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May-24-14
 | | Domdaniel: <nimh> I keep a radio tuned to RTE, the Irish national station ... so most days I hear some broadcasting in Irish. I have the impression that the broadcast language has changed -- up to 20 years ago, most broadcasts were a synthesis of the three main dialects (southern, western, north-western).
Now, however, there seems to be a tendency to promote the various regional dialects -- so the northern (Donegal) dialect, for example, is often heard on air. |
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| May-25-14 | | nimh: I have been listening to that station, former known as RnaG, very rarely, I don't even remember when was the last time. Most of the talk misses my ears, as my listening skills in Irish are quite weak. It looks like they were trying to promote an Caighdean some time ago, but given up now. Irish never had an offical satus when it flourished; Irish only gained current status when it was already going down toward extinction... I think this may be one of reasons why regional varieties have such a strong support nowadays and the official version stands on a fragile ground. By the way, have you read 'An tOileanach', which currently I am reading? |
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May-25-14
| | Domdaniel: <nimh> 'An tOileanach' is one of the Blasket/Blaiscead books, yes? Writers such as Muiris O Suilleabhain et al? I've read a couple of them, a long time ago. |
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May-25-14
| | Domdaniel: <nimh> Interesting that you say your listening skills in Irish are weak. I can generally follow an Irish report on radio or TV, but I have more trouble reading the printed language.
It's probably a result of learning (some) Irish ... <beagainin> ... at an early stage, in primary/junior school. The core vocabulary and phonemic system were acquired at a young age ... but not the more advanced skills that would allow me to easily read Irish. |
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May-25-14
| | Domdaniel: ok ... ♪, ♫ ... |
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May-25-14
 | | Annie K.: Lessee... you're embarking on a new career as an opera singer? ;) |
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| May-26-14 | | nimh: Yes, that's one of the Blasket books, authored by O Criomhthain. It's difficult to read with the help of dictionary, since it was written down neary a century ago in a dialectal version from mid-1800s. Differs fairly greatly from the standard language in vocabulary and syntax. Indeed, to have good listening skills, one has to actively use it in everyday life and try to listen the spoken language as often as possible. In my life I have only had a conversation in Irish on one occasion. |
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May-28-14
| | Domdaniel: <nimh> I've rarely tried to have conversations *as gaeilge* ... though I absolutely accept that the way to become fluent in any language is to use it as much as one can.
But I listen to broadcasts in Irish, and manage to keep up, more or less. How, may I ask, did you originally encounter the language? |
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| May-29-14 | | nimh: It was an Irishman living and teaching English in a school in Tallinn. His Estonian wife is also an Irish enthusiast. But it's a long story, and I'll write about it later. Nil an t-am agam faoi lathair. |
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May-29-14
| | Domdaniel: <nimh> Go raibh maith agat. It's a good way of saying 'thanks', nach ea?
A literal englishing might be something like "that good may be at you". |
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| May-30-14 | | nimh: is ea!
