Scoobying Workshop #4, Afternoon 6/13/2006 (Main Campfire)

[soldtoarmenians]

[Roster]

Xander is standing in front of the unlit campfire holding up a book in the hand that doesn't have splinted fingers. He's being careful not to get soot on it because yo, Tev'Meckian/English Dictionary. In hardback.

"Hi, my name's Xander and I'm a geek. I'm sure that revelation totally gasts your flabber. But despite the huge pains I take to hide that fact, I felt I should confess it for the good of all, since sometimes it comes in handy to be a geek."

He coughs, then says in a gravelly voice, "Pef trom Grabthar, jux shag!"

"Okay, a real Tev'Meckian would totally laugh at my accent, if there were real Tev'Meckians. But how many other people, or monsters, or real aliens, or whoever I might have to keep something secret from while my team talks in front of them, are gonna have a clue what I just said?"

He waves the book. "This is a totally invented language, which means the speaking population is limited to... well, geeks. That makes it really useful for talking in front of people you're pretty sure... aren't. Real languages are great too, if you happen to be lucky enough that your whole team speaks one that most people around you don't, but the made-up ones are a lot easier to come by.

No, I'm not gonna make you learn Tev'Meck. It's three hundred pages long and just reading a translation of The Cat In The Hat almost gave me laryngitis once. But there are other invented languages that are a lot easier to learn, and I've got a worksheet for you on one of them.

It sounds simple, but when you speak it fast enough it's pretty much just, well. Gibberish. Except to you and whoever you're talking to. If you practice enough, you can rattle off an entire conversation in front of your teacher without her realizing you're planning on sneaking out to fight lava monsters during the filmstrip --- which, uh is bad and you should totally not do mm'kay -- and if they start to catch on, at that point you'll probably be good enough at it that you can invent your own."

Xander grins. "So today you can spend the whole workshop yakking to each other about anything you want to yak about -- but the catch is, you have to do it in Gibberish."
__

[OCD threads up! Gibber away. ]

Comments

Sign In

[soldtoarmenians]

"Probably the fake-language people who speak English know best is Pig Latin -- which let's face it makes kind of useless for fooling anybody who... speaks English. So if you're wondering why your mom totally translated that conversation you had over the phone about sneaking out, that'd be why. Still, it could work on.... really slow aliens, possibly. If you're not fluent in Pig Latin, it goes like this:

Take the first letter of every word and shove it to the end, then add 'ay' after it. If it starts with a vowel, just add the ay to the end of the word.

Dog= ogday.
Computer = omputer-cay.
Elbow= elbow-ay.
_______________________


"So just to get you into the fakey-talk mood, everybody write your name in Pig Latin when you sign in."

[Reply to the previous comment so the thread collapses. Talking to each other or Xander should go in the threads listed for that, just so that the sign-in thread stays all non-branchy. Trees bad. *glares at other Xander*]

Re: Sign In

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Amie-jay Adrox-may

Re: Sign In

[pure-blooddraco.livejournal.com]

Raco-day Alfoy-may

Talk Amongst Yourselves

[soldtoarmenians]

"But in Gibberish, Oh Em Gee. If you're looking for a topic and don't have one, there's always... stuff you learned from the radio last night? Though if I took last night's radio broadcast literally I'd be looking funny at a lot of you, and... possibly myself. Granted a lot of Sunday and Monday is a little hazy for some reason, but I'm pretty sure we didn't spend it doing what Becky says we did."

__
[Just your dialogue omg. And no, you don't actually have to say every word in Gibberish; characters can screw it up, or cheat, or totally give up and speak English or Tenktonese if it frustrates them. Just play with it as much or as little as you like.]

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Adiglidgas. Midigy udigundidigerwidigear sidigtill hidigas gidiglittidiger fidigrom tidighe didigays widige sidigpent idign tidighe cidigabidigin.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia didn't follow that at all. But she responded anyway. "Bidigilop gridigouse dididididi groop."

Yeah, she wasn't even trying.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair stared at the sheet and muttered quietly as he tried to work out the rules. "Hi, I'm Blair. What's your name?"

"Hi I'm Bwaiw What's youw name?"

"Ihay I'myay Airblay. At'swhay youray amenay?"

"hu i'm bla1r what'z ur naME!?!?!?!?!??!?!?"

"Hee I'm Bleur. Hee I'm Bleur Vhet's yuoor neme-a?" Blair frowned and decided speaking like the chef wasn't the goal, although he certainly had enough trouble understanding him sometimes. He opened his mouth to try again. "Hubi, Ubi'm Blubair. Whubat's yubour nubame?"

"Uboh, thubat's rubealluby clubose! Nubot quubite bubut clubose. Wubait...stubop. Stubop. Uboh muban, Ubi cuban't stubop tubalkubing lubike thubis!" He bounced nervously, looking around. "Hubelp?"

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Idig hidigave nidigo idigididigea widighat yidigou adigre sidigayidiging."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Idigi adigm nidigot sidigure idigi adigm didigoidiging thidigis ridigight..." Bridge says after a minute or two of looking at the worksheet.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[soldtoarmenians]

"Sidigounds ridigight tidigo midige!" Xidigandidiger Xander says, grinning.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[multiplez]

"Midigy hidigead hidigurts." Z's not sure she's doing this right.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[dude-its-jude.livejournal.com]

"Sidigo digidoes midigine," Jude agreed mellowly, even if he seemed to be having no trouble with the language.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory stared at the worksheet.

"I speak upwards of seven languages," she said in English. "And this makes no sense."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[smartestone]

Hermione frowns for a moment. "I don't know gibberish. ...The crow flies at midnight?" It's an effort.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[twohalvesofaphd.livejournal.com]

"Idig taidiglked wiidigth Coridigdyidig adignd Adiglanidignaidg."

Talk to Xander

[soldtoarmenians]

No, you don't have to use Gibberish.

Re: Talk to Xander

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow looked thoughtful. She scribbled something down on a piece of notebook paper and then held it up in front of her.

Hidigi Xidigandidiger!

Re: Talk to Xander

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia could not help but notice the splinted fingers. "Are you okay?"

Re: Talk to Xander

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"So apparently I fail at reading calendars." Bridge notes casually.

OOC

[soldtoarmenians]

Tidigodidigay thidigere idigis nidigo pidigie. Widigoe. :-( Adigalsidigo, blidigame Pidigarkidiger fidigor thidigis tidigopidigic, Odigo Edigem Gidigee!

Re: OOC

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Nidigo pidigie?

Iidig qidiguit.

Re: OOC

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Blair needs to stop killing me dead. I'm at work. I'm supposed to have worky face on, not laughy face!

Re: OOC

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

*dies a lot*

Re: OOC

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

59 6f 75 20 61 72 65 20 6d 79 20 68 65 72 6f 2e

Re: OOC

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

Woe for taking a nap from which I did not wake until three am!