Rose petals and poppy flowers

[yuuago]

Today has been exhausting. I'm not even sure why, as I didn't do anything to cause me to be so tired. Maybe it's just the day. Either way, I feel as if I could fall over at any minute. I actually did fall asleep this evening accidentally. Woke up at ten o'clock or so. It's a pain in the ass, because I was roleplaying at the time - was waiting for a reply, so I flopped on my bed and... yeah. Oops. And now I just feel dumb. Oh, well. I'll live. Mm, been roleplaying a bit these past couple days, actually. Think that Helsi triggered it by coming back again. I feel kind of nostalgic when we play together, remembering back around Eurovision. Those were good times back then, they really were.

Well. I've a cup of hot herbal tea. Going to write this entry, then sleep. Saa. 's good.

Today was just bad, I think. I woke up in a foul mood. Not a good way to start. It kind of hung over me the whole day, except for during medieval class. 'n then in the afternoon, when I was waiting for the classroom to open so I could go in, I got approached by two people doing some survey. Okay, I thought it was just some... I dunno, one of those regular surveys people end up doing for whatever. Turns out it was some spirituality survey... Thing. Urgh. Awkward.

I answered their questions anyway, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that the entire time, they weren't taking me seriously at all. It doesn't help that it's really hard to explain a form that is so general, so stripped-down. Gods that don't physically manifest. Gods that don't speak. We're not talking bright-eyed Athena, here. And when they asked things like, if I could ask the gods anything, what would I ask -- the best I could come up with was something related to climate change. Not "why is there so much pain and suffering in the world" or anything like that. Far as I'm concerned, that's an entirely human problem, and the gods have nothing to do with it. Ask a philosopher.

Rrrgh. Anyway. So, yeah, that kind of left me in a funk for the rest of the day and I still feel kind of down. Well. Nothing that can be done about that. Best put it behind me. Tomorrow will be better.

On a lighter note, medieval was amazing. We used the McIntosh dot-maps to pinpoint the dialect of various versions of a particular poem based on various words and factors like the use of o vs a in spelling. It was pretty cool. And at one point I was asked to read some Middle English out loud. Intimidating as fuck, but I managed better than I ordinarily would because, coincidentally, on the weekend I had been doing some short recordings of bits of Middle English (just snippets of the CT general prologue) for Minako. Aaa. So I didn't have too much trouble with it, though of course my pronunciation was all over the place and I have trouble with o vs a. Mmn, Minako says that Middle English sounds a bit like German (except maybe not quite as angry). I guess I can see that.

Now that I'm thinking of that - really need to get to work on my next medieval essay. Argh. I've been in a slump since Friday, and it sucks. Well, need to start climbing my way out of it again, I guess.

Comments

[noonish.livejournal.com]

Today was a good day for RP in general.

Such nostalgia all around.

[yuuago]

You got that right, darlin'. You certainly do.

[noonish.livejournal.com]

It was just...a lot of fun.

Lots.



♥



mmmmmmm such a good feeling.

[yuuago]

*drapes all over*

Yes.

Precisely.

[pentatonikk.livejournal.com]

eeeeee, Middle English! Mm, I suppose it would sound a little like German, but the sound has always reminded me more of Swedish. Maybe it's because what I've heard is mostly poetry, and the pitch-accent rhythm business is probably exaggerated.

Either way, it's lovely, and I think it's awesome that you get to speak it.

Why am I awake, sob

[yuuago]

Maybe she just thought it sounded German-ish when I spoke it because my pronunciation sucks like a motherfucker. Pffff. I can read through it, but surely I'm saying everything wayyyy wrong.

Clearly I need more practise. My prof can read it straight out from goddamn manuscript facsimile without stumbling and I'm just like, whoa. I wish I was that epic.

I don't know, why are you : |

[pentatonikk.livejournal.com]

I've been reading about it, and it looks like there are a bunch of different ways to pronounce the consonants anyway, from Englishy to German to Danish (which maybe is where I'm getting the Swedish, except Danish pronounciation is weird), so maybe that's part of it too. And practice always helps, of course.

oh mannnn I also wish I were that epic. I bet you'll get to that point one of these days and I'll get to be insanely jealous of you.

(also I am going to stab lj's comment notifications)

Ich donnae knoo. Couldn't sleep.

[yuuago]

Yeah, you're pretty much right. It depends on the dialect. Northern stuff would probably be closer to Danish/Swedish, because that was the area that was under Danelaw.

I have a tendency to lengthen my a rather than round it, and say a where it would be in modern times even if there's an o there, and I over-emphasize my ending -e, and my pronunciation of ȝ is too guttural, and blahhhhh. I guess I just need to get more used to reading it. (Sidenote: I find that niȝtongale is one of the most fun words to say, ever)

Someday I will be that awesome. SOMEDAY. JUST YOU WAIT.

Also LJ can suck a big one :|

Well too BAD. (pot, kettle, etc)

[pentatonikk.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I didn't even think about Danelaw but you're probably right; that makes a lot of sense. And southern dialects would have more French influence, then, although I'm not really sure what that entails.

All that sounds like normal language-learning stuff, and if you know you're doing it wrong you're more likely to try and correct it, right? (hee, yogh is the best letter and I wish we still used it.)

I WILL WAIT EARNESTLY. SPEAK MIDDLE ENGLISH TO ME. SPEAK IT GOOD.

mm, stabbing and sucking. all in a day's work for lj, I suppose.

Re: Well too BAD. (pot, kettle, etc)

[yuuago]

Yes, yes, precisely. And then the areas of Cornwall and Kent are a clusterfuck in their own right.

And yes yes I guess you're right about the whole... language learning thing. I guess I just feel I should be more able to do it right the first time because it's just English, hurrr.
(I wish we still used yogh too. And thorn. Or eth. Or both.)

Yf yow demande yt of me Y schalle speke Myddle Inglish at yow, as Y am alwas hapy two engage yn swich playinge.

etc etc.

Re: Well too BAD. (pot, kettle, etc)

[pentatonikk.livejournal.com]

CORNISH ARE WE TALKING ABOUT CORNISH I LOVE CORNISH. I MISS CORNISH. England, you magnificent bastard.

Hey, language learning takes time! And thanks to all the crazy phonological stuff that's gone on with English in the last seven hundred years, even if Middle English is recognizably English on paper it often doesn't sound anything like it, so pronunciation's probably the hardest part to pick up. (how 'bout all þree!)

Ooh, I'll have to respond all Modern to you, but yes please.