#(like there's still a lot in there but it's mostly 'untranslatable' words or very specific concepts)

[serpentface]

WARDI TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

emense [ɛmɛnse] (eh-mehn-say)

Has meaning close to 'beloved' or 'darling'. "Ya emense" (meaning 'my beloved'/'my darling') is often contracted "y'mense".

bubuch [bubuk] (boo-bookh)

Somewhat of a nonsense word, basically ‘big-big’. Tends to either be used for small children or flirtatiously between adults (kind in between 'baby' and 'big boy' in functionality, though without gendered implications of the latter). Sometimes instead used as a form of intense condescension.

ya mache mes [ja mɑke mes] (yah mah-kay mace)

Functionally means "my other face", using the figurative word for face describing a concept of fundamental nature rather than anatomy. Very intense term of endearment, expresses the recipient as a core part of one's identity. Kind of equivalent to 'my other half' but not exclusively romantic.

ya tsitsima [ja ͡tsi͡tsimə] (yah tsee-tsee-muh)

Means "my blood". This term is used more broadly to denote familial relations, and is more of a term of endearment when used outside of actual biological relationship (calling your sister 'my blood' is just an intense way of saying 'my [relative]', calling a non-relative 'my blood' is VERY pointedly affectionate).

ya ungande [ja ungɑnde] (yah oon-gahn-day)

Often contracted to y'ungande, dead literally means "my liver" as in the organ. Ungande alone is also used as a food-based term of endearment, similar to 'honey' except instead with delicious organ meat.

anuje [ɑnudʒe] (ah-noo-jay)

Food based term of endearment, referring to a tree sap that is the most commonly used form of sweetener. Functionally identical to 'honey' in usage.

anu tlansekoma [ɑnu tlɑnsekoʊmə] (ah-noo tlahn-say-koh-muh)

This one actually means 'honey' (dead literally 'bee sweet'). Less common than 'anuje' as a term of endearment due to general cultural preference for anuje as a sweetener and the relative rarity of beekeeping.

inyagit [injəgit] (een-yah-geet)

Diminutive form of 'sun'. 'Ya inya' (my sun) occurs as well, but is less common.

y'mit agai [j'mit ɑgaɪ] (yuh-meet ah-gai)

Contraction of 'ya amit agai', 'my blue moon'. This specification is more common than a general 'my moon(s)' and is fairly loaded, given this particular moon is the site of the afterlife for the most honored dead. The phrase both suggests a sort of celestial beauty and a sense of being honored and finding rest in the recipient. This is a VERY intense and almost exclusively romantic term of endearment.

coutomara [koʊtoʊmɑrə] (koh-to-mahr-uh)

Means 'handsome' or 'beautiful', implies masculine attractiveness. (Dead literally closer to 'strong face'/'strong featured').

jaimara [dʒaɪmɑrə] (jaim-mahr-uh)

Means 'pretty' or 'beautiful', implies feminine attractiveness (dead literally close to 'beautiful face'/'beautifully featured').

katsuy [kɑtsui] [kaht-soo'ee]

Sexually charged description of physical attractiveness, basically calling someone 'sexy'.

ya katsuymen [ja kɑtsuimɛn] (yah koht-soo'ee-mehn)

Related and also sexually charged, close in meaning to 'my desire'.

at akmatse yachouy [ɑt ɑkmɑtse jɑtʃɔɪ] (aht ahk-mat-say yah-choi )

Sexually explicit term of endearment. The dead literal translation is "one who makes me flower". The word "flower" here is not as euphemistic in context and is rather the nicest sounding possible way to say "makes me cum (HARD)". Not considered vulgar, rather cloyingly romantic if anything.

gan(ne) ama [gɑn(e) ɑmə] (gah(-nay) ahm-uh)

Means 'bull'. When used affectionately, implies masculine strength. Usually used in conjunction with an adjective (ie 'handsome bull') or more teasingly gannit ama (little/baby bull))

jaimeti [dʒaɪmɛti] (jai-meh-tee)

Means 'gazelle' (the name for the animal itself is close in meaning to 'beautiful horn'), heavily associated with grace and beauty. Also tends to be used with adjectives ('lovely gazelle' 'handsome gazelle' etc) or with a diminutive.

ansiba [ɑnsibɑ] (ahn-see-bah) or ansibit [ɑnsibit] (ahn-see-beet)

Means 'duck' and 'duckling' respectively, specifically refers to the animal and implies cuteness. Ansibit is a very common term of endearment for children.

"Wannaukoma such datse anmo" [wɑnaʊkoʊmə suk dɑtse ɑnmoʊ] (wahn-now-koh-muh sookh daht-say ahn-moh)

Means 'an ant could swallow you', implies cuteness (ie the recipient is so small and tiny an Ant could devour them whole). Usually used on children, occasionally used on adult women (in a way that feels intensely patronizing to many). 'Datse' (you) may be replaced by the recipients surname or honorific in the rare case that someone would dare calling someone this without being on first name basis with them.

wannaukomit [wɑnaʊkoʊmit] (wahn-now-koh-meet)

Means 'little ant', a term of endearment that borders on insulting even to babies.

