Travel poster for Brittany featuring a colourful illustration of a man and a woman dressed in traditional clothing, with a route map of the French region (1939). Artwork by Roland Goujon. Issued by the National Company of the French Railways.
The French terms listed below are not literal translations of the original Arabic words. They are the meanings currently used in slang. The original Arabic words are listed so you can track the source, their meaning might differ from the French slang meaning.
bled from bilād بَلَد : village, city, home
caïd from qā'id قائد : chef, rebellious people
casbah from qaṣba قصبة : home
chouf/chouffer from šuf ! شُفْ : to look, like dealers look around if there are cops
chouiya from šuwayya شوية : a little
clebs from (magh.) kelb كَلْب : a dog
fissa or fissa-fissa from (alg.) fi s-sā3a في آلساعة: fast
flouze from (alg.) flūs فُلوس : money
glaoui from (magh.) qlawī قلوي : testicles
guitoune from (alg.) qiṭūn قيطون : a shelter, a small place you go to
kiffer from كَيف (no other explanation found): to like
kif-kif from doubled kif’ كفء: so and so, similar
lascar from al 3askar العسكر: a big guy
maboul from (alg.) maẖbūl مخبول : crazy
niquer from gérondif naik / nīk نيك.: to fuck
nouba from nûba نوبة : a party
rallouf from ḥallūf حلّوف : ham, pig
ramdam from ramadan رمضان : noise
razzia from (alg.) ġāzya « attaque », de l'arabe classique classique ġazw(a) ou ġazā غزاة غزوة غزو: to buy/take everything in sight
crazy how i find myself thinking i've got a handle on it all finally and then i see the ways that other people tangle their lives together so easily and live so easily together with their friends and i feel like that girl at the top of the stairs painting by norman rockwell
i'm thinking about charlotte brontë spending her last years editing and publishing her sisters' writings and about christopher tolkien dedicating his life to the protection and meticulous reconstruction his father's life's work and about johanna van gogh publishing the letters between vincent and theo that would propel vincent van gogh into fame because she knew how much her husband had loved his brother, and about how so often art isn't just a reflection of the artist's mind and skills but a testament to the fact that they were loved
Before any anglophones get on the French people's case on this, consider for a second what y'all did when you reanalyzed the Spanish "el lagarto" ("the lizard") as "alligator."
Oh yeah, everybody does this*. Another English example is "apron", which was once "napron" until we reanalyzed the initial N as part of the indefinite article (a napron -> an apron).
A fun one in Arabic is the city of Alexandria in Egypt. Quite understandably, Arabic speakers heard the initial "Al" and thought "ah yes, the ubiquitous definite article" and Alexandria became al-’Iskandariyya.
In the opposite direction, Spanish adopted hundreds of Arabic words during the Middle Ages due to Andalusian/Islamic influence, and there are very few Spanish words that start with al- that aren't of Arabic origin (and in fact, many words that start with A without being followed by an L, as in about half of cases in Arabic the L in "al-" is elided).
Reanalysis occurs in many other places besides article-noun combos, of course, but it's an extremely common case.
*citation needed, but reanalysis is extremely common
Oh, this actually explains something I'd just attributed to a quirk of sequence constraints or something; why Alexander is realized as Iskander/Iskandar in Arabic! It makes sense to analyze it as al-Iskander in Arabic!
Same thing happened with the word alchemy! Started out as the Arab term "al-kimiya", and when it was transported to Europe, it became "alchemy". This is actually really interesting, because as the term evolved more, it became "chemistry", effectively un-reanalyzing the word!
Oh actually there's another layer of fun there: the Arabic "al-kimiya" is actually a loan of the Ancient Greek χῠμείᾱ (khumeíā), which was used to refer to the art of alloying metals. Arabic borrowed a lot of Greek terminology owing to Arabic translations of Greek classics (many of which were actually lost in Europe until they were retranslated from Arabic). So, yeah, the Greek khumeíā made a round trip through Arabic, then into medieval Latin as "alchemia," and from there we eventually do get chemistry!
Not quite the same thing, but this reminded me of one of the funniest phenomena in the German language.
