar for example.

I tend to see what people do that's so different from me. I get called a "weirdo" a lot. Many don't like me and think I'm weird, retarded, or gross.

I like to analyze myself and others a lot to see the differences. Why do some people like me? Why do some don't? Why do I like and don't like some people?

Why am I considered a weirdo and others are considered normal?

I feel different from others and I have trouble understanding social norms. I tend to overthink why they are social norms in the first place and why do we follow them? How do people just have this rulebook and not give it out to anyone else? How am I supposed to follow a social norm that's not even laid out in front of me?

I tend to sit back for a while and watch others, for example if I'm not understanding a game that we're supposed to play, I stand back and watch others play first until I understand course of action and the rules. Same with social norms.

It feels like you're an outsider. It feels like a game you're supposed to play but weren't given directions or the rulebook. Some may hint at how to play, some think you're rude or an idiot for not understanding how to play. Sometimes no matter how much someone explains the rules you don't know how to play. When you enter a new game (different social situation) you get anxious because "Oh no! I don't know how to play this yet!" Some tend to stay out of the game. And you're trying to analyze all the different little rules, and how some play differently than others but are still correct.

Sometimes you understand the rules of the game but you don't even want to play the game.

There is a lot to know about how to interact socially and how others perceive us. It may be alienating sometimes and we have to blend in by putting on a mask. It's hard not to analyze something when you don't know anything, yet you still want to participate in it.

Like I want to talk about special interests. Why are some times appropriate and some not? What's the difference? I want to talk about my special interests, but I need to find the correct time to talk about it. So you end up analyzing the correct time to talk about it. Perhaps, you also have a script in your head of when to talk about it, how, and why.

I see many reasons why many autistic people want, and do analyze social situations.

The Autistic Urge to Study Other People and Society…

Neurodivergent_lou

[languageshead]

My brain and language. Why I think some brains are more affected by autism than others.

I don‘t think one person is more autistic than the other. An autistic brain is an autistic brain. But the thing is, the way autism affects your brain is different. The intensity in which it is affected by autism is different. That‘s why we have different support levels, that‘s why some people go their whole lives with an invisible disability and some don‘t.

I will talk about my speech and language first. I don‘t have speech apraxia or any other physical condition that affects my speech. My speech issues are many. I have issues with prosody, tone, fluency. On top of that I also have language impairment. Language impairment is, for example, when someone cannot process grammar the same way people without language impairment do. As a kid, I didn’t understand what was being said to me. I literally didn’t process language. This still happens to this day. I have a lot of difficulties with reading and listening. I simply don’t process it as quickly as others. Scientists haven‘t been able to understand exactly why this happens.

Another funny thing is that sometimes I make mistakes on my native language that natives shouldn‘t make. But while learning a new language, I can memorize and understand grammar rules quite easily so I don‘t have the same mistakes on the languages I study. We know the area of the brain that learns a native language is different from the one that learns a second language. So my brain has been affected more in one area of these two, which is why I can learn languages even with impairment of language. I cannot process speech and text at the same speed as others, but I can learn grammar rules and store them in my brain. But when speaking my own language I make mistakes, because it’s not about memorizing rules and it’s about a language that I don’t know the rules of, that I just have to intuitively „guess“, but because of my impairment, I can’t do it normally. Which also shows how autism is affecting this area of my brain specifically.

These issues are not separate from autism. They are caused BY my autism. They are a part of my autism. Autism has affected the communication area of my brain more severely than other autistics‘ without these issues.

See the brain, picture the areas of a brain in your mind. Most of people, NT people have all areas almost equally functioning. They might be more or less verbal or logical. But all within a normal range.

Now picture an autistic brain. Our „scores“ on such testing will have a different scale because some areas of our brains are not functioning like an NT or like other people with ADHD or other conditions.

Now picture my brain. My brain does not only score low on language processing for an NT. It also scores way lower on ASD scales. This area of my brain is more affected by autism than other autistics.

It‘s unusual to see really huge differences on a brain (therefore Savant Syndrome is so rare). So other areas of my cognitive profile will also score lower than someone with ASD level 1. Some areas of my brain are not so affected to the point of causing a disorder, such as my language and speech area. But they are still usually affected a little bit more than on an ASD scale. Some of those areas are within a normal range of what is normal for an autistic person. Some not, some are lower. This is the reason why I am diagnosed with level 2. not level 3. not level 1.

Of course, all people have strengths and weaknesses, all people within the spectrum will have different areas affected on a different scale. But most of the time there is a pattern.

This is why it makes me so upset when people dismiss levels, this is why it makes me upset when people say they have different levels everyday. This is why you don‘t „go nonverbal“ when the language area of your brain is completely fine.

I hope I was able to explain myself clear. This is my view and this is how I understand autism based on my own experience and research about brain and cognition. Please when reading remember I have a communication disorder if you need clearance ask and be kind.

