Hello, I’ve been doing a lot of talking lately, and maybe that’s why so many of this week’s recommendations focus on language. I was fascinated by Xiaolu Guo’s piece on the frustrations of writing her first novel in English, when her first language, Chinese, offers many more visual possibilities:
“I am, in truth, not very good at games, or any kind of organised fun” - this is so so true of me as well. I can’t understand rules and can’t focus on the game and everyone gets frustrated with me and it’s just not fun for me the way it is for so many people! But if anyone wants to go for a hike or out on the lake with me, or even just talk over snacks, I’m IN.
🤣 Yes I’m very similar! I learn the rules of games and then immediately forget them. Which is annoying for my family because I have to re-learn them every single time.
Likewise. I can't remember the rules even if I've played it many times. Have to be re-taught. Sure my family thinks I'm pretending to forget them. But like the numbers Katherine mentions, card games especially are just too slippery to hold.
This is so fascinating, although it is making me want to learn Japanese even more than I already did! Having taught English to adult foreign speakers on and off since arriving in Germany, the weirdness of English is real and I am more aware of it than ever, when having to explain bizarre things like different pronunciations of “read” depending on present and past tense, that “plough”and “now” have the same vowel sound, and “sew” and “so” are pronounced the same. German, universally regarded as exceptionally difficult (and I agree!), still gets a run for its money when placed against english.
Love that you play D+D! My husband is a dungeon master- something that is increasingly cool to tell people these days. 😂
absolutely brilliant- about the battles between British and American English. We can’t even consolidate our Englishes and are confused by each other- no wonder everyone else can’t sort it out!
Thank you Katherine for another treat, filled with juicy, interesting morsels to read, learn and be more curious about. This will be my Sunday afternoon treat to 'stop' and go read! I understand the dyslexia part well as it often goes with autism, which both my grandchildren have yet, as you say, their dyslexia is very different just like the wide autistic spectrum they both sit so differently upon!
I have learned Japanese numbers from 1-100 and illustrated each one in an IG challenge and that was so joyful yet easy to do because not only do they have beauty and are symbolic they also have animals and distinctly named colours associated with them.
As a UK expat now living in Spain, speaking Castellano but struggling with my local Valenciano (due to the slang they often use), and as a TEFL teacher, I really understand the huge difficulty of learning English for the non native student.
And....it was strange, my brother who had Downs Syndrome, 'wrote' every single day from a very young age. He filled 100's and 100's of notebooks with what to all of us looked like a series of binary code, dots and dashes in perfect order. He would say 'I'll read you a story' and flick to any random notebook and choose a page and read off the page as if reading the English language! Or, he would look up a News item we were talking about that he had noted in his book on any given day and tell you about it. Yet he could not read or write a single word of English. He had his very own unique language that clearly he translated from the external and internal spoken word I guess :)
If you want growing a forest on the page, can I recommend Katie Holten's Irish Trees alphabet? The font is available to download for free on her website. And she has a new book, The Language of Trees, coming out on 15 June.
I recommend an episode of the Radiolab podcast called ‘Bliss’, which deals with Charles Bliss and the language that he invented to end wars. It’s a beautiful and also tragic story about language:
There's a (Persian?) word in Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess meaning 'reluctant to play after dinner games'. It might translate as 'redat' but can't remember or find my copy. Anyway, was a joy to know such feelings are recognised by their own word, even if not in my own culture. I'd rather talk after dinner, with my elbows on the table.
“I am, in truth, not very good at games, or any kind of organised fun” - this is so so true of me as well. I can’t understand rules and can’t focus on the game and everyone gets frustrated with me and it’s just not fun for me the way it is for so many people! But if anyone wants to go for a hike or out on the lake with me, or even just talk over snacks, I’m IN.
🤣 Yes I’m very similar! I learn the rules of games and then immediately forget them. Which is annoying for my family because I have to re-learn them every single time.
Likewise. I can't remember the rules even if I've played it many times. Have to be re-taught. Sure my family thinks I'm pretending to forget them. But like the numbers Katherine mentions, card games especially are just too slippery to hold.
This is so fascinating, although it is making me want to learn Japanese even more than I already did! Having taught English to adult foreign speakers on and off since arriving in Germany, the weirdness of English is real and I am more aware of it than ever, when having to explain bizarre things like different pronunciations of “read” depending on present and past tense, that “plough”and “now” have the same vowel sound, and “sew” and “so” are pronounced the same. German, universally regarded as exceptionally difficult (and I agree!), still gets a run for its money when placed against english.
Love that you play D+D! My husband is a dungeon master- something that is increasingly cool to tell people these days. 😂
It’s incredible, really, that we don’t find English at all weird - so little of it makes any sense!
If you haven’t read The Prodigal Tongue, it’s
absolutely brilliant- about the battles between British and American English. We can’t even consolidate our Englishes and are confused by each other- no wonder everyone else can’t sort it out!
Thank you Katherine for another treat, filled with juicy, interesting morsels to read, learn and be more curious about. This will be my Sunday afternoon treat to 'stop' and go read! I understand the dyslexia part well as it often goes with autism, which both my grandchildren have yet, as you say, their dyslexia is very different just like the wide autistic spectrum they both sit so differently upon!
I have learned Japanese numbers from 1-100 and illustrated each one in an IG challenge and that was so joyful yet easy to do because not only do they have beauty and are symbolic they also have animals and distinctly named colours associated with them.
As a UK expat now living in Spain, speaking Castellano but struggling with my local Valenciano (due to the slang they often use), and as a TEFL teacher, I really understand the huge difficulty of learning English for the non native student.
And....it was strange, my brother who had Downs Syndrome, 'wrote' every single day from a very young age. He filled 100's and 100's of notebooks with what to all of us looked like a series of binary code, dots and dashes in perfect order. He would say 'I'll read you a story' and flick to any random notebook and choose a page and read off the page as if reading the English language! Or, he would look up a News item we were talking about that he had noted in his book on any given day and tell you about it. Yet he could not read or write a single word of English. He had his very own unique language that clearly he translated from the external and internal spoken word I guess :)
Wow, that’s incredible! He just invented exactly what he needed 🤍
If you want growing a forest on the page, can I recommend Katie Holten's Irish Trees alphabet? The font is available to download for free on her website. And she has a new book, The Language of Trees, coming out on 15 June.
Funnily enough I was looking at this last week! Thanks :)
I recommend an episode of the Radiolab podcast called ‘Bliss’, which deals with Charles Bliss and the language that he invented to end wars. It’s a beautiful and also tragic story about language:
https://radiolab.org/episodes/bliss-2302
Oh excellent thanks!
There's a (Persian?) word in Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess meaning 'reluctant to play after dinner games'. It might translate as 'redat' but can't remember or find my copy. Anyway, was a joy to know such feelings are recognised by their own word, even if not in my own culture. I'd rather talk after dinner, with my elbows on the table.
I love this!!
The flow of this newsletter makes my autistic brain v happy.
I do wonder how my weekend newsletters read to people who aren't autistic!
Maybe they’ll understand the beauty of how seamlessly our minds can flow??
Maybe :)
My spouse was v excited to see you mention D&Ds. And I'm really enjoying your book! 🙏🏻
Oh good 🥰
That snail story is incredible!
Yes!!
Great recommendations - thank you!
Just so you know, the first link isn’t working (the article by Xiaolu Guo)