*snrks*

[oloriel]

I just got an adorable call.

My cousin Alessio was in summer camp and befriended a Japanese boy.

"I can write his name in Japanese!" he tells me proudly.
"Oh?" says I.
"Yes! First there's a kind of slanted cross with an 'equals' sign next to it, and then there's something like a 'less than' sign, and then there's like a Pound sign."

I translate this to た く ま.

"Takuma?" I say.
"Yes!" shouts he. "That's his name!"
"Good job!"

And it is. I mean, that was a working oral transliteration of an alien script. On the phone. I stand amazed.
Clearly we are looking at the beginnings of a grand career in descriptive linguistics.

- - -
In other news there's a heap of things I should be writing about, including the wedding of two dear friends, the return of another friend from Afghanistan, new catastrophes around the construction site, new catastrophes around my Magistra thesis, Akallabêth in August, the MEFAs and just general emoness, but I can't muster the time or motivation. My sincerest apologies.

At least I managed to put a new chapter of the travel diary (text only in German, pictures with bilingual commentary) up at nakatsukuni.

Comments

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

That is so cute. :D

[vout.livejournal.com]

"Yes! First there's a kind of slanted cross with an 'equals' sign next to it, and then there's something like a 'less than' sign, and then there's like a Pound sign."

This is so awesome!

[chili-das-schaf.livejournal.com]

Awww. Baby linguist.