So, you may or may not know that x-rays were discovered by a guy called Röntgen (or Roentgen, though the ö is the proper spelling). Because of that, they're called "Röntgen rays" in German. Now, the thing is that in the German, the infinitive of a verb is always formed with an -en at the, so, for example, "to run" is "rennen" or "to sleep" is "schlafen." And because of that, it just so happened that the verb for performing x-rays became... "röntgen."
ich röntge, du röntgst, er/sie/es röntgt, wir röntgen, ihr röntgt, sie röntgen
Spanish also has ojalá, which has a similar meaning to inshallah or mashallah… because that’s exactly what it came from.
It’s essentially its own specially verb category? It only works with subjunctive and applies to wishes that will only come true with supernatural intervention (if god wills it). Deeply fascinating case.
recently learned that the english word "icicle" means "ice icicle" because far enough back in english, the word for icicle was just ickle (you'll find variants of ickle in other languages, such as egel in danish and jökel in icelandic)
also in certain nw english dialect a stalactite is called a watericle which is adorable
A fun fact about French: today is "aujourd'hui" which is weird bc in Spanish it's "hoy" and in Italian it's "oggi". A simple, short word. Then why does aujourd'hui look like that? Well it's because the word for today used to be "hui". Au jour d'hui basically meant "the day of today" and got so widespread that it ended up getting contracted into one word. It's as if hoy and oggi were actually aldiadehoy and aldid'oggi.
And apparently, insisting on something happening TODAY'S DAY is a very French practice, as you've got people sometimes saying "au jour d'aujourd'hui" which sounds disgusting to normal ears bc it means "the day of today's day".
some royal jewels were stolen from the louvre which is unfortunate for historical reasons but you gotta appreciate a classic crime. so many crimes are online these days it’s nice to see heist culture is still alive
theo van gogh was the one who suggested that his older brother vincent start seriously painting. as soon as theo was gainfully employed he gave vincent around 15% of his own yearly salary for art supplies, lodging, and food. about 2/3rds of vincent's surviving letters were to theo (including vincent's earliest and last letters), all of which were found stored in theo's desk. theo's child, vincent willem, was born on january 31st, 1890, and vincent was so delighted by his nephew that he painted almond blossoms for him. vincent shot himself half a year later on july 29th, 1890. theo's distress at his brother's death worsened his syphilis symptoms and he died half a year after his brother on january 25th, 1891 (four days before vincent willem's first birthday). theo was reburied next to vincent in auvers-sur-oise at the request of theo's wife johanna.
the thing that bothers me with 7 deadly sin based characters is when they cant decide if they embody the sin by suffering from it or by drawing it out of others. ie. if your gluttony demon is a guy who loves eating then your lust demon should be a gooner sex pest. and if your lust demon is a seductive girlboss then your gluttony demon should be a 5 star chef. does this make sense.
Most fantasy can be placed along a spectrum where there are 3 main points: soft magic at one end, hard magic at the other, and a middle ground between the two.
Soft Magic
Magic that is not well-defined for the reader.
Generally, we don’t understand where the magic comes from, who can use it, or what its limitations are.
Readers can see this type of magic being used.
But they can never anticipate when magic will be used in the plot because they can’t begin to guess how it works.
You can’t break a rule if the rules don’t exist!
Most stories that feature this system will have the magic users be secondary characters, allowing them to avoid explaining exactly how the magic works.
It’s also argued that without knowing everything about the magic, it tends to hold more wonder and excitement for readers.
Hard Magic
Has very rigid boundaries.
Readers know where the magic comes from, how it’s used, who uses it, and what its boundaries and limitations are.
We know the limitations of the characters and can understand why they can’t simply magic themselves out of any particular challenge.
Stories with hard magic systems do not need to avoid the main character being a magic-wielder, as they have the capacity to explain to the reader what is going on.
A lot of writers this system because it gives them very explicit guidelines to follow in their plot and creates some more satisfying pay-offs for readers.
The Middle Ground
The meeting point between the soft and hard systems.
We might understand a bit about the way the magic works, but not all our questions are answered.
While most of the content adheres to rules, these rules aren’t fully explored.
This system relies on the reader’s suspension of disbelief.
The main character can be a magic-wielder or not, and it’s up to the writer to determine when magic will be used in terms of plot.
How to Choose a System
You can and should use these guiding principles to build your magic system. Remember that you don’t have to choose one or the other. Your system can draw from aspects of both. Just stay aware of the weaknesses of the path you choose, and ensure you utilize its strengths.
