Thunder Echoes

I'm practising Liszt's Tarantella from "Venezia e Napoli", the supplement to the second book of his "Years of Pilgrimage" ("Années de Pèlerinage": Book Two, "Italie"). [Published in 1861, this supplement was written in 1859, mostly as a revision of a version written in 1840]

This fast piece starts with very quiet thundering in the low register of the piano. It's rather ominous or premonitory. It suddenly gets a bit louder, then the thunder disappears and is replaced by sharp, dry music with more accents audible so it sounds faster than the start. The biting accents and madly increasing nervous frenetic energy immediately make me feel as though there is an itching starting - a crazy and uncontrollable itching in every part of my body at the same time. The irritation of poisonous plants, the crawling of invisible insects, all over, most of all where you can't reach! But it's a mad feeling - nothing real could irritate like that.

And all the time while I'm playing this page there's an odd thought in my head. Something is making me think of The Wolfman, the seminal (though not actually the first) 1941 werewolf horror film starring Lon Chaney, Jr. in the title rôle. This is a moving story of a gentle giant who carries a monster inside him. He knows what he is and knows he cannot control it, and will do anything to stop himself harming others. But he can't stop the transformation that comes with the full moon.

The wolfman curse is passed on by a werewolf bite.

I already knew that the tarantella was a dance associated with the bite of the tarantula spider. I looked it up and learned that there were different versions of the association: either the bite sent you into a frenzy (the frenzied dance) or you had to dance the tarantella to cure yourself of the bite. It's supposed to be a hallucinogenic madness that grips the spider's victim. I also learned that in reality there is no danger in the bite of the tarantula. This doesn't explain away the legend though (however it arose).

Next there was a shock for me. It seems that the Latin name for the tarantula is Lycosa Tarantula. It's one of the family Lycosidae - the Wolf Spiders.

What can be the connection here?

The Sound of Thunder

There have been a lot of thunderstorms in London lately. It's summer and the weather is quite hot - though if you don't live in England and you are trying to imagine these hot, stormy days and nights I'm talking about, don't get carried away. This is England, and it's not that hot. Even the weather is reserved here. But I must say that thunder is thunder in any part of the world. There may be bigger storms elsewhere but the sound of thunder seems not quite to belong in this world, and I get this same feeling wherever I hear it.

Language Tip Number One: This Is It

I think I have finally reached 'the point' in this Language Tip. I think I'll just tell you it now. No digressions, stories, thoughts, or other straying from the point. OK.

Mainly, there are two things I want to say about Norwegian. They are both about pronunciation. Firstly, you are speaking Norwegian now, not English (or whatever your first language is). Have you seen the Swedish Chef on the Muppets? (Not so likely now, but you might remember this character from when the Muppets were more popular). At all times you must think of his way of speaking. That's not really a joke; it's important to get into the native pronunciation with all its stresses and pitches, and something has to break you out of your native patterns. I admit that he is a Swedish Chef, not a Norwegian one, but - and this might be too much of a shock, so stop reading now if you are afraid - he is not actually speaking Swedish so I think you get the point!

Many languages use the Roman alphabet that we know best of all as English speakers. But although it looks the same in other languages, it's important to realise that the sounds aren't the same. So in a way, it's a new alphabet. Still, the sounds should be close so don't panic. People will probably understand you all the same, more or less, but we're aiming at the top level of language skill in this tip. The best communication fits into the listener's own patterns perfectly so there is no dissonance between the speaker and the listener. The words fit in so well that the thoughts expressed seem to come from his or her own mind.

The other thing is that in Norwegian the consonants seem to have melted. Bear this in mind too! The words run into each other in a singing way, only pausing on double consonants like 'ff' or 'gg'. There will of course be other things you need to know, but that is the substance of Language Tip Number One!

Lykke til!

Language Tip Number One - Part Three!

The anticipation! Will I finally get to the point in Language Tip Number One? Do you remember the scene at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Will Indy get out of the temple to safety? Will he lose his hat (45% of the character)? Well, I might get to the point. I think so. But, you know...what is the point of a story? Is it the events or the telling? Is it the characters or how they interact? You could say this about music: is it the material (melody, harmony, interesting sounds and all that) or is it more important how the material interacts with itself? I know what I think about that, and you should be able to tell my view from what I just said. But there are others who believe more in the surface of things. I may be wrong, but I have this mad idea that there should be something under the surface. I keep looking, although sometimes (often) I am disappointed.

We talked about the culture and ideas behind a language. We talked about why it was worth learning or learning about a language. I tried to say that I think we should all take an interest in other people. I think that is important. Of course, there is another reason to learn a language - to speak! You want to be able to say "Take this muck away and bring me some chips", don't you? Alright, I know you are not like that. You want to sing of the way the setting sun reflects off the fjord in your icy blue eyes. You want to ask the way to the Munch Museum. You want to buy some of that special sweet brown Norwegian cheese. OK - go ahead!

