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sleepless in highgate
pencil, yesterday; a falling asleep watching 'sleepless in seattle' |
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1.8.05 13:16 |
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to spell or not to spell - that is the kwestyun
I have just been watching Newsnight and they had a piece about spelling reform. Language and language change is always guaranteed to get people's goats up; I for one am passionate about language. Being a philologist, I should be. Apparently the Germans are (once again) reforming their spelling. They want to make it easier, say the Beeb, for foreigners to learn, because their words are too long. They then went on to say that perhaps English should do the same, and invited someone called Masha Bell (who sounds like a seventies footballer) from the Simplified Spelling Society to stake her claim (or her 'clame', as she'd have it). The first thing I must say is that German is already an extremely phonetic language. Words are written pretty much as they are spoken. In fact their last spelling reform actaully lengthened many words: many words which included the letter 'ß' - such as Schloß or Mißstand - exchanged it for a double 's', as in Schloss or the confusing triple s of Missstand. Now, the BBC tell us, they are 'simplifying' words such as spaghetti to become spagetti. Never mind that the word is an import from Italian, which is an equally phonetic language (there's a reason for the 'h', you know). However, the changes are fairly minor, and have some amount of sense behind them. For example, my keyboard does not have the letter 'ß' (I have to paste it from MS Word). The new spelling gives me the choice - and it must be remembered that it is an editorial choice. Many German newspapers have gone back to the old spelling, complaining of 'state-ordered dyslexia'. The changes in English orthography proposed by Masha, however, are not only unworkable but wildly uninformed. 'People' makes no sense to her. It would read better as 'peepl'. Equally 'beautiful' should be 'butiful', in line with 'dutiful'. Er, well some might say that it should be 'byootiful', for there is a 'u' that is pronounced in two different ways in that word. We should eradicate the 'e' from 'have' and 'love' - oh, and change 'lov' to 'luv'... She is, as you can imagine, a fervent admirer of text messaging. Which I don't have a problem with - txting is part of the way language is changing, and spelling is all about received protocol - you would not spell have without an 'e' in a letter to your bank manager but it's perfectly acceptable in a txt msg. I look forward to the day when it is acceptable - but such changes should not be forced upon us. Spelling variation can be very healthy - wholesale change however can simply be confusing for a populace already used to certain ways of spelling. And let's not forget that spelling is still changing naturally - the influence of American orthography, for example, has led to a blurring of the 'correctness' of certain words in British English. Before the eighteenth century, Sir Peter Hall remarked to Masha, spelling was largely individual, and less rigidly laid down. To a large extent that is true, but it often depended - as it still does today - on the publisher. There is something else to remember. English spelling may appear unusual and full of anomalies, but almost every word was pronounced as it was written, originally. It is just that words have entered the language at different times and from different sources, and many have undergone modifications by meddlers for centuries (such as the inclusion of the letter 'b' in words such as doubt and subtle, making them appear more like the Latin when in fact they arrived via the French, without the 'b'). Masha's ignorance of linguistic issues became plain when Peter Hall stated that "you can tell where a word came from by it's crazy spelling." She completely disagreed, oblivious to the work of etymologists and philologists such as myself who state that, for most words, oh yes you can. For example, many of the 'strange' spellings of English words that have apparently derived from - yet differ markedly from - French actually entered English through the variety of French spoken in this country, Anglo-Norman. We can tell this by the spelling (read this article by William Rothwell). Masha appears to believe that the spelling madness is simply because of a whim (she also said that English has a simple grammar system, yet being an analytic language dependent on word order, with as much (randolph) quirkiness in its rules as in its spelling, English often confuses foreigners looking for perfection. Her comment shows she hasn't really studied the subject comparatively enough - David Crystal can back me up here). The main reason, in my opinion, that her spelling reforms would never take off is that the public would not be able to adapt to it quickly enough. The history of English orthography has shown that while the spoken language changes at a fair old pace, the written language goes at its own speed. Masha is not the first, and certainly not the most illustrious, to promote more phonetic spelling reforms, but one thing English has shown us is clear - if we change all of our spelling patterns now, in a couple of hundred years, when pronunciation patterns change as they always do, they will need changing again. As Chaucer once wrote: Ye knowe ek that in forme of speche is chaunge withinne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho that hadden pris, now wonder nyce and straunge. |
