As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America? -- http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)
James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: > As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they >use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
????? Context?
-- Dorothy J. Heydt Vallejo, California djheydt at hotmail dot com Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the hotmail edress. Kithrup is getting too damn much spam, even with the sysop's filters.
In article <KsHpz3.1...@kithrup.com>, Dorothy J Heydt <djhe...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>In article <hcn145$ea...@panix3.panix.com>, >James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: >> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they >>use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
>????? Context?
Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, do authors need to fact-check.
Not related to anything I am reading (although I did spend some time reading on the regency to narrow down when one book I am reading is set. The best I could do was 1816-1820, but it does seem to be set in that stretch, as opposed to "the 19th century, when Victoria was Queen, Britain was at war with Napoleon, and Herbert George Wells had just terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War of the Worlds").
Come to think of it, a mystery I cannot name is the exact opposite of this: not only is there extensive fact checking but for much of the book it's possible to narrow down where the characters have to be to within meters.
On Nov 2, 10:11 am, jdnic...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
> and Herbert George Wells had just > terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War > of the Worlds
Ah. Radio must have been invented early in that timeline if that was done by the author, rather than much later, in the 1930s, by the actor Orson Welles.
Since the United States being subject to a Governor-General means the outcome of the Revolutionary War was different, if there even was one, that would also mean that getting the name of the holder of that office wrong would be an _internal inconsistency_ in the series, not a historical inaccuracy.
I think it's reasonable to fault an author for not even keeping track of his own characters, even if one would make allowances for the amount of historial reasearch they can reasonably engage in.
On Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:11:05 +0000 (UTC), jdnic...@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote: > Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, >do authors need to fact-check.
If I'm reading a book, and the plot's moving fine, I don't want to be awakened from my reading by a "what the hell" moment. Unintentional distracting from the writing is not good writing.
-- "In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found, than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
> On Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:11:05 +0000 (UTC), jdnic...@panix.com (James
> Nicoll) wrote: > > Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > >do authors need to fact-check.
> If I'm reading a book, and the plot's moving fine, I don't want to be > awakened from my reading by a "what the hell" moment. Unintentional > distracting from the writing is not good writing.
> -- > "In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found, > than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace > to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
> - James Madison
I totally agree. Such things make me stop thinking about the characters or plot and start thinking about the author and writing. And sometimes you don't even know if it's a fact checking error, or just a case of the author "giving the truth scope" (i.e., intentionally changing facts for some purpose). I had one such moment recently - I read a book in which a character popped an Alanis Morissette CD into a car stereo, then proceeded to shout some lyrics (presumably singing along with the music). Problem is, the lyrics that were quoted were a garbled version of "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. This took me immediately out of the book. I lost track of the plot and started finding alternate explanation to how this could happen, like, the character thought it was an Alanis song, mis-remembered the lyrics, and started singing without paying attention to what was actually playing. Or, it's some sort of joke by the author (he could have based it on some real life event). Or the author was very, very sloppy (not likely, he's a music buff).
> Ah. Radio must have been invented early in that timeline if that was > done by the author, rather than much later, in the 1930s, by the actor > Orson Welles.
(T Guy):
I wonder if this was some sort of consequence of Napoleon lasting longer than he did in OTL so he could worry Queen Victoria?
> On Nov 3, 4:19 am, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net> wrote: >> On Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:11:05 +0000 (UTC), jdnic...@panix.com (James
>> Nicoll) wrote: >>> Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, >>> do authors need to fact-check.
>> If I'm reading a book, and the plot's moving fine, I don't want to be >> awakened from my reading by a "what the hell" moment. Unintentional >> distracting from the writing is not good writing.
