fandomtownies | The Perk - Monday Evening

Methos heads to the Perk to meet with Janet. While he's waiting, he checks his cell. There are two (http://www.livejournal.com/users/prof_methos/1725.html?thread=236733#t236733) messages (http://www.livejournal.com/users/prof_methos/1725.html?thread=236989#t236989).

He groans and puts his head down on the table. "Being a monk in Iceland was easier."

"Hey," says Janet, slinging her backpack down to the ground. She sits heavily in a chair, kicks off her shoes, and crosses her legs before bending over to pull a couple of textbooks out of her bag. ~~Janet's player realizes she damn well ought to talk to Professor Dream about her project too.~~ "How's it going?"

Methos raises his head from the table. "I'm going to become a hermit. The kind that doesn't bathe, and grows a long mustache and beard and babbles things that sound profound until you actually *listen* and then you realise that he's just insane."

"Sounds like a great career move," said Janet. "What's wrong?"

"Hell if I know," Methos sighed. "It doesn't seem to matter how old I get, there are things I haven't figured out." Methos shook his head. "Okay, so what's your topic?"

"I have no clue," said Janet. "I was thinking something about the development of the alphabet. Or possibly something about how the language became more complext to reflect the society's needs. I also have the option of combining it with my final project for Classics."

Methos rested his elbows on the table. "How language became more complex or how written language became more complex? Because the difference between oral and written traditions are, not surpisingly, profound. Written language -- at least in Western civilisation -- developed more to fix absolutes; how man cows did this person own, who made this shipment of beer. Oral traditions were for more... creative endevours. In my humble opinion, of course."

"It's got to be written, I'd think," said Janet. "How many samples of the oral traditions do we have? Once they're written down, they're fixed."

"Exactly. So you have to think of the purpose of the development of the alphabet. For example," Methos' lips quirk wryly, "The examples of the Indus script of what is now Iraq are largely untranslatable... because what has survived are things like maker's marks. Trademarks, if you will. Imagine trying to work out the English language if you just had Madison Avenue jingles to work from."

"I think my heart just spasmed in horror at the thought," said Janet. "So the easier focus would be how written language became more complex. Like how they went from maker's marks to the Epic f Gilgamesh. Which was actually Sumerian, if I'm remembering right."

"Oh, and you owe me coffee," said Janet. "A mocha, with two shots of espresso and extra whipped cream, please?"

Methos grinned and rose to order Janet her drink. Coming back with the mocha and a black coffee for himself, he set Janet's down and sipped his own. "Of course, the problem is getting from 'This is mine, no touchee' in Indus script in about 3000 BCE, to the earliest recordings of Gilgamesh, at about 2000 BCE. The fact that the language changed is secondary. The concept of what writing could *be* is a paradigm shift that... changed the world."

[The bikes roar past, stopping just down the street. She says her goodbyes to Kadaj and walks past the Perk on her way to the apartment. She smiles softly thinking of what Kadaj said...when she peers in the window and sees Adam with Janet. A deep breath and a quicker step, and she makes her way to the apartment (http://www.livejournal.com/users/prof_cregg/31621.html).]

Janet hears several loud motorcycles roaring past the Perk and ignores them. She has a mocha. With extra whipped cream. And that's far more important than turning around and glaring at a few noisemakers. ~~But, we must keep the threads posted cleanly, mustn't we?~~

"I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be, aren't I?" asked Janet ruefully. She always did that. She pulled out her binder for Professor Dream's classes. "This is why I'm not a linguist. That and the fact that I prefer the biological sciences."

She flipped open her binder and read her notes. "All right, I need to discuss 'any aspect of the languages we have studied or the cultures that gave rise to them.' But since I'm combining Classics and Indo-European, I can talk about cultural or linguistic shifts like oral to written tradition, right?" She frowned at her notes. "Ancient Hebrew's from a nearby geographical area. Think that works, or should I go with Greek or Latin instead?"

((OOC: Love, love, love the website you gave me in the library, Methos.))

The Perk - Monday Evening

Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

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Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet

Re: Methos and Janet