Le Salon! (Formerly the Court Threade!)

[Deloria]

My dear Hellenika:
Cara Graeca:

I like you. No, I really do. I love your dual and the way you sound and your very pretty alphabet and your genitive absolute and a very masochistic part of me even likes your verbs. And you have a very nice third declension. I know I don't pay you as much attention as I should and I'm deeply sorry if I occasionally stab your participles; it's nothing personal. BUT today I saw you do something absolutely unforgivable.

"Kai tetrakosias egen ep' autous naus oplitwn peplepwmenas."

Now, I ask you Hellenika, WHY? Why did you insist on wasting my precious time when you could simply oh, I don't know, put the *entire* AO in one place!!!

Now, unless I'm missing something very obvious and there is something else (besides oplitwn) of which there are tetrakosioi, I am going to call you sadistic and be infuriated at your inability to do what normal languages do, namely have *normal* sentence structure and not chop up their objects and sprinkle them liberally around the clause as they would with a saltshaker. I miss Latin. I love Latin. You're nothing like Latin. I'm so glad they stopped speaking you and constructed a wonderful, beautiful, irresistible, LESS IRREGULAR language instead. No, I'm not passive aggressive. I just want an apology from you for having wasted ten minutes of my precious life actually making me translate a sentence you are clearly incapable of properly constructing. I also spent all day infuriated at you and promptly wrote this upon coming home. *glares at Hellenika*

[darthkiwi]

*Language-fixing hugs*

I'm sorry that objects aren't always sensibly packaged.

[Delling]

Ah! Yes. The infamous "we have declensions so we can get away with open phrases" effect! Don't worry: as declensions die, open phrases become impossible.

You see a closed phrase has this sensible structure that everyone everywhere knows and has experience with. It's the phraseological equivalent of "I hit the ball." Only since it's just phrases, it's things like "of the door", "to the wall", "nailed to the wall", and "an example of a particularly juicy closed phrase", etc. All the modifiers are neatly clustered together with the phrases head word.

But, now, throw in declension and concord, and well, provided things are mostly of different number and function, etc., your modifiers can appear wherever they darn well please, otherwise known as an open phrase structure. The Greeks, being Greek, thought this a fantastic idea. Even the simplest of sentences will have subjects at one end with the adjectives modifying them at the other.

EDIT: why did that sentence just end!?

[Deloria]

Don't worry: as declensions die, open phrases become impossible.

This isn't comforting. I *like* declension. I just also like being able to translate a sentence without tearing my hair out or feeling utterly incompetent. Also, why? XP Attributes should be near the nouns they modify.

[Delling]

Don't worry: as declensions die, open phrases become impossible.

This isn't comforting. I *like* declension. I just also like being able to translate a sentence without tearing my hair out or feeling utterly incompetent. Also, why? XP Attributes should be near the nouns they modify.

I figured it wouldn't be all that comforting. As for attributes being close to their nouns, well, open phrases permit a nice "I'll tell you later" effect that is impossible in languages wherein all the info has to be neatly corralled next to the thing to which it actually corresponds.

To be fair, technically, the English verb phrase is often constructed as an open phrase (adverbs ending up at either end of the sentence with that verby guy stuck neatly in the middle).

[Deloria]

I spent five of the best days of my life in the UK and came home yesterday. While there I inflicted myself upon Darthkiwi, also now known as Jamie or the most wonderful, intelligent, irresistible person I've ever met and we are now what might be called an "item" (we're using that term because it sounds civilised ). I am now hopelessly infatuated and far happier than I've ever been before.

[darthkiwi]

I'm not sure if "inflicted" is quite the right term to use, and I'm not sure if I deserve all those compliments, but those five days were also five of the best days of my life too  I'll try not to get too soppy in public but Deloria (or Katharina, as she is known in RL) is a wonderful and amazing person who adores turrets, grammar, old languages and Baroque furnishings  She is incredible in every way and we aim to stay together for a very long time  Personally, I am over the moon 

[Deloria]

I'm not sure if "inflicted" is quite the right term to use, and I'm not sure if I deserve all those compliments, but those five days were also five of the best days of my life too  I'll try not to get too soppy in public but Deloria (or Katharina, as she is known in RL) is a wonderful and amazing person who adores turrets, grammar, old languages and Baroque furnishings  She is incredible in every way and we aim to stay together for a very long time  Personally, I am over the moon 

I like getting soppy in public!

[darthkiwi]

  Okay, but I think I already crossed the line of soppiness 

*He stoopeth before the Queene and seeketh forgivenesse of her Highe Majestie*

[snabbott]

Awwww!

[Haids1987]

*Sniff*Sniff*

Is that another TSL wedding I smell? 

[kindofdoon]

I was thinking the same thing...

[darthkiwi]

We don't want to rush into that just yet  I've not finished university and it's a few years until Katharina will start. But we have lots of time and are emotionally inseparable, so just wait and see 

Also, Katharina very kindly got me a birthday present for when she visited: I am now the proud owner of a SWISS FOB WATCH!!!  Seriously, there is nothing she could have got me that would have been more brilliant  Sadly I have no camera so can't show you a picture

[Delling]

re: the wedding- forum weddings aren't that serious *gets mobbed* ok, however, the SINGLE MOST FANTASTIC EPISODE OF THE GUILD EVER came out this week... and it involves an online wedding... sort of...
re: the watch- Nice!

Also, that's one heck of a 100th post!

[Deloria]

So far the only reason I can come up with to get married in the near future is so that I'll finally be able to wear a tiara, which frankly isn't enough of one.

[crayauchtin]

I'd like to get married as long as I can find a man who lives in Massachusetts, is utterly drop dead, traffic-stopping, neck-breaking gorgeous, hysterical, filthy rich, utterly and forever devoted to pampering me and 35 years old or younger. That's not asking for much, so I'm figuring that I'll be sending out the invitations any day now.
(It should be noted that those are only the requirements necessary for a hasty wedding with little-to-no dating prior. )

And, of course, we'll have a separate wedding ceremony on the forums.

PS Does anyone remember when I used to predict marriage proposals, including elapsed time until the forum found out afterwards? Someone dig up some of those. Maybe I'll make a few while we're on the subject of marriage if anyone would like!

[darthkiwi]

Also, that's one heck of a 100th post!

I didn't notice! That's fantastic!

Yes, the tiara looms large in any future plans we make

[Deloria]

Marriage has never ranked terribly high on my list of priorities.

.

PS Does anyone remember when I used to predict marriage proposals, including elapsed time until the forum found out afterwards? Someone dig up some of those. Maybe I'll make a few while we're on the subject of marriage if anyone would like!

I do! You did Cat's and Kimmie's I think.

[Haids1987]

re: the wedding- forum weddings aren't that serious

What is this madness? 

[Deloria]

re: the wedding- forum weddings aren't that serious

What is this madness? 

They're serious if they open Chamber for them.

(Posted on: 02 October 2010, 20:41:13)

Actually, on that note, I did dream of getting married in Sissi's coronation gown yesterday. That was fun.