>> -- >> "In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found, >> than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace >> to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
>> - James Madison
> I totally agree. Such things make me stop thinking about the > characters or plot and start thinking about the author and writing. > And sometimes you don't even know if it's a fact checking error, or > just a case of the author "giving the truth scope" (i.e., > intentionally changing facts for some purpose). > I had one such moment recently - I read a book in which a character > popped an Alanis Morissette CD into a car stereo, then proceeded to > shout some lyrics (presumably singing along with the music). Problem > is, the lyrics that were quoted were a garbled version of "Bitch" by > Meredith Brooks. This took me immediately out of the book. I lost > track of the plot and started finding alternate explanation to how > this could happen, like, the character thought it was an Alanis song, > mis-remembered the lyrics, and started singing without paying > attention to what was actually playing. Or, it's some sort of joke by > the author (he could have based it on some real life event). Or the > author was very, very sloppy (not likely, he's a music buff).
I recall a book where the lead character had a cat named "Griggs," after the Mel Gibson character in LETHAL WEAPON.
It bugged me enough that I e-mailed the author, who basically said, "Oops! We'll fix that for the paperback."
Doesn't affect the story any, bu stuff like that -- or like when the TV show CASTLE gets comics-industry or publishing-industry stuff wrong -- does bounce me out of the story and remind me that I'm reading words on paper, not being immersed into story.
> On 2009-11-03 02:23:37 -0800, Michael Grosberg > <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> said:
> > On Nov 3, 4:19 am, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net> wrote: > >> On Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:11:05 +0000 (UTC), jdnic...@panix.com (James
> >> Nicoll) wrote: > >>> Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > >>> do authors need to fact-check.
> >> If I'm reading a book, and the plot's moving fine, I don't want to be > >> awakened from my reading by a "what the hell" moment. Unintentional > >> distracting from the writing is not good writing.
> >> -- > >> "In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found, > >> than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace > >> to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
> >> - James Madison
> > I totally agree. Such things make me stop thinking about the > > characters or plot and start thinking about the author and writing. > > And sometimes you don't even know if it's a fact checking error, or > > just a case of the author "giving the truth scope" (i.e., > > intentionally changing facts for some purpose). > > I had one such moment recently - I read a book in which a character > > popped an Alanis Morissette CD into a car stereo, then proceeded to > > shout some lyrics (presumably singing along with the music). Problem > > is, the lyrics that were quoted were a garbled version of "Bitch" by > > Meredith Brooks. This took me immediately out of the book. I lost > > track of the plot and started finding alternate explanation to how > > this could happen, like, the character thought it was an Alanis song, > > mis-remembered the lyrics, and started singing without paying > > attention to what was actually playing. Or, it's some sort of joke by > > the author (he could have based it on some real life event). Or the > > author was very, very sloppy (not likely, he's a music buff).
> I recall a book where the lead character had a cat named "Griggs," > after the Mel Gibson character in LETHAL WEAPON.
> It bugged me enough that I e-mailed the author, who basically said, > "Oops! We'll fix that for the paperback."
> Doesn't affect the story any, bu stuff like that -- or like when the TV > show CASTLE gets comics-industry or publishing-industry stuff wrong -- > does bounce me out of the story and remind me that I'm reading words on > paper, not being immersed into story.
Related problem; made-up unpronounceables will jerk me right out of a story while my audio processing wetware tries desperately to figure out how to pronounce it.
On Nov 3, 9:52 pm, "n...@bid.nes" <alien8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Related problem; made-up unpronounceables will jerk me right out of > a story while my audio processing wetware tries desperately to figure > out how to pronounce it.
> OTOH Halrloprillalar gave me no trouble...
> Mark L. Fergerson
What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce "Szczepański" or"Szöllôs", but I'm sure *someone* would.
Or what if the name is *supposed* to be unpronouncable, and the narrative explicitly states this is the closest you could get with human phonemes to a name that is normally uttered by a being with a very different sound making apparatus?
Michael Grosberg wrote: > On Nov 3, 9:52 pm, "n...@bid.nes" <alien8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Related problem; made-up unpronounceables will jerk me right out of > > a story while my audio processing wetware tries desperately to figure > > out how to pronounce it.