OTHER:

-it [it] (eet)

This is a diminutive modifier, which can be added to a name or other word/term of endearment to denote affection (can also be condescending). It lacks internal meaning in everyday use and is closer to the English -y or -ie (billy johnny rosie susie puppy kitty ducky etc).

hippe [hipɛ] (heep-peh) (some dialects drop the h sound entirely)

Means 'small' or 'little', can be spoken with other words/names as an affectionate diminutive.

Other epithets-

Various epithets used in the language are not exclusively used as terms of endearment, but can be contextually. Most commonly, this will be the -machen epithet of the recipients zodiac birthsign (particularly those considered auspicious). Someone with the lion birthsign could be respectfully and/or affectionately called 'odomachen', or VERY affectionately called 'ya odo' ('my lion'). There's also a good variety of poetic epithets that have worked their way into common language as affectionate compliments/descriptors- ie ganatoche (dead literally 'cow-eye', more prettily 'ox-eyed') is a complimentary descriptor for brown eyes, anaemaitsa (dead literally 'river-haired', more prettily 'flowing-haired') compliments wavy hair.

Given name basis-

In Wardi culture, full names are spoken with the family name preceding the given name. When respectfully speaking to a stranger, peer, or authority figure, you refer to them by their family name, title, and/or an honorific. Being on an accepted given name basis with someone is generally indicative of closeness and affection.

datse [dɑtse] (dah-tsay)

This is the word for "you". Similarly to the use of a given name, actually referring to someone as 'you' (rather than a surname, title, or honorific in place of the pronoun) expresses familiarity and intimacy.

[squealing-for-harusono-sensei]

Hirano to Kagiura Ch. 3 Analysis: 甘え(る) and 甘やかす

Ch.3 is the chapter where Hirano goes on his school trip. It’s also the first time we get Hirano’s obliviousness in full force but that’s not what I’m going to talk about (mostly because this post would just be me yelling at Hirano). Rather, I’d like to look at how Hirano’s thoughts about Kagiura on the lift mirrors Kagiura’s conversation with Niibashi and his thoughts about Hirano.

They don’t mirror each other completely - Hirano’s part is only two pages where Kagiura’s conversation with Niibashi is a lot longer and the two parts I’d argue mirrors each others aren’t even in the same order. Still, I can’t help but think that we’re supposed to compare the two.

In the Japanese it’s 保護者, which means guardian/protector/patron/parent, instead of babysitter, but the point still remains - both saying “not [Kagiura’s] guardian” using the same word is too much of a coincidence to not compare them.

There are two points of comparisons - Hirano and Kagiura’s respective thoughts on the fact that they won’t be roommates for much longer and their respective thoughts on their current dynamic.

There isn’t much to say about the time left rooming together. Both of them seem kinda sad that there isn’t much time left, but where Hirano thinks that they’ll at least stay in the same dorm, Kagiura is thinking that they’ll see each other less and less after graduating. Which leads to this:

Hirano’s train of thought just lead to him thinking about having to train Kagiura in how to take care of a first-year. Kagiura is thinking about how to keep their relationship in a way that Hirano isn’t.

When comparing their respective thoughts on their current dynamic, it’s actually a pretty specific, though very big and important, part of their relationship. And once again there is a Japanese word that doesn’t have an English equivalent that's very important in the original version.

Well, it’s more like a set of words and it’s not quite as untranslatable as 素直. I’m talking about 甘え (”amae”), 甘える (”amaeru”), and 甘やかす (”amayakasu”) (not to be confused with 甘い (”amai”) which means sweet). These words are together used in some form 10 times in this chapter.

The meaning of 甘え is “[1] wanting something from or sticking to someone, trying to be loved by them, [2] depending too much on someone's kindness, behaving selfishly.” The second picture in this post, where Niibashi says “But he’s not your babysitter. Don’t be so selfish with him” he’s saying don’t be so 甘え with him. 甘える is, as far as I can tell, the actions one does when one wants something from another. Pleading and whining are both words that could be translated to 甘える.

甘やかす is the other side of 甘え and 甘える. It means “To not strictly discipline a child or other person, and let them do what they want.” Jisho.org translates it to “to pamper; to spoil.”

I don’t think I need to explain that 甘え and 甘える is what Kagiura is doing towards Hirano and 甘やかす is what Hirano does towards Kagiura. It’s Kagiura wanting attention and being taken care of by Hirano and Hirano giving those things. That’s their current relationship and the chapter has both Hirano and Kagiura mention that the other acts in a way that makes them do it even more. But when thinking about it, they end up with very different expressions:

Hirano likes taking care of Kagiura (fun fact, what September Scanlations translated as “readily” is 素直) but while Kagiura also likes being taken care of, it also leads him to worry. Though he cheers up again when Hirano calls him.

I first noticed when analyzing it, but this chapter is the one that sets up Hirano to Kagiura’s conflict. Their current relationship seems sustainable, but it actually isn’t. Hirano might be content the way that things are, but a relationship that a) has a deadline, b) has Kagiura constantly being the one taken care of is not good for Kagiura’s mental health. He’s happy, yes, but he can quickly spiral in a bad way. Add Hirano’s obliviousness to it and pretty much every conflict in this manga can trace some part of it back to things shown in this chapter.

