The Jean Grey School Brochure

[terrykun]

It's little touches like this that make me glad I pick up a comic...



 

Comments

[salinea]

What kind of linguist would he be? Go forbid, a prescriptivist? What would the Language Log say!! *gasp* That's not very cunning!

[icon_uk]

Just because you CAN speak any/every language doesn't mean you don't wince at what some people do to poor, innocent vowel sounds.

[salinea]

why wince? There's no right and wrong when you study languages. There doesn't exist a platonic idea of what language should be. There just is what there is. It's data, if it's how people speak then it's legitimate linguistic data. It's cultural wealth. It's wonderful.

[icon_uk]

why wince?

Aesthetics.

I'm certainly not saying there's a "right" or a "wrong" way to speak, but there is a sort of spectrum of accents ranging from "Soothing to the ear" and "Assonant as all get out". And most of us could think of accents from both ends of that spectrum.

As someone from a part of Scotland with a powerful, and frequently near incomprehensible to outsiders, dialect and intonation, I am more than aware of the problems that can present.

[shadowpsykie]

but it shouldn't be a problem for Doug though. Don't think he has ever been shown to have any particular dislike for certain dialects (i may be wrong though). he probably would approach it from a detached observational point of view

[icon_uk]

Sigh... I think a little too much focus is being applied to what was intended as nothing more than a little throwaway gag.

[shadowpsykie]

heehee i know... i was just pushing it ;D

[salinea]

Ah. But aesthetics are subjective. And being normative about language has a history filled with power dynamics.

[icon_uk]

Of course aesthetics are subjective, and he knows that, that's why he winces, rather than arranges a hunting party.