Some points of clarification ...
Jan. 18th, 2009 11:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blamebramptonPursuant to the previous post.
1. If you as an author say that Harry had never seen such deep colors in a sky as he did that morning, I, personally, do not mind. If you have Hermione saying 'It's C-O-L-O-R', then I won't be the only one rolling my eyes at you to judge by yesterday's comments.
2. If you are posting to an archive that insists on British spelling, that's what you provide. Just as you would provide safe fics to the younger oriented archives and dodgy displays of man flesh to the pornier ones. If I ever turn to SPN-dom and they have an archive that demands it, I will be traveling and honoring with the best of them. But if it's just for our own ljs, then I think authors' choice is fine.
3. No one wants Americans to pretend to be British. It never ends well, and it means that some of the great fics of deep emotional resonance from people like Fray and Sansa, and Heathen's poignantly witty comics and Lil's lyrical art would never happen because the artists would all be too busy worrying about whether their characters were being stoic enough. This would be a disaster.
Or, even worse, it would mean more fics in which Draco Malfoy says 'I'm going nutters, you gobshite! What I wouldn't give for a Sainsbury's curry!' And nobody deserves that.
4. Though it would be lovely if overt Americanisms could be kept to a minimum. The obvious things … especially slang and companies. Needless to say, all of you whose work I read manage this very well, so if you have this popping up on your flist, it's something you already do.
5. We all notice 'Mom'. We know Scholastic did it to you. This is why we have voodoo dolls of their CEO under construction. It would be a great favour if you could use Mum. And the pants/underpants/trousers issue can cause unintentional humour.
6. We do express emotion, just quietly, or with a degree of irony or self-deprecation. Harry is rather highly strung in canon, Hermione's propensity to flee to the girls' loos if she needs a cry is more typical. If the situation calls for absolute emotional honesty, then it is done very privately and we joke about it later. As Lizzie says in Pride and Prejudice, ``It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.''
ETA: And, as Shiv points out, animals receive the full extent of our personal feelings. And more public displays of affection. Not like that, you disturbing individual.
7. The whole aluminium issue was Humphry Davy's fault. And if minerals were held to the same nomenclature rules as plants, it would be alumium. Strange but true.
8. Horrifyingly, the Macquarie dictionary in Australia lists alright as an acceptable variant spelling, and not just for the adverbial form (which I could accept as an American variation functioning in the same way as altogether/all together). This is not all right, and if any of you know any Macquarie lexicographers, I strongly urge you to remove all alcohol from their persons as they have clearly partaken FAR too liberally. They also prefer fiord, which is obviously madness, over the elegant fjord.
9. Not that this applies to anyone on my flist, but droit de seigneur was NEVER an English concept, more Sumerian. Must learn to not read fic synopses on archives. Stick to the flist, it's a safe place!
10. The heatwave is coming back. Bleargh.
1. If you as an author say that Harry had never seen such deep colors in a sky as he did that morning, I, personally, do not mind. If you have Hermione saying 'It's C-O-L-O-R', then I won't be the only one rolling my eyes at you to judge by yesterday's comments.
2. If you are posting to an archive that insists on British spelling, that's what you provide. Just as you would provide safe fics to the younger oriented archives and dodgy displays of man flesh to the pornier ones. If I ever turn to SPN-dom and they have an archive that demands it, I will be traveling and honoring with the best of them. But if it's just for our own ljs, then I think authors' choice is fine.
3. No one wants Americans to pretend to be British. It never ends well, and it means that some of the great fics of deep emotional resonance from people like Fray and Sansa, and Heathen's poignantly witty comics and Lil's lyrical art would never happen because the artists would all be too busy worrying about whether their characters were being stoic enough. This would be a disaster.
Or, even worse, it would mean more fics in which Draco Malfoy says 'I'm going nutters, you gobshite! What I wouldn't give for a Sainsbury's curry!' And nobody deserves that.
4. Though it would be lovely if overt Americanisms could be kept to a minimum. The obvious things … especially slang and companies. Needless to say, all of you whose work I read manage this very well, so if you have this popping up on your flist, it's something you already do.
5. We all notice 'Mom'. We know Scholastic did it to you. This is why we have voodoo dolls of their CEO under construction. It would be a great favour if you could use Mum. And the pants/underpants/trousers issue can cause unintentional humour.
6. We do express emotion, just quietly, or with a degree of irony or self-deprecation. Harry is rather highly strung in canon, Hermione's propensity to flee to the girls' loos if she needs a cry is more typical. If the situation calls for absolute emotional honesty, then it is done very privately and we joke about it later. As Lizzie says in Pride and Prejudice, ``It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.''
ETA: And, as Shiv points out, animals receive the full extent of our personal feelings. And more public displays of affection. Not like that, you disturbing individual.
7. The whole aluminium issue was Humphry Davy's fault. And if minerals were held to the same nomenclature rules as plants, it would be alumium. Strange but true.
8. Horrifyingly, the Macquarie dictionary in Australia lists alright as an acceptable variant spelling, and not just for the adverbial form (which I could accept as an American variation functioning in the same way as altogether/all together). This is not all right, and if any of you know any Macquarie lexicographers, I strongly urge you to remove all alcohol from their persons as they have clearly partaken FAR too liberally. They also prefer fiord, which is obviously madness, over the elegant fjord.
9. Not that this applies to anyone on my flist, but droit de seigneur was NEVER an English concept, more Sumerian. Must learn to not read fic synopses on archives. Stick to the flist, it's a safe place!
10. The heatwave is coming back. Bleargh.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:12 pm (UTC)Droit de seigneur IS fun - and I think that even Brammers, if she thinks about it, must allow for it in a society where people go go boarding schools to learn _magic_!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:15 pm (UTC)(Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you ;-)
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Date: 2009-01-18 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:17 pm (UTC)In a quietly understated way.
Yeah, you're not telling me that the Malfoys didn't read up on it, think it was a bloody good idea, and pass a law if there wasn't one already.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:25 pm (UTC)And yes, exactly! It would be optional, of course, so all a jealous husband-to-be would need to do to avoid it is marry a minger. ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:28 pm (UTC)They'd like the socks though.
Snerfle. But could Draco bring himself to make that sacrifice?
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:38 pm (UTC)Oooh, I doubt it. I'd think he'd be more than willing to let Lucius have a go if it meant having a gorgeous spouse, however resentful. :p
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 01:40 pm (UTC)Or polyjuice. And just think of all the whining there would be when the sex in the rest of the marriage didn't live up to the first night.
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Date: 2009-01-18 01:52 pm (UTC)I think Draco would put a sleeping potion into his new spouse's drink and polyjuice into him/her so he could enjoy Lucius's charms, virtually incest-free. ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:06 pm (UTC)Clearly Hermione would offer to sort it out for Harry. Use polyjuice, and then when it ran out, peg Lucius.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:13 pm (UTC)You know, that's a GREAT premise that should be written in lascivious detail!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 02:19 pm (UTC)I can see breakfast next morning...
~adds to list~