> > OTOH Halrloprillalar gave me no trouble...
> What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce > "Szczepa?ski" or"Szöllôs", but I'm sure *someone* would.
> Or what if the name is *supposed* to be unpronouncable, and the > narrative explicitly states this is the closest you could get with > human phonemes to a name that is normally uttered by a being with a > very different sound making apparatus?
This was already discussed and explained to you in the "10 Notes for writing science fiction" thread. That is simply the way some readers read. For them, it will cause them problems. Even if the author wanted it to be unpronounceable, it is still going to jerk them out of the flow.
It's not bad for an author to do it, but it doesn't mean every reader is going to like; nor that they should like it. Tastes differ.
- W. Citoan -- Even the gods do not fight against necessity. -- Pittacus
On Nov 3, 3:20 pm, Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> wrote: [...]
> What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce > "Szczepański" or"Szöllôs", but I'm sure *someone* would.
I am (almost exactly) in the middle of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's at least arguably on-topic, since it has ghosts, magic, and ESP, though it's not really a traditional fantasy.
At first some of the names did bother me because I didn't (don't) know how to pronounce them for sure. But about 25 pages in, I decided how I was going to pronounce each name inside my head, regardless of whther that was correct or not, and the reading went more smoothly.
The problem, however, is compounded by the similarity of names to one another. For example, we have (in the order of their birthdays) Jose Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, Arcadio, Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Jose Arcadio (again). Another set of characters (again, in birthday order) include Aureliano (who also has 17 sons each named Aureliano, but who, fortunately IMHO, do not much play into the "plot"), Aureliano Jose, Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Babilonia, and Aureliano (again).
Of course, this is all on purpose, and the author likes to play with timelines, pulling the narrative back and forth through time, like a spoon stirring a pot of soup. Which makes the book a rich literary experience (I'm sure), but which doesn't help the reader understand what is going on, and doesn't really add much anything to the story (if there is one in there somewhere).
But my point is that figuring out where we are in the timeline and which of the half-dozen Arcadios or Aurelianos the author is referring to at the moment make the reading more of a chore than it has to be. However, in this case, I believe that was intentional.
> On Nov 3, 3:20 pm, Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> > wrote: > [...]
> > What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language > > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are > > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce > > "Szczepański" or"Szöllôs", but I'm sure *someone* would.
> I am (almost exactly) in the middle of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" > by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's at least arguably on-topic, since it > has ghosts, magic, and ESP, though it's not really a traditional > fantasy.
> At first some of the names did bother me because I didn't (don't) know > how to pronounce them for sure. But about 25 pages in, I decided how > I was going to pronounce each name inside my head, regardless of > whther that was correct or not, and the reading went more smoothly.
> The problem, however, is compounded by the similarity of names to one > another. For example, we have (in the order of their birthdays) Jose > Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, Arcadio, Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Jose > Arcadio (again). Another set of characters (again, in birthday order) > include Aureliano (who also has 17 sons each named Aureliano, but who, > fortunately IMHO, do not much play into the "plot"), Aureliano Jose, > Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Babilonia, and Aureliano (again).
> Of course, this is all on purpose, and the author likes to play with > timelines, pulling the narrative back and forth through time, like a > spoon stirring a pot of soup. Which makes the book a rich literary > experience (I'm sure), but which doesn't help the reader understand > what is going on, and doesn't really add much anything to the story > (if there is one in there somewhere).
> But my point is that figuring out where we are in the timeline and > which of the half-dozen Arcadios or Aurelianos the author is referring > to at the moment make the reading more of a chore than it has to be. > However, in this case, I believe that was intentional.
Don't forget all the women named Remedios. How many of them were there? I forget. My copy had a lineage chart at the end.
> On Nov 4, 3:21 am, Dave Hansen <i...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On Nov 3, 3:20 pm, Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> > > wrote: > > [...]
> > > What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language > > > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are > > > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce > > > "Szczepański" or"Szöllôs", but I'm sure *someone* would.
