(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Of all the types of linguistic variation an author might put on the page — foreign or invented languages, creoles, grammatical features not found in English — there’s one that’s … Continue reading
New Worlds, Year Four New Worlds 4 by Marie Brennan Bathing and banking, animals and adultery: human culture contains a truly daunting array of elements. The fourth volume of the NEW WORLDS series takes readers on a tour of all-new … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) When my Russian translator was working on Turning Darkness Into Light, he kept sending me queries about how I wanted him to handle certain bits. You see, that novel contains … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Language doesn’t have to be spoken. We’ve discussed written languages before, in the context of books and literacy . . . but it’s also possible to communicate through the body, … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Last week we talked about languages as if they’re distinct, clear-cut things. That is very, very far from the truth. … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) There’s a joke which goes: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone … Continue reading
One of the hardest things for some writers to learn is what goes into building a world in enough detail to engage the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. This is especially important when writing about places that no one alive … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In talking about marketplaces and wandering vendors and shops, we’ve left out one key aspect of how those types of commerce get carried out — an aspect which rarely shows … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Shops — in the sense of an actual buildings dedicated full-time to trade — are a fixture of the modern world. While we may occasionally visit farmers’ markets, get our … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Writing this essay has earwormed me. I own an album of period music by the group Sirinu, which includes the song “New Oysters Street Cries.” It’s a seventeenth-century round advertising … Continue reading
