The Puzzlement and Pleasure of Being Tongue-Tied
I dunno if you've ever noticed, but people groups have different sublanguages and sometimes it's hard to communicate.
No duh. ;-)
Only problem is.... my family has about six. Besides English. Some of them aren't a problem. For example, I am fluent in Quotese (a sublanguage built on references to various movies and books) and Tangere (a tactile language based on when, how, and where you touch family members). Another language, which I shall call CAME (Charity Anne Marjorie Elizabeth), is limited to my two younger sisters. As best friends and roommates they have a system of communication which is so esoteric that even Mom and Dad don't know what they're talking about half of the time. It's a sort of inbred Quotese based on shows that the rest of us haven't seen and books that we haven't heard on tape.
Then there's Boy, a sublanguage with which I am genetically predisposed to be incompatible. We also experience increasing amounts of what I like to call Flirtese, practiced by Mom and Dad, Mike and Jess, and now David and Casey. As Victor Hugo observed, this language isn't very difficult to translate: it consists of a perpetual "I love you." However, if you are not that you, it is mostly just entertaining to watch. Flirtese is another very limited language: to be precise, limited to two.
Layered on top of these are undertones and overtones of CLCese, TOG, and Marylandism. The first is a church community language, the second a laborers' rhythm compounded with Academia and Educatia, and the third a matter of cultural context. I am fluent in the first two, but stumble badly over the third. Anybody who has seen Step Up will understand what I mean, since that movie is set in Baltimore and is almost frighteningly accurate in its use of Marylandism.
Besides all this, one must realize that my sister Charity is a linguistical law unto herself, as is Danya: Charity because she is a walking neologism, David because he is a language-chamaeleon. Mike, when he isn't careful, also slips into the incomprehensible category. He speaks Engineer and Boardroom.
Yikes. You can see why, even as a Lit major, it's taking me some time to adjust. Not that I'm complaining--what could be more fascinating to a person of my interests and temperament? However, it is a daunting task. I expect I'll begin to make headway... just about the time school starts. ;-)
No duh. ;-)
Only problem is.... my family has about six. Besides English. Some of them aren't a problem. For example, I am fluent in Quotese (a sublanguage built on references to various movies and books) and Tangere (a tactile language based on when, how, and where you touch family members). Another language, which I shall call CAME (Charity Anne Marjorie Elizabeth), is limited to my two younger sisters. As best friends and roommates they have a system of communication which is so esoteric that even Mom and Dad don't know what they're talking about half of the time. It's a sort of inbred Quotese based on shows that the rest of us haven't seen and books that we haven't heard on tape.
Then there's Boy, a sublanguage with which I am genetically predisposed to be incompatible. We also experience increasing amounts of what I like to call Flirtese, practiced by Mom and Dad, Mike and Jess, and now David and Casey. As Victor Hugo observed, this language isn't very difficult to translate: it consists of a perpetual "I love you." However, if you are not that you, it is mostly just entertaining to watch. Flirtese is another very limited language: to be precise, limited to two.
Layered on top of these are undertones and overtones of CLCese, TOG, and Marylandism. The first is a church community language, the second a laborers' rhythm compounded with Academia and Educatia, and the third a matter of cultural context. I am fluent in the first two, but stumble badly over the third. Anybody who has seen Step Up will understand what I mean, since that movie is set in Baltimore and is almost frighteningly accurate in its use of Marylandism.
Besides all this, one must realize that my sister Charity is a linguistical law unto herself, as is Danya: Charity because she is a walking neologism, David because he is a language-chamaeleon. Mike, when he isn't careful, also slips into the incomprehensible category. He speaks Engineer and Boardroom.
Yikes. You can see why, even as a Lit major, it's taking me some time to adjust. Not that I'm complaining--what could be more fascinating to a person of my interests and temperament? However, it is a daunting task. I expect I'll begin to make headway... just about the time school starts. ;-)
posted by Praelucor at 4:27 PM
1 Comments:
dear niece,
i am using a lovely piece of technology called Google Reader to a) become aware of new blog posts by family members, and 2) read them. both of those are significant advances toward responsible unclehood in the 21st century, wouldn't you agree?
prior to this undertaking, if anyone had held a gun to my head and asked, "yes or no, is christina joy somerville an eloquent and astute writer," i would have of course answered "yes." but that would have been a totally uninformed, survival-based response. it pleases me very much to know that in such an event i will now have a ready answer that will not only save my life but bring me a certain amount of smug satisfaction just knowing i'm related to you.
all the best for 2007, my dear.
unky b
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