> > I am (almost exactly) in the middle of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" > > by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's at least arguably on-topic, since it > > has ghosts, magic, and ESP, though it's not really a traditional > > fantasy.
> > At first some of the names did bother me because I didn't (don't) know > > how to pronounce them for sure. But about 25 pages in, I decided how > > I was going to pronounce each name inside my head, regardless of > > whther that was correct or not, and the reading went more smoothly.
> > The problem, however, is compounded by the similarity of names to one > > another. For example, we have (in the order of their birthdays) Jose > > Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, Arcadio, Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Jose > > Arcadio (again). Another set of characters (again, in birthday order) > > include Aureliano (who also has 17 sons each named Aureliano, but who, > > fortunately IMHO, do not much play into the "plot"), Aureliano Jose, > > Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Babilonia, and Aureliano (again).
> > Of course, this is all on purpose, and the author likes to play with > > timelines, pulling the narrative back and forth through time, like a > > spoon stirring a pot of soup. Which makes the book a rich literary > > experience (I'm sure), but which doesn't help the reader understand > > what is going on, and doesn't really add much anything to the story > > (if there is one in there somewhere).
> > But my point is that figuring out where we are in the timeline and > > which of the half-dozen Arcadios or Aurelianos the author is referring > > to at the moment make the reading more of a chore than it has to be. > > However, in this case, I believe that was intentional.
> Don't forget all the women named Remedios. How many of them were > there? I forget. > My copy had a lineage chart at the end.
Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Nov 4, 3:21B am, Dave Hansen <i...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> On Nov 3, 3:20B pm, Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> [...]
>> > What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language >> > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are >> > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce >> > "Szczepanski" or "Szollos", but I'm sure *someone* would.
>> I am (almost exactly) in the middle of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" >> by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's at least arguably on-topic, since it >> has ghosts, magic, and ESP, though it's not really a traditional >> fantasy.
>> At first some of the names did bother me because I didn't (don't) know >> how to pronounce them for sure. But about 25 pages in, I decided how >> I was going to pronounce each name inside my head, regardless of >> whther that was correct or not, and the reading went more smoothly.
>> The problem, however, is compounded by the similarity of names to one >> another. For example, we have (in the order of their birthdays) Jose >> Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, Arcadio, Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Jose >> Arcadio (again). Another set of characters (again, in birthday order) >> include Aureliano (who also has 17 sons each named Aureliano, but who, >> fortunately IMHO, do not much play into the "plot"), Aureliano Jose, >> Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Babilonia, and Aureliano (again).
>> Of course, this is all on purpose, and the author likes to play with >> timelines, pulling the narrative back and forth through time, like a >> spoon stirring a pot of soup. Which makes the book a rich literary >> experience (I'm sure), but which doesn't help the reader understand >> what is going on, and doesn't really add much anything to the story >> (if there is one in there somewhere).
>> But my point is that figuring out where we are in the timeline and >> which of the half-dozen Arcadios or Aurelianos the author is referring >> to at the moment make the reading more of a chore than it has to be. >> However, in this case, I believe that was intentional.
> Don't forget all the women named Remedios. How many of them were > there? I forget. > My copy had a lineage chart at the end.
Mine too. There's such a chart of the primary characters on the OHYoS page at Wikipedia. There may be more detaield ones elsewhere.
OHYoS was one of those very few books that got better after time went by, even though I didn't re-read it.
> I am (almost exactly) in the middle of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" > by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's at least arguably on-topic, since it > has ghosts, magic, and ESP, though it's not really a traditional > fantasy.
> At first some of the names did bother me because I didn't (don't) know > how to pronounce them for sure. But about 25 pages in, I decided how > I was going to pronounce each name inside my head, regardless of > whther that was correct or not, and the reading went more smoothly.