[grayintogreen]

I was not technically tagged, but at least two people on my dash were like DO WHAT YOU WANT NO ONE IS YOUR GOD, and you know what? They’re right and valid. 

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

96! And 90% of them are from just this year. Can’t wait to find out what the big 100 is gonna be. Any one of my WIPS could be Disney’s next 100th fic.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

455,024 (also mostly from this year...)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In my entire life??? Since I was twelve??? I don’t even know, man. I wrote a lot of ooc crackfic and fic for cartoons when I was on FF.net, and then I was on LJ and wrote for a TON of different fandoms, but on AO3, I have written for Critical Role (so much CR), Yashahime/Inuyasha, Guardians of the Galaxy, His Dark Materials (TV), Steven Universe, Bleach, Alias, Supernatural, Dollhouse, Pushing Daisies (the last four were all transferred here from LJ, though)

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

- turning wine back into water (Critical Role, de-aging fic with plot, 30457 words)

I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE HOW POPULAR THIS FIC IS. It beat out two of my super popular GotG fics that have been up since 2017 BY A LOT. Apparently, there was a market for the Mighty Nein being adorable cocktail brats and saving the world. Thanks, Liam’s Quest!

It is probably one of the most wholesome fics I will ever write too. I love it.

- Sunshine Came Softly (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket and Mantis friendship, 3188 words)

THIS FIC STILL GETS HITS EVEN TODAY. It was written right after I saw the movie so it hit hard and fast on the hype train. 

- Mine Is Just a Slower Sacrifice (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket-centric, 2248 words)

BOY YOU CAN TELL THESE FICS ARE ANCIENT BECAUSE I HADN’T DEVELOPED MY TITLE NICHE YET. where are the lower caps and Seanan McGuire lyrics!!

Anyway, this was written probably IMMEDIATELY after I saw the movie and had to process Rocket’s emotions during the last moments, because of who I am as a person. For what’s mostly a character study, it got some mileage on it.

- they drink dreamers up like brandy (Critical Role, 1625 words)

Back to Critical Role! I wrote this one when I was in a fucking blind post-finale haze and producing massive amounts of Kingsley content and I wanted to write a silly fic about Caleb being tiefling catnip. 

- if adversity breeds character (we’ve character enough for two) (Critical Role, Beau and Molly-centric, 1824 words)

I feel like most of my most kudos-ed CR fics are Beau-related, which is funny because I never really wrote her EVER. I guess I need to write her more often. ANYWAY, this one got jossed immediately after 141, but I needed to write Beau and Molly bantering and I couldn’t get her flipping him off after revealing her card is Rumor out of my head.

(Incidentally my sixth most kudos-ed fic is my Fjorester next gen fic, WHICH I WAS NOT EXPECTING AT ALL. IT’S A FIC BASED ON MY OC FANCHILDREN!! I’M VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THAT!!)

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Usually!! There are times when I forget and then it’s been so long that I never go back, but I like responding to comments. They make me so happy and I want to make sure the people who take the time to comment know that I see them and appreciate them. Especially if they give me long comments. You long commenters know who you are and I value you and also flail incoherently in your direction.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

God, probably this church takes no conversions simply because, like, the whole ending scenes are MISERABLE AND FULL OF ANGST and then it has the hopeful ending that is actually a bullshit lie.

But second place probably goes to what couldn’t i offer, what couldn’t i give, which is just misery porn in disguise as a character study. Sorry, Cree.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Okay, so back in the day when I was a tineh fanbrat I wrote a lot of self-indulgent crossovers featuring my friends and I in true Mary Sue format being ~saviors of the world~ alongside our favorite fictional characters and after I grew out of that, I very rarely did it again, because as someone who can only write AUs if they’re high concept and can only write crossovers if the canon welding is pristine, it’s difficult.

I have ideas for some! I just haven’t written them yet. Or they’re sitting in Google Docs partially written.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not to my recollection, which is insane, because I’ve written some things in my youth that deserved it, but also I was a kid, so maybe I definitely did not deserve it. Don’t send hate to kids!!

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

The first smut I ever posted on AO3 involved some fucking American Gods flesh horror shit, so that answers your second question.

Basically, yes, but I write smut to facilitate character development in a way that regular story beats can’t, mainly with characters who are in some way deeply fucked up and have unbalanced dynamics. 

So basically chances of me writing smut that isn’t Creecien or Lucigast? Very low. (I haven’t written Lucigast smut yet but I will. Inevitably.)

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that anyone’s told me, but one time when I was a teenager someone ripped off an entire group messageboard RP I was in and tried to pass it off as a fic they wrote.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that anyone’s told me!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I tried and it did not work out, because of (non-wanky) reasons, but it’s just not something I’d be very good at. I was the kid who wanted to work alone on group projects. I’m bad at group work.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

That I’ve WRITTEN??? Because that at least narrows it down significantly. Sesshoumaru/Rin hands down. It’s a good dynamic and they’re fun and sad at the same time. 

