Borrowed Words

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Every language is influenced by other languages. And every language winds up adopting foreign words over time, sometimes adapting them to unique uses in the new language, and sometimes keeping the form and definition the same.

For this blog entry, I thought I’d highlight a few common words that are used in modern English that actually have their origin in another language far removed. Such words are usually called “borrowed words,” which personally I find to be a strange term. The language and its speakers don’t temporarily borrow a foreign word with the intention of giving it back someday. “Adopted words” would be more accurate, in my opinion; but for now I’ll go with the more well-known linguistic term.

Buffet—a self-serve spread of food, often found in restaurants such as an all-you-can-eat cheap Chinese buffet. This word is French, and it originally referred to the sideboard (or side table) where food was laid out to be served to seated diners at the dining table.

Kayak—a narrow one- or two-person boat steered with a two-ended paddle. It’s an Inuktitut word (often spelled “qajaq” in that language). The Inuit and Eskimos of the Arctic used this boat for centuries for hunting and travel before we adopted it for recreational use.

Piano—a musical instrument constructed of keys which use hammers to strike strings to produce the sound. It’s part of a longer word pianoforte, which is Italian for “soft-loud.” It meant that this musical instrument, unlike many others of centuries ago, could be played both softly and loudly.

Sauna—a hot room, either steamy or dry, used for relaxation, rejuvenation, and all manners of sweating. We get the sweat-room concept, and the word, from Finnish. The Finns love their saunas.

Bazaar—a large shopping venue, with many stores or booths selling a variety of merchandise. Bazaar is a Persian word, and us English speakers liked it so much we now use the word for everything from art shows to farmers’ markets to catalogs.

Geyser—a hot spring that erupts from beneath the ground with explosive force, often at regular intervals. Iceland is a land where many geysers can be found, and that’s where the word comes from. “Geysir” in Icelandic is both the general term for this natural phenomenon, and the name of one of the island’s largest geysers.

So there you have it—who knew that English uses so many words that aren’t English? And I could list many others. Anybody else have other suggestions to add to the “borrowed words” list? How about some words “borrowed” into other languages besides English?

THE NEXT BIG THING – Blog Hop

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I did a blog hop about the Next Big Thing once before, but I thought it’d be fun to give it another go. I will be answering several questions about my WIP. In the first “interview” about the Next Big Thing, I talked about the second book of the trilogy I’m doing, because I’m currently writing the first draft of it. For this blog “interview,” I’ll talk about the first book, which is in the rewrite and first round of edits stage.

1: What is the working title of your book?  

The Vanished Reindeer. The trilogy is titled The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wrote a blog post once specifically about that. The idea came from a thought about a herd of reindeer and a mystery—and to solve the mystery for myself, I turned to the realm of fantasy.

3. What genre does your book come under?

Fantasy. Specifically, cross-world fantasy (where the story takes place both on earth and in a fantasy world), with a dose of mythology-inspired fantasy.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Dunno. I’m still working on this one. Most of the actors would need to be Finnish, as the story is set in Finland and only one of the characters is American.

5: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About a year and half to finish the first draft.

6: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, let’s see—are you a reader who likes fantasy that pulls elements from mythology and classic literature? Are you a reader who likes a good Scandinavian mystery? Are you a reader who likes mysterious monsters, immortal queens, magic, music, and just a dab of romance? My book has all of that—hopefully tied together in a nice cohesive package. That’s what this rewriting/editing phase is for.

Many thanks to Bonnie Watson for sending me this blog hop entry. Check out her books at www.WisdomNovels.com!

More Music to Write By

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I’ve written several posts about how music inspires my writing. So I’ve decided to share three more of my favorite songs and how they help me with my current WIP.

Angelit – Garkit

This song could serve as a soundtrack for various scenes, as well as being simple inspiration/mood-setting. Angelit is a Sami folk-rock band from northern Finland, and they usually sing in their own language of Sami. The parts of my book that take place in the real world are set in Finland, and most of it is the northern part of the country known as Lapland.

“Garkit”—which means “escape”—is the perfect song to get me into a mood for writing a fast-paced adventure scene. There’s a battle—and an escape—in the climax of my story, so I often used this song to gear myself up for writing it.

Johanna Kurkela – Oothan tässä vielä huomenna

This is a love song—the title translates as something close to “Will you still be here tomorrow.” It’s by the Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela. It’s appropriate that I use Finnish songs, since—as mentioned earlier—the story begins in Finland, and most of the characters are from that country.

I use this song kind of as the “love theme” for the two lead characters, and listening to it helps put me in a frame of mind to write a romantic scene. Please note, for any romance or erotica readers out there—my book would probably be rated PG. Maybe PG-13, but that’d be due only to the battle scenes and one or two swear words. If you’re looking for steamy romance and lots of innuendoes, this is not the book for you.

But if you like just a dab of romance to liven up the fantasy adventure, then I’ve got that. And no matter what level of romance you prefer in your books, this song is worth a listen. I don’t worry about trying to understand the Finnish (I can catch about three words in the whole song). But the music and her voice are enough to put me in a mood to write.

Värttinä – Kutsu

The song is also Finnish, by the world music band Värttinä; it’s titled “The Call.” The lyrics are simple: “Come to my elfin dwelling. Come into the light.” It fits with several other songs on the album Utu, which tell stories of witches, conjurers, elves, and enchantments.

While my story doesn’t feature witches or elves as such, it is about a world of myth. It’s a world where folk tales have come to life, and ordinary things like the night sky and rivers in the woods aren’t always what they seem.

This song is haunting, creepy, and other-worldly—just the sort of sound I need to inspire me when my protagonists are skulking through the woods and jumping at shadows.

So these are my top three tracks right now for listening. What’s your music to write by?

