wherein Liz is annoyed at a self-proclaimed "language geek" reviewer

[edenfalling]

One of my WIPs, Lemonade, contains three main characters. One (Sasuke) speaks only Japanese. One (Faith) speaks only English. The third (Duo) is a native English speaker, but also passable-to-fluent in Spanish, Japanese, and two or three other unspecified languages. (Plus he reads Latin, because that amuses me.)

In chapter two, Sasuke curses very briefly in Japanese. Specifically, he says "shimatta."

I just got the following review, from an anonymous person calling hirself "Language Geek":

Be careful, be very careful, Shimatta might just mean shit in Japanese, however it seems a bit close to Schmatta which is a rather derogatory term in Yiddish.

To which my response is, basically, WHAT? Yes, obviously words in different languages will occasionally sound similar (or identical) to unrelated words in other languages, but what does that have to do with anything? Nobody in this story speaks Yiddish. It's written in English with very occasional garnishes of Japanese and Spanish, for color. If you read any of the words as Yiddish terms, you are actively looking for things to misinterpret. (Well, okay, I think I used a very Anglicized Yiddishism once -- something along the lines of 'plans, schmans,' but that's standard American usage at this point, and the first word of that kind of phrase is always in English anyway.)

Besides which, seriously, Japanese. Not Yiddish.

Twit.


(I am being petty enough already, so I will not go on to rewrite the review in properly grammatical English. But oh, I want to. Because I am, at heart, extremely petty about certain things. *sigh*)

Comments

[branchandroot]

*hand over eyes* Reminds me of the person who tried to inform me that "taisa" means "colonel" and should /not/ be used as if it were a /title/. Honestly, the stupidity of people trying to show off their minuscule erudition.

[edenfalling]

Yeah. I just... I get that the reviewer is proud of knowing Yiddish, and wants to explain Yiddish words, but a review for this particular story is really not the place to do so. *sigh*

[cherokee1.livejournal.com]

I went and read "Lemonade" this evening, and am very happy with the writing, the concepts, and the story's promise. "Lemonade" as in "When Life Hands You Lemons"?
I am conversant with the manga characters, but never watched any of the Buffy verse, except for the original movie. So I really do not know Faith, but your take on her makes her a interesting character, sort of like Katchoo in "Strangers in Paradise".
A very tough cookie with a creamy filling.
I look forward to your updates.
C

[leahnari.livejournal.com]

8/ Also, shimatta doesn't technically mean 'shit.' In fact, I don't think it's even that strong a curse; the word itself means something along the lines of "finished (regrettably)." And my host mom hasn't scolded me when I've used it, so...

Ack, sorry >_<; Anyway!

Yeah, I have no idea how Yiddish entered the picture. That's nit-picky to the extreme.

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

Also, "schmatta" isn't even all that derogatory. It means "rag," and it can either be used negatively to refer to an ugly outfit ("Would you look at the schmatta she's wearing?") or ironically, to refer to very nice, fancy clothes. It's certainly not any kind of a swear word.

IOW, "Language Geek" is a bit of an idiot.

[hamiechi.livejournal.com]

you might have been out of blue rambling 'bout yiddish if you were jewish :D (in peacemaker mood)

[askerian]

That's kind of like going "omglol he called his friend a camel" because that's what baka means in... egyptian? I forget. Yeah, that's funny (for given values of funny), but...

What really gets me twitching here is "be careful, be very careful". Pompous much? :/

[aoi24.livejournal.com]

On one hand, I find this hilarious, on the other 'what a pompus jackass daring to lecture others in such a manner. Begone, there are plenty of abysmal sue-fics in need of your attentions'

¬_¬ Just a teensy bit self-righteous I believe.

[vehrec.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaahahaha!

Oh wow, that's great. Shall we now explore other repeated Phonemes perhaps? I mean, given the vast infinities of the universe and time, I'm sure that there is absolutely nothing you can say that doesn't have a mathematically Vast number of different meanings. This kind of petty, small minded critique is really more funny to me than anything else.

[edenfalling]

Yes, as in "when life hands you lemons" -- you are actually the first person to remark on that! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

[edenfalling]

Interesting! Anyway, the usage in the story is something along the lines of, "Damn, now what am I supposed to do?" so it makes perfect sense for the curse to be very mild; it's more an expression of frustration than outrage and/or anger.

[edenfalling]

*headdesk* The more I learn about the two words in question, the dumber the reviewer seems.

[edenfalling]

Definitely pompous! I mean, I like it (grudgingly, after I calm down) when people point out places where I have written something really stupid and/or offensive, because then I can fix them. This, however, is just dumb.

[edenfalling]

Just a teensy bit self-righteous I believe.

Me or "Language Geek"? Actually, we probably both are -- as I said, I realize this is petty on my part. I'm just annoyed that apparently this person read through two chapters and had nothing to say about the story or my writing or anything useful... just this anonymous attempt to show off hir own erudition. (Which is apparently wrong twice over, according to leahnari and willowgreen. *sigh*)

[edenfalling]

I am now wondering if, for example, I should avoid the word "mist" in all future stories, and always substitute the word "fog," because "mist" means manure in German. And so on and so forth -- the logic is just dumb.

[edenfalling]

I know I am just as capable of annoying (and inaccurate) pedantry, but I do at least try to make sure my pedantry has relevance to the subject at hand... and also to say something non-pedantic about the story I'm reviewing while I'm at it!

(Say, any chance of Alex pictures appearing online soonish? Susan and I are both dying of curiosity. *puppydog eyes*)

[edenfalling]

What really gets me is that "Language Geek" took the time to lecture me about (apparently wrong) definitions of words that have no relevance to the story... and then had nothing else to say! It's as if ze read "Lemonade" specifically looking for something to complain about, while ignoring the actual story and characters.

[aoi24.livejournal.com]

I'm on your side. that is some poor review etiquette.

Just as bad as the ones who review and go "good but you should put my OTP in and then do this, this and this and then you should write my fic for me"

[edenfalling]

Oh, them. *makes face*

[aoi24.livejournal.com]

Exactly. *pulls face too.*

[deralte.livejournal.com]

I think the thing that really annoys me about reviews like that is that it's always by anonymous reviewers who you can't politely say, "You're wrong." to.

[edenfalling]

That is definitely annoying. Possibly it's a saving grace, though? Otherwise I suspect I would respond hastily, in anger, and start flame wars.