My self-indulgent ass does also enjoy writing Creecien though. I’m putting it out there because I want it.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

GOD POOR SUPERNOVAS OF ALL SOUND AND LIGHT. THAT FIC COULD’VE BEEN A CONTENDER, but I unfortunately posted it RIGHT BEFORE the White Diamond episodes aired and it became so jossed by canon so fast that I gave up on life with chapter two half finished. I need to delete it but I can’t bring myself to bury my shame.

15) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and meta-narrative and character-specific stuff. I go into every story with CHARACTER FIRST mentality, which is how I end up writing so many damn character studies or why my word counts explode. I’m just out here naval gazing because I love character stuff SO MUCH.

I’ve been told I’m good at fight/action scenes too, which... Shocks me, but I think watching and playing a lot of D&D stuff has really improved how I write fighting and action sequences.

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

[whispers] too much naval gaze. dial it back, bitch. 

I get really caught up in character stuff and forget to do important things like ADVANCE THE SCENE OR DESCRIBE THE SCENE OR LITERALLY ANYTHING. I also don’t think my prose is all that great, but I’m pretty sure every writer feels that imposter syndrome bullshit, so /waves hands. All I’m saying is I have seen some writers on AO3 who are writing some fucking vivid imagery and stringing flawless sentences together and weaving introspection and description together like beautiful baskets and they are stronger than any US Marine and I salute them and wish to be them.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Iiii try not to. There’s times where I want to throw in, like, a little Zemnian for Caleb flair, but I try to stick to things that are either untranslatable (like German compound words), common phrases (like please or come here), or insults/curses/ pet names. Things that I don’t think Google will fucking lie to me about.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I think it was a Sailor Moon crackfic about Haruka being forced to enter a beauty pageant which was just a blatant rip-off of Ms Congeniality and oh my god was it awful. I don’t even wanna talk about it.

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

this church takes no conversions, probably BECAUSE it’s my little red-headed stepchild of a fic involving so many things that are just never going to make it popular (backstory fic, fic that is almost 85% headcanon, doesn’t involve popular characters, etc.), but godDAMMIT I love that fic so much. It was fun and I use every bit of that headcanon in almost everything like it’s my job.

shattered stage is a close second, because it was such a crazy concept for a fic that I PULLED OFF SOMEHOW and is this wonderful mix of crazy plot and character and lore and my three favorite tieflings having to work together. And also Jayne Merriweather as the main villain. 

A lot of love went into both of those fics and they are my babies. this time next year we’ll see if I add Creedemption and shoot at fate to this list- probably. All of my epic long fics resolve to be my babies because I spent so much time on them, and I have to love them and cherish them because I raised them into gigantic wordy attempts to write a doorstopper.

[fuanteinasekai]

Ur posts made me realize just how unintentionaly insensitive Taki is about Natsume especially compared to Tanuma & how the anime keeps erasing it. Tanuma who's as slender as Natsume,just taller, was added to Takis episode where Kai thought Natsume was after him & his friends called him names like beanpole which depressed Natsume. Tanuma & Taki laughed at him but in the manga it was only Taki. Tanuma however in Shibata chapter was: Natsume is not a beanpole! at same time Natsume defended him too

Feel better soon! A moment toned down & cut in half is, 1st time Natsume teased Tanuma & Tanuma teased right back in ch 66-67. Anime is more gentle,Natsume is sweet & Tanuma is mostly suprised & little embarassed. Manga Natsume's expression is priceless, SMIRK, & Tanuma's too, "somehow that really pisses me off". Then Tanuma's teasing, his HEH~ looked very pleased that the girl run away from Natsume & he also blushed along with Natsume who was flustered.Ofc they cut it, but its about women too?

Hello, nonnies, I hope it’s okay I put these together! I felt they were sort of related.

First of all, I forgot but you’re right, Nonny1! Taki really did think that was hilarious. She’s literally shaking, trying to hold in her laughter. At least she tried? But this is a great example of how Taki was never the delicate, sensitive flower the anime tries to make her. Cookies ≠ delicate.

Kai is apologizing here for calling Natsume “a pervert, a beansprout, and a cutting board.” (The depression part was earlier.) It’s really kinda genuinely terrible? Tanuma has teased Natsume before, so I don’t want to completely rule out him laughing at something this absurd, but you’re right he also got offended at a very similar insult: Shibata’s ひょろひょろ is a variation on Kai’s friends’ ひょろ男. The former means “tall and skinny” in a gangly, awkward way, and the second means the same thing but attached to the word for “male”. So basically, “scrawny” vs “scrawny-boy.” This is what was translated as “beanpole.” It’s actually quite sweet that they got offended on each other’s behalf, isn’t it? Natsume is very sensitive to the “skinny” remarks, but he was more upset at the idea that they were directed at Tanuma.

Interestingly, I feel like this story was actually peak Natsume/Taki. It had that scene where Natsume was watching Kai with Taki, and wondered whether he would “ever come to care for people earnestly” or “ever be able to make a family.” He clearly doesn’t come to any conclusion about who he would do that with, but given the context of Taki and Kai, it’s easy to see how it might be subtextually pointing at Taki as future wife.

But that never goes anywhere, and the further the manga gets along after this, the more Taki sort of… retreats relative to Tanuma.