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5.8.05 00:34 |
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Aeroplanes and Many Teeth
There's a new section in my photoblogs called mijn kindertekening. I recently found some of my childhood drawings (from age 7), and found them quite surprising. One of them features a booklet called 'New York', every page of which features an aeroplane flying towards things (such as skyscrapers). Wierdly prophetic. I told my friend, and he rubbished it, saying that if it didn't include a date of September 11 2001 then it's hardly prophetic. Well excuse me, Simon, but I was hardly trying to be a prophet back in 1983, I just thought it was wierd looking at it now is all. I mean really. It's a child's picture, just a picture of an event that eventually came true. Blimey. I hope none of the other things I drew about come true, like that many-toothed, many-eyed monster. I wish I'd put a predictive date on it now, so we all know to stay indoors on that day. |
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15.8.05 15:16 |
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moving still
Blank Page is back; we met on Tuesday for a wag of chins and a lot of ideas-exchanging, which is always a good thing, and this was. The theme for the task Roshe set was space: several of us did some pieces, writing or art or otherwise, all very different. I'll show you mine, later. The most outstanding stuff though was unrelated (in a way; actually it was kind of related, but not actually made specifically for the task) and was some video work (watched on a laptop mac) by a guy named Mo (no there weren't five of them), let me tell thee it was daaamn cool stuff! Some of it was a collection of still shots patched together to make a fast moving dash through people and places, the rest was incredible video-mosaic work; I wish I had a link to link to so you could see what I mean - oh, actually I do... Morishuz - moving still images, and Comfort Zone. Enjoy, because they are pretty excellent. As for me, just another week left in Highgate, then I'm moving... |
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18.8.05 13:47 |
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twin towers of empty cd cases not allegorical
The last week in Highgate, we'll be Burnt Oakers once more by the weekend (I always was one, what am I saying eh!!). And the clear out has begun - I am finally relinquishing my CD cases, now the discs are all safely (and annoyingly so) tucked up in carriers. It is tough, I tell you. We ghave been doing the get-rid-of-books thing. I have neatly categorised a box full of photos. I have been checking LPs to give to family to look after for me(mostly original Beatles - yellow label Parlophone, not the silver ones several people on eBay are calling original!) (I have some of those too, though). And clothes - big clear out. And still there is more stuff. But we sold our first ever item on eBay (I say sold, we haven't got the money yet, and they have to arrange to pick it up). Our IKEA futon-sofa-bed. We reached sixty-two quid. Nice. I have to clear out my drawers, look for bigger suitcases, arranging help - oh, and trying to write a dissertation about medieval English and French. And being skint. And I went out with Tel the other night (yes, he finally made it into London, and guess what, he didn't get blown up), probably the last night in Camden we'll have - Edinboro Castle, Spread Eagle, Good Mixer, Bar Uno... Slightly different from usual, but still got pretty drunk, and spent very little. And saw a not-young woman, who had minutes earlier been berating a drunken girl for being drunk, launch a huge geyser of vomit onto the crowded Camden pavements outisde the Mixer, to a round of laughter. Better out than in, that's what they say. |
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22.8.05 17:48 |
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COME ON YOU SPURS
And I nearly forgot, after only two matches of the season, SPURS are TOP of the PREMIERSHIP!!!! Defoe's grabbed a goal a game, Edgar Davids has made his debut, and Paul Robinson has been lord of the goalposts - ok, getting carried away, but what if we keep it up? What if we're top when I leave for the US? What if we win the league while I'm out in California?!? |
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22.8.05 18:03 |