> The problem, however, is compounded by the similarity of names to one > another. For example, we have (in the order of their birthdays) Jose > Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, Arcadio, Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Jose > Arcadio (again). Another set of characters (again, in birthday order) > include Aureliano (who also has 17 sons each named Aureliano, but who, > fortunately IMHO, do not much play into the "plot"), Aureliano Jose, > Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Babilonia, and Aureliano (again).
Okay, so that's Jab, JA, Ar, JAS, JA-II, and Au, AJ, AS, AB, Au-II. What do you win if you prove the author screwed up somewhere? A hundred beers, all weakly brewed? Or does he play the damn "Magic Realism" card?
Does anyone want to explain the rules of "Magic Realism: The Gathering"?
On Nov 2, 4:24 pm, jdnic...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they > use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
When there is a new Governor General of America, how long does it take for everyone to hear about it? Is there a term limit, or are you it till you die?
Also, is New Year and the calendar year change in January, or in March? I think there's a wrinkle there that I haven't gotten my head around.
> In article <KsHpz3.1...@kithrup.com>, > Dorothy J Heydt <djhe...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> >In article <hcn145$ea...@panix3.panix.com>, > >James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: > >> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they > >>use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
> >????? Context?
> Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > do authors need to fact-check.
> Not related to anything I am reading (although I did spend some > time reading on the regency to narrow down when one book I am reading is > set. The best I could do was 1816-1820, but it does seem to be set in > that stretch, as opposed to "the 19th century, when Victoria was Queen, > Britain was at war with Napoleon, and Herbert George Wells had just > terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War > of the Worlds").
Oh, nicely told! I suppose Wells played upon fears of French invasion and anti-Communard sentiment...
In article <1e5035ae-cba3-4eda-b270-26b964f63...@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com>, Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> wrote:
> What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language > instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are > notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce > "Szczepański" or"Szšll™s", but I'm sure *someone* would.
I once taught in a school district where we had many Polish names and I got used to the fact that pronunciation of those names and the relationship of spelling to pronunciation I was used to were very different 8-)
> Or what if the name is *supposed* to be unpronouncable, and the > narrative explicitly states this is the closest you could get with > human phonemes to a name that is normally uttered by a being with a > very different sound making apparatus?
I have no problem with this.
-- Erilar, biblioholic
bib-li-o-hol-ism [<Gr biblion] n. [BIBLIO + HOLISM] books, of books: habitual longing to purchase, read, store, admire, and consume books in excess.
> In article <KsHpz3.1...@kithrup.com>, > Dorothy J Heydt <djhe...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> >In article <hcn145$ea...@panix3.panix.com>, > >James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: > >> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they > >>use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
> >????? Context?
> Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > do authors need to fact-check.
> Not related to anything I am reading (although I did spend some > time reading on the regency to narrow down when one book I am reading is > set. The best I could do was 1816-1820, but it does seem to be set in > that stretch, as opposed to "the 19th century, when Victoria was Queen, > Britain was at war with Napoleon, and Herbert George Wells had just > terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War > of the Worlds").
On reflection, a fantasy novel called "The New Testament" has this kind of problem. There's some weirdness about a worldwide census that apparently didn't take place in actual history, there's geography that they say is wrong - the author may not have visited the country where it's set. At one point the hero apparently walks from point A to B, but they're places on opposite shores of a large body of water. Sat nav was not involved...
> > >In article <hcn145$ea...@panix3.panix.com>, > > >James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: > > >> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they > > >>use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
> > >????? Context?
> > Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > > do authors need to fact-check.
> > Not related to anything I am reading (although I did spend some > > time reading on the regency to narrow down when one book I am reading is > > set. The best I could do was 1816-1820, but it does seem to be set in > > that stretch, as opposed to "the 19th century, when Victoria was Queen, > > Britain was at war with Napoleon, and Herbert George Wells had just > > terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War > > of the Worlds").
> On reflection, a fantasy novel called "The New Testament" has this > kind of problem. There's some weirdness about a worldwide census that > apparently didn't take place in actual history, there's geography that > they say is wrong - the author may not have visited the country where > it's set. At one point the hero apparently walks from point A to B, > but they're places on opposite shores of a large body of water. Sat > nav was not involved...
