[MR] Speaking Forsoothly ... was: Re: Were "Smalls" Children or "unmentionables"?

[Steven Chang]

Well, when I first joined the SCA, I was told that I couldn't use my fantasy
sounding name of Korin MoonDragn. We're not living in a fantasy world, but
reality, a different sort of reality apparently.

There are no such things as dragons in this reality, so calling them dragons
is a bit of fancy all of itself. We're all supposed to be period correct in
every aspect of this anachronistic world.

Well, until the voices in my head tells me otherwise, my cell phone is just
reality interrupting my fantasy.

Donal Maclauren.
Aka Ko-chin Chang


On 12/7/06, Siegfried <crossbow at freeshell.org> wrote:
>
> Actually, I'm surprised at how quickly Speaking Forsoothly has gone out
> of style.  It wasn't THAT many years ago, that classes were being taught
> at Pennsic about how to properly speak forsooth, when to come up with a
> name for something, and when is silly.  I know I was seeing classes
> still taught on the subject at least 5 years ago.
>
> With some standard concepts such as:
> car == land dragon || beast of burden || horse || wagon
> airplane == dragon
> cola == black mead
> children == smalls
> duct tape == flexible metal || that which gives life
> telephone == farspeaker
> cell phone == voices in your head
>
> etc.
>
> I sat in on one of those (many more years ago), and as was expressed
> then, many of the terms, yes, were kind of silly (children == smalls),
> but the concept was that by speaking 'differently', it got you into the
> SCA mindset, and that you were a different person, a different persona.
> Something that many people don't often do.
>
> *shrug*   I certainly understand the silliness of much of it, and the
> lack of period-ness.  But at the same time, I always kinda like the
> 'cult language' that the SCA had.
>
> But as I stated, it has rapidly disappeared.  At least on the east coast.
>
> Siegfried
>
>
>
>
> jbrmm266 at aol.com wrote:
> >  BITD, when I was a newbie (aye, there WAS such a time!), there was a
> great deal of importance placed on what we called "speaking forsoothly."
> >
> > Much of it consisted of using archaic expressions or made-up names for
> common items that did not sound "period."  One of the few that made any
> sense at all was the "farspeaker," a literal rendition of "telephone."
> >
> > While I applaud the spirit of avoiding blatant modernisms, I cringe at
> some of the terms we used back then.
> >
> > I really believe that if we simply avoid modern slang, use each others'
> persona names, and speak in a dignified way, we will capture the spirit of
> our time much more than we would by trying to "sound Mediaeval." Having
> studied Chaucer myself, I have some idea just how foreign that would sound
> to most of us!
> >
> > Your servant aye
> > Donal
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