[byleranalysis]

It's so wild to me that you get criticized for your analysis videos like you're reaching with them and that it's digging too deep into it. All you're doing is using the same visual language rules that almost everyone in the industry uses to explain the camera movements and what the industry generally uses that camera movement/shot type to communicate.

Because everyone in the industry uses the same textbook and basic visual language consistently, that allows the audience to understand it in a way similar the level someone who has picked up a language only by hearing it spoken. They just might might not be able to explain the specific grammar rules (to extend the language metaphor)

But that doesn't mean that those rules don't exist, it just means that pattern recognition is one hell of a thing.

Say it louder for the people in the back. Seriously— I am so appreciative of this ask for verbalizing what I have been trying to say.

Others say I am digging too deep but in doing so, they make it somewhat obvious they haven’t delved into how film/tv production works. My video analysis are very minimal/basic descriptions of the camera movement and composition that I can make. I mean, I only have about two sentences to describe the visuals without needing to create another text box. I am simply using the terminology + subtext for certain shot types that have been established for decades. It’s quite literally a unanimous common language used while filmmaking. Look at how international films can still convey the same visually thematic + emotional presence as those made in Hollywood. Physical language does not impede the visual language that has been established for years. (Just to add, international films —especially Chinese cinema + Bollywood IMO— have such an incredible amazing style that’s built off the Hollywood standard and I love it. Anyways-)

I am completely down for others to critique my interpretation or share their own viewpoint. However, I have never received any healthy criticism on my video analyses. For example, “Do you think *insert camera move here* could also suggest ___*”. It is almost always some hateful message about how I suck at filmmaking + I am so wrong. Or, “critiques”covered in blatant homophobia or an actual question that slowly dissolves into passive-aggressive remarks towards me or the idea of byler. Just ask what you want to ask. It doesn’t need to be stooped in anger or aggression.

Let me be honest though, there are a couple theories I have stretched on and I make it pretty clear that it could be a coincidence. Some of them are just for fun and I don’t think there is any harm in throwing around such theories. This is a fandom. Not everything has to be incredibly serious.

However, I do take my video analysis very serious and try to be as unbiased as I can while still being someone who ships byler.

Thank you —again— for this wonderfully written/explained ask. I went on a bit of a tangent but your point/metaphor is absolutely worthwhile.

[galenathewitch]

Binary~

This weekend i had dinner with some old colleagues. During it the topic of gender identity came up.

THE DREADED TOPIC OF THE XXI CENTURY! *faints like an overly corseted lady*

The main topic was regarding a couple that decided to, on a gender reveal party, reveal their child as non-binary. All my female colleagues were outraged. Actually outraged, as silly as that sounds.

I have my own thoughts about it of course: i believe it is no different than forcing normative rules upon children when they can't even say their own names, both points cancel each other out in my eyes, therefore thinking about it is an exercise in futility, like an hamster running on a wheel until it tires itself out. Furthermore, as a childless woman approaching her 30s i feel it's not my place to give opinions on it - as our society so lovingly treats us as if we have little to no value i prefer to continue acting like the old crone witch i expect to become and let society eat itself up while i brew my teas and praise the Hellenic god in peace.

I simply do not care about making a stand either way. Still, if they're is one thing i do not condone is close mindedness. So it does make me feel like raising questions at least:

Why should they care? It's not their child. They might not agree but how does it impact them directly? It's not a human rights violation, it's not child endangerment...

Gender reveal parties are an absolute waste of time. Why even give it value?

Are they so outraged because they fear that their own children, hypothetically, will find it difficulty to deal with other non-binary children? Isn't that inputting your own morals on your children as well?

And when I thought the topic couldn't get more awkward... Someone suddenly states they "don't understand non-binary" and therefore it makes no sense for it to have value or even be considered a thing. (I paraphrase)

So...

If i don't understand mental illness does that mean it shouldn't be a thing? (it'd be nice if it wasn't but thems the breaks)

If i doing understand how the world can be round it shouldn't be a thing? Guess i found out how flat-earthers are born...

Just because you not understanding something it shouldn't make it impossible for others who do. Have your opinions but be willing to accept others as well.

Here is where i actually decided to explain what the concept of non binary is as factually as i was able. There was more confusion as I expected. Some more outrage as well.

I am in no ways an expert as i consider myself a cis-female and have no non-binary friends. What I do is roam the internet frequently. What i do is also study/research into anything related to psychology or brain development. What i do is listen when people talk and try to place myself in their shoes. And what i do not condone is unwillingness to accept that which is different. THAT i know the feeling of. It does not feel good. It does not feel right.

I also know what it feels like to not want to be a woman and to not be referred to as such. The weight of womanhood is one that is heavy to hold. I know how it is to be treated by when people don't know my gender versus when they do (business emails are one example), and how being seen as neither sex could prepare ease that burden. This is in no way my way of saying i understand what it is to be non binary but that i understand reasons why some people might navigate towards it

There was also then the discussion that "they" is not a correct pronoun. I won't lie... this one was when i cracked as the little grammar nazi i am and immediately went on a grammar testing moment. (Bear in mind none of us are native English speakers and there isn't a "right" word for non binary people that sounds correct in our language - latin languages can be a pain in that regard - this is not the case with Germanic languages though.