I normally use books in the "Colloquial..." series for learning languages. In the present case, the one I have is "Colloquial Norwegian". So, I can recommend that to you as well as the whole series - it's excellent as far as I have seen (and I've seen a few) and with only a few words of vocabulary gives the impression that you have a good grasp of the language (useful but can be dangerous!). It's necessary to learn four chapters of one of these books to be able to make any kind of fruitful conversation, though useful pleasantries are covered nearer the beginning, so you can make yourself look friendly at least.

It's quite important to get the recordings as well (tapes or CDs) because that's the only way to get the full meaning of the pronunciation explanation at the start of the book. Or you can speak to a native speaker, go to the country, or there are probably some listening resources on the internet. If you are really serious, it's quite good to compare sources, e.g. get the book and CDs for the course you're following, and get another tape as well, maybe one that goes with a simple phrase book. It helps, but this is only for really serious cases!

Finally, we are getting somewhere! But I am not Tolstoy or Pynchon - I've got to keep the word count down so your brain doesn't overheat! See you tomorrow!

Language Tip Number One, Still

I seem to recall we were talking about Norwegian.

I think there are plenty of reasons for finding out about this language, many connected to the interesting Norwegian culture. The three main well-known cultural personalities from Norway, in my view, are the playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), the painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), and the composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). So even with only these three names on the list, there is a lot to think about. In addition, there are the great, rich, and evocative Sagas written down in the twelfth or thirteenth centuries A.D. Admittedly, these were written in Old Norse, the ancestor of Icelandic, but clearly there is a big connection in the culture (Old Norse was spoken in Norway at the time anyway), and I think any Scandinavian language is a window to some understanding of the others (they are all rather similar - excluding Finnish, which although it is spoken in a neighbouring country, is not a Germanic language but part of the Finno-Ugrian family). My favourite of the Sagas I know (which is not many!) is the Hávamál, or 'Words of the High One'. This work is a collection of wise sayings of the God Odin (Óðinn*).

[* the letter 'ð' is called eth, and is pronounced the same as the 'th' sound in words like 'the' and 'these'. It is one of three old letters that were still part of the English alphabet as late as 1400 or so. The others are called thorn and yogh. Thorn is another 'th' sound, sometimes the 'th' in 'theory' and 'think', sometimes the same 'th' as the letter eth (in Middle English; in Icelandic, thorn and eth are always differentiated). 'Yogh' is the mystery missing letter for the silent 'gh' in words like 'night' and 'drought': those special words that must make no sense at all to learners of English! There are codes for these characters for use in web pages, but they seem unpredictable so I didn't attempt it and you had better look them up for yourself!]

Back to the Hávamál!

Cherish those near you, never be
The first to break with a friend:
Care eats him who can no longer
Open his heart to another.

That is a good verse, I think. There is another one I should take more notice of:

Foolish is he who frets at night,
And lies awake to worry:
A weary man when morning comes,
He finds all as bad as before.

These verses were quoted from the translation by W. H. Auden and Paul B. Taylor.

So yes, the Norse Sagas! Many reasons to be excited about Scandinavian language and culture. Unfortunately we didn't get any nearer to my tips about Norwegian. Or did we?

Language Tips - Number One

I am here to help - if I can!

I don't know what help you would like, so I have decided to supply you, all the same, with my Language Tip Number One. This is about Norwegian. Why, you ask, would I need to know this language when, as we are constantly reminded, the Norwegians speak English better than the English? Well, you know, outside of English-speaking countries the language situation is often alarming (for native English-speakers). Why so? Because there is a language situation! The only 'situation' we have here in England is that we see foreign languages as unneccessary complications. The poor foreigners, we think, only speak other languages due to misfortunes of location and economics, and probably mainly because of a lack of intelligence. Imagine! The poor dears. (Anyway, put some more blackamoors on the fire and whip the servants). This attitude (which - note to people who don't know the word 'irony' - I am possibly exaggerating for illustrative effect) seems a relic of the old British Empire. Well, we don't own any of the people in other countries anymore, so I think it's time to start finding out about them.

Step One: learn Norwegian (if you want)! OK, what is it then? It's the language they speak in Norway (though not the only one). Norway is in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. On the map you will find it higher than the Netherlands, above Denmark, to the left of Sweden, and also at the top it touches Russia and Finland. More or less. The top of Norway is above the Arctic Circle so sometimes the sun never sets there. You may remember Norway from such cultural assumptions as 'Vikings, The' and 'Second World War, The, Traitorous Pro-Nazi Behaviour During". But, more than this, it is a real place full of real people. I went there for a concert in October 2003, and I did manage to get a brief glimpse of it, also of some blurry Norwegians (it was a quick glimpse). Actually, it is one of my favourite places. The trees were all turning to Autumn and I played my recital in front of huge windows overlooking a fjord - this was at the Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo. There were pine-nuts in the fish soup, my page-turner was wearing multiple layers of warm clothing that could be removed or added to as the weather demanded (just as it said he would be in the guide book), everything was beautiful, and I remember it happily.

