#american dialect

[shark-attack-daily]

You know what? Fuck it. As a British (sad i know) ‘person’, the American dialect rocks. Custard creams? Digestives? All cookies. Incredible. But what about biscuits? Completely different. Eaten with gravy sometimes. Whats gravy? Not even slightly similar. What about colour? Its color now. Bitch. Gray and grey. Incredible. Hoagie. Greatest word ever. Or a sub. Who cares anymore. Want a soda, pop or a coke? All the same. Every thing is a win with you silly American people.

And finally, what does a tap become over the pond? How do they say it? Faucet and spigot. Great job all around. And you organised one of english’s best dialect on a continent sized country. Amazing

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Review: Sweet Bean Paste - Durian Sukegawa

Review

Sweet Bean Paste is a simple and elegant novel, emotionally compelling and yet gentle enough to be a book you can keep coming back to no matter what mood you’re in. The English title doesn’t quite do it justice; it’s a direct translation of the original Japanese title that I much prefer: An. Short and sweet, just like the book itself.

The emotional progression was a little lacking in my opinion, I would have liked to see Sukegawa spend a lot more time on the protagonist’s emotional journey, and a bit more into Tokue’s. Wakana was a character who's motivations I barely understood at all, and although it is a short book you would think with only three characters the author could have spent a bit more time getting the reader to understand them on a deeper level.

That being said, this is a lovely story. It’s a masterful balance of bitter and sweet, a relax-and-unwind kind of book as well as a deeply moving story, which in my opinion is a rare find.

The day after I finished this book I went to a little street-corner sushi restaurant I’d never visited before with a friend of mine. I had never even heard of dorayaki before reading Sweet Bean Paste, and there it was just sitting in the fridge! (Not exactly the same as buying from a street vendor, but still!)

Language Level

Of all the books on this blog so far Sweet Bean Paste is definitely written in the simplest English. I would highly recommend for someone who is still getting used to reading English novels. You don’t even need to understand any fancy cooking terminology, either. I would recommend to Japanese fans of the original, but if you’re not from Japan, don’t worry; the book is well translated from the original Japanese context; readers who aren’t familiar with Japanese culture will have no trouble understanding what the characters are saying, which can sometimes be a bit of a problem with translated works.

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Review: Maus — Art Spiegleman

Review

Maus is by far the most poignant novel, graphic or non-graphic, that I’ve read in a long time. Spiegleman uses a simple but expressive, a plain but at the same time erratic art style to convey the horrors of the holocaust. He doesn’t go into horrifying detail, and the characters being drawn as animals takes some of the sting away from what you’re reading. You could argue that this makes the graphic novel cheaper, less impacting; or you could argue that it makes it easier to digest, and more accessible to younger or more sensitive audiences.

The pacing is excellently done; the switch to Art and his father in the present-day provides a much-needed breather from the main bulk of the story. These switches are frequent enough that the main story never becomes too overwhelming to continue reading, but are infrequent and brief enough not to distract from the story itself, which is as heartbreaking as it is gripping. I was reading it while waiting at the walk-in clinic and I was so invested I didn’t even hear my name being called. The receptionist had to come and fetch me! (She was mad.)

The start was a little confusing, it took me until about page 10 to understand what was actually going on. But to be honest, I’m scraping the barrel for criticism here. All I would say is if you’re easily affected by scenes of suffering, (I probably don’t even need to say this, do I?) I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

Language Level

It pains me to say this after heaping such praise onto the book, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it too highly for a second-language speaker. Vladek’s (the father) present-day dialogue is entirely written in incorrect English grammar, which means not only that Maus would be poor reading practice, it might even cause you to pick up bad habits, even unintentionally. But, if you’re very confident with your grasp of English grammar, give it a go.

Aside from Vladek’s grammar, the book mostly uses simple, standard English. But still, I’m going to have to mark this book as the very first Advanced Level English book on this blog. But well worth it if you’re up to it!

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Review: Tough Women Adventure Stories — Jenny Tough

Review

Despite all the stories in this book being non-fiction, this is definitely the most prose-filled book I’ve read this year. Tough turns real stories of grit, dirt, and pain into works of poetry, and for fans of expressive dialogue describing the beauty of nature across wild and natural scenery that changes from chapter to chapter, I would definitely recommend this book.

