Jonathan Palfrey
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Although I highly appreciate some of your Vorkosigan novels, on the whole I tend to prefer the World of the Five Gods—perhaps partly because it’s so European (apart from its theology, which I actually prefer to Christianity). Out of curiosity, I just checked, and in this world you never use the expression “freshen up”, which seems to appear without fail in the works of most American authors. Congratulations?
Lois McMaster Bujold
...Is "freshen up" not a term/polite euphemism used in Europe?
Or just medieval Europe.
Technically, none of the 5GU characters are speaking any our-Earth languages, so there ought to be some elbow room in pretend-translation by the Author. But I do try to comb out metaphors, anachronisms, and terms based on technologies that don't exist there. (I really miss being able to use "download" and "upload" when discussing demons and souls.) This gets fuzzy when one gets to words like "sanguine" or "melancholic", or "born under a bad star" based off medical and other theories that never existed in the 5GU, but deeply embedded in standard English. (The 5GU also happily free of bleeding and cupping as medical practices, and have discovered hand-washing centuries early, from dreams from their Mother goddess demanding they Wash Up First.)
Though I'm sure they have their own astrology and alchemy at this point, accurate observation with gonzo theories developed to account for them.
(And word echoes. I spend so much time in revisions playing whack-a-mole with word echoes.)
Ta, L.
...Is "freshen up" not a term/polite euphemism used in Europe?
Or just medieval Europe.
Technically, none of the 5GU characters are speaking any our-Earth languages, so there ought to be some elbow room in pretend-translation by the Author. But I do try to comb out metaphors, anachronisms, and terms based on technologies that don't exist there. (I really miss being able to use "download" and "upload" when discussing demons and souls.) This gets fuzzy when one gets to words like "sanguine" or "melancholic", or "born under a bad star" based off medical and other theories that never existed in the 5GU, but deeply embedded in standard English. (The 5GU also happily free of bleeding and cupping as medical practices, and have discovered hand-washing centuries early, from dreams from their Mother goddess demanding they Wash Up First.)
Though I'm sure they have their own astrology and alchemy at this point, accurate observation with gonzo theories developed to account for them.
(And word echoes. I spend so much time in revisions playing whack-a-mole with word echoes.)
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Talli Ruksas
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Did you write Ethan and Labyrinth at the same time? Ethan clearly comes first but Elli mentions an 8 foot tall bioengineered super soldier in it. Was it your decision or GG's that Enrique should lose his Escobaran accent? I suppose he could have lost it in the 4 years between ACC and Flowers...
Dane
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Name check: did you see yourself referenced in this Forbes article? http://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2017/02/10/fifty-shades-of-green-how-fanfiction-went-from-dirty-little-secret-to-money-machine/#5321b09e2664 Love your work. Thanks for many hours of enjoyment!
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