In fact, the timing of this is really interesting to me, because it’s literally the very next story after Tanuma’s special. In the author’s notes for that special, Midorikawa-sensei describes the way Tanuma and Natsume don’t exactly behave according to plan:

久しぶりに田沼の話です。もうすっかりつうかあの中になってると思って描き始めてみたら思っていたより二人ともモジモジしていました。笑ってあたりさわりのない話をする夏目は描き慣れているのですが咄嗟の判断をしそこなう夏目が描けて楽しかったです。妖に関わってる時の夏目は田沼のところに来ないので、必然的に描く機会の少ないキャラクターですが描けてよかったです。

“It’s been a while since we had a Tanuma story. I thought [Tanuma and Natsume] would already be on completely the same wavelength, but when I tried to start drawing [the story] they were both more shy than I thought. I’m used to drawing a Natsume who smiles and takes care not to offend, but I enjoyed being able to draw a Natsume who makes bad snap judgments. Natsume doesn’t visit Tanuma when he’s involved with yōkai, so I was glad to be able to draw a character that I inevitably don’t get many chances to draw.”

Yes, you read that correctly. She literally started the story without realizing how awkward they were going to be. Makes me wonder what the original story was going to be. Oh, and モジモジ means “hesitant” or “restlessly unable to do things one wants to, due to reserve or embarrassment.” I thought “shy” was more natural in this context. It’s very similar to the concept of そわそわ “restlessness” in that trolly post-Omibashira author’s note, but more appropriate for boys who haven’t known each other long. Also, the “not on the same wavelength” is the same. So really, that later note is basically an update saying “STILL AWKWARD. STILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGING WHY.”

Anyway.

Considering the timing, and considering how much the above reads like a crush, part of me can’t help but wonder if the Taki and Kai scene was an experiment by Midorikawa-sensei to see whether she could get another character to compete with that tone without forcing it. (She couldn’t.)

@Nonny2: Thank you! I’m feeling much better now. 

I hadn’t re-watched the whole ep for comparison, so I had missed that the second part was gone. So much lost! Manga Tanuma almost looks like he thinks it’s cute that Natsume can’t handle children, though technically he’s snerking. It’s the same face (and sound) Natsume makes when he goes “pfft” at Taki’s cross-dressing photo.

For what it’s worth, the dialog in that “You’re really popular, Tanuma” scene is actually the same, though as you say the anime softened up the delivery. Anime Natsume almost looks shy, but Manga Natsume looks evil! lol The scanlators and the subtitlers just handled the translation differently. (The official manga translation… didn’t even try. ) A couple of things: 

The word Natsume uses for “popular” is モテる. This is slightly untranslatable as there is no direct English equivalent. The literal meaning is similar to “you’ve really got it” and it denotes a specific type of popularity. There’s a character in another manga who translates this himself as being “BIG.” It’s a really funny scene where it’s translated this way, but the point is モテる is kind of a rock star sort of popularity. It’s generally associated with the opposite sex due to heteronormativity, but even outside of that it can refer to non-sexual popularity as long as there’s a suggestion that people make a fuss over you. In this context, I think it’s clear that Natsume is pulling on the heteronormative meaning because, well… He’s basically saying “You’re really popular with the ladies!” except the ladies are Tanuma’s aunt and a grandmotherly figure. Little snot. haha

The part where the translations diverge is 腹立つ which literally means, er, your stomach is rising. “Get angry” is the default translation (think of the way your stomach clenches when something sets you off), but in context I think it makes more sense to go with “to be offended.” 

So:

“You’re really popular with ladies, Tanuma.” [Evil Smirk]“Uggghhhh. That’s kind of offensive.” *Note “ugh” is actually “crap” but it doesn’t flow as well in English.

It’s basically the equivalent of saying “you’re a jerk” to a friend who’s messing with you, but just to acknowledge their teasing and not because you’re actually mad.

It reminds me of someone—I don’t remember who—saying that you know a Japanese person is your friend when they start making fun of you. We really don’t see a lot of that with others, do we? He’s comfortable enough to bicker with Nishimura and laugh when he’s ridiculous, and Taki is arguably teasing when she gives him his Awkward Photo where he’s “dressed up all cute.” But I can’t remember him actively teasing anyone but Tanuma. Natsume’s so used to trying to be super-polite to appease everyone, he must be really stepping outside of his comfort zone to take a social risk like that. It really shows how much they trust each other.

[rockofeye]

It'd be nice to see sort of a "Creole for beginners" post that talks about what terms are common in Vodou and maybe explains the grammar structure. I've noticed a lot of Creole I can mentally translate myself if I think about it long enough since many French words were taken into English awhile back, but French itself I don't actually know so sometimes it's quite a reach. The evolution of the language seems parallel with the evolution of Vodou and that's really interesting to me.

So, this ask has been sitting for awhile, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot as I am just finishing up an intensive month-long Kreyòl class.

Haitian Kreyòl/Kreyòl Ayisyen is a fascinating, gorgeous, succulent language. In some ways, it is super straightforward and in other ways, it is deeply complex as befits a language that has roots in Romance languages (more than one!), African languages (more than one!), and Indigenous languages. Like vodou, it is a language that embodies the history of Haiti and it has and does evolve as culture and the world advances.

