Words with Hidden Power
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- Language magic - for the purposes of this essay, not magic with written or verbal components, but magic that invites the reader to think about the nuances and complexities of language.
In this video, I'm going to explore magic that conducts the audiences attention to a writer's 'place of care', using R F Kuang's Babel etymology magic system as my main example, but also touching on Ursula LeGuin's True Name magic system as a supporting example.
Let's talk about books with words of power, let's talk etymology and magic.
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00:00 Subtle magic
00:46 Language magic
02:56 Earthsea
03:50 Babel's beauty
05:45 How it works
07:13 How it feels
08:53 The place of care
10:30 Drawing inspiration
10:58 Brazilian slang magic
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Would you like to check out my match pair? Here's the link (you don't have to be a patron to watch it):
/ extra-video-only-10291...
This is a small channel, so even a small Patreon contribution means the world.
- - -
Of course I do not own Babel, it was written by R F Kuang:
rfkuang.com/
The Earthsea illustrations you saw in the middle of the video were made by Paul Ona. Check out his Artstation page (amazing stuff there!):
www.artstation.com/paulona/al...
A special thanks to @ComeToSpain who graciously lended me some impressive Avila wall images. Check out the full vid:
• Top 7 places to visit ...
Curtiu os pequenos momentos de retratos do Rio de Janeiro? Essa é uma série de microdocumentários belíssima do meu amigo Zé. Dá uma olhada em @filmesdoze
• Retratos #1 | José Carlos
- - -
Soundtrack and imagery:
Luvbyrd - nausicaa lofi ~ opening theme
• nausicaa lofi ~ openin...
Check out @imluvbyrd's channel, every song is a gem.
Super Piano 64 - Tears of the Kingdom (Solo Piano)
Super Piano 64 - Forest Temple
Super Piano 64 - Oath to Order
All courtesy of @gamechops and part of their Unplugged series
• Tears of the Kingdom (...
Tee Lopes & Andrew One - Street Fighter ▸ Blanka ~ Remix
Another courtesy of @gamechops
• Street Fighter ▸ Blank...
.xander - Healing
Courtesy of @Lofigirl-Chillbeats aka Lofi Records
• xander. - Sleepwalking...
Other imagery and sountrack by:
www.pexels.com/
pixabay.com/
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#fantasy #magicsystem #babel 
Развлечения
language is so cool. just last night i was talking with my brother and i mentioned the idea of a language so proficient and well made that it could even make a totally blind person see. like accurately describing colors with real words and shit yk?
This is a really cool idea - and exactly the type of subtle and soft fantasy I enjoy the most.
Incidentally, have you watched the movie Arrival?? I'm sure you'll love it
@JoriamRamos No I have not, but it looks cool. I'll definitely note it down on my watch list
i’ve been getting more into language and etymology recently and this is incredibly fascinating.
another interesting language(ish) magic is the “naming magic” from the Kingkiller Chronicles. much like Earthsea things have a true name, but they’re very elusive. to capture the name of the wind for instance is an arduous process and could very well break your mind. and even then, you may not be able to find it again.
fantastic video as always!
I am yet to read it, but I hear great things about Kingkiller. I know Earthsea didn't invent the idea of a 'true name' but I wonder how many of the stories that use similar systems were inspired by LeGuin directly, and how many drew from other sources. Earthsea is a caress to the brain.
Hey, etymology is a fantastic rabbit hole! I'm glad you're spelunking there :)
Now, since you two of my favourite youtubers that talk about worldbuilding and "systems" in stories comment on each others videos... can you please make a collaboration and do sth together??? :)))
5:00 "The power of the bar lies in words"
Finally a magic system that acknowledges the arcane potency of rap beef
this is what entrapped me the most about babel. i finished reading it yesterday, and today has just been a slump that i don't want to do anything except read babel, but oh, it's over. the pure sense of wonder the magic system gave, how much effort and research and love kuang has poured into the book and it all reflects in the meanings of the math pairs for me. so incredibly well thought out.
This is such a good video! I too enjoyed Babel a lot and the idea with the city that opens up based on language is such a good idea ^^
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Amazing Video
Thank you! I never read Eragon, but I heard there was a system like that there :) do you think the books aged well?
@@JoriamRamos Not badly TBH, though there is a very definite growth of the author as you go through the four books and some of the parts that where obviously in the plan from the beginning look a little odd when you only meet them in book four.
When I was in school I read Earthsea and told my classmate about it. He wasn’t impressed and said that Eragon did the same thing with True Names. Little did he know that Le Guin probably inspired Eragon, as well as the whole genre of wizard schools.