Fortunately outrage and confusion suddenly stopped as food was promptly served to the table.

If there's one thing we could all agree on, as latin blooded people, is that at least food is a good way to end conflicts 🍝🏳️

[spanishskulduggery]

Hi! I'm studying B1.2/B2 level Spanish and I want to learn * words to express things more*...(recently I learned,, conectores del discurso,, and some ,,frases hechas,,)

I'm sorry if you already posted something like this, I'm a new follower and I just saw that you have this account since 2013! (P.S.between it's hard for me to study words for any language; I have to write 1 word 10 times to memorize it,and others just read it once)

Have a great day!🌸

So I'm going to attach some of the (what I call) academic connectors. They're just words that I find really helpful for explaining things or especially in oral exams or written exams to sound more coherent and link your sentences together.

I suppose the more correct term is something like particles of speech or something along those lines, but they're the kinds of phrases you will want to know if you have any intention of writing in Spanish and especially if it's in an academic setting:

de hecho = in fact, as a matter of fact

no obstante = nevertheless, regardless

de todas formas = in any event, regardless

sin embargo = however, nevertheless

con respecto a (algo/alguien) = regarding (something/someone), with regards to (something/someone)

en cuanto a (algo/alguien) = regarding, with regards to

por lo general = in general generalmente/normalmente = generally / normally

mayormente = for the most part, mostly, mainly en su mayoría = mainly, in its majority, for the most part

en realidad = actually, in reality

actualmente = currently, nowadays hoy en día = currently, nowadays, today

antiguamente = formerly, in the past, previously

por lo tanto = therefore, as such

a su paso = “in its wake”, “in its path”

a medida que = "as", "while (something is/was happening)"

ya que... = since, given that...

así = like that, that way

así que... = so..., that being the case...

pues... = then / since..., that being the case...

entonces = then [in a sequence of events] / then, consequently

por consiguiente / consiguientemente = consequently, as a consequence

de una vez = for once de una vez por todas = once and for all

por enésima vez = "for the umpteenth time", "for the hundredth/millionth time" [hyperbolic]

al principio = in the beginning, at the start

al fin = at the end, in the end, at last, finally

lo primero es lo primero = “first things first”

por último, finalmente = lastly, finally, ultimately

dicho eso... = that being said...

susodicho/a = aforementioned

de antemano = beforehand

a lo largo de (periodo de tiempo) = throughout (time period)

durante = during / for

últimamente = lately, recently

según (algo/alguien) = according to (something/someone) / as per

de acuerdo con (algo) = as per (something), in accordance with

por lo visto = apparently, "it would seem..."

desde luego (que) = of course, surely

en absoluto = absolutely not, in no way

a pesar de (algo/alguien) = despite, in spite of (something/someone) pese a (algo/alguien), despite, in spite of (something/someone)

a partir de = starting (at a point), since, from a partir de hoy = starting today, from today on a partir de aquí = from here on out a partir de ahora = starting now, from now on a partir de entonces = from that point on, from then on a partir de mañana = as of tomorrow, starting tomorrow

de ahora/hoy en adelante = from now on, from this point on

en tal caso... = in that case...

por defecto = by default

principalmente = for the most part, mainly, mostly

además = furthermore, in addition

por casualidad = by chance, coincidentally

al azar = at random, randomly

al menos / por lo menos = at least

al contrario = on the contrary

por el contrario = by contrast

en cambio = in contrast, by contrast, conversely

al revés = upside-down, inside-out, topsy-turvy

(todo) patas arriba = “upside-down”, “everything in chaos”, “turned on its ear/head”

de igual manera = in the same way de igual forma = in the same way del mismo modo = in the same way igualmente = likewise, in the same way

de manera diferente = differently de otra manera = differently, in a different way de otro modo = differently

tal y como = just like, exactly tal y como es = exactly how it is

de/en cierto modo = in some way / in a sense de cierta manera = in some way / in a sense

en algún sentido = in a sense en cierto sentido = in a sense

de una manera u otra = one way or another de una forma u otra = one way or another

apenas = hardly, barely a duras penas = hardly, barely

a secas = plainly, simply

en lugar de, en vez de = instead (of) [you’d phrase this as en lugar de algo “instead of something”, or en su lugar “in its stead” or “in its place”; it takes some getting used to]

por accidente, accidentalmente = accidentally, by mistake

todavía = still

de vez en cuando = “from time to time”

a la vez = at the same time, simultaneously

en promedio, como media = on average

por las buenas = “the easy way”

por las malas = “the hard way”

de corto plazo = short-term

de largo plazo = long-term

a cambio (de) = in exchange (for)

a propósito = on purpose, not an accident

por cierto = by the way

a/en todos los efectos = for all intents and purposes en todo sentido = for all intents and purposes

mientras tanto = meanwhile

hasta = until, up to / even, including hasta que + subjuntivo = until (something happens; subjunctive)

incluso = even, including

al pie de la letra = “to a T”, exactly, precisely, “by the book” tomar al pie de la letra = to be very precise and methodical

