Line #39 Main/ArtisticLicenseLinguistics


1	%%
2	%% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=61yl2u79
3	%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
4	%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
5	%%
6	[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/DetectiveComics https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/themfurrinersshoisfunny0ho.jpg]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:300:Ah, the two languages: American and Foreign.]]
8
9	->''"Son, my digitized consciousness will now teach you science, mathematics, and Earth facts for the duration of your journey. Of course without any stimuli other than my voice, there's no way for you learn what any of these words mean, so prepare for three years' worth of indecipherable blathering I guess."''
10	-->-- '''Creator/MarlonBrando''' (talking to baby Kal-El on the spaceship), ''Website/TheEditingRoom'''s abridged script for ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''
11
12	There are a whole lot of science-related inaccuracies in fiction, with some fields of knowledge bearing the brunt worse than others. In the case of linguistics, the vast majority of people have no idea it exists, never mind the basics. Obviously, this includes writers. Indeed, the prevalence of this trope (and its relative lack of being noticed) can be attributed to this fact -- most people recognize that when dealing with questions of physics, biology, chemistry, etc., they need to ask an expert, whereas with linguistics, many people don't even realize that there are experts to be asked.
13
14	Many language/linguistics tropes are attributable to this, and are split up here into errors in academic linguistics, translation errors, and errors in usage.
15
16	----
17	!!Subtropes:
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Author's Mistakes -- General]]
21	[-Basic mistakes in the way languages work, evolve, and differ from each other.-]
22
23	[[index]]
24	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Ignores the difficulty of near-instantaneous translation between very different languages, to say nothing of [[HumanAliens differing physiology]]. Often [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality acceptable]], since aliens speaking a [[StarfishLanguage completely]] [[IndoEuropeanAlienLanguage different]] language can get very annoying.
25	* AntiquatedLinguistics: TheThemeParkVersion of Victorian (essentially Present Day) English, spoken by everyone post-Regency up until the end of TheRoaringTwenties. [[note]]This trope is present in most parodies of silent film, but pastiches of the 1930s onward sound much the same as the talkies of the period--normal.[[/note]]
26	* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch: Mismatches the [[GoshDarnItToHeck strength]] of {{Foreign Cuss Word}}s.
27	* EternalEnglish: Ignores the process of linguistic change, with people 1,000 years ago or 1,000 years later speaking in the same dialect as the creators.
28	* FromTheLatinIntroDucere: Just because an alleged etymology seems relevant to your point doesn't necessarily make it the word's true history. Also, just because a word was derived from an older one doesn't necessarily make that part of the word's definition today.
29	* HollywoodApocrypha: TheThemeParkVersion of the Early Modern English used in the King James Bible, applied to all fictional religious texts.
30	* LanguageEqualsThought: Follows the controversial Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, that language dictates (and limits) the ideas people can have and how they experience the world. Note that this is not necessarily an error, depending on the time and the opinions of the author.
31	* LanguageOfTruth: If it is impossible to make a false statement in a language, it's impossible to make ''any'' statement in it at all. (In fantasy settings, this may be HandWaved as the result of the language itself being imbued with some sort of magic that prevents its speakers from lying, rather than some kind of grammatical/lexical paradox.)
32	* PeriodPieceModernLanguage: Not even bothering with any semblance of historical accuracy, instead choosing to have the characters speak in casual, contemporary language.
33	* PrimordialTongue: The earliest language spoken by human beings must necessarily be related to all other languages, and they must therefore be mutually intelligible.
34	* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: TheThemeParkVersion of Elizabethan (Early Modern) English, applied to any and all times before the Regency.
35	* {{Omniglot}}: Languages take time to learn; very few people in RealLife speak more than four or five well. These people speak more, flawlessly.
36	* OrphanedEtymology: Hold your horses? What's a horse?
37	* PersonalDictionary: Someone giving their own idiosyncratic definitions to existing words. Communication doesn't work that way.
38	* TwistingTheWords: Willfully ignoring the context, definitions, or other cues that can affect the meaning of someone's remarks.
39	[[/index]]
40
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Author's Mistakes -- Translation]]
44	[-Examples of these tropes ignore the differences between languages and assume they all translate perfectly 1:1. And then they get the translation wrong.-]
45
46	[[index]]
47	* AccentRelapse: Characters who've been demonstrated to speak fluent English prefer to speak with a heavy native accent if they no longer have to keep up the pretense.