The stories featured in this book are thoroughly detailed, and for that reason the stories don’t move very quickly. But for the sake of of really bringing you into the minds of these women completing superhuman feats of endurance, of all the pain and fear and elation they experience in these stories, you could argue that the more detailed the better. But as  with any kind of book, tastes differ.

Personally I would have liked to see a wider range of activities from this book. If you’re an outdoorsy person who’s main interests are cycling and mountaineering, this shouldn’t be a problem for you. But to be honest, reading about the fifth long-distance cycling story in the same book in a row can get a little bit repetitive.

Language Level

There are a lot of words in this book even I had to look up. I would recommend this book more for readers who already know a decent amount of cycling/mountaineering/adventuring terminology, or for readers who have a developing interest in these kinds of activities and is okay with doing a decent amount of dictionary-checking.

The reading level actually varies quite a bit from chapter to chapter. I rate this book Intermediate Level English, unless you’re someone who just really loves the outdoors.

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Review: Sugar — Bernice L. McFadden

Review

Okay, first of all, hell of a opener. Considering this last book I read yada main character called Jude, the first line being “Jude was dead” was a kick in the head let me tell you.

The first 12 pages of this book are difficult read, and to be honest I very nearly put the book down. It goes into gruesome detail of the death and mutilation of a child. None of these details are essential to the rest of the book, so if you are (understandably) put off by this, I would recommend skipping to page 13. There is still some detail into a character’s sexual abuse throughout the book,  but don’t expect nearly as much gory detail as there is in the first chapter. Oddly, the prose also seems to change after the first chapter, as well. In the beginning it’s very detailed, very flowery as a writer might say, but after around page 13 the book changes to a simpler, more breezy kind of prose.

It was so refreshing to finally read a book starring black characters that didn’t revolve around white people in any way. Obviously stories about slavery and racism are important, but it’s good to know we have stories out there where the characters can just be black, and have the same cares, fears, loves, and losses as anyone else, without oppression or whiteness being essential to their stories.

The book features two very different protagonists, both flawed but likeable and easy to cheer for, both a good mix of strength and vulnerability. Throughout most of the booked, I was hooked by the blossoming friendship between these two women, and although it was a more character-driven than plot-driven book, the plot itself kept me on the edge, both excited and fearful about what would happen next.

However, even though it seemed like it was heading to a satisfying place, I was disappointed by the ending. Spoilers for the end of the book: I understand this is a book dealing with many heavy topics. The death of a child, sex work in the 60’s, lost family. But I thought the ending was unnecessarily brutal. I’m not against a sad ending, but the last time you the two protagonists one is packing up to go after being essentially run out of town and the other is a sweet old lady screaming in grief over the loss of her child. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and honestly, even this ending would have worked if McFadden had ended Pearl’s story on anything other than the most brutal moment of her life. Although I suppose it’s fitting that this book ended the way it began - making the reader extremely uncomfortable. Maybe that was the whole point.

Language Level

Sugar is set in the 60’s, and does use a moderate amount of 60’s prose, so I would be careful when reading the dialogue, something I always recommend when talking about a book where the characters speak in a dialect. I would rate this book to be Intermediate Level English, and the prose itself doesn’t use any archaic words or expression.

I gave this warning in my review of The Vanishing Half, but I’ll repeat it here now: if you are not black, do not repeat the slurs used in this book. [Give picture examples.] Racial slurs are extremely offensive (I’m sure this is true of any language) and are not in any way socially acceptable. Not only are they hurtful and rude but they are a massive cultural taboo, and you can get in a lot of trouble by repeating them. Please be careful not to repeat any of the offensive words used in this book.

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Review: The Vanishing Half — Brit Bennet

Review

This was a very interesting read. The concept of a black woman pretending to be white, and of a whole population of people trying to, basically, breed themselves into whiteness is as fascinating as it is heartbreaking. There were actually real villages like this in the 50’s and 60’s [link to examples], and although I was waiting for more insight into the mindset of people who would do this kind of thing, this was a very engaging read from start to finish. To be honest, I spent most of my time looking forward to Stella’s story (the sister who pretends to be white) but as protagonists I found Desiree (the other sister) and Jude a lot more likeable. Jude especially is a fantastic example of a protagonist, a wonderful blend of strong and vulnerable.

