SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - How to Speak Mermish

03-26-2013, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

Alyssa spent some time thinking about the reasons and the ways that the Mermish language might differ in different parts of the world. Not knowing the language and having not heard anyone speak it, Alyssa decided to just hazard a guess.

Raising her hand, she gave the only possible answer she knew. "Sir, I was wondering that maybe it isn't the Mermish language that is different. That maybe it is the same around the world."

Alyssa paused to think of a way to make what she said more understandable. "It may sound different in various parts of the world because the non-merpeople who speak it have an accent of their own and so they would pronounce certain words differently."

"Or it could be like the muggle languages. It's the same everywhere but depending on the region it was spoken, there would be changes because they might use certain slang words only specific to that region."

Okay that was definitely a BIG GUESS.

Tilting his head a little he thought on Alyssa's answer. "That is an interesting thought, I've never really thought of that before. It could be very true though. It could easily be the way we hear it ourselves sounds differently. Just as the way they hear us or we hear other people."

"It's just as if we say to each other you have an accent but we don't realize that we have one ourselves!" Definitely, something to think on! The way that part of the world speaks or that language.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Anya didn't know really... any languages. She barely knew English. So she kept her hand down for the first question, but when it came time for the second, her hand went up.

"Because they don't live in just one place. Anytime you have people... er... ..." she blinked. Was that the right term? Maybe? "... living in different areas... their speech changes a little and they adopt like... their own dialects and words."

That made sense. "Oh. And... I dunno... is there a way that like... cold water and hot water alter the sounds a little? I'm not sure how well they hear." And she didn't ask when she met one. It seemed like a personal question.

Nodding as the next girl spoke, "Exactly, just as in humans, we adapt our own dialect of the exact same language, just as German has high and low German, merpeople are the same, very good!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockhartian

Yes, eleven, and Lottie just wanted the man to stick to English, otherwise she'd be utterly lost if he began explaining something in regards to Mermish. Do you reckon the Giant Squid speaks Mermish or understands it?

Regardless of her thoughts, Lottie managed to listen to everything the man said. Higareda, right? He had a very unusual name...Oh, yes! Let's move to Mermish! And quite possibly Swedish, once this seminar is over.

An eyebrow was raised at his question. Ze answer's in ze question. Or...not in the question, but what he said before it. "For the same reasons you just mentioned, Sir," she stated, raising her hand, "Especially underwater, the conditions are too different, from the surface to the depths. There are many barriers, land ones, that create different colonies...," of merpeople, and people in general, "...and they may be influenced by the outside world, which is even more different everywhere."

Oh, but wait, she was adding something else, "Clearly, the condition of the water has a lot to do with it, too." As in ocean-like versus lake-like.

Nodding "Correct, the conditions of the water, the depths, barriers, are all ways that the mermish language can change."

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Nod. Nod. Nod.

Her classmates were pretty much covering what she was thinking too but Ella hated to just sit quietly during class. It was no fun and really, she was afraid she'd start drawing certain people in skirts again and that could be...bad so. Grin!

Raising her hand, the blonde waited to be called on. "I was thinking along the same lines as everyone else. Also, sometimes slang is made up for a language in certain parts of the world and not in other parts... or erm I guess the waters of the world and so people might speak differently that way as well. Like...the terms could differ depending on location."

Blink...did that make any sense at all?

Ella was HORRIBLE at explaining things.

Meh.

Nodding "Good! Each language can change even within itself, like soda and pop. Mean the same thing just said differently."

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Oh and the seminar was starting. It didn't surprize her very much that they were starting with a question. Grown ups liked doing that; asking questions. She could never figure out why though and usually the questions were just so far-fetched and left her thinking 'how in merlin's beard am I supposed to know that?' but then...there might have been reasons for her not knowing. Reasons connected to her dislike for reading. Meh. Nothing she couldn't get over with time and chocolate frogs.

Speaking of chocolate frogs, that just happened to be the only other language she spoke...well there was another but for this purpose it wasn't all that important...was it?