48	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: A foreign character speaks foreign-sounding gibberish, which is passed off (to the audience) as another language.
49	* TheBackwardsR: Instant Russian, just flip the R's! See also ElSpanishO below.
50	* BiteTheWaxTadpole: Cultural and linguistic pitfalls playing havoc with ad copy in a foreign market.
51	* BlindIdiotTranslation: What happens when the translator is not fluent in one (or both) of the languages being translated, resulting in a translation where the words are understandable, but the meaning and nuances are changed.
52	* CanisLatinicus: Latin-sounding gibberish, or Latin words put together nonsensically (or [[AncientGrome mixed with Greek]]), because [[GratuitousLatin everything sounds more dignified in Latin]].
53	* ConvenientlyPreciseTranslation: A perfect 1:1 translation achieved between disparate languages far more often than should be possible (but see IncidentalMultilingualWordplay for legitimate, real-life examples).
54	* CypherLanguage: When everything in your [[ConLang fictional language]] just so happens to be exactly the same as your real-life language, only with new words or symbols substituted. That's not inventing a ''language''; that's inventing a code.
55	** {{Fictionary}}: Ditto, with made-up words merely standing in for English ones (as in CallARabbitASmeerp).
56	** {{Wingdinglish}}: Ditto, with a made-up alphabet merely substituting the English one.
57	* EitherWorldDominationOrSomethingAboutBananas: An in-universe translation that comes up with two options, one of which is close to the intended meaning and one of which is ridiculously off.
58	* ElSpanishO: Trying to fake a foreign language by adding the most known traits of that language into one's own.
59	* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Using a foreign language to add a certain ''je ne sais quoi''... which is not a good idea if you can't actually speak it.
60	* IndoEuropeanAlienLanguage: When aliens [[AliensSpeakingEnglish don't speak English]], their language still conveniently adheres to the same grammatical conventions as most European languages--unlike many languages found on ''this'' planet.
61	* JustAStupidAccent: A foreign character never speaks their own language, but speaks the local language like a native, only with an intractable accent.
62	* LearntEnglishFromWatchingTelevision: While this one is definitely true to an extent as many people will tell you, writers often assume that this is possible with ALL languages whether they share inherent similarities (like most Latin-based languages) or not.
63	* PoirotSpeak: A foreign character will occasionally grasp for the right word, and will revert to their native language when stumped. So far, so good, but the words in question will always be ones the ''audience'' is likely to understand in the other language, rather than the sort of vocabulary a non-native speaker would have difficulty with.
64	* RecursiveTranslation: A second- or third-hand (or more) translation that loses more and more nuance with each successive step.
65	* TranslationTrainwreck: What happens when a BlindIdiotTranslation is taken to extremes. Like an actual trainwreck, however, it can be [[GoodBadTranslation morbidly fascinating]].
66	[[/index]]
67
68
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Mistakes with Usage]]
72	[-Many people assume "linguistics" to be all about correcting spelling, pronunciation and grammar "errors". In fact there is no such thing as objectively correct usage,[[note]]True as far as it goes, but there is a recognized difference between '''descriptive''' and '''prescriptive''' linguistics with widely differing aims. Good rule of thumb is linguistics ''as a science'' is by nature '''descriptive''',[[/note]] as languages evolve over time -- linguists concern themselves with studying actual usage, warts and all, rather than trying to be a GrammarNazi. The following tropes are not strictly linguistics failures, simply poor usage.-]
73
74	[[index]]
75	* TheBigListOfBooboosAndBlunders: Words that get misspelled by being confused with other words, or the writer never having seen them written down before.
76	* DelusionsOfEloquence: When FeigningIntelligence meets [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Sesquicentennial Locomotiveness]], hilariosity will be in a state of insinuation.
77	* FreudianSlip: The belief that a mistake in usage can reveal a little too much about what you really want to sex-- ''say''! I meant ''say''!
78	* GrammarNazi: Misguidedly treats the rules of proper grammar, spelling, and so on as essential features of the language itself.
79	* {{Malaproper}}: When someone's word choice ''sounds'' like the right word, but is actually the [[SelfDemonstratingArticle fright ward]].