@@LDogSmiles Paolini is on record saying it's Le'guin, Tolkein and Macafrey that inspired him most so you're right on the money.
@@LDogSmilesI still need to read Earthsea. I borrowed it from my school library when I was young but exchanged it anyway :( it was one of the only finds I actually found interest in
Skullduggery Pleasant also has a similar magic system when it comes to the names but most certainly not to the complex of etymology
I myself am writing a fantasy story that uses the biblical narrative of Babel to tell a story about a vastly different world and I've been having a lot of fun trying to imagine how would this world work when all the creatures in it speak the very same language so checking out a story like this would be incredibly helpful! Thank you for the video
this is FASCINATING. i’ve been working on a fantasy story of my own and i’ve felt like my magic system has been missing something … this video has been such a huge help! thanks so much :)
I'm happy to hear I'm helping :)
Sounds like Home
Great video, as always 🙂 language is fascinating, I love the idea of mixing it into a magic system, it works so well in my mind. I really need to read Babel! I enjoyed the Poppy War series by Kuang. Also I’m loving the new channel avatar, I remember you posting it on Twitter. Did you name it in the end?
Huh. I guess I speak a different version of English than you, because Parcel still also means subdivision of land to me. I live in New York. But I agree with this concept and love this.
The word spell - as in magic spell - literally is the same as to spell a word - words are the magical medium by which we bridge our consciousnesses together and leave the Ego and understand the Collective personhood!
It’s basically the magic of naming inside The Name of the Wind or in Eragon.
Yup I immediately thought of Eragons magic system here.
I mean this exists in a lot of fantasy stories? Just more subtle. Incantation is an example. Also speaking the name of a demon like in The Conjuring supposedly defeats them.
Magic like this would be annoying because as language changes, as it does, so too will magic.
It will be interesting, but I find comfort in constants
i live on the border between two countries, and city's slang has always been a mish mash of both languages
My dad was born in a place like this, a border city where everyone is trilingual by default. I always thought it was so whimsical how the languages just mixed in a 'new song'.
I've been fascinated by this type of magic recently, and it brought me to constructed languages and etymology. I love your videos. Thank you :)
Constructed languages is such an interesting theme! I wish I knew more about it :)
And hey, thank you for showing up and commenting!
Another comment mentioned muteness, and it brings to mind an interesting factor: the walls of the city are language barriers, but how would they separate people if the barrier only goes one way? So many people can speak languages they don't understand, or recognize meaning in words they can't pronounce. A person might speak a language, but not know how to read or write. They might know how to write a hundred languages, but only speak three.
And what about everything *beyond* words? Gestures and facial expressions are as much a part of dialect as the sounds we pair them with -- the index and middle finger in a back-handed V doesn't mean much in most places, but it's very rude in the UK.
I'm not particularly interested in the separation method - that can be pure magic. Maybe it's something interesting, say, the city whispering you where to go. Or it could be just a simple barrier: one person sees a wall, the other sees a street. Both are real, they're not experiencing the same reality.
Now, the other questions you asked: what about gestures? What about being able to pronounce without understanding? What about coming from a different region with a similar accent?
Yes, yes, yes, yes! This is what a story like that would be most well equipped to explore. Those are the ideas that this world would invite :) and they all sound fascinating to me!
Finalmente eu achei esse canal de novo! Curioso que é justo um vídeo sobre liguagem
Loved this concept and love your city. It really sparked my imagination and gave me so many ideas to write about. Your videos continue to be such a simple and magical path into being inspired to write and expand my way of thinking and attention. Thank you for sharing!
This was a really interesting video! Gives me a lot to think about for my own story.
Also. Im so surprised you dont have more followers and views, your videos are so charming and interesting.
Anywho, have a good one! ❤
Thank you, I'm happy you're finding the videos interesting :)
Oh, youtube is a grind! I'm doing my best to grow, but as much sweat as I put in, the truth is that I need Lady Luck on my side!
Man, me senti cativada c esse video e n sabia bem o pq. Ainda assim sentia uma familiaridade q n sinto mt c o tipo de analise e perspectiva q vc tem. Qd vc falou q era do rio, logo conectou como um click na cabeça! Imigração, desconexão com seu pais de origem, e o choque de cultura e idioma q temos, td isso fez sentido pq somos poucos q podemos conectar tanto dessa forma. Amei a analise e o canal, e espero mt mais, ate pq vejo q vc tem mt potencial e talento e dedicação. Estou louca pra ler Babel, e agr ainda mais. Oq me falta é tempo kkkkk vida dura de adulto
I havent watched one of your videos for a while, and ive just all of a sudden noticed your beard, lol, its a very nice beard. Also, fascinating video.