Not as important as the chocolate frog one proved to be. See, she understood them on a level that no one else did. Yup. True story. They had a thing, yeah, a kind of understanding...but maybe the world wasn't ready to know that. She'd keep it to herself and wait for the next question--there was always a next question.

And just as she thought, there was another question. Mhm. She saw it coming.

She sorta knew the answer to this; only some of it though. "They differ because they sound different. Like most of them just sound like they're screeching if you ask me but that's probably just because I never took the time out to really listen. I'm guessing the screeching sounds different but then...do they really screech? I think there might be a few words here and there in what they say. Mostly it just sounds like mumbles and jumbles of noise to me. I didn't know they were different..."...She was beginning to think that she was getting her creatures mixed up. This is why she left this stuff to Melanie. She was her sign from under the water.

Yup. It was true. So far the girl hadn't gotten her any messages from the Giant Squid but that was pretty whatever because she'd meet him before she graduated, even if she had to dive to the bottom of the lake.

"Hmm, let me come back to this in a few minutes. I do understand what you mean by this though, it might sound different from how we're accustomed to speaking, but hold that thought." he said nodding with a smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Hmm. That seemed sort of obvious to Mo, but then he'd met people at Beauxbatons who spoke French that sounded different from how he spoke it or how other students spoke it. It stood to reason that languages would sound different when they were oceans apart.

He raised his hand. "People who live in different areas develop regional dialects and use words in different ways. It would make sense that Mermish would develop like that, too."

Nodding again "Very true."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Jory raised his hand. "It's like humans,'' he began. "We live all across the world. Because of tis, depending on where we come from, our accent, slang, and so on vary. I think the same reasons would apply to Merpeople.'' That sounded logical, right?

Nodding as he listened to the boy speak. "Exactly, even within it's own language the accents and slang can vary quite a bit."

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

Penelope kept her hand down when he asked if they knew any other languages. Because, well, technically, she didn't. She just knew English. A few phrases and words in French probably didn't really count, unfortunately. So her hand stayed down and she only half-listened to the other students listing off their languages. Meh. Just meh.

But now there was another question, and though she didn't really KNOW the answer, she could guess at it. So up went her hand.

"Well if they're in different parts of the world," she said, "they probably go through different things and experiences. Like the sorts of things they see everyday and stuff. So that could affect the language, I guess, 'cause they could have words for things they see, but others in other areas wouldn't see those things so they don't really have that. They probably mainly have and use words for what they see in where they live also." Hopefully that made sense. It did in her head, at least.

"Good point! They do see different parts of the world from you or I. The depths of the seas and lakes things, that you or I may not even exist. I've found much of their language leaves out many words you or I would be accustomed to saying, as you'll see in a little bit or if you've already looked at the handouts." Giving her an encouraging smile he moved to the next person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Everyone spoke a lot of stuff huh? West stayed quiet though, even though he was interested. He was thinking about how his dad was teaching his sister Gobbledegook, and wondered what Aspen would make of Mermish.

He stuck his hand up.

"Well for starters different merpeople look different, and their mouths and vocal chords and all are a bit physically different too, so the way they actually make sounds differs, that means it makes sense that they'd choose different sounds to form words, because the equipment they use to make the sounds is different. Like different lengths of hard and soft palate makes the palatal and velar sounds come out different, and different lips and teeth make the bilabial and labio-dental sounds come out different." Y'know, cos the ones in their lake had those sharp teeth and didn't look nearly as human as sirens for instance.

"But aside from physical reasons," Cos they existed, "Like I think maybe things like the kind of water they live in might make a difference too. It sounds different under water right? Mermish? So, salt or fresh, and howww much salt, and how dense the water is, and what kind of currents there are and how that amplifies or attenuates how the sound actually carries, could make a difference too."

"Excellent young man. I'm going to come back to that in a few minutes but you have the right idea there as well." Beaming at this young lad as well, he was encouraged by the answers the students were giving.

"Great answers there, I was looking for the fresh and salt water answer, as well as currents, and the depths. Very good!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Sky had stayed silent because, well, big deal they all knew different languages. But this next question, well, she figured that they different the same way that human languages differed. "Maybe they all have different dialects like we do. Like, whichever part of the world they're from affects the way they phrase things and the way they say words." For example, the way British English and American English were different.

