#elegant language

[godsofhumanity]

Hera, to Leto: I’d call you a cunt but you haven’t got the depth or the warmth.

[faaun]

the way that diff languages sound r so fascinating they're all different and all so vivid

[yandere-daydreams]

Ooh, about Uraume's gender: they are very explicitly never outright gendered in any way in the Japanese version (which is like. Basically the only canon one, in my eyes at least). The thing is that gendered and neutral language is like... Vastly different between literally every single language around the world. You know how "watashi" is constantly mis-translated (80% of the time in bad faith, I have to say) as being a strictly or heavily feminine pronouns (as in, the equivalent or "she" for the english language) all the time, when in reality it's actually just a softer, completely ungedered term used by woman AND man.

Oftentimes the original Japanese text pretty openly doesn't use gendered pronouns (specifically, they are at no point directly referred to as a *woman*, or "a she") or additives for Uraume. It's just... Very heavily and completely unnecessary, if not vaguely conservative, gendered (English, in this case) mistranslation that we can often see when discussing possibly trans (including, as always, non-binary) characters.

An example that I can think of is when in chapter 200, if I remember correctly: I don't remember the context, but some guy when he sees Uraume think of them as pretty/beautiful. That's it. Nothing else. Neither "pretty" nor "beautiful" are strictly feminine adjectives that can be used for women and women alone, and in the text itself there is no mention of femininity (or masculinity, for the matter), yet the official US translation decided to translate it as "SHE is pretty/beautiful".

In other translations, Uraume is also referred to as "he" at times too! That is exactly what has happened to a myriad of other (implied/explicit) trans characters too😭 and if THAT alone doesn't make them trans, being gendered and misgendered for no reason, idk what else will

Also, sorry for the English, it's not my first language

ooohhh okay okay i think i get it - i've only watched the subbed version, which alternates pretty consistently between he, she, they, and avoiding the whole pronoun thing altogether. i think most of my confusion came from those god awful reddit threads that are all titled something like 'undeniable PROOF that uraume jujutus kaisen is a WOMAN' and exist for literally every nonbinary anime character (opera of demon school fame i will never forget what they did to you), plus people just generally veering much more feminine for them in fics and stuff. i know understand the issue and will proceed with awareness. if i ever trip up again, assume i'm doing it deliberately to be mysterious and sexy or for general plot reasons.

[neuxue]

me: *slaps roof of sentence* this bad boy can fit so many subordinate clauses in it!

sentence in question: *collapses at the slightest touch like a fucking jenga tower, adverbs clattering down all over the floor, nouns lying broken and bleeding, impaled on verbs they were never meant to touch,*

[femmefatalevibe]

How do I sound and appear more intelligent and sophisticated? I've read books and stuff but how do I apply the knowledge in real life? How do I make my everyday vocabulary more sophisticated? Ik the general advice to read books and converse with people etc, but how do I actually apply it irl?

Hi love! Here are some of my suggestions/tips:

How do I sound and appear more intelligent and sophisticated?

Keep your language and explanations simple & concise

Speak slowly & deliberately: Take your time between sentences, and pause between your thoughts. Always think before you speak. Silences, while slightly awkward, are not always best avoided

Use the proper propositions when speaking: Avoid small grammar mistakes (know when to use less vs. fewer, I vs. me, graduated from an institution, etc.)

Articulate complex concepts into layman's terms: Break concepts down into different parts of the conceptual equation – chronically, from beginning to end or outcome to origin, simultaneously moving parts/micro-stories or situations; Use analogies (metaphors, mundane/real-life examples, or hypothetical situations) that require the same thought-process or methodology)

Apply conversational "show don't tell" when sharing a story: Describe the situation using the 5 senses to convey the implied meaning (e.g. "I could feel the pit in my stomach." vs. "I was nervous.")

Use subtle tonality to convey particularly emotional or significant points while speaking

I've read books and stuff but how do I apply the knowledge in real life?

Relate cultural references or learned concepts to add clever humor to everyday conversations

Create parallels and analogies to outside information to convey your understanding of what someone is saying, ask more thoughtful follow-up questions, or smoothly transition into a new conversation topic

How do I make my everyday vocabulary more sophisticated?

Use everyday/simple sentence structure and replace one simple word choice with another more sophisticated word that is equally apt to the message you're trying to convey

If you're ever confused about whether a particular synonym makes sense to use IRL, look at how it is used in the dictionary sentence examples and in other books/articles

Ik the general advice to read books and converse with people etc, but how do I actually apply it irl?

Reiterate a concise, simplified version of the other person's anecdotes to convey your understanding. Drive the conversation forward by asking specific follow-up questions based on one "part" of the idea or story

Use cultural parallels to convey your understanding of what the other person is saying (sounds like this TV show character, like a certain artist, historical/current event, etc.)