Outside of Haiti, there is the idea that there is no common orthography/common way of speaking and utilizing the language. This is wrong wrong wrong. Largely, this stems from the fact that, until about 50 years ago, Kreyòl was almost entirely an oral only language because of colonialism–Kreyòl has only begun being taught in schools in the last decade, yet almost every Haitian speaks it fluently (the elite class speaks French, but that is largely a class marker–everyone knows Kreyòl). Many Haitians do not know how to write in Kreyòl, and write the best that they are able which leads to widely varied output….which leads outsiders to say that there is no commonly accepted orthography.

It would take a long, LONG time to really deconstruct and explain how Kreyòl works in practice so I’m not going to go there entirely, but here are some basics:

Kreyòl has 32 letter/symbols in its alphabet. Within that, there are 15 vowels/vowel sounds and 18 consonants/consonant sounds. Kreyòl only utilizes one accent (grave accent/aksan grav). Things with the alphabet that trip up Kreyòl learners who are native English speakers include:

‘C’ is not utilized except as a compound sound in ‘ch’, which is a soft sound like ‘shh’ and not a hard sound like ‘chair’.

‘U’ is not utilized except in compound sounds with other vowels.

‘G’ is always hard, never soft.

In Kreyòl, everything written is spoken–there are no silent letters, ever. A professor of mine terms Kreyòl as a truly democratic language; every letter has a sound that is expressed orally. 

Basic sentence structure is Subject-Verb-Object (Li se yon bèl fi/She is a beautiful woman) and Noun-Adjective (Li bèl/She is beautiful). Within that structure:

Tenses and conditions (positive/negation) are assigned by separate verb markers/particles. Absense of a verb marker makes the tense automatically present.

Verbs largely do not conjugate, with some exceptions.

Articles are placed separately from the noun–definite articles are ALWAYS after the noun, indefinite articles are ALWAYS before the noun, and this gives speakers of other languages fits because it is different than the Romance languages most closely related to Kreyòl (my class had several folks who spoke several European-derived languages fluently, and the folks who spoke French or Spanish fluently struggled the most).

Adjectives are mostly after nouns, except when they are not.

Kreyòl is a language of double speak, both in general and in vodou. Words carry multiple meanings depending on context and tone, which can be a struggle when learning and can lead to confusion and sometimes awkward conversation. For example, the word for walk and market is spelled and pronounced the same way, the word for pen can also refer to internal genitalia and/or pubic hair in a female-assigned person in a somewhat rude/abrupt way, and utilizing a nasal versus open vowel sound in ‘I would like to meet you’ in Kreyòl changes that sentence to ‘I would like to fuck you’. Luckily, most Haitians are extremely accommodating to outsiders and understand that mistakes are honest mistakes (but they will laugh…).

Tone and composure (how you fix your face when you speak) is super important. How a sentence is said communicates as much, if not more, than the actual word. How I say ‘yon fanm sa a la’ can change ‘the woman over there’ to ‘can you believe this biiiiiiiitch over there’.

Kreyòl must be spoken with mouth open: no mumbling, etc. To get words across accurately, the mouth must open to make all the sounds.

The language is an independent standalone language with piece of French, Spanish, English, and multiple African languages visible. Much of the sentence structuring is African-derived, particularly from Bantu and Yoruba sources. There is a recent and evolving movement to claim identity of the language as Haitian only, not as Kreyòl.

The language also reflects the lived history of the country and it’s people. A lot of common phraseology reflects the history of enslavement; one of the more common ways to ask where someone lives in-country is ki bò ou ye/kibò ou ye, which translates to ‘what side are you from’. This is directly related to how enslaved Africans lived; plantations were huge and sprawling and so when enslaved Africans met others who were on the same plantation, how they related where they lived on the plantation was in that manner. Like vodou, the language is it’s own living history.

In the religion, language gets more complicated. French is utilized in some specific instances and some spirits, if/when they speak, only speak French, but Kreyòl is the liturgical language of the religion. All the songs and majority of the prayers are in Kreyòl, the community speaks Kreyòl, etc. In general, French is falling away as being a conversational language in Haiti–it is often used in business and medicine, but that’s about it.

There is also langaj, the language of the spirits. This is largely untranslatable language that spirits sometimes use in possession–it can be a combination of Kreyòl and African-descended sounds that are not complete in any African language. What langaj means is often private between the spirit and to whom that spirit is speaking, with the most common uses become accepted parlance (think ritual exclamations, like ‘ayibobo’, ‘awoche Nago’, ‘alaso’,  ‘djarvodo/djavodo/djavado’).

Kreyòl is also spoken differently by spirits than by people. Kreyòl in general has many dialects throughout the country, and it follows that the spirits have many dialects as well. Kreyòl in general is spoken very fast by Haitians, and the spirits follow suit with that. In addition, some spirits speak more rural or localized forms of Kreyòl depending on what part of Haiti they are from. Some spirits speak very nasally, some speak so softly it almost sounds like they are only letting out soft breaths, some mix Kreyòl and langaj, some only speak/yell at top volume. All of that is super different than what a language program or even an in-person class can teach, and soKreyòl learned and used in religious settings is picked up contextually. 