The Nitty-Gritty of Writing: That Pesky ‘s

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I’ve decided to create a series of posts to channel my inner Grammar Nazi, and to hopefully help people with their writing. I blog about writing tips of all sorts, but I haven’t yet gotten into that tedious subject of spelling, grammar, and word usage.

It’s not fun, but it’s necessary if you want to move your writing past the rough draft stage. Please note, that if your main concern right now is pushing past your writer’s block, or developing your main character, don’t worry too much about spelling and grammar at this point. But if you’re wanting to put some polish on that story before you submit it, or that essay before you turn it in to the teacher, or that blog post before you hit publish, this might help you.

My subject for today is the apostrophe s. A lot of people seem to get confused about the proper use for an apostrophe, and especially an apostrophe s. So here’s the deal: an apostrophe is that little mark that looks like a single quote mark that appears in words like don’t, I’m, and McDonald’s.

The apostrophe has two functions: it can represent a letter or series of letters that is missing from a word or phrase, and it also can represent a possessive.

In the case of “don’t” and “I’m,” the apostrophe is replacing the missing letter from the pair of words “do not” and “I am,” respectively, thus creating a contraction. In the case of “McDonald’s,” it indicates that something belongs to McDonald—as in, McDonald’s Restaurant.

This possessive apostrophe s is what trips up a lot of people. In English, the plural for a word (usually) has an s on the end, so many people get these two s word endings confused. I’ll lay out some examples:

Correct:

I saw the cat’s toy. (I saw the toy that belongs to the cat.)

The car’s rear window was broken. (The rear window belonging to the car was broken.)

I’m going over to Antonio’s to play video games. (I am going over to the home of Antonio to play video games.)

Incorrect:

I saw the cat’s toy’s. (The toy’s what? The color of the toy? The painted smile on the toy?)

The cars rear window was broken. (“Cars” with no apostrophe is plural, meaning that “was” should be replaced with “were.” And “window” is still singular. But that’s a subject for a different blog entry.)

I’m going over to Antonio’s to play video game’s. (What belongs to the games of Antonio?)

Here are some common misuses of the apostrophe s that I see:

We sell DVD’s! (You sell something that belongs to a DVD? Oh, you mean you sell multiple DVDs.)

The dog shook it’s head. (This translates into “the dog shook it is head,” which makes no sense. And even though “its” would be correct and is possessive, there is no apostrophe. More on the inconsistencies of English in another post.)

Lets go! (Technically, this is an incomplete sentence. It might be the last part of a phrase like “She slides down the rope and then lets go.” But I think what you meant here was a contraction of “Let us go.”)

Grammar goofs and incorrect apostrophes are not a big deal on your Facebook status or your text to your brother. But for a blog post, an article, a report for school, a brochure that represents the face of a company, etc—try to double-check your possessives and your plurals. Get a friend to look over it—sometimes an extra pair of eyes can help.

I hope this grammar rant was helpful to you! English is confusing even to us native speakers. I hope I helped to clear up a little confusion about a language of inconsistencies!

Research for a Fantasy Story

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Yes, I’m writing a fantasy story and yes, I’m doing research. I believe that research to one degree or another is going to come into most any writing project, unless you’re writing a memoir or something that you’re truly an expert on. Roz Morris wrote a fantastic post about ways to do research for a novel, so I’m not going to try to duplicate what she wrote.

Even if you’re writing a realistic work of fiction, you might still need to a bit of research to add that extra touch of realism to something that you know nothing about. What if your main character owns several Great Danes, but you’ve never been near a dog bigger than a Chihuahua in your life? A little research—hands-on or otherwise—might be in order.

Obviously, historical fiction is the most research-heavy genre. Depending on your story and your intended audience, you don’t have to be a stickler for every detail, but general accuracy is good. For example, a historical fiction tale set in medieval London should not make mention of Queen Victoria. Unless you’re trying to weave in time-travel or some other fantastical element, this would be a glaring mistake.

I wrote a blog post a while back about world-building for fantasy and sci-fi, and the use of research. And so, in keeping with my own advice, I’m doing some research for my current fantasy trilogy. Here are three of the main subjects I’m researching:

Musical instruments—specifically, the traditional folk instruments of Finland and other Scandinavian regions.  I’m not trying to be historically accurate, or even accurate with the details of instrument construction or use, because this is a fantasy world. The world is inspired by the mythology of Finland, however, and so I want the musical instruments—like the jouhikko, the kantele, and the mouth harp—to reflect this. YouTube has been my primary research tool—ancient Finnish folk music is alive and well today, and YouTube lets me both see and hear the instruments in action.

Reindeer—specifically, the reindeer and their herders in Finland. This has required the most research (since two of my main characters are reindeer herders from modern-day Finland). My main source of information has been internet searches, but I’ve read some books, too (both fiction and non-fiction) that involve reindeer and the Sami people.

Even when I deem my research complete and publish my stories, there will probably be inaccuracies. But since my intended audience is the average North American/Western European reader of fantasy adventure books, I’m not too concerned with every detail. I want enough of the setting/culture/details of the animals to be accurate enough to give the reader a flavor of this very real yet very foreign lifestyle.

Northern Lights—specifically, what aurora scientists right now are studying and how they’re doing it. Again, this is a research-intensive topic, and one where I will probably wind up with inaccuracies despite my best efforts. The internet has been my only source of information about this, with my main focus being the websites of universities that have aurora programs. My next step, if I feel I need more detailed information, would be to contact some of the people at these universities to ask specific questions. Again, though, like with the reindeer, I’m writing my stories for readers of fantasy—not aurora experts or astronomers. I want the reader to feel convinced, but if I get one little jot of technobabble wrong, I don’t consider that a big deal.

Any other writers of fantasy or sci-fi out there? What sort of research have you done for your stories?