#the 阿sir sent me

[nikkotinamide]

language use in kiseki

I don't think this has been mentioned before but the kiseki scriptwriters/directors actually use language to reflect the characters' backgrounds/level of education. This is purely from observing the language shown in the drama, I'm unsure if it is reflective of Taiwanese society.

We know that whilst not well to do, Bai Zong Yi is a top student. He's well-educated and learned. Fan Ze Rui, given his privileged background, is also the same. This is reflected in their speech: they use standard mandarin, and I don't remember them having used slangs. This is one of the reasons they click.

Contrast this with Ai Di, Chen Yi, and the soy milk shop owner. The owner mainly uses minnanyu (taiwanese hokkien), interspersed with mandarin. For Ai Di and Chen Yi, they mainly use mandarin but with certain minnanyu words interspersed. Ai Di also uses quite a bit of slang.

Here Ai Di says "我爸妈毒kiang了啦". Kiang is minnanyu slang for tripping on drugs.

Here Chen Yi says "an zua 变这样" (how did you become like this).

We know that Ai Di left school, and given how Chen Yi's speech pattern is similar to Ai Di's just with less slang, we can assume Chen Yi also left (and may even have been more educated). This suggests that the use of minnanyu is intentional to show that they are less privileged in terms of education/background.

This lends some insight into the boundary between Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di & Chen Yi. Fan Ze Rui is only affiliated with Yiyun Meng because the 2 of them treat him as a friend and the Fan family has ties to Yiyun Meng. He is called 哥 because he is a friend, not because he is a brother. And this stems from his privileged background. He can't speak the same language/lingo and he finds himself unable to assimilate.

The writers go on to juxtapose the reality of Bai Zong Yi (now affiliated with some Yiyun Meng members) and Ai Di, against the normal lives peers their age lead.

This scene was quite funny. Fang Zi An thought Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di were undercover policemen, and he thought it was as though he was in a Stephen Chow film, getting into character as a calefare speaking cantonese (“meng ngo ah a-sir. ngo hai ho yan ah. nei hai caai lou. nei hai caai lou!”). Cantonese isn't widely spoken in Taiwan and we can see the faces Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di make at each other showing that they don't really get what Fang Zi An is saying at all.

And Fang Zi An is an example of how kids their age should be - carefree, nerdy, passionate etc., which Bai Zong Yi and Ai Di do not have the privilege of. Bai Zong Yi has to worry about his family/finances, while Ai Di has real danger to contend with at every turn.

It's just so interesting how kiseki decided to use language to add flavour to their characters. And I love how these characters from vastly different worlds have collided with each other.

[birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo]

thousand autumns donghua, episode 10~

(just realised that the old man is called '晏无师' like 'yan….without master'??? is this??? his actual NAME or?? bc i feel as tho this wouldn't be terribly auspicious?? and parents wouldn't be happy if the name were suggested to them, would they?? so could it be a second name? an alias?? another title??? i wonder if shen qiao has got a courtesy name?? maybe he just doesn't like it lol. NAMES ARE. VERY CONFUSING. i like them a lot bUT THEY CONFUSE ME ;A;) ANYWAY ahhh chang'an looks like a very nice place!! pretty treessss omg ;A; OH FUCK THE OLD MAN'S SPOUTING POETRY 😳 HELP I'M HAVING AN EMOTION 😵 yws: heyyyy u should hang out with meee, want this flower?? shen qiao: no :/ new friend unlocked!! yuwen qing!! and his concubine yuzi!! wonder why he brought her along?? she cute tho ;A; BAI RONG TAKE A FUCKING HINT CHALLENGE. NOBODY LIKES U. GO HOME >:V lol the old man is beating this lass and somehow i'm on HIS side lol, what has my life come to?? 😩 it's THE CHAIN GANG. THEY'RE A GANG. OF CHAINS 🔗🔗🔗 bai rong: UR A BIG MEANIE. i told on u and shizun sent big tough guys >:( yws: *yawn* i'm too old for this shit. it's past my bedtime. xiao se??? and who might U be?? that's a nice fan. made of knives 👀 i'm so glad they're taking the time to quibble about sect matters like this while shen qiao sits in his cart and yuwen qing tries desperately to carry his gf away from danger THE SUBTITLES HAVE 'QI' ROMANISED AS 'CHI' AND I DON'T LIKE IT, IT'S CONFUSING ;A; shen qiao's got the shillelagh, everyone back UP!!! WHACK EM, SHEN QIAO!! GIVE HIM A GOOD WHACK!! >:V i love these martial arts sequences so much ;A; OH NO IT'S THE WHITE LADY!!! nobody likes U either, missy, so sod off unless u intend to kill bai rong 😤 xiao se: SHIMEI HELP MEEEE ;A; bai rong: *running away in the bg* OH SNAP. SNARED HIM LIKE A FISH ON A SPEAR 🐟 lol yan wushi tormenting his victims before killing them is very funny, for some reason. he's like the 'chasing u down the corridor' meme lol OH NO WAS HE STRUCK??? damn i can't believe she got a hit on him ;A; she didn't even face him in honourable combat, what a coward 😒 yws: *happy smile* OH A-QIAO!! COME HAVE TEA WITH MEEEE :D shen qiao: ….there was an assassination attempt yws: soooo is that a yes? :D '我们家阿峤' SIR U ARE IN PUBLIC!! UR JUST!!! SAYING THIS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!! WTF yws: where are u going?? :((( is it something i said?? :((( shen qiao is the best, he cares about the fate of missing handmaidens even tho nobody else does ;A; ALSO he's fucking BLIND, and still it's HIM who goes looking for her?? nobody else can be bothered?? these fecking ppl lol white ladyyyy, the old man was just returning ur needle!!! why are u mad??? 'if u want somebody to love, u can love me :D' exCUSE ME shen qiao: if SHE'S not good enough for me, what makes u think U are?? >:( lmao roastedddd got emmmm!! 🤣🤣🤣 OOH A TOWN!!! look at the cute shops!! look at the cute lanterns!! look at the cute re-used character models!! :DDD ....aaaand the old man's disappeared again! i like to think he jumped onto the passing cart and rode away with it 🤣 shen qiao does a tiny smile bc he's CHARMED by these antics now lol BAI RONG??? UR BACK??? i love this donghua but the pacing is WACK in places tbh 😅 ohhh that shen qiao, always trying to believe the best in everyone.....….even the tart who keeps trying to kill him 😌 bai rong: tee hee ur so cute when u smile~~ shen qiao: do not touch me :) her outfit is fire tho!! cute shoes!!!!! idk what they're talking about rn. sometimes the subtitles are very cryptic. im just gonna nod and smile 😊 is she is she trying to WARN him?? was that a WARNING from bai rong?????? that's so weird o_O wait who is OH OH IT'S RUYUAN KEHUI OH DAMN HE IS WOW HE'S UH gOODNESS HE'S CERTAINLY ahem. he's. inch resting. what a voice 😳😳😳 OH HERE'S THE OLD MAN. TO CHASE AWAY SHEN QIAO'S SUITORS!! wait they're going to fight why are they going to what ok shen qiao is used to ppl constantly fighting over him i guess it's probably not very shocking anymore smh poor shen qiao 😔