80	* NoPunctuationPeriod
81	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Wan righters how Kant spiel really two heavenly in the spoil cheque fracture off there ward proctologist.]][[note]]When writers who can't spell rely too heavily on the spellcheck feature of their word-processor.[[/note]]
82	* {{Spoonerism}}: Accidentally wixing up the sirst founds of your mords. Invented by Reverend Spooner, the spoon who invented mannerisms (though, sadly, this is not actually a spoonerism!)
83	* UsefulNotes/{{Tenses}} are often used incorrectly or mixed up.
84	* WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: Frustratingly common mistakes of punctuation (most commonly, the use of a comma where a colon or semicolon should go) in both amateur and professional writing.
85	* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Words have colloquial meanings that are understood based on how speakers of the language use them. Some people think that using words counter to its etymology or dictionary definition are improper and try to correct others.
86	[[/index]]
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Audience's Misconceptions[=/=]Linguistic Dissonance]]
90	[-While not made up of mistakes in itself, these tropes can cause difficulty with audiences who are unaware of the difference within languages over time and from place to place.-]
91
92	[[index]]
93	* GetTheeToANunnery: Wordplay and puns that are lost on modern audiences, who don't get the references.
94	* HaveAGayOldTime: Unintentional hilarity derived from originally harmless words becoming amusing or taking on [[InnocentInnuendo sexual connotations]] over time.
95	* PronounTrouble: Gender-neutral writing can get lost in translation when one language is more strongly gendered than another-- so much for your character's AmbiguousGender.
96	* SeparatedByACommonLanguage: Misunderstandings and more unintentional humo(u)r encountered across different dialects of the same language.
97	[[/index]]
98	[[/folder]]
99	----
100	!!Other examples:
101
102	[[foldercontrol]]
103
104	[[folder:Fan Works]]
105	* ''Fanfic/IntoTheVeeshaVerse'': "My Treasure" has several examples.
106	** Masha says that "Kannst du die Tür bitte schließen?" is a polite way to "ask someone to close the door." In German, there are two ways of addressing a person, ''du'' and ''Sie''. You would only use ''du'' with children or people close to you and would use ''Sie'' for either people you don't know or people you are giving respect to.[[labelnote:example]]You would use ''du'' with your friends, and ''Sie'' with your doctor or a stranger off the street. [[/labelnote]] Masha is correct if they are only talking about people you know, but it isn't if you are talking to someone you don't (or your boss).
107	** Vee says that ''du'' is ''the'' way to address someone directly in German, ignoring the existence of ''Sie''. Though ''Sie'' can be used as an equivalent to a plural they, it wouldn't be capitalized in that context. This could be justified, because Vee is still learning the language.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Literature]]
111	* In ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus: The House of Hades'', Piper suggests (and the others generally accept) that when the prophecy says ''"the world must fall"'', the "world" means the earth, and therefore in Greek means Gaea. Except the Greek word for "world" isn't ''Gaea'' (Γαῖα) or even the generic word for earth, ''ge'' (γῆ). The most common translation of "world" to Greek would be ''kosmos'' (κόσμος), which ''isn't'' a synonym for "earth"/"Gaea".
112	* In one of ''Literature/{{Rihannsu}}: The Romulan Way'''s {{exposition}} chapters, Terise [=Haleakala-LoBrutto=] relates how the proto-Romulans [[ConLang constructed their own language]] to distinguish themselves from the Vulcans by going back to Old High Vulcan and "aging" it in a different direction, comparing it to the relationship between Latin and Basque. Basque is the ''one'' widely spoken southwestern European language this is completely wrong about: rather than being a Romance language like Spanish or French, Basque is famously a linguistic isolate with no connection to ''any'' other currently known language.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Web Original]]
116	* ''WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum'': The head of the PPC's postal department has [[https://plotprotectors.neocities.org/TOS/mission12.html a "Czechoslovakian accent"]]. No such accent exists, mainly because there is no such thing as a Czechoslovakian language. Not to mention that there's been no such thing as Czechoslovakia since 1993.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Western Animation]]
120	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode [[Recap/FuturamaS2E10ACloneOfMyOwn "A Clone of My Own,"]] a brief gag has Professor Farnsworth showing his new clone Cubert his universal translator... which, so far, can only translate into an "incomprehensible, dead language" that turns out to be French. A dead language has no native speakers, but is still known[[labelnote:examples]]for illustration, Latin and Sanskrit are examples of dead languages[[/labelnote]]. An ''extinct'' language (which French would be in this scenario) would be the proper terminology.
121	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ArtisticLicenseLinguistics