Thank you! I'm living my 'lumberjack who wouldn't know how to hold an axe' era 😂 and glad you enjoyed the video
Been meaning to check out Babel for a long time - especially now that I'm creating a word/language-based magic system of my own. To be honest, the first time this kind of concept was brought to my attention was through an anime/manga series called "The Case Study of Vanitas," which revolves around vampires and is set in a steampunk version of 19th century France (so, what's not to love?). But it especially stood out because of its soft magic system where having a vampire's "true name" corrupted turns them into a bloodthirsty monster ("normal" vampires in this world seem to not have to drink blood to even survive). Also, the difference between humans and vampires essentially lies in their respective "constitutive formulas," which when altered results in a different being entirely. Moreover, a vampire is able to interfere with the world's constitutive formula, thus allowing them to perform what would be known as "magical" acts or abilities. Anyway, long rant, but I do recommend the series for any other book + anime + manga nerds out there, and I'm glad to find out through this video that there are other books with similar language-based magic systems, which are likely to have inspired "Vanitas" in the first place. Can't wait to delve even deeper into this rabbit hole!
I LOVE BABEL🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 ITS SO PEAK‼️‼️
What a lovely video! You earned my sub
Thank you, Moircuus! Hope to see you around :)
Magic in the “lost in translation” ! Brilliant ! It goes further than the system of True Names, it’s reaching the meaning beyond words into the void created between the languages that the words are translated. It could also be used in the evolution of the meaning of the same word through time. In french words like “esprit” have at least 5 different meaning according to the context it is used !
there are always some sentences that you use without thinking about their origin but suddenly you realize. "über einen Kamm scheren" means to generalize something (mostly people) but the word for word translation is "to scissor over a comb" like a barber does. "verrückt" means crazy but you could also read it like "misplaced" which is funny since your mind is misplaced if you are crazy lol
Thank you for teaching me. This is helping, since I am currently reflecting on my world building and narrative of how I see the world. :3
Happy to help! What are the ideas that inspire you? What are the things you care about, that you'd like to create a world around?
When you talk about languages, you can't forget names. Soooo many names are mispronounced or misinterpreted across cultures.
Sometimes it's due to lack of correct pronuncation, sometimes the names are so unfamiliar to the community that they read it however they like.
Here in Korea, Hermione was translated to Heru-mee-on-nu cuz everyone including the traslator didn't have a clue on how it's supposed to sound lol.
And I took that as a feature in my book. No one in my story calls my protagonist's name right because it's alien to them. Mostly I use it as a joke, but someone appears and calls his name with a correct pronunciation. That's a moment of tension.
The Castle in the Sky music goes hard
In the south of Spain, where I live, there is a magic word that is unlike any other I know anywhere else:
The word "illo" (for men), "illa" (for women) and "ille" (for neutral).
Depending on the intonation, it can mean calling someone's attention, expressing pleasant surprise, disappointment, frustration, panic, tagline...Technically its use is informal, but it can be used in almost any context, even to your mother, without sounding disrespectful.
The closest translation I can find in English is "dude", but it is not the same in tone, intention, context or people who use it. In the south of Spain "illo" is almost universal and it is an identity mark.
«One Word to rule them all, One Word to find them, One Word to bring them all.»
You need to do audiobooks!
"Ganch" - Ulster Scots word.
or "Skelf" is another one in common use that the English typically don't even _know_ let alone use.
Ah! Indeed I never heard those, what does Ganch mean? :)
@@JoriamRamos
An Idiot does stupid things because they don't know any better.
An Eejit knows better but does the stupid thing anyway.
A Ganch is somewhere in the middle of Idiot and eejit.
Tu é do Rio??????
Gzuis achava que tu era gringo original. Caceta que massa velho, gostei demais do teu vídeo.
Chaos magicians bouta go crazy wit dis
great video!! babels caught my eye a couple times and im definately going to read it now i know more about it haha. my favourite bit of australian slang (probably not exclusively australian) is reckon, as in asking you reckon? or saying yeah i reckon, its the perfect level of confirmation but not too Sure of the answer but also not trying to communicate being unsure.
Great to hear I made an impression :) it's a great book with beautiful prose - what you saw was just the very tip of the iceberg.