(tomar algo) a la ligera = (to take something) lightly

por dondequiera / por doquier = “everywhere”, “every which way”, “all over the place”

de cabo a rabo = completely, through and through

al fin y al cabo = “at the end of the day”

por (el) otro lado = “on the other hand”

que yo sepa = as far as I know que tú sepas = as far as you know que nosotros sepamos = as far as we know [follows conjugation rules for subjunctive saber]

es decir (que)... = that is to say..., in other words...

o sea... = in other words...

And obviously por and para which are their own issue but they come up a lot. Which is understandable but they’re a big hurdle even for people in the C levels

There are others that are better understood with examples because it’s not enough to just write it. So:

aun vs. aún -aun with no accent is “even” and is synonymous with hasta or incluso -aún with the accent is “yet” and is synonymous with todavía

o sea -The expression o sea is used as “in other words”; do not confuse it with óseo/a which is “osseous” or “bone-related”, an adjectival form of hueso “bone”. Some people do write it as one word “osea” but it really should be separate... and sea is technically subjunctive ser

certain expressions with femenino de indeterminación -a solas “one-on-one” or “privately” -a sabiendas “knowing full well” -a ciegas “blindly” or “in the dark” -a escondidas “secretly”  And many others, some of which were in the longer vocab list above

subjunctive phrases [use with care] -There are many phrases with subjunctive that you eventually need to know and they can be helpful in essays, though again this is its own topic. Things like para que “so that (something will happen)” or con tal (de) que “as long as (something happens)” are sort of subjunctive phrases of unmet conditions... things like “unless” or “until” things happen are subjunctive in many cases. Some like aunque become “although” with indicative and “even though / even if” in subjunctive... I say use with care because this is more of a functional vocab list not a grammar lesson.

solo, sólo, y solamente -solo/a as an adjective means “only/single/a single person” or it means “alone” -solo as an adverb is synonymous with sólo. The accent mark there is a vocal inflection so it’s like “ONLY”. You use either as “only” or “just”. Since it’s an adverb, solo will not change for gender/plural -solamente is “solely” and is synonymous with solo/sólo

pero vs. sino -pero is “but” when you’re changing the topic or providing different information; no es de Alemania pero habla alemán “he’s not German but he speaks German” -sino is “but rather” when you’re correcting someone’s statement; no es alemán sino francés “he’s not German (but rather), he’s French”

I would also say it’s worth understanding how ya works because it’s got a lot of uses

I’m also going to attach some links to my tags that will help you navigate and find more of what you might be interested in:

Vocabulary

Idiomatic Expressions (especially the older entries tend to be more universal; the newer ones are expressions I tend to find and am interested in sharing so if you go into my archive and look for the tag “idiomatic expressions” or “expresiones idiomaticas”

Grammar ...which is probably not what you need right at this moment, but in case you want to peruse my stuff on different grammatical concepts I have everything from present tense to imperfect subjunctive

[forabeatofadrum]

Dutch words and phrases in aap noot mies

Hello, if you’re reading this, you’ve read aap noot mies. Thank you for reading. This fic had Blaine, an alien, teaching Kurt how to speak Dutch. The learning of the language was secondary to the whole falling in love thing, but there’s still plenty of Dutch in this fic.

I made the choice to not add translations, mostly out of laziness and also because I liked the idea of keeping people in the dark. It shows how hard it is to learn languages. Does that make sense? I feel like it adds something more. I did try to add as many context clues and sometimes vague translations in the text, but there’s no actual word list.

Well, I decided to give some possibly curious people a list after all. 

So here we go.

1. Warn - 7 points 

No Dutch!

2. Decay - 11 points 

“Aangenaam kennis maken,” Kurt says, because yes, of course, Dutch! That’s why Blaine’s here, to teach the language, not to gawk at Kurt.

“Aangenaam kennis te maken,” Blaine says back.

Aangenaam kennis te maken is nice to meet you. Kurt didn’t get it right the first time, so Blaine corrects him.

3. Year - 7 points 

No Dutch!

4. Snap - 6 points 

“How do you say ‘Are you single?’ in Dutch?”

“Ben jij vrijgezel?” Blaine answers.

What is says on the tin.

5. Slick - 13 points 

“Het spijt me.”

Het spijt me is I’m sorry. This phrase comes back several times, so I won’t repeat it in this post.

“Het zonnetje in huis,” Blaine says sarcastically

This is a saying. Literally, het zonnetje in huis translates to the sun at home, but it means that someone is very bright and happy. Blaine uses it sarcastically to mock Rachel.

6. Caved - 11 points 

A lot of Dutch here!