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asian word flu
Sometimes it is impossible to live within a media-driven society without getting caught up with certain formulaic phrases, staples of headlines and chattering conversations. Who can forget how the phrase 'sexed-up dossier' entered the language back in 2003/04? Watchwords and phrases of the moment are currently as follows: hoodies binge-drinking terror suspects terror cells hate-clerics asylum-seekers Muslim extremism bird-flu The papers would have us believe that these things, if eradicated, would solve all mankind's problems. Everything is blamed on them these days, isn't it! Those drunken, hoodie-wearing seagulls, coming over hear spreading hate and disease... if we keep closing pubs at 11, all will be saved. If we keep people who criticise Israel out of the UK, society will be harmonious. If we can see people's faces, they cannot harm us. If I think this type of media coverage is bad, I'm in for a nasty treat when I move to America. Nevertheless, despite my (actually inconsequential) opinions on the subjects involved, I do appreciate that these formulaic phrases represent the way in which our language is shaped - that is, by usage, by hearing what people are saying; for example, now that 'chavs' are all over the media, everyone knows and uses the word, not just those on the street. Just wanted to let you know. |
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25.8.05 22:50 |
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Burnt Ochre
Gone from Highgate, we are. To Burnt Oak, we have come, with all of our things. For the next two weeks I shall be as a hermit, avoiding family dramas, being anti-social, staying up late and fretting about the smallest of grammar points (and disabling the dreaded word-count, if it can be done); and then Angela and I celebrate our first wedding anniversary, on the day I am freed from the dissertation, and then it's au revoir mes amis, California here we come! But I'm glad we are not going to New Orleans. The pictures on the news of that city being lashed by Hurrican Katrina were scary to say the least. The city was evacuated last night, and it's not hard to see why. One reporter was venturing from his shelter to experience the full force of hurricane force winds and vertical, painful rain, falling over with a grin on his face that said I've godda get an award for this! Not a bad end to summer here, though; a bank holiday which was actually roasting hot. Not that I profited much, spending most of the day locked in front of a computer screen beside a pile of books. I did pop out to a barbecue for a little while though. Over here at least, mum has digital, so we get to see Seinfeld and all those other cool shows! Watched a new Six Feet Under last night, as well as the latest episode of Lost, which is starting to get pretty good. The downside of being here though, apart from the inherent family dramas, is the noise of youths hanging about outside next-door all hours. There are some there now. Water cannon should do the trick.
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29.8.05 23:28 |
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Death, destruction. A massive stampede in Baghdad killed hundreds today. A huge catastrophe. And in Louisiana, the Mayor of New Orleans says there could be 'thousands' of casualties from Hurricane Katrina. The pictures show chaos, a modern US city just wiped out, not from terr'r, but from weath'r. Bush gave a speech tonight, mostly concerning the Oil problem. I don't know when New Orleans will emerge from the waters; 80% is submerged, people are cut off - poor people, poverty-line people, people who have not got stockpiles of food or water, people whose lives have been wrecked - no jobs, no homes, not even much left of their cities and towns. People will snipe at the US, not caring as much because it is a super-rich country, well not everyone is rich, and the State doesn't always have capacity to provide for its poor, especially when the rich keep the lion's share of the wealth. Sure there will be sizeable donations and a big all-American whip-round, but people in the South, especially black people, will be ignored again after a while, just like many are ignoring the millions still suffering following the Asian Tsunami. Hats off to all who are finding time and energy to help them. But let's not start dismissing those suffering on the Gulf Coast, just because they are in the West. At the same time let's not forget those suffering elsewhere. I'm starting to sound like a fuckin' priest, giving a sermon. |
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31.8.05 23:26 |
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silence, please
taking notes on medieval anglo-french antagonism, and looking forward to a trip to BELGO, while outside the world bakes. |
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31.8.05 23:32 |
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