Oh, my flatmate is a kiwi and I actually absorbed 'reckon' into my personal vernacular 😂 I agree, there's something very precise, and also non-aggressive about it
Ayo, I'd love to see your analysis of the magic in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Also, I like to think your city has specific neighborhoods for practitioners of certain crafts, or for students of particular sciences. Neighborhoods for jargon and technical terms. When you read an anatomy textbook, you find your way unexpectedly into a cafe full of doctors, chiropractors, morticians, personal trainers, etc.
"There's a chinook wind coming down the front range, we're looking at a storm." There's some geographically specific language. Like a lot of American words, "chinook" is adopted from the name of an indigenous group. They don't live around here, though, so I don't know what's up with that.
Good thinking! Perhaps the jargon parts of town wouldn't be as big, but would be super important for that class of people. And I can imagine a plotline where a character is not a professional, but they're trying to incorporate the jargon to reach that space. Could be really funny, now that I think of it!
And hey, great word, I haven't heard of it :) thanks!
Ele e legal saber que você também e brasileiro.😊
bem maneiro valeu comerado ✨️
Reminds me of that episode of doctor who with the witches and Shakespeare where naming a being defeats them but it can only be used once
I must admit that Dr Who is among my SFF sins - I never watched an episode. It's so vast, feels impenetrable!
Have you read the Eragon series?
Afrikaans - Daar is moeilikheid
English - There’s trouble
People sometimes describe words, quotes, dialogues as “delicious” (both in my native language and in English) but personally I never have felt that way about anything spoken or written. I wanna know what that feels like, but I guess I never will, because this description just does not resonate. It is kind of sad, but it also extremely makes me eager to keep talking to people to hear that delicious thing someday.
Completely unrelated, I think it is interesting how many scientific definitions are chosen selfishly, for example, imagine a drop of water on top of a leaf and a drop of oil on top of a glass. Both would be positioned similarly on top of the surface. But when we define the angle formed at the surface by this droplet, one would be >90° and the other would be
Uuuuh, that's interesting.
Here's a mental exercise - what's the qualitative difference between tasty and delicious? You might not be able to point out the exact qualia of delicious, but maybe you have an emotional understanding of the difference between qualias.
This difference is what people are talking about when they say a text is delicious. It's more than just good, it has that extra difference between tasty and delicious.
Does that help?
@@JoriamRamos no, it still doesn’t really resonate with me. I understand what someone would describe as delicious, I don’t understand what people feel. The closest things that come to mind are elegant, exquisite math problem solutions, when the problem suddenly becomes completely transparent and straightforward - that I could call delicious, but still prefer sophisticated. I guess math’s a language too though, so I can be content with that
Sometimes we describe words as delicious based on their mouth feel. This don't apply to written text though, nor to hearing something.
Palaver>Palavra>Palabra
Can you do it with three axis'?
What is the niche lens and value of fantasy where magic isn't subtle, lets explore that. Marvel Cinematic Universe, Heroes, The Magicians.
German/Deutsch: Ist doch so, oder? Is doch so, or? Ist ja gut. Is jeah good.(if someone had asked you to do something and you finally do it.)
Gotta say, German has one of my favourite expressions in any language: ist das Kunst oder?
Cracks me up 😂
Spüüüüüü 🦜
Spuuuuu
Is that a bird? I'm curious!
Mute people would be screwed in that city.
I suppose! Unless the magic could also adapt to your thoughts - it's an interesting thought, how - if you have an internal monologue (some people don't) how it's always, inevitably altered by an "internal accent" even if imperceptible
Well, they would definitely face unique challenges, though I don't think you could definitively say they would be screwed. What if through sign language or braille or some non spoken language actually opened up an entire district that almost no one in the city even knows about, never mind having access to it. Perhaps the 'magic' only needs you to 'understand' the true word, and not for it to be spoken out loud. There are an infinite number of possibilities out there, that is the beauty of language, and magic!
I think that people who only speak with their voice would think so. There's a certain perspective that one gets from only having spoken language; it makes you think there's no way to talk without a throat and lips and a tongue. But speaking as someone who doesn't have that option, there are other ways of communicating: the nod of one man to another as they pass on the sidewalk, pointing out the food you want from the menu, giving the thumbs up when someone asks how you're doing -- and that's not even touching on signed or written language.
Mute doesn't mean that we can't talk to you. Just that you won't need ears to listen.
Possibly sign language could work?
Unless you can't say the incantations in your mind or if you can use sign language, at the risk of looking like hand signs from Naruto.