LearningKreyòl can be a daunting pursuit. Since it is SO orally focused, the best way is to learn orally in an immersive setting; either an intensive class or in Haiti or the Haitian community. There are some language programs, most of them are not great. Here’s what I like:

Ann Pale Kreyol by Albert Valdman is an excellent place to start. Though it is older and some of it is dated, it is still pretty foundational and his teaching methods are still used in classroom teaching. It is pricey for a used copy, but there are PDFs easily available online.

Valdman also produced a bilingual English-Haitian Kreyòl dictionary and it is FANTASTIC. I have several dictionaries and this is by far the best–you get definitions of words, what parts of speech they are, and how they are used both in English and in Kreyòl sentences. It is pricey and you could beat someone to death with it, but it is worth it for learning.

Pawol Lakay is as useful as Ann Pale Kreyol is, and it also comes with CDs (if you can threaten Amazon into making sure they send them with the book). It can be a little weak on sentence structure and what parts of speech are, but it’s good. There is a forthcoming language learning system for Kreyòl that beats the pants off of anything else on the market but it is not out yet.

MangoLanguages is good for basic hello/goodbye/my name is fluency, but I did not find it useful for conversational use. Good introduction, though, and the pronunciation in-program is pretty on-point. Most public library systems and college/university libraries have a free subscriptions for this, there are also pay options.

There are other books that are aimed at travelers and casual users which can be useful, but the above are the best resources I have seen so far. I do not like the Pimsleur system for Kreyòl at all, as it is super limited to essentially picking up women in Port-au-Prince which is great if that’s your jam but not useful for much of anything else. Youtube is full of Kreyòl movies and television and music, which is good to throw on in the background to absorb the sound and cadence of the language. Several professors have cautioned about listening to Haitian radio unless it originates in Haiti, saying that most Haitian radio originating in the US is a broadcast in a mix of Kreyòl and bad French, which can trip up a learner.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more info.

[mayancivilizationblog-blog]

Blog #2

Mayan Agriculture and Farming Methods

By Martha Rivera 

It is believed that the Mayans used a variety of farming methods; terrace farming, a technique using raised field farming and the slash & burn method, which was when they cut down all the trees in a particular area and burn the stumps and trees that were cut down, then, they would use the ashes from that, mix it with soil and plant their seeds for the crops to grow. Only thing with this method was that it would only last for about 3-4 years and the Mayans would then have to pick up and move to another area and start the process over. For them, the use of farming methods depended on the land, as well as, the weather, the weather played a big part. Especially with dry climates, cold winters and droughts. Farming was a way of life for them and also how the Mayans provided for their families and villages. The Mayans depended heavily on farming to get by in the and keep their families fed. Although corn was the Mayans main crop, they also grew beans, squash, cacao, chili peppers and fruit trees, black and red beans were added to their diet for protein, in addition to hunting deer, dog, turkey, rabbit, pigs, birds and fishing to feed their families and provide for their entire village.

“ANCIENT MAYA LIFE.” Ancient Mayan Farming, ancientmayalife.blogspot.com/2012/01/ancient-mayan-farming.html.

“Exhibits on the Plaza.” Civilization.ca - Mystery of the Maya, www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/maya/mmp04eng.shtml.

Mayan Civilization. (n.d.). http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mayan_Civilization

The Mayans Archives - Page 1 of 3. (n.d.). https://www.historyonthenet.com/category/mayans/page/3/

                                                         How Location Affects Agriculture

By Courtney King

Just like anywhere, if you want to grow a crop, you have to make sure that the surrounding lands and soils are fit to grow that specific food. If not, your crop will not grow successfully. The Mayans knew this hundred of years ago when they started farming their most important crops like corn, squash and beans and therefore adjusted the way they farmed to get the best results.

Mayan cities that reside in the lowland areas like Peten and Puuk, had fertile soil but not a lot of it spread across large land plots. So, to increase the soil fertility in more patches of land, the Mayans would use the technique of raised fields. Raised fields were able to drain the land of too much water and improved the soil for the crops. Another technique the Mayans used was planting multiple crops together so they could get the most crops out of the smallest patches of land. They planted beans and squash within the fields of corn, “...so that the beans could climb the maize stalks and the squash could help reduce soil erosion” (Cartwright, 2015). Even though they did not have a lot of land to work with, they still were able to get the most product.

Cities with even less land to farm mostly traded with cities that had a lot of crops or the Mayans themselves had small gardens outside of their homes.

Another aspect about location was that the Mayans experienced hot summers and dry winters, so water management was very important. They used sinkholes that water would be collected in throughout the year and was brought to fields using canals. This way, they always had enough water despite any dry weather.

Even with different climates and weather patterns, the Mayans were still able to farm and grow their crops by creating ways to preserve the soil, save water, and maximize the number of fruits and vegetables that they produce.

Cartwright, Mark. “Maya Food & Agriculture.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 24 Apr. 2015, www.ancient.eu/article/802/maya-food--agriculture/.