"Good answer as well!" he said giving the final girl a smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren

There were handouts, were there. Erik's eyebrows went up as he was handed one and he immediately started analysing it for accuracy. He only looked up when he felt the eyes of the blonde beside him.

The seminar was starting then, so Erik turned his attention back to the front. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of little Alexa Cambridge, the Lionness he had met at the Leaky Cauldron, as she was waving frantically at him. He returned the wave with a much more scaled back one of his own.

Aw, Gavin only spoke twelve languages? Erik spoke thirteen. He felt bad for the less well-rounded man, though he was polite enough not to speak up and overshadow his lesser competitor. He only smirked at the first question and didn't volunteer an answer at all for the second.

He'd caught the man's smirk but had also noticed he'd not spoken up regarding anything that Gavin had said, so kept silent in regards to Erik.

"Let's go back to what a few of you have mentioned regarding the ways that merpeople speak and the sounds they make." he said as he sent smiles to the two students that had brought it up.

"Above water the screeching is said, but that is due to their voices not being accustomed to being above water. Underwater, they have a very melodious voice, pleasant to listen to." Folding his hands in his lap, he sat back "Many of you might be thinking you must screech as well, it might easily offend them, if you do so, making them think that you are making fun of the way they speak."

"Just as in if you were under the water trying to speak to them, your own voices would be distorted and sound funny to your own ears, the merpeople's voices sound different above the water. Our voices need air to pass through our vocal cords to make the sound. A merperson needs the water in order to make their sounds heard properly."

"Water depth, salt water versus fresh water, warm water versus cold water, currents, location, each one gives something different and you will find different species of merpeople in each area." Pausing for a moment, he thought maybe he should offer the chance for any questions. "Before we move on to learning how to speak and some of the basic phrases are there any questions or comments of what we've gone over so far? Anything that concerns you about how you would speak to a merperson if given the chance."