The novel is, of course, a social commentary of race relations in the 50’s, 60’s, and 80’s. Although let’s not pretend these are things of the past; colourism, a social bias towards people with lighter skin, is still as relevant today as it was back then. Racism exists not just based on what race you are, but on how you look, and it’s depressing how many people today will still be able to relate to the protagonists in this book, although I hope they find it comforting, too.

But as well as social commentary, if you’re a fan of family drama and suspense, this is a book for you. It’s a gripping novel with a lot of twists and turns; the characters are all in such bizarre positions it’s impossible to guess how their stories will end. To be honest, I did find the ending a little anticlimactic, but for the most part, it was a very satisfying read.

Language Level

I would rate this book as Intermediate Level English. The prose is expressive, without being too detailed. The book is set in different decades of the past (mainly the 50’s, 60’s, and 80’s), and although there isn’t much slang, I would be careful about not trying to sound like any of the characters. To be honest though, nothing in this book was too archaic.

There is one very important thing I should say for second-language English learners though: if you are not black, do not repeat the slurs used in this book. Racial slurs are extremely offensive (I’m sure this is true of any language) and are not in any way socially acceptable. Not only are they hurtful and rude but they are a massive cultural taboo, and you can get in a lot of trouble by repeating them. Please be careful not to repeat any of the offensive words used in this book.

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Review: Angry White Pyjamas - Robert Twigger

Review

This non-fiction book reads very much like a novel, it skips over any tedious and gets straight down to the action, although it focuses more on the protagonist’s personal experience than the action itself. It honestly could pass for a novel, if Twigger had just changed his name I would have read it and thought: “Wow, what a well-written novel.”

But I will warn you, it is a brutal read. It’s not for the squeamish or the faint-of-heart. Twigger didn’t put as much detail into his own pain and suffering as he could have, mainly focusing on the horrors he saw the other students in his class going through. I personally feel like he could have spoken about his own motivations a bit more; I would love to know what goes through the mind of someone who puts themselves through that kind of hell, but we don’t get a lot more than: “I want to get tough and prove I can do it.” When I wanted to get tougher I joined my University’s rugby club. When Twigger wanted to get tougher he signed himself up to have the living daylights beaten out of him for a whole year and to be called a wuss a dozen times a day (actually now that I think about it that does sound a lot like the rugby club).

But Twigger does a great job of introducing the world of Aikido to the reader. It follows his journey from his very first class to his graduation, and even readers who don’t know their Ju-Jitsu from their Sumo wrestling will be able to enjoy this book if they’re not too put-off by bone-breaking. And I would definitely recommend it do anyone with an interest in martial arts. As a karateka myself, I found learning about Aikido fascinating!

Please don’t attempt this at home.

Language Level

The language level is basic. It feels like you’re just listening to a guy chat about his life, but written in the style of an easy-to-read novel. The dialogue is light and easy, it might be a bit confusing at times to non-natives, but if your English is good enough to get through this blog post, you won’t have any trouble with this book. Non-Japanese speakers should be careful, however, as there are a lot of Japanese words in this book, and unlike most books, foreign language words aren’t italicised. If you’ve suddenly come across a word you don’t understand, don’t just assume it’s English!

[durenjtmusings]

The Yiddish language is a wonderful source of rich expressions, especially terms of endearment (and of course, complaints and insults). This article is a follow

Entertainingly, I knew 85% of these - from growing up in New England and watching american films, but my husband, who watched the same films and is in the theater - but in the southern US, knew only about 1/3.*

SO, if your setting is New York, New Jersey, or New England (or Hollywood), these words can easily crop up, and if your characters are visiting southerners, or midwestern, they are less likely to understand them (unless they are Jewish or had a lot of exposure).

Note, these are also very easy to partially pick up from context in most cases, so your character could be using the word, and not really be able to define it exactly (or be using it slightly off).

* Both of us are Northern European in ancestry - WHITE white bread.