Article 8: Native Tobacco

By Alex Powers

When the Spanish had encountered the Aztec empire, it was long after the Mayan empire had vanished.  The Aztec empire regarded the Mayans the same way in which we regard the Roman Empire; with this influence, it is natural to assume that many cultural implementations of tobacco were inherited by the Aztecs from the Mayans.  The significance of the tobacco plant to Native populations of South and Central America predates the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese explorers to the New World.  While not much is known on the official history of Mayan tobacco use, modern narratives would argue that its history could be indirectly observed in the Aztec and Incan interactions with conquistadors.

Tobacco played an important role in the quotidian life of Aztec, and Incan culture, and the Spanish discovered, “They had touched upon the Atlantic coastline of the Americas in places thousands of miles apart, where they had come into contact with tribes of vastly different cultures and languages who did not know of each other’s existence, and who employed a variety of names for the weed.” (Gately p. 32-33) Each culture utilized tobacco as medicine, a trade commodity, in religious implementations, and recreationally, despite never encountering one another.  What modern scholarship knows about Mayan tobacco use comes from Mayan artwork, what remains of Mayan literature addressing the issue remains untranslatable; this presents obstacles for Atlantic historians tracing tobacco’s origins in the Native world.  Separation of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan societies resulted in a lack of overt cultural influence, but their coexistence in similar natural environments allowed each to introduce their own understanding of how tobacco should be utilized. (Schlesinger) What did connect these societies was their shared similarities in their utilization of tobacco.  By using tobacco as a religious herb, which naturally has hallucinogenic properties, Aztec and Incan societies regarded tobacco smoke as spiritually cleansing; they regarded the herb as medicine for similar reasons.   When the Spanish observed tobacco being used in Aztec society, the regarded it as devilish.  Seeing Natives smoking, and snorting tobacco was evil; stopping its practice was an important step in the Spanish religious conversion and colonization effort. (Thornton, pp. 54,236)

Benjamin, Thomas. The Atlantic World in the Age of Empire. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.

Foster, Lynne V. Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Gately, Iain. Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization. New York: Grove Press, 2001.

Thornton, John K. A Cultural History of the Atlantic World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Rushforth, Brett. Colonial North America and the Atlantic World: A History of Documents. New York: Routeledge, 2008.

The Avocado and the Mayans

By Anthony Orlando

Its modern name comedically deriving from the Nahua Aztec word for testicle, “ahuacatl” (Gonzalez), the avocado, originating in the area of what is now Guatemala and southern Mexico,  was treasured by the ancient Mayans (Shapiro) much like it it is today by college students and the attendees of business parties (albeit now in the form of guacamole). The mayans themselves would convert wetlands into elaborately irrigated farming zones where the fossilized remains of ancient avocados once harvested there can still be unearthed (Mascarelli), as have been found in modern day Belize. The discovery of the Belize site would also cause some controversy, as the wetlands used for the avocado farming were relatively distant from most major Mayan cities, though physical geographer Timothy Beach has suggested that these wetland farms were supported by relatively large rural populations (Mascarelli).

Citations

Gonzalez, Robbie. “Ahuacatl.” io9, Gizmodo, 4 Nov. 2013, io9.gizmodo.com/the-aztec-word-for-avocado-ahuacatl-means-testicle-1457781245.

Mascarelli, Amanda. “Mayans Converted Wetlands to Farmland.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 5 Nov. 2010, www.nature.com/news/2010/101105/full/news.2010.587.html.

Shapiro, Michael. “Top 10 Foods of the Maya World.” National Geographic, 12 Sept. 2012, www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/maya-foods/.

Cassava: Fueling an Empire?

By Anthony Orlando

Otherwise known as manioc, tapioca, or yuca, the naturally gluten-free and generally healthy cassava (Mercola) is a tuberous root originating from tropical regions in the America’s (Rodriguez). Cassava also holds “...the highest yield of food energy of any cultivated crop (Carroll)”. In 2007, a 1,400 year old Mayan monocrop farm of cassava was discovered at the archaeological site of Ceren in El Salvador (Drye). Buried in and preserved by 17 ft of ash from a nearby volcanic eruption in 600 AD, the farm site serves as the first solid evidence of widespread cassava consumption in pre-columbian central america (Carroll). The food energy power of the cassava may have not only been able to assist in feeding and sustaining the massive Mayan populace, but also could have also served as the food-fuel for many of the Mayan civilizations architectural wonders (Carroll). Though it is unknown how exactly the ancient Mayans ate it, its versatility likely offered numerous ways, as cassava can be boiled, baked, made into bread (Rodriguez), or even turned into chips (which, from personal experience, are pretty good).

Citations

Carroll, Rory. “1,400-Year-Old Cassava Crop Solves Riddle of the Maya.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Aug. 2007, www.theguardian.com/science/2007/aug/23/1.

Drye, Willie. “Ancient Farm Discovery Yields Clues to Maya Diet.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 20 Aug. 2007, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070820-maya-crop.html.

Mercola, Joseph M. “Health Benefits of Cassava.” Mercola.com, 25 July 2016, articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/07/25/cassava-benefits.aspx.

Rodriguez, Hector. “What Is Cassava, and How Can You Eat It?” The Spruce, 20 July 2017, www.thespruce.com/introduction-to-cassava-yuca-2138084.