03-26-2013, 04:47 AM	#45 (permalink)
Lizasaurus Guest Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88 Alyssa spent some time thinking about the reasons and the ways that the Mermish language might differ in different parts of the world. Not knowing the language and having not heard anyone speak it, Alyssa decided to just hazard a guess. Raising her hand, she gave the only possible answer she knew. "Sir, I was wondering that maybe it isn't the Mermish language that is different. That maybe it is the same around the world." Alyssa paused to think of a way to make what she said more understandable. "It may sound different in various parts of the world because the non-merpeople who speak it have an accent of their own and so they would pronounce certain words differently." "Or it could be like the muggle languages. It's the same everywhere but depending on the region it was spoken, there would be changes because they might use certain slang words only specific to that region." Okay that was definitely a BIG GUESS. Tilting his head a little he thought on Alyssa's answer. "That is an interesting thought, I've never really thought of that before. It could be very true though. It could easily be the way we hear it ourselves sounds differently. Just as the way they hear us or we hear other people." "It's just as if we say to each other you have an accent but we don't realize that we have one ourselves!" Definitely, something to think on! The way that part of the world speaks or that language. Quote: Originally Posted by LilFox06 Anya didn't know really... any languages. She barely knew English. So she kept her hand down for the first question, but when it came time for the second, her hand went up. *"Because they don't live in just* one place. Anytime you have people... er... ..." she blinked. Was that the right term? Maybe? "... living in different areas... their speech changes a little and they adopt like... their own dialects and words." That made sense. "Oh. And... I dunno... is there a way that like... cold water and hot water alter the sounds a little? I'm not sure how well they hear." And she didn't ask when she met one. It seemed like a personal question. Nodding as the next girl spoke, "Exactly, just as in humans, we adapt our own dialect of the exact same language, just as German has high and low German, merpeople are the same, very good!" Quote: Originally Posted by Lockhartian** Yes, eleven, and Lottie just wanted the man to stick to English, otherwise she'd be utterly lost if he began explaining something in regards to Mermish. Do you reckon the Giant Squid speaks Mermish or understands it? Regardless of her thoughts, Lottie managed to listen to everything the man said. Higareda, right? He had a very unusual name...Oh, yes! Let's move to Mermish! And quite possibly Swedish, once this seminar is over. An eyebrow was raised at his question. Ze answer's in ze question. Or...not in the question, but what he said before it. "For the same reasons you just mentioned, Sir," she stated, raising her hand, "Especially underwater, the conditions are too different, from the surface to the depths. There are many barriers, land ones, that create different colonies...," of merpeople, and people in general, "...and they may be influenced by the outside world, which is even more different everywhere." Oh, but wait, she was adding something else, "Clearly, the condition of the water has a lot to do with it, too." As in ocean-like versus lake-like. Nodding "Correct, the conditions of the water, the depths, barriers, are all ways that the mermish language can change." Quote: Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Nod. Nod. Nod. Her classmates were pretty much covering what she was thinking too but Ella hated to just sit quietly during class. It was no fun and really, she was afraid she'd start drawing certain people in skirts again and that could be...bad so. Grin! Raising her hand, the blonde waited to be called on. "I was thinking along the same lines as everyone else. Also, sometimes slang is made up for a language in certain parts of the world and not in other parts... or erm I guess the waters of the world and so people might speak differently that way as well. Like...the terms could differ depending on location." Blink...did that make any sense at all? Ella was HORRIBLE at explaining things. Meh. Nodding "Good! Each language can change even within itself, like soda and pop. Mean the same thing just said differently." Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo Oh and the seminar was starting. It didn't surprize her very much that they were starting with a question. Grown ups liked doing that; asking questions. She could never figure out why though and usually the questions were just so far-fetched and left her thinking 'how in merlin's beard am I supposed to know that?' but then...there might have been reasons for her not knowing. Reasons connected to her dislike for reading. Meh. Nothing she couldn't get over with time and chocolate frogs. Speaking of chocolate frogs, that just happened to be the only other language she spoke...well there was another but for this purpose it wasn't all that important...was it? Not as important as the chocolate frog one proved to be. See, she understood them on a level that no one else did. Yup. True story. They had a thing, yeah, a kind of understanding...but maybe the world wasn't ready to know that. She'd keep it to herself and wait for the next question--there was always a next question. And just as she thought, there was another question. Mhm. She saw it coming. She sorta knew the answer to this; only some of it though. "They differ because they sound different. Like most of them just sound like they're screeching if you ask me but that's probably just because I never took the time out to really listen. I'm guessing the screeching sounds different but then...do they really screech? I think there might be a few words here and there in what they say. Mostly it just sounds like mumbles and jumbles of noise to me. I didn't know they were different..."...She was beginning to think that she was getting her creatures mixed up. This is why she left this stuff to Melanie. She was her sign from under the water. Yup. It was true. So far the girl hadn't gotten her any messages from the Giant Squid but that was pretty whatever because she'd meet him before she graduated, even if she had to dive to the bottom of the lake. "Hmm, let me come back to this in a few minutes. I do understand what you mean by this though, it might sound different from how we're accustomed to speaking, but hold that thought." he said nodding with a smile. Quote: Originally Posted by Cassirin Hmm. That seemed sort of obvious to Mo, but then he'd met people at Beauxbatons who spoke French that sounded different from how he spoke it or how other students spoke it. It stood to reason that languages would sound different when they were oceans apart. He raised his hand. "People who live in different areas develop regional dialects and use words in different ways. It would make sense that Mermish would develop like that, too." Nodding again "Very true." Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Jory raised his hand. "It's like humans,'' he began. "We live all across the world. Because of tis, depending on where we come from, our accent, slang, and so on vary. I think the same reasons would apply to Merpeople.'' That sounded logical, right? Nodding as he listened to the boy speak. "Exactly, even within it's own language the accents and slang can vary quite a bit." Quote: Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl Penelope kept her hand down when he asked if they knew any other languages. Because, well, technically, she didn't. She just knew English. A few phrases and words in French probably didn't really count, unfortunately. So her hand stayed down and she only half-listened to the other students listing off their languages. Meh. Just meh. But now there was another question, and though she didn't really KNOW the answer, she could guess at it. So up went her hand. "Well if they're in different parts of the world," she said, "they probably go through different things and experiences. Like the sorts of things they see everyday and stuff. So that could affect the language, I guess, 'cause they could have words for things they see, but others in other areas wouldn't see those things so they don't really have that. They probably mainly have and use words for what they see in where they live also." Hopefully that made sense. It did in her head, at least. "Good point! They do see different parts of the world from you or I. The depths of the seas and lakes things, that you or I may not even exist. I've found much of their language leaves out many words you or I would be accustomed to saying, as you'll see in a little bit or if you've already looked at the handouts." Giving her an encouraging smile he moved to the next person. Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Everyone spoke a lot of stuff huh? West stayed quiet though, even though he was interested. He was thinking about how his dad was teaching his sister Gobbledegook, and wondered what Aspen would make of Mermish. He stuck his hand up. "Well for starters different merpeople look different, and their mouths and vocal chords and all are a bit physically different too, so the way they actually make sounds differs, that means it makes sense that they'd choose different sounds to form words, because the equipment they use to make the sounds is different. Like different lengths of hard and soft palate makes the palatal and velar sounds come out different, and different lips and teeth make the bilabial and labio-dental sounds come out different." Y'know, cos the ones in their lake had those sharp teeth and didn't look nearly as human as sirens for instance. "But aside from physical reasons," Cos they existed, "Like I think maybe things like the kind of water they live in might make a difference too. It sounds different under water right? Mermish? So, salt or fresh, and howww much salt, and how dense the water is, and what kind of currents there are and how that amplifies or attenuates how the sound actually carries, could make a difference too." "Excellent young man. I'm going to come back to that in a few minutes but you have the right idea there as well." Beaming at this young lad as well, he was encouraged by the answers the students were giving. "Great answers there, I was looking for the fresh and salt water answer, as well as currents, and the depths. Very good!" Quote: Originally Posted by lazykitty Sky had stayed silent because, well, big deal they all knew different languages. But this next question, well, she figured that they different the same way that human languages differed. "Maybe they all have different dialects like we do. Like, whichever part of the world they're from affects the way they phrase things and the way they say words." For example, the way British English and American English were different. "Good answer as well!" he said giving the final girl a smile. Quote: Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren There were handouts, were there. Erik's eyebrows went up as he was handed one and he immediately started analysing it for accuracy. He only looked up when he felt the eyes of the blonde beside him. The seminar was starting then, so Erik turned his attention back to the front. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of little Alexa Cambridge, the Lionness he had met at the Leaky Cauldron, as she was waving frantically at him. He returned the wave with a much more scaled back one of his own. Aw, Gavin only spoke twelve languages? Erik spoke thirteen. He felt bad for the less well-rounded man, though he was polite enough not to speak up and overshadow his lesser competitor. He only smirked at the first question and didn't volunteer an answer at all for the second. He'd caught the man's smirk but had also noticed he'd not spoken up regarding anything that Gavin had said, so kept silent in regards to Erik. "Let's go back to what a few of you have mentioned regarding the ways that merpeople speak and the sounds they make." he said as he sent smiles to the two students that had brought it up. "Above water the screeching is said, but that is due to their voices not being accustomed to being above water. Underwater, they have a very melodious voice, pleasant to listen to." Folding his hands in his lap, he sat back "Many of you might be thinking you must screech as well, it might easily offend them, if you do so, making them think that you are making fun of the way they speak." "Just as in if you were under the water trying to speak to them, your own voices would be distorted and sound funny to your own ears, the merpeople's voices sound different above the water. Our voices need air to pass through our vocal cords to make the sound. A merperson needs the water in order to make their sounds heard properly." "Water depth, salt water versus fresh water, warm water versus cold water, currents, location, each one gives something different and you will find different species of merpeople in each area." Pausing for a moment, he thought maybe he should offer the chance for any questions. "Before we move on to learning how to speak and some of the basic phrases are there any questions or comments of what we've gone over so far? Anything that concerns you about how you would speak to a merperson if given the chance."