Not being a christian, but being familiar with said country, I feel curious - Care to expand? what large body of water are we talking about?
<dra...@chibardun.net.invalid> wrote: >In article ><1e5035ae-cba3-4eda-b270-26b964f63...@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com>, > Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> What if the unpronounceable name is simply in a different language >> instead of being made-up? Forex, Polish and Hungarian names are >> notoriously hard to pronounce. I've no idea how to pronounce >> "SzczepaÅ?ski" or"SzÂ?llÂ?s", but I'm sure *someone* would. > I once taught in a school district where we had many Polish names >and I got used to the fact that pronunciation of those names and the >relationship of spelling to pronunciation I was used to were very different 8-)
I have no problem pronouncing Polish names as used by Poles in Polish; the rules are simple and easily grasped. What is impossible is guessing the pronunciations of their names likely to be employed by Polish-Americans, which can be "anglicised" in a whole slew of different ways over several generations. The same is true of lots of other languages.
-- Don Aitken Mail to the From: address is not read. To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com"
> > >In article <hcn145$ea...@panix3.panix.com>, > > >James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote: > > >> As long as the plot moves along nicely, does it matter if they > > >>use the wrong name for the current Governor General of America?
> > >????? Context?
> > Part of an ongoing discussion: as long as the story is good, > > do authors need to fact-check.
> > Not related to anything I am reading (although I did spend some > > time reading on the regency to narrow down when one book I am reading is > > set. The best I could do was 1816-1820, but it does seem to be set in > > that stretch, as opposed to "the 19th century, when Victoria was Queen, > > Britain was at war with Napoleon, and Herbert George Wells had just > > terrified the gentle folk of America with a Dramatic Rendition of War > > of the Worlds").
> On reflection, a fantasy novel called "The New Testament" has this
Speaking of nitpicking, _The New Testament_ is a shared-fantasy- world anthology.
(Of course, so was _The Old Testament_.)
> kind of problem. There's some weirdness about a worldwide census that > apparently didn't take place in actual history, there's geography that > they say is wrong - the author may not have visited the country where > it's set. At one point the hero apparently walks from point A to B, > but they're places on opposite shores of a large body of water. Sat > nav was not involved...
That level of tech doesn't exist in context. Certain kinds of magic do, though they aren't called "magic". Also, while walking across certain large real-world bodies of water is easy in local winter, that's not mentioned in the episode you cite.
The anthologies have other problems; the various authors don't seem to have checked with each other; some story elements are repeated with varying levels of accuracy.
At least most of the proper names and place names are pronounceable. ;>)
Don Aitken <don-ait...@freeuk.com> writes: >I have no problem pronouncing Polish names as used by Poles in Polish; >the rules are simple and easily grasped. What is impossible is >guessing the pronunciations of their names likely to be employed by >Polish-Americans, which can be "anglicised" in a whole slew of >different ways over several generations. The same is true of lots of >other languages.
One of the modest joys of my father's life is correcting the radio traffic reports on their pronunciation of the Kosciuszko Bridge. I assume it brings him joy, as his campaign seems to be doing nothing to getting Traffic And Weather Together closer to a pronunciation that treated it as a Polish name, and it would be a shame if nothing were to come of all that effort.
-- Joseph Nebus --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---
On Nov 4, 8:55 am, Robert Carnegie <rja.carne...@excite.com> wrote:
> Does anyone want to explain the rules of "Magic Realism: The > Gathering"?
Ah, Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez are two different authors. So one doesn't need to worry that when a card is played (a "wish" card) that lets you play 'a card that you own from outside the game', the game will pause for an excessively long amount of time while the player roams the shelves of an infinite array of rooms containing every possible card...
But then, compared to the early days, when Phil Foglio was still considered an acceptable artist, recent Magic sets have tended strongly towards more realistic art.
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