Russian uses 'spasibo', derived from 'spasi bog' - god save. Estonian has 'tänan', which is just the first person singular indicative of the verb 'tänama' - to thank. There may be a connection to the Finnish word 'tenho' - enchantment, influence, attractiveness. Finnish has 'kiitos' - a praise. |
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| May-30-14 | | vwllssknght: Hi, again. Sorry to contact you here, but I've misplaced your contact info . . . I had reached out to you regarding Zilch. I'm still on the hunt for a set of the four issues. You mentioned you might have one. If that's the case, is there any chance you would part with it? I would be able to offer you €100 + the cost of shipping. Please, let me know! Best wishes,
Victor
vwlssknght@hotmail.com |
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May-31-14
| | Domdaniel: <Victor> ... and I'd misplaced yours. Sorry, but I still haven't found a set of zines. But I'm moving house next week, and will be taking old boxes of stuff out of storage ... I'll email you if anything turns up. |
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Jun-04-14
| | Annie K.: Hey hon. I finally got around to reading The Crying of Lot 49. OK, so I've had it for about 8 months already, and have started it twice before, but seeing as these days I seem to have the attention span of a particularly distractible kitten, I didn't get very far those times. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me greatly if it turned out that the length of text I have managed to read matches exactly to the letter the maximum length of a cg post, although I might deny having any idea as to why this should be the case. :p Anyways, I actually got all the way through this thin little booklet today, woohoo. ;s And it's wonderful. :) Rich, in all sorts of ways. Clever, and shows much writing virtuosity, but more than that; first class human insight and a fine myth-making ability are in the mix too, not to mention considerable humor. Has a way with words, that guy, eh. ;) |
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Jun-09-14
| | Domdaniel: <Annie> Cool. We Await Silent Trystero's Empire. |
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Jun-09-14
| | Annie K.: Yeah, I loved that too. And also the way the book is related to that SF subgenre where the whole story is really leading up to a final pun? I forget the term for those. Here, the entire book basically leads up to an explanation of its title, which, up to that point, could have been interpreted in a number of other, mostly science-fictional, ways... but then turns out to have a completely contemporary explanation. Delicious. :) |
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Jun-10-14
| | Domdaniel: <A> Delish indeed. Pynchon's endings can be vaguely unsatisfactory, especially if the reader is expecting a traditional tie-the-knots conclusion.
'V' ends with the protagonist, Benny Profane, saying "Offhand, I'd say I haven't learned a goddam thing". 'Gravity's Rainbow fades away into confusion or thermonuclear heck, or something. Und so weiter. But 'Lot 49' is probably his best. Sure, it just suddenly stops, all quests unresolved, and only the title itself - which isn't very important to the narrative - explained. But this is the point. Exquisite. 'Lot 49' has SF resonances - I recall thinking it meant something like an android successor to the biblical Lot. Warpe, Wistfull, Kubitschek & McMingus. |
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Jun-10-14
| | Domdaniel: <Pynchonian Law Firms>: Warpe, Wistfull, Kubitschek & McMingus.
Nash, De Poore, Brutus & Short. |
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Jun-11-14
| | Annie K.: <'Lot 49' has SF resonances - I recall thinking it meant something like an android successor to the biblical Lot.> Yep, same here. :) Alternatively, more in a horror or mystery vein, it might have had to do with a lot (in the 'parcel of land' sense) where a hitherto unsolved crime had taken place... or a site of historical value was being destroyed to make way for a new intergalactic highway or somesuch. ;s Clever twist. 'You want a catchy title? I'll give you a catchy title - and prove that I can tie it in with a story so that it ends up meaning something totally uninteresting - except that it goes with a damn good book anyway.' Heh. I didn't have a problem with the en-prise ending style, I saw that before in IV - even though that's chronologically upside down - I already knew that Pynchon was a 'journey rather than destination' kinda writer. I normally prefer having those knots tied and all, but I can live with this approach too. |
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Jun-11-14
| | Annie K.: PS - in re the title comments - possibly this might be a clue that Pynchon doesn't like editorial demands for a preliminary title choice any more than you do. ;) |
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Jun-11-14
| | Domdaniel: <Pynchon doesn't like editorial demands for a preliminary title choice any more than you do.> Indeed. Although it's rumoured that his original title for his 1973 novel was 'Mindless Pleasures', until his editor suggested the vastly superior Gravity's Rainbow. "God gave Noah the Rainbow sign, no more water, the fire next time." Parabolic arc of a rocket.
Brennschluss: end of burning.
Now, everybody. |
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Jun-11-14
| | Annie K.: Does it say here between the lines that you think I should read Gravity's Rainbow next? ;) |
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Jun-11-14
| | Domdaniel: Heh. Did I say that? Um, yeah, I said that. But clear your decks ... it took me about six weeks the first time, though I got it down to 24 hours on a repeat performance. Mason & Dixon is also pretty good. |
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Jun-12-14
| | Annie K.: Well, ok. But I'd like you to read <Earthmen & Strangers> in return. ;) Srsly, it's worth reading. :) |
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Jun-12-14
| | Domdaniel: I've discovered Patricia Highsmith -- the Ripley books, The Two Faces of January, etc. Great writer. |
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