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"Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to..." #MadameBovary #Flaubert
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William Stevens retweeted
This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.
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William Stevens retweeted
Yesterday, Wizards informed us that it doesn’t intend to voluntarily recognize the D&D or Studio X units of our union ahead of a vote. We remain committed to creating a workplace focused on wellness, transparency, and collaboration by winning our coming election.
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William Stevens retweeted
There was a semi-well known interview of the famed Argentine writer JL Borges where he explains this.
Borges: I have done most of my reading in English. I find English a far finer language than Spanish.
William F Buckley: Why?
Borges: Well, many reasons. Firstly, English is both a Germanic and a Latin language. Those two registers—for any idea you take, you have two words. Those words will not mean exactly the same. For example if I say “regal” that is not exactly the same thing as saying “kingly.” Or if I say “fraternal” that is not the same as saying “brotherly.” Or “dark” and “obscure.” Those words are different. It would make all the difference—speaking for example—the Holy Spirit, it would make all the difference in the world in a poem if I wrote about the Holy Spirit or I wrote the Holy Ghost, since “ghost” is a fine, dark Saxon word, but “spirit” is a light Latin word. Then there is another reason. The reason is that I think that, of all languages, English is the most physical of all languages.
WFB: The most what?
Borges: Physical. You can, for example, say “He loomed over.” You can’t very well say that in Spanish.
WFB: “Asomó?”*
Borges: Well, no, no, they’re not exactly the same. And then you have, in English, you can do almost anything with verbs and prepositions. For example, to “laugh off,” to “dream away.” Those things can’t be said in Spanish. To “live down” something, to “live up to” something—you can’t say those things in Spanish. They can’t be said. Or really in any Romance language.
Whenever I see this on the TL I’m reminded how great a language English is. Look at this syntax.
“In lands to him unknown” is iambic, as are the first lines. And Latin puts adjectives after the noun — terra incognita — which is why “lands… unknown” feels so formal.
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Mamdani: There is no explanation for these tactics. There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a five year old in the car. Look at how many people live right here. This is a residential neighborhood. We are right here by a subway.
And the pretext of ICE is, in their words, to keep this country safe. How is it keeping everyone safe to have, as you just heard from the police commissioner, individuals wearing construction vests in masks with long guns? Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents, or if they are simply attacking someone on the street. And when it comes to ICE, it begs the question, what's the difference? There is no explanation for this.
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William Stevens retweeted
I do wish people understood that the prose is everything. There is no story “beneath” the prose. Cartesian dualism does not exist for books. There is no distinct soul of a book that can be separated from the body its prose. The experience of reading the language IS the novel.
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