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Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

Just started John McWhorter's =Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue=.  McWhorter's thesis is that English, nominally a Germanic langusge, has grammar and other structure shaped by Celtic and Cornish.

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Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

Per the review: I don't mean that you should claim the story is true history, but to use some of the style of a history, with 'sidebars' (as leading chapter notes) to remind the reader of people and their last appearances, etc.  As I envision these notes, they don't give any hint of the plot that is to follow, but only remind the reader.

Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

njc wrote:

Just started John McWhorter's =Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue=.  McWhorter's thesis is that English, nominally a Germanic language, has grammar and other structure shaped by Celtic and Cornish.

That's very interesting. I'll have to look into it.
Most Insular Celtic languages are Verb-Subject-Object, so I tend to think of them as being grammatically different from English where we favor Subject-Verb-Object. I guess there are other similarities that I haven't thought of.
Thanks!

Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

njc wrote:

Per the review: I don't mean that you should claim the story is true history, but to use some of the style of a history, with 'sidebars' (as leading chapter notes) to remind the reader of people and their last appearances, etc.  As I envision these notes, they don't give any hint of the plot that is to follow, but only remind the reader.

Ah! I see!
Copy style!

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Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

The key is our use of auxilliary verbs, esp. 'do' and 'done'.

Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

Ah! I see!
I don't know.

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Re: Titles in The Pendragon and The Beast of Caer Baddan

The reader should have to check the cover  front matter, or acknowledgements to be sure it is fiction.  (The Red Book of Westmarch)