From: mbottorff@lshelby.com
Brian M. Scott wrote:
> > Cool! Thank you!
> > I have saved your message for later reference.
>
> >> Plus, it's a bit old, though I don't know from when,
> >> maybe Brian has better terminology and times for it.
>
> > If he doesn't speak up, I'll assume it's okay.
>
> I don't know for sure, but I suspect that it's old enough.
> At about that time or a little later the nobility commonly
> addressed servants in a really disparaging way: 'Er wird das
> Zimmer aufräumen' ('He will tidy the room'). No 'you', no
> name, just 'he' or 'she', as if the servant weren't even
> really there.
Another lovely little bit of usage. Thank you!
(Okay, actually a not nice at all usage, but I'm sure you know what I
mean.) :)
>
> > I'm not planning being strictly period with the English
> > anyway. I just like to avoid things that scream
> > "Modern!!!!!". As a reader, I find them distracting.
>
> Amen. I just had that problem with an otherwise fairly
> decent Sherlock Holmes story: the author was trying to use
> the right sort of language, but there were a couple of
> lapses that I found quite noticeable.
I bet you notice way more of these than I do.
Occasionally when someone else points something out, I'm surprised at
what slipped past me.
I got a complaint once about me having someone saying "Fire!" to his
archers, when he wanted them to shoot.
Um, yeah. That one can't possibly predate cannon, can it? Oops!
--
Michelle Bottorff -> Chelle B. -> Shelby
L. Shelby, Writer http://www.lshelby.com/
Livejournal http://lavenderbard.livejournal.com/
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