“So, in the Netherlands, my dad has a zus-,” Kurt points towards a certain part of a hastily drawn family tree, “-and that zus has two children, so my dad has two… what is niece or nephew in Dutch again? Neef and nicht both are cousin, right?”

Blaine nods.

“The Dutch language doesn’t make a distinction between the kids of a sibling and the kids of an uncle or aunt, which means that your dad has a neefje or nichtje. Those are the diminutives of neef and nicht.”

Kurt is scribbling it down. He’s adding the words to the family tree.

He reads out loud.

“Okay, my father has two zussen. My tante Janine, who is married to oom Paul, and they have two children: Anne and Jeroen. Then there’s my tante Barbara, who is married to Ellen, and they have a daughter named Gwen. And both my dad and I can call those children neef and nicht. I do not know if they have partners.”

Zus = older sister

Neef/nicht = older cousin

Neefje/nichtje = younger cousin

Zussen = sisters

Oom = uncle

Tante = aunt

“Een vriend.”

“Isn’t that also the word for friend?” Kurt asks, “As in, a regular totally platonic no-romo friend?”

“Yes, it can be confusing. To avoid confusion, some people refer to a friend as een vriend, a friend, or één van mijn vrienden, one of my friends. And then to a boyfriend as mijn vriend, my boyfriend. Or de vriend. The boyfriend,” Blaine explains and maybe Rachel put something in the milkshakes because he feels particularly daring and adds: “As an example, I am een vriend of yours, not de vriend. Assuming that I am a friend.”

Also explained here, and yes, this can be annoying and confusing.

7. Anger - 6 points

“When you combine two words, why do some plural forms lose a letter, like zonnen with straal becomes zonnestraal?” “Quite frankly, this makes no sense. Why is it Koninginnedag, but also koninginnensoep? There are a lot of exceptions to rules on plural forms. It causes understandable anger and annoyance.”

All the stupid grammar rules are very real. Zonnen is suns, straal is beam, so zonnestraal is sunbeam. Koninginnedag is Queen’s Day, a former national holiday in the Netherlands. It’s now Koningsdag, King’s Day, since we now have a king. I honestly do not know what koninginnensoep is. It’s... soup? It translates to queen’s soup.

Okay, hi, we’re a couple of days later now and I looked it up. It really is soup. It’s chicken broth with roux, and it originated in France under the name potage à la reine, aka soep a la Koningin, aka soup a la Queen. Fun fact, I now learnt the English word for bouillon.

“Why do you put the diaeresis on the last e in ideeën, but on the second one in creëren?” “Because it notes a new syllable.”

Ideeën is ideas and creëren is to create (a verb). This is actually really nice, because I sometimes confuse this as well.

I also added this in the author’s note:

At the moment, mine is the difference between leiden and lijden.

Lijden and leiden are pronounced the same, but lijden is to suffer and leiden is to lead, so yeah, that is weird.

8. Jest - 11 points 

“Is dit heel, uh, erg?”

“Nee, het is oké,” Blaine says back.

Is dit heel erg? can be translated to is this wrong? or is this a bad idea? Kurt’s asking if it’s a problem that they’re meeting at the loft. Nee, het is oké is similar to the English translation: no, it is okay.

9. Chime - 12 points

“Natuurlijk,” Blaine replies.  

Natuurlijk in this context is of course. In other contexts it can be translated to natural.

“Welkom!” he says

Welkom is... welcome. Yeah, this one isn’t very difficult.

10. Pleased - 10 points

“Isn’t that the thing they say in the Netherlands? When someone’s hot, you say they’re een stuk. A piece.”

It falls into place for Blaine and he lets out a laugh. Even Wes and Rachel lose sight of each other to stare at him.

“I mean, yeah,” Blaine says laughingly, “They do say that, and yes, stuk can be translated to piece. Een stuk taart is a piece of cake, but this sounds wrong.”

This is also explained. This part was a last minute addition, but I just remembered that people really say “een stuk” here and it just amused me a lot.

11. Imagine - 10 points 

“Proost!”

This is the Dutch way of saying cheers before drinking.

“Mijn hemel, don’t make my heart jump like that! Imagine my heartbreak!”

It’s very funny that a song called Hemel & Aarde (Heaven & Earth) just started playing. Mijn hemel literally translates to my heaven, but when it’s exclaimed like that, it is similar to oh my God.

Je bent mooi = You are beautiful

Ik vindt je leuk = I like you

Wil je met me uit? = Do you want to go out on a date?

Ik heb een oogje op je = I have an eye on you (????)

Je bent een stuk = You are a piece (??????????)

Ik vindt je lekker = I think you are delicious

The translations are in the text, but I feel like I have to explain some of them, especially Ik heb een oogje op je, Je bent een stuk and Ik vind je lekker (without the added t for vindt, cause yeah that is wrong) since they are proverbs. Kurt wrote down the literal translations, and yes they are questionable. 

