Language

Sometimes One Must Speak In An Indirect Way

Quintus Curtius Language, Literature , ,

There are times when one’s communications must be protected from the unwelcome attentions of third parties.  The richness of a language’s vocabulary, and its embedded metaphors and cultural allusions, are powerful assistants to this end.  I was recently reminded of this when reading an anecdote related by that most colorful of biographers, Ibn Khallikan.  We have related many of his stories and wise sayings here in past articles.  The story I am about to relate here is linguistically oriented; it can tell us much about the power of speech in the hands of those who can deliver it with nuanced subtlety.  It will be of interest to any enthusiast of language, philology, and culture.

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Some Humorous Epitaphs

Quintus Curtius History, Language , ,

Many forget that we should learn to be wise enough to laugh at the world and ourselves.  Without laughter–the universal tonic for all melancholic maladies–it becomes ever easier to take ourselves too seriously, and to retreat into comfortable recesses of our own minds that promise nothing but stagnation and sterility.  This may be the unconscious message of the humorous epitaph:  a warning to the living that our time here is not unlimited, and that unless we appreciate the idea of memento mori, we are living in delusion.  Few things are so grim that we cannot make light of them somehow.

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The Dream Of Maxen: A Celtic Myth Of “The Mabinogion”

Quintus Curtius Language, Literature , ,

The Mabinogion is a name given to a collection of medieval Welsh tales drawn from the rich mythology of Celtic Britain.  The earliest manuscripts date from around 1325, but it is certain that the tales on which they were based have roots that go back centuries before this time to an age in which Welsh and Roman elements blended to form a unique oral tradition.  I have recently begun reading these tales, and it has been a refreshing experience in the literal sense of the word:  they are unlike any other myths I have encountered.  They conjure up a strange, almost hallucinatory dream-world, where heroism and great deeds exist alongside magic and surreal alternative realities.  Consider this strange yet transfixing passage from a tale called Peredur Son of Evrawg:

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Language Mastery As A Secret Code: How Sadid Al-Mulk Was Saved From Danger

Quintus Curtius Language, Literature , , ,

Mastery of language is indeed a powerful tool.  This is especially true when the speakers hail from the same cultural background, and can make use of all those subtleties that would be lost on the non-native. This point is brilliantly illustrated by an anecdote told about Ali Ibn Munqidh, who became emir of the district of Shaizar in northern Syria in 1081.  His surname was Sadid al-Mulk, and this is how I will refer to him in this article.  We will see that words effectively deployed can literally save lives.  This story is adapted from Ibn Khallikan’s short biographical sketch of Sadid al-Mulk.

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The Song Of Roland: Duty And Sacrifice

Quintus Curtius Language, Literature , ,

roland

As Europe took shape in the early medieval period, the vernacular languages found their voices in popular epics and ballads.  This was not an accident; access to Latin and its literature required literacy, and this was something not easy to come by at that time.  But the lay audiences of Europe began to develop their own voices, and these soon coalesced by degrees into coherent form.  The tradition was mostly oral at first, until these songs and ballads began to be written down.  In every new civilization it seems that the epic ballad occupies the first stage of literary expression; perhaps this is because a people must first master their environments before they can have the leisure to philosophize.  And mastery of the environment means capability in war.

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A Professional Translator Shares His Thoughts

Quintus Curtius Language , ,

[A reader of Stoic Paradoxes contacted me recently and shared some of his experiences and adventures gained from many years of translating.  I told him that his ideas would make for a great guest post here.

His language is expertise is Japanese, a language that I am not proficient in.  But it is interesting that translators all face the same challenges, more or less, regardless of the language they are working in.

His comments highlight one of the things I mentioned in a recent article about translating.  It is the idea that you sometimes need to set things aside, and come back to them later, with a new and refreshed perspective.

His article appears below.]

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The Importance Of Linguistic Nationalism

Quintus Curtius Language, Travel & Exploration , ,

language

I read this weekend an article in the BBC that I interpreted as a good thing.  The article was discussing a recent decision of Pakistan’s Supreme Court to replace English with Urdu as the official language.

I should say at the outset here that I have never been to Pakistan and know nothing about its languages.  So why was I happy to see the Pakistan elevate Urdu as the official language?  This is the reason:  it shows that the dominance of English can be challenged.

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Guidelines On The Proper Delivery Of A Speech

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I had conducted many jury trials in state court before my first jury trial in federal court.  One of the differences in federal court was that the attorneys had the ability, after the trial was over, to review the written critiques that the jurors had left behind.

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Some Thoughts On The Use Of Words, Gathered While Eating Bolinhos De Bacalhau

Quintus Curtius Language , , ,

 

I was sitting last night (and early this morning) at a locally well-known restaurant in Rio de Janeiro named Cervantes (it’s in Copacabana, near Leme).  I was eating some of the best bolinhos de bacalhau I had ever had, and talking with a girl I’ve known for a while here.

As the flow of the conversation in Portuguese progressed, and as I added more red pepper sauce to my bolinhos, I began to think more about words, language, and their uses.  A few glasses of beer also helped.  I thought it might be useful to commit some of those thoughts here.

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7 Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Foreign Language Learning Goals

Quintus Curtius Language , , ,

language2

Language acquisition and learning are subjects that I’m interested in.

Over the years, I’ve worked very hard to acquire knowledge a detailed knowledge several foreign languages.  I’ve lived in several countries, and have never had a problem conversing in the local language.  And I’m not just talking about rattling off a few survival phrases, either.

Those who have read Thirty-Seven and Pantheon know that I sometimes like to use original quotes from great authors, translated by me, to help make a point.  I don’t rely on filters, buffers, or other “interpretations” of the great thinkers.  (Thirty-Seven also contains two chapters of detailed suggestions on foreign language learning).

I go right to the original sources.  With no filter or buffer.

Not many people know how to do this.  But I want to share what I’ve learned over the years, because I know that someone out there is struggling with the same things that I used to struggle with.

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