Leverage metaphors to connect the dots between the points you and your conversation partner are making. Make an insightful connection to break up the air time between their anecdote and contribution

Conversational word choice should be used to create vivid images in people's minds – to paint a picture of the concept, scene, emotions, or sensations one would engage with or experience if the person was living your conversation in the present moment

Learn how to use wit conversations – context and delivery are vital to its success and positive reception

Hope this helps xx

[softfemmelife]

[tokutaiseichan]

Zenji is such a fun, unpredictable guy in the way that every character cue used on him screams "Traditional! Japanese!!" but then he opens his mouth and it's just a barrage English loanwords one after another. 😂

he actually sounds far more elegant (befitting of the whole Dramatic Poet trope) in the English loc, imo. 😅

[emile-hides]

Been absolutely obsessed with @cosmiischillin's aged up Ruby Gloom AU Twilight Town and thought it'd be kinda fun to dig up my old Ruby Gloom OCs/Self Inserts and age them up to fit the Twilight Town Vibe.

The mummy is more recent, not adult recent they were definitely still a kid me self insert, but I only really recently put their design to paper like, last year. You can see that post Here because I really don't want to ramble twice about the same OC.

Luna is my baby baby OC who was basically just a Self Insert, I made them when I was maybe 8? They're a Shape-shifter who's color blind who took the form of Ruby hoping they could be as popular as her and make friends like she does because they're very very shy. Ruby basically adopts them as a sister afterwards.

I had drafted in a notebook as a kid a script for their arrival episode that came right after Blue Luna where even though they're drastically different looking Frank, Len, and Iris canNOT tell the two apart, and even assume Ruby to be the fake. Shenanigans and what not.

Yes baby me made an OC that was The Main Character but a Different Color and I was SO proud of it. I made an edit of Ruby to make her look like Luna as a child in MS Paint, but it as sense gone to the wind. Sad.

[studydaydreamer]

[vinceaddams]

A "those damn youths and their language!" passage I thought was so funny I had to record it.

I also like the use of the word "correctest", which I don't think I've ever seen anywhere, but which apparently was quite common in the 18th century and pretty much dead by 1920.

Footnote from The Temple of Folly, in Four Cantos By Theophilus Swift, 1787.

(Which I have not read most of. I first came across this over a year ago and can't remember what I was even looking for, and couldn't remember the name of the publication, but found it again immediately by searching for "elegant highwayman" in google books.)

(I got "been always" switched around in my recording, oops, because I'm much more used to "always been".)

Transcript:

"No poor word seems to have been more tortured from its original meaning, than this of Elegance. Even some of our correctest writers have not been always sufficiently accurate in the use they have made of it. We have Elegant Pastry-cooks, Elegant Men-milliners, Elegant Hair-dressers, Elegant Footmen, Elegant Fiddlers, Elegant Eunuchs, Elegant Tooth-drawers.  I lately heard a lady say, she had been delivered of her first son by an Elegant Man-midwife; and another lady observed, she had been delivered of her last guinea by an Elegant Highwayman. Such Elegant company are doubtless entitled to respect, yet are not perhaps more respectable than the following Elegant company of phrases; vis. “Elegant Stage-Coaches,” for travellers; “Elegant Air-Balloons,” for philosophers; “Elegant Lap-dogs,” for old maids; and “Elegant Opportunities,” for young ones. In short, every thing has lately become elegant which administers either to pleasure or convenience. Coxcombs of both sexes should, however, be told that Elegance is a word which more directly belongs to works of literature; and that, that composition which abounds most with a beautiful simplicity, and justness of sentiment and expression, is more immediately dominated Elegant."

[detectiveaku]

fyodor: our language will be free of imperfections and irregularities that plague common tongues. each sentence will follow a strict pattern that will describe the relations between subjects and objects, so that each thought and emotion can be spoken uniquely while always being understood and--what are you doing

dazai: 200 verb tenses. 300 noun cases. and they can permutate with each other and themselves to make millions of combinations. the verb is always split into two parts. the language has no words, only adjectives, pronouns, and relations. any word can be a swear word. any word can represent god. fuck you

fyodor: im going to enjoy killing you.

[intergalacticstarlight]

╔════════《✧✧✧》════════╗ . ♡ 𝕀 𝕃𝕆𝕍𝔼 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ♡ . 𝕀𝕋'𝕊 ℝ𝕌𝕀ℕ𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕄𝕐 𝕃𝕀𝔽𝔼 ╚════════《✧✧✧》════════╝

[supercantaloupe]

my roommate always talks back to me with the thickest therapy speak you've ever seen and it's pisses me off so much

[ellalalala]

Russian is a beautiful and rich language but I think the best thing about it is the cussing. You can call me a bitch in English and I won't be fazed but insult me in Russian and I'll be holding back tears

[bhaalsdeepbat]

idk why but any time i imagine Astarion doing some fucking gremlin shit, i imagine him hunched over and limp wristed, arms bent like a t-rex and his grinch face scowl. he is either sticking his tongue out in disgust or has a shit eating grin on his face.

[softfemmelife]