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Use of language(s) in How I Became a Ghost
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From: K.T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:30:13 -0600
One of the things I found remarkable about "How I Became a Ghost" was the way in which Tim Tingle seamlessly integrated Choctaw words into the English narrative. A lot of times when an author uses words that are foreign to the reader, it has the effect of distancing the reader from the text a bit. But it seemed to have the opposite effect in "How I Became a Ghost" and, for the life of me, I'm not sure why that is true.
Two examples:
/Hoke/, which means "okay" -- this is so similar to the English word that it feels at once familiar and colloquial, and yet it's enough different that it reminds us that Isaac speaks Choctaw and it enriches the context for the story
/Nahullos/, which means people who are not Choctaw. Although it's never said explicitly, based on their actions and behavior, I took it to mean
"white people," but because it is not defined that way, for me as a reader, they were "other" and it was Isaac and his people I identified with.
Tim, can you tell us a bit about the choices you made with Choctaw words and phrases in the story? They are such a powerful part of the narrative that I suspect they were selected with care.
--KT
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:30:13 -0600
One of the things I found remarkable about "How I Became a Ghost" was the way in which Tim Tingle seamlessly integrated Choctaw words into the English narrative. A lot of times when an author uses words that are foreign to the reader, it has the effect of distancing the reader from the text a bit. But it seemed to have the opposite effect in "How I Became a Ghost" and, for the life of me, I'm not sure why that is true.
Two examples:
/Hoke/, which means "okay" -- this is so similar to the English word that it feels at once familiar and colloquial, and yet it's enough different that it reminds us that Isaac speaks Choctaw and it enriches the context for the story
/Nahullos/, which means people who are not Choctaw. Although it's never said explicitly, based on their actions and behavior, I took it to mean
"white people," but because it is not defined that way, for me as a reader, they were "other" and it was Isaac and his people I identified with.
Tim, can you tell us a bit about the choices you made with Choctaw words and phrases in the story? They are such a powerful part of the narrative that I suspect they were selected with care.
--KT
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc horning_at_education.wisc.edu 608-263-3721 (phone) 608-262-4933 (fax) --- You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu. To post to the list, send message to: ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a message to... ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu ...and include only this command in the body of the message: set ccbc-net digest CCBC-Net Archives The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net and enter the following: username: ccbc-net password: Look4PostsReceived on Thu 20 Feb 2014 08:30:30 AM CST
