Impressing Forms about Tongues on my Number-Counter

[athelind]

In a locked post in his journal, a friend of mine observed that science fiction writers often make aliens sound "aboriginal":

People with warp travel and a high tech, computerized society say things like "The day of lightning", "the trial of strength", or "the forbidden land". In short they typically end up sounding like Native Americans, or more accurately, what white people think Native Americans sound like and wrote dialog for in spaghetti westerns.

Speaking a polyglot language like English tends to distort one's perspective. We simply don't notice when we use words and phrases that are pretty much exactly like that.

I mean, on the Day of the Thunder God, I got a call on my hears-far in the middle of watching my sees-far, and had to get in my moves-by-itself to head to The Place Below The City. I traveled on the Road Between Estates to the almost-island, and spoke to One Who Knows The Word Of Water at the All-Together in the High Woods about the Balance of Eating-Away.

Which is exactly the same thing as saying "On Thursday, I got a call on my telephone in the middle of watching television, and had to get in my automobile to head to the suburbs. I traveled on the interstate to the peninsula, and spoke to a hydrological scientist at the University in Palo Alto about the equilibrium of erosion."

And if I spoke Spanish, Greek, or Latin, that sentence would sound as much like the first version as the second.

So, basically, English sounds more "sophisticated" to an Anglophone because it's chock full of foreign words whos meanings we either don't know or don't really hear.

Incidentally, I've never understood the assumption that people in Sci Fi shows were actually supposed to be speaking English. Nobody ever makes that assumption when they're watching something set in, say, 17th Century France or Pharaonic Egypt. On Star Trek, they might be speaking Esperanto, or some kind of interlac of Terran, Vulcan, and other languages. We're just watching a translation into our Primitive 20th-Century Dialect.

Comments

[toy-dragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm not sure if "polyglot distortion", to coin a phrase, is quite on point though (but it's an interesting observation). My thoughts on writers was about their intent. When watching a foreign-langauge film in sub-title, one typically doesn't see a translation style which strips things down to "I saw the metal-bird come from where-the-sun-rises through my see-far" unless the translated prose is attempting to portray something rustic, unrefiined, old, simple, or primitive". For example, the subtitles to an anime set in modern Japan wouldn't use metal-bird for "aeroplane". However, the translated dialog for a fantasy period piece set in 16th century China might call the wacky flying device a clever inventor made the "metal bird".

When portraying things for your native audience, this are basic matters that need to be considered. This is why "The Day of Lighting" can clash so badly IN ENGLISH (including when it is just assumed that the dialog is being translated for the English-speaking viewer) with the culture which has a visible "sophistication" level on par (or supposedly greater than!) the audience. Plus at times, it almost seems to play to certain stereotypes or narrow thinking. An alien culture which has a religion or metaphysical tradition that mirrors "quant" primitive beliefs (such as the ever-popular Native Americans) has their concepts presented in appropriately "simple" language to the ears of the audience. As if the writer is thinking "and here, I'll take advantage of the association between charming primitive belief systems. How clever!"

I want to see some warp travelling aliens who have computers and proccessed food, and also practice an equivalent to something like druidism, paganism, or wicca. Including the captain of the ship making a spell for good luck so the warp core doesn't breach!

[waywind.livejournal.com]

"I want to see some warp travelling aliens who have computers and proccessed food, and also practice an equivalent to something like druidism, paganism, or wicca. Including the captain of the ship making a spell for good luck so the warp core doesn't breach!"

Gee, I wonder why you wish that. ;)

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

I want to see some warp travelling aliens who have computers and proccessed food, and also practice an equivalent to something like druidism, paganism, or wicca. Including the captain of the ship making a spell for good luck so the warp core doesn't breach!

...and it actually works!

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Oh, of course it actually works. In Star Trek every religion has tangible proof except mainstream 20th Century faiths.