When you say Ik heb een oogje op je, you tell someone that you’ve got a crush on them. It’s basically another way to say I like you in Dutch. The whole Je bent een stuk has been explained in the story. It means that you find someone attractive. And last, Ik vind je lekker. Oh man, it’s seen as a bit crass. Lekker is delicious, but in this context it means that you find someone extremely hot, sexually, which is why Blaine thinks it’s a bit too much for Kurt to say so early. Saying that someone is delicious sounds like an innocent flirt, but not here.

“Oh, auw, dat was niet de bedoeling…” Blaine says as he rubs his chin, “That wasn’t meant to happen.”

(...)

“Er is niks aan de hand, there is nothing wrong,” Blaine reassures them.

These also have their translations in the text. I initially only wrote the Dutch ones, but I figured this would maybe be a bit too difficult with the limited context.

“Ja?”

“Ja.”

Yes!

12. Wished - 13 points

Weltrusten, it reads.

Weltrusten is good night.

Ik studeer aan NYADA! Wait. Studeer aan or studeer op?” “Aan.”

I study at NYADA. The whole part with studeer aan or studeer op actually happened to me while writing this. I was confused for a second.

"Hebben ze jou net uit de oven gehaald? Want jij bent heet!”

This translates to Did they just take you out of the oven? Because you are hot!

13. Package - 16 points

Bonus Chinese! This is because I am actually following a Chinese course now. 

“晚上好, 我们要点菜,” Blaine says and he orders a lot of food for the two of them.

The pinyin is Wǎnshàng hǎo, wǒmen yàodiǎn cài. It means good evening, we want to order food. Thanks to zipadeedoodah#0724 and Lauren starwarned#2819 from the Carry On Discord for confirming that this is correct.

14. Riches - 11 points

“I can make lunch!” he says, “I have some boterhammen.”

“… Butter hams?” Kurt asks with a frown.

“Sandwiches,” Blaine explains as he walks towards the kitchen, “But yes, boter translates to butter and hammen to hams. Good job.”

This entire conversation was basically created by Gwen @cerriddwenluna. In the Lima Bean Discord, Iz @special-bc-ur-part-of-it asked us if the Dutch word for sandwiches really translated to butter hams. 

Yes. Yes, it’s true.

“Unfortunately peanut butter,” Kurt says with a smile.

Now this is what Gwen suggested. The sandwich convo all led up to this! “But this isn’t Dutch!” you say, and yes, but I lamented that I hadn’t put an unfortunately peanut butter joke in the fic.

Unfortunately peanut butter translates to helaas pindakaas in Dutch. Helaas pindakaas is a proverb and it means too bad. It’s a small inside joke and if you know, then you know.

And if you didn’t, then now you know too.

15. Epilogue

They’ve landed in the Netherlands, so of course there is a lot of Dutch!

“Ik ben nerveus,” he says. “Is it bad that I am this nervous? I’ve talked to them a lot, but now we’ll meet them face to face.”

Ik ben nerveus is I am nervous.

“Ik ben er voor je,” Blaine also says in support. 

Ik ben er voor je is I am there for you. We love a supportive alien bf!

“Ik wil dat je erbij bent.”

Ik wil dat je erbij bent is I want you to be there. Ah, damnit, the song Zoutelande just started playing in my head, because that has a similar line that says Ik ben blij dat je hier bent, which means I am happy that you’re here. Okay, little tangent here, since this isn’t in the fic, but I think the song is popping, so give it a listen. I don’t listen to a lot of Dutch music, but some are indeed good and you can find them here in my Bitterballen mix playlist.

Kurt’s cousins, Gwen, Anne and Jeroen, are holding a huge cardboard sign that says “WELKOM IN NEDERLAND, HUMMEL-HUDSONS en Blaine!”.

The sign says WELCOME IN THE NETHERLANDS, HUMMEL-HUDSONS and Blaine!

“Mam, mama!” Gwen yells to the adults, “Kurt spreekt Nederlands!”

“Echt?” Barbara, who is still hugging Burt, sounds bewildered.

Burt and Carole also picked up some very, very basic sentences from Kurt and Blaine and Kurt’s extended family is delighted.

“Wat een verassing!” Janine says and she claps her hand in delight.

Gwen: Mom, mom! Kurt speaks Dutch

Barbs: Really?

Janny: What a surprise!

“En dit is Blaine, mijn vriend, in every sense,” Kurt says and Blaine shakes hands with everyone, “Hij heeft mij Nederlands geleerd. Hij is een goede leraar.”

“Bedankt,” Blaine blushes. 

Kurt: And this is Blaine, my boyfriend, in every sense*. He taught me Dutch. He’s a good teacher.

Blaine: Thanks

* the in every sense is a callback to the bullshit that een vriend can be a friend and a boyfriend in Dutch. Blaine is Kurt’s friend AND boyfriend.

[formenis]

HI! I love your writings! ^^ could you do Near falling in love with his assistant AU?

Hello, Anon-san~ and thank you for your kind words ♥ 🥰

(ps: we reached 200+ followers, omg THANK YOU *cries in a far corner*. I cannot describe how happy I am 🥺)

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TITLE: Language of love

pairing: Near x assistant!gn!reader

warning: none

F/L: favourite language

Being L's assistant was not an easy task.