Did you read Tristram Shandy? He never gets anywhere with the story of his life. I hate to miss out details myself! Shall I change the blog title to "Language Tip Number One (2005-2012)"? No, don't worry, we'll get there somehow. But not until tomorrow!

Popularity

Sometimes things are important. They are so important that I want everyone to understand them. But I have realised that many, or even most people aren't interested. They are preoccupied. They have their own problems that keep them busy. But if these things really are important then someone will be listening somewhere, and I suppose it only has to be one person for communication to be successful.

I can't change the tone of my music, because I don't decide that. My composing doesn't happen according to what I like or what I feel like writing; it flows according to some other rules that I don't control. In my concerts, I can't change my interpretations to make me more popular, because then I would be focusing on myself rather than the music. A musician who isn't interested in the music isn't a very useful thing. I suppose that when I write in words, that is the time I can most change my focus. I can cut out things that alienate like too many syllables. But I still can't really cut out the ideas.

I guess people must be learning their own things in all kinds of different ways. All I can do is try to get my ideas to the right people. I am confident that they are positive ideas. If I am right about that then they will be needed somewhere. Still, are people's needs that different? I think we are probably faced with much the same set of problems, if you think about it. The question would be when do we start to think about those?

A Very Special Tone

Lots of South-East Asian languages are tonal. That means that changing the pitch of a word changes its meaning. So, like you might say "dog..." or "dog!" or "dog?", when the pitch changes, the meaning changes. But in the "dog" example the pitch changes didn't change the fact that it was a dog, they just changed what we were suggesting about the dog. In a tonal language like Cantonese or Thai, if you change the pitch it is as radical a change as "dog"/"frog"/"flog"/"blog".

Tones go up and tones go down. They also hang around and stay on one level. You might find five or six in a given language. That could mean say three relative pitches (high, medium, low) and tones that rise or fall between them.

But my all-time favourite feature of all languages I have had contact with is a very special tone indeed. I first heard about it in the Vietnamese language. Apparently it also exists in Danish, Latvian and Burmese (I think there may be others, perhaps some African languages - please do mention it in a comment if you know of more). This special tone is the creaky, broken, or strangulated tone. This broken tone is produced by closing your throat up, just like someone's strangling you. I love it! I'm always very pleased to hear about variety and unusual things I wasn't expecting, so that's why I'm so pleased with this creaky tone. I must say, I find it very evocative too...though of what, I will leave for another day.

The First Post - And I've Done It Already

Literally speaking, this is the first post in this blog. It is even called The First Post - two sentences in and already you can see I am a man of my word! We understand each other, eh?

"What's that? The first post? Hmm...", my bonsai-model brain thinks to me,"Isn't 'The Last Post' already a phrase in common use? Wouldn't it make me look awfully clever to make a...I think the word I'm looking for is 'pun', no? Yes, one of those 'puns' would be perfect. That will show everyone what I am made of". Sadly, it shows exactly what you are made of, oh tiny little mind.

One of the great curses of any language is exactly that: the tiny little mind that operates it. We have this miraculous, unfathomable, incredible gift of communication. What impulse is it that drives us to express the miracle of our being through the time-honoured principles and codes of sub-sub-basement, flatline, powerout, autopilot, void and vacuous...local journalism?

I said it. Local journalism! That's real evidence of a communications curse. If you have ever read a local newspaper then I hope you realised there was something a bit wrong, there. Now, I was not put on this earth to perpetrate terrible crimes against humanity, so I won't attempt to recreate the ambience of the local newspaper experience - you will have to see for yourself! Though it was a good curse, for sure, that also produced some of the greatest unintentional comedy writing in print. "He broke his toe drinking squash" and so on to a collapsible bliss of amusement. (That 'toe' quotation was taken from The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, a novel by David Nobbs).

So now every man and woman of fighting age has a blog, I guess water finds its own level and the writing genius in us all rather sinks to the bottom. (Did you see? I was doing it there too! Though these gems were the fruits of the curse of a much superior school of journalism, as you might say, though I sincerely hope you wouldn't, for your sake). What a man's gotta blog, a man's gotta blog! There but for the grace of blog go I! Stop me now.

In short, the better part of my mind feels the awkwardness of finding ready words to write to you. I am conscious that my first choices are often just the easy phrases that come to mind, the result of constant exposure to language that sells, entertains, intimidates, misinforms, but only rarely speaks from the heart. Isn't it a sacred thing to be able to pass on our secrets and give love through words? Isn't it a wonder that we can share the mystery of how we came to be here and how we ever became able to think and speak? Even more, we can think about thought itself and speak about words...

So when you write your blog, remember: the literary rubbish probably floats to the top, so just wait a minute and bash your head against the desk to knock some of it out. Then listen to your heart. That's where the truest words are kept.

This is my introductory post, so I shall be less self-conscious next time. Don't worry, my capacity to appal through words will be unimpaired. But I can say that other posts will definitely be shorter! Most of all, I will do my best to heed my own advice. Anything else would be...NO PUN AT ALL! Hooray!!!