Use a hard magic system if:
You are going to use magic to solve problems
Your audience is accustomed to the tropes of hard magic
You are okay with jumping through hoops to expand your system
Your magic doesn’t convey a theme
Use a soft magic system if:
You want to convey a theme through magic
You want to create a sense of wonder
You want the ability to expand easily
You want to be accessible to a broader audience
Your magic won’t regularly be used to solve problems
Branches of Magic
Like most writing processes, there isn’t really a correct place to begin designing a magic system. A common, and efficient, place to start, however, is by choosing what type of magic system(s) you wish to employ, such as:
Nature-based magic: water, earth, fire, air, and everything in between
Divination magic: see beyond sight and peer through time and space
Conjuring magic: move objects through space over any distance
Psychic magic: master the world of the mind
Life and death magic: tap into the very forces of life, death, and un-death with this surprisingly versatile collection
Animal- or creature-exclusive magic: some creatures just do it better
Magitech systems: the blurring lines of sorcery and science give magic a next-gen, high-tech flair
Eclectic magic: it doesn’t have to be “real” magic to have a real effect
Uncommon magic systems: the unsung heroes of fantasy magic
AALC Method
How to create your own magic system using the AALC (Appearance, Abilities, Limits & Cost) Method
Appearance
What the magic looks like
Makes the world feel more exotic
Can cause problems for characters but cannot solve them
Usually tied to a character arc
Abilities
What the magic does
Points calculated based on magical effect, range, number of people affected, and duration
Characters have a finite amount of fuel (mana) to use abilities
More powerful abilities require more fuel
The fuel does not have to be overt for the audience to understand
If points not overt, cannot solve conflicts unless a cost system is added
Limits
Unlimited uses of magical abilities
Abilities stratified in codified levels defined by their limits
The more the levels' abilities and limits are known by the audience, the more they can be used to solve conflicts
Focused on clever uses of abilities against stronger foes
Cost system can be added to enhance dramatic moments
Cost
Costs must be greater than or equal to abilities to make them dramatically satisfying
Costs can include time, exhaustion, materials, sanity, morality, etc.
Adds dilemma to magic by forcing characters to make choices
The greater the character's sacrifice, the more audience satisfaction at conflict resolution
Each system builds on the previous ones, so that Cost Systems use all four, while Point Systems only care about Abilities and Appearance.
Multiple systems can exist within the same story, and systems can harden over the course of the story.
The Force, for instance, has been a Soft, Point, Level, and Cost System depending on who wrote it at the time.
SOFT SYSTEMS (Appearance Only)
Window Dressing - magic for secondary characters; can instigate conflict but cannot solve it; e.g., Gandalf
Soft Villain - No explanation or upper limits needed; makes villains more powerful to make heroes greater underdogs; e.g., The Emperor
Chosen One - Unknown power keeps hero safe throughout story; can be considered plot armor unless earned through character arc
Sort Hero Incomplete - Curse or positive ability the character cannot control; hero still learning limits of ability at story's end; powers and arc continued in next adventure
Soft Hero Complete - Hero embraces ability to complete arc and solve main conflict; magic must become harder in subsequent adventures
POINT SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities)
Points Opaque - Non-explicit reservoir of energy fuels powers; cannot solve main problems without cost option because characters finding hidden energy reserve feels like deus ex machina
Points Hard - Both abiliites and points system must be explicit like in video games; becomes about resource management; easy to understand but takes sense of wonder out of magic
LEVEL SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities + Limits)
Soft Level Static - Unchanging power without upper limits; cannot solve conflicts because feels repetitive; power must be used cleverly; e.g., Wolverine's healing factor
Soft Level Advancing - Increased powers or new powers with unknown limits; cannot solve conflicts unless tied to a character arc like Soft Hero Complete, at which point "unlocks" new abilities
Hard Level Static - Unchanging abilities with clear-cut limits; can solve conflicts so long as setup is properly seeded, usually resulting in sacrifice; e.g., Genie
Hard Level Advancing - Well-established abilities with limits; can solve conflicts based upon clever uses of abilities, usually against stronger foes; e.g., Airbender
COST SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities + Limits + Cost)
Static Cost - Well-established cost remains consistent for each use of ability; can solve conflicts since based on personal sacrifice
Cost Fluctuating - Costs change based upon dramatic need; costs must be greater than or equal to ability; possible costs include lost time, money, sanity, health, memory, life, morality, etc.
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