At all.

The requisites for that job were quite high and demanding but agent Y/N L/N met all the criteria. Organisation skills, clean criminal record, proper education and training, excellent oral and written communications and attention to details.

Agent Y/N L/N met all those criteria perfectly. In fact, they were L's official assistant for a year now. Initially, the first two or three months, Y/N was confined with Lidner and Gevanni on a desk, buried with paperwork. But then L started to assign them more dangerous and intricate situations. After a year of hard work, one could say that agent Y/N L/N had a role much similar to Watari's.

However, since last month, Y/N noticed something. Their boss, L, was acting strange. Nothing alarming actually: he would stare at them for a while, he wanted their presence all the time or –if they were on a mission- he would be constantly worried about them. For Y/N it was strange since L was well-known for being emotionless and indifferent about other people.

One day, it was lunch time and Y/N was using a safe phone number to contact their family. L was printing something with one of his new 3D printer when something made him turn the head abruptly towards Y/N.

«Yes dear, I told you I already ate» Y/N said in a language L didn’t understand. How could it be possible? He knew so many languages…so why didn't he understand anything?

Once the call ended and Y/N sat back at their desk, L got up from his spot on the floor and walked closer to them, his long white hair brushed against their back like a feather.

«Y/N?»

They jumped in surprise and looked at him through the reflection on the screen of their laptop. «Yes, L?»

«I was wondering what language you used earlier on the phone»

In that moment Y/N turned towards him and noticed how close he was, making them blush a bit. «Oh, it was F/L»

«Really?» he took one of his white locks and played with it for a while. «Can you teach it to me?»

Y/N looked at him in awe: were they really going to teach something to the greatest detective in the world? To the person that was supposed to know everything? That request left them astonished.

Actually, the truth was different. Sure, that question truly left them amazed but Y/N was more stunned about something else. The truth was that since their hiring Y/N had a big –or rather huge- crush on their boss.

All the excellent skills they had suddenly would vanish if Y/N was too close to him. However, they knew it was a one-way love: it was impossible for someone as the greatest L to fall in love with a mere assistant as Y/N.

«Yes, of course» Y/N smiled at him, focusing back on their laptop completely unaware that their smile made him smile back.

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«This is the structure of the present tense, now let's look at the exceptions»

Y/N was an excellent teacher, L was sure about it. The way they explained the grammar rules, the perfect examples they made, the conversations they created. Everything about them was perfect, that was what L thought.

A year ago, when he was searching for an assistant, he was really disappointed about the candidates. Sure, they were la crème de la crème, all elite operatives but it wasn’t what he was searching for. Then his gaze moved to Y/N's photo: something about them intrigued him somehow. So he decided to hire them and he couldn’t me more satisfied about that choice.

But maybe L was too weird for Y/N: after all he still played with toys, he had strange habits and an odd routine. He always thought not to be worth Y/N…but, for now, he was settled for what he had. Just being able to talk to them, to exchange opinions freely, to enjoy their presence.

«What about this one?» L asked pointing at his laptop.

«It's a difficult rule. It consists in…» and Y/N started to explain that grammar rule, in the meantime L was looking at them with an adoring face, closing his eyes to enjoy the sound of their voice.

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«Commander Rester, please call the Japanese task-force»

«Yes, sir»

Y/N was listening absently at that exchange of orders between L and Rester, they were more focused on a tape they had to analyse on the computer. However, something made them stop, turning the head towards L.

He was speaking Japanese at the phone and Y/N couldn’t understand a word. However, they were bewildered about L's fluency…it was like he was a native Japanese. They listened the entire call amazed…one of Y/N's wish was to learn a language like Japanese. (a/n: I'm sorry if not)

Once L ended said phone call, Y/N turned again towards him and asked: «L, since when do you know Japanese?»

«I learnt it at the Wammy's House when I was younger. Why?» L interrupted the dice tower he was creating to answer at his assistant. «Do you want to learn it too?»

Y/N gasped in happiness and surprise: did L applied for teaching them Japanese? Y/N couldn’t believe it, they were so cheerful.

Much like Y/N did with L about learning F/L, now it was L's turn to teach something. When the lessons started, unaware of the greatest sleuth in the world, Y/N took advantage of them to secretly look at his wonderful features: porcelain skin, long and silky white hair and alluring mature voice.

Those lessons, in which Y/N taught F/L to L and he taught Japanese to them in return, were the only moments in which the two of them would fall in love with each other more and more, both of them were in the dark that those feelings were mutual.

[sakkaira]

Hi, is there any way you suggest so I could learn verbs & how they function exactly? I tend to get confused usually, I luv your blog btw❤️

Hello! Thank you for your question and for reading my blog! It means a lot to me! :) ❤️

Let's see. I believe the key to learning grammar is to first memorize the grammar structure that you have to learn, and then proceed to search for as many examples as you could until you feel confident enough to make your own sentences! Don't get discouraged if they are a bit forced(in such sense that Japanese will choose other ways to write the sentence), that's because your brain is still thinking in your first language! With time, advancing through the foreign language and discovering its own unique points will help you develop your intuition on what sounds as being correct and what doesn't.

When it comes to verbs, you'll have to retain the three groups that verbs come in: Godan, Ichidan and Irregular Verbs. For a better and easier understanding, they are also referred as Group I, II and III verbs. The attributed group of a verb is judged by the last one or two characters that the verbs end in.

GODAN (GROUP I) : う、く、す、つ、ぬ、む、る; ぐ、ぶ

例: 買う、着く、貸す、待つ、死ぬ、産む、売る; 脱ぐ、遊ぶ

ICHIDAN (GROUP II) : える、いる

例: 食べる 、借りる

⚠️GODAN VERBS confused as ICHIDAN VERBS and how to differentiate between them : 帰る(KAERU), 喋る(SHABERU), 入る(HAIRU). The prime method of telling the difference is by looking at the KANJI and what characters it encompasses. Usually, Ichidan Verbs has its endings written apart from the kanji: 変える(kaeru), whereas Godan Verbs encircles the え and い: 帰る(kaeru). Sometimes this rule won't apply, like in the case of 着る (kiru/to wear), which is an Ichidan Verb so the dictionary is the best call because it states the type of verb that you are dealing with.

IRREGULAR VERBS (GROUP III) : する、来る(kuru)

〔Note: Those are the only two irregular verbs〕

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Since we have cleared that out of the way, we must now come to learn the verb tenses, which are only two: PRESENT and PAST. Both have AFFIRMATIVE and NEGATIVE values.

PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE (dictionary form)

GODAN: 買う(kau)

ICHIDAN: 食べる(taberu)

IRREGULAR: する、来る(kuru)

PRESENT NEGATIVE

GODAN(う + わない/あない) : 買わない(kawanai)、 着かない(tsukanai)、 待たない(matanai)

ICHIDAN(える、いる + ない) : 食べない(tabenai)、借りない(karinai)

IRREGULAR: しない、来ない(konai)

PAST AFFIRMATIVE

GODAN ( う/る/つ + った ; く/ぐ + いた/いだ ; す + した ; ぬ/む/ぶ + んだ) : 買った(kau/katta)、売った(uru/utta)、待った(matsu/matta)、着いた(tsuku/tsuita)、脱いだ(nugu/nuida)、貸した(kasu/kashita)、死んだ(shinu/shinda)、産んだ(umu/unda)、遊んだ(asobu/asonda)

ICHIDAN(える、いる + た) : 食べた(taberu/tabeta)、借りた(kariru/karita)

IRREGULAR: した、来た(kita)

PAST NEGATIVE (same conjugation as Present Negative, but instead of ない, you use なかった)

GODAN: 買わなかった(kawanakatta)、着かなかった(tsukanakatta)、待たなかった(matanakatta)

ICHIDAN: 食べなかった(tabenakatta)、借りなかった(karinakatta)

IRREGULAR: しなかった、来なかった(konakatta)

⚠️ The PRESENT tense that you are taught as being PRESENT actually has a FUTURE value when used in sentences(90% of the time, at least, as I have yet to delve deeper into it, but most Japanese I have had conversations with, they all have taught me that this is the primary usage). If you wish to express that an action is happening at the moment of speaking or at this point in time, you HAVE to use the ~ている conjugation.

Let's take the Group III verb 勉強する(benkyousuru) as an example:

PRESENT: 日本語を勉強している。

I am studying Japanese.

FUTURE: 日本語を勉強する。

I will study Japanese.

If you(or anybody else at that matter) have any more questions, please do ask! I can explain more about verbs(the difference between simple past tense and the ~ていた conjugation; or the formal ~ます conjugation; transitive/intransitive verbs) and some other things, too! I love to be of help. :)

And never forget to learn languages as a way of having fun! Learn it like a child would do! Speak with people, listen to audios, watch movies in the specific language and it'll come easy for you to understand its uniqueness in no time!

お疲れ様です!

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VOCABULARY LIST:

買う (kau) - to buy

着く (tsuku) - to arrive

貸す (kasu) - to lend

待つ (matsu) - to wait

死ぬ (shinu) - to die

産む (umu) - to give birth

売る (uru) - to sell

脱ぐ (nugu) - to undress, to take off (shoes, clothes etc.)

遊ぶ (asobu) - to play

食べる (taberu) - to eat

借りる (kariru) - to borrow

する (suru) - to do

来る (kuru) - to come

帰る (kaeru) - to return home

喋る (shaberu) - to chat

入る (hairu) - to enter

変える (kaeru) - to change

勉強する (benkyousuru; formed with the noun benkyou and the irregular verb suru) - to study

日本語 (nihongo) - Japanese language

例 (rei) - exempli gratia(e.g.)