Larian Studios Forums General Chat The Writing Thread !

Er, I do believe the German and English definitions differ by a great deal. Are you even reading what I've posted? I reiterate:



Not what you'd generally see in a horror movie. What you see there is usually anxiety, fear, terror, or panic. There is a reason they are seperate words, you know; you can't throw the word "angst" around willy-nilly and try to apply it to things that it's just not related to.

If a teen worries about her petty little concerns ("I don't have a boyfriend! My grades suck! My parents won't let me sleep around!") -- that's angst.

If, say, a character is worrying about the fact that she's turned into a cold-hearted monster who kills indiscriminately and contemplates it for a long time -- that's angst.

Drizzt Do'Urden (R.A. Salvatore's character) sits down and contemplates the morals of his race -- this is also angst.

Now, how would you call that what people seem ho "have" (go through" in horror stories or movies (Scream as a well-known example) ? I'd call it Angst - out of my own, personal and German point of view. From my point of vieew, you went on the write track - concerning the German meaning of the word - as you hinted about horror.

The description "an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety" is usually right for German Angst - but it's not related to the rest of it at all (especially not philosophy) (" usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom"), but rather to everything else. So to say, part one of the sentence is right, part two isn't.

I often see that people whouse the English language use "fear" as what's Angst in German, but not always. The English language doesn't really hve a word for German Angst, that's where my irritation comes from. You'll have the same with "mind" , but only vice versa.

Good 'rant' Winterfox <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Though I spared myself the horrors of reading your example <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

Alrik...

Angst in English is not based on genuine fears or real terrors, which I believe, from your description, is the basic difference between the English and German versions.

The feelings experienced by characters in horror films are usually 'dread', 'fear', 'horror', 'terror' etc - but never angst. (Also 'stupidity' as in "Let's take the torch down into the cellar to investigate the strange rhythmic thumping noises, but leave the shotgun behind!" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />)

Really ? If so, that's why I was so puzzled ...

What is the meaning of Angst THEN , anyway ? (Apart from Winterfox' description.) Please tell me examples in books or movies so I can make up a picture for that.

Just to get this straight: Angst in German is not Fear, that's "Furcht". Today we tend to use the word "Angst" when we mean "Furcht". Originally, though, Angst in German meant a state of being afraid but without a concrete cause, more like an unspecific uneasiness.

I guess that was the basis for the English use of the word.

Alrik...

I don't think I can do any better than the descriptions Winterfox & I have given earlier in this thread. Sorry...

Sveltje...

Thanks for the clarification <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I suspect you are right.

I've just finished the first part of a short horror story I'm writing. I'd like to post the link here to get any views on it. This would be my first attempt at something like this since my school days (over 15 years ago)!

Note: rating for this story is 15's <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

The Creeping Black

out of what?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" /> Just kidding......good story Plowking.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
lets wait and see if Winterfox rips it all apart for you! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

Plowking:

First, rampant apostrophe misuse. You end up with "it's" instead of "its", and "fathers" rather than "father's." (And on and on. Possessive nouns and plural nouns are two rather different things.) Punctuation errors (missing commas, and lots of them) abound, on top of some typos (were/where -- they aren't even homonyms, you know, so why do people keep confusing them?). Articles (the) seem to be missing in various places. (Notably, "back." "Place him in the back" is correct; "place him in back" isn't.) Initially, these little errors aren't too bad, but due to frequency (i.e., every other sentence), they quickly become distracting.



"No, dad, I wasn't." Notice the placement of commas, yes? Oh, and "Sparky was next door's little Yorkshire terrier, and Harold hated..."

The italicized thought shouldn't even be on the same paragraph. It makes it seem as if it belongs to Adam rather than Harold. Granted, the "...Harold hated the noisy mutt" part clarifies it, but it's irritating, nevertheless. Remember, begin a new paragraph for every new speaker.

Overall: I can't comment on the plot much, since it seems to be far from finished. It's interesting, but seems to be, for the most part, a rather typical fare. (Mysterious voodoo/virus/alien thing out to contaminate and devour people. No offense, but it has a taste of "been there, done that, bought the souvenir, not impressed" rampant in B-movie horror flicks.) Some of the descriptions are nicely vivid, but otherwise very little -- dialogue, turn of phrase and such -- stand out (see above comment about typical fare).

@Winterfow:
Yes, I can fully believe an adult woman wrote this - and I fully understand what she's aiming at, though I would need the whole context to see more. Please, give me her name, so I can congratulate her for her courage to write this in public - a courage I would lack, as this would expose myself too much.

I gather, you asked her for permission before taking her text and posting it here? I'm not familiar with the ethical code amongst scavengers and vultures aka critics <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> in the literature scene (or her little toddler sister: fan fiction) - but I would like to thank her and inform her about the link here - as this text is her mental property IMO. Maybe it is Usus to steal and my wish is unusual - but I always make my own rules as I have to live with them and no one else. I call it decency and respect. My only embarassment and pity goes to those, who cringe at these kind of texts, as they lack something IMO.
Kiya

Thank you in advance. And please, post it in public, as I do not wish PM from you. Thank you in advance for respecting this.

Well done. Apparently all critics are vultures and/or scavengers, eh? Even though you probably haven't met them all, amateurs and professionals alike? Go, insulting blanket statements, go!

Uhm, not that it's particularly insulting in the first place. But okay. I appreciate the... effort? And hey, I'm sure you've never, ever, criticized a single thing in your life, never mind books. Bein' a librarian an' all.



"IMO" is right, Kiya. Look up "Fair Use Clause." Oh, and the woman hasn't registered her wittle rants for copyrights. Even if she had, the word you are looking for is intellectual property. There is no theft, and no "code" or law has been violated, especially since I don't claim ownership for the text in question, less still acquire commercial profit.



Mmm. Who is "Usus"? Do you mean "Ursus"? What do bears have to do with it? And, oh, dearie, dearie me. I don't abide by your rules. I must be a bad person lacking in decency and respect, eh? That's okay. I love you, too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Or, alternatively: *sniffles* I'm so hurt, to be condemned so by a complete psycho-analyzing stranger on the Intarweb! Why, my heart would have broken into tiny bits (like glass shards bleeding in my soul, or something). If I had one, that is.



Mmm. The people who would cringe at this generally see it for what it really is: angsty whining. But if you want to see it the other way, that's fine. Don't decry those who don't agree with you, hmmm?



My, my. Would a PM from me contaminate your personal space? Lather it all over with, er, shark-poison, perhaps? (Putting, naturally, aside the fact that sharks simply do not secrete poison.)

Pssst. Kiya, it's okay, really. The sandbox is all yours. I'm not trying to take it, or the ball, from you.

I would still like the name, if possible.
Kiya

Usus => Latin word for usage

Only when you stop with the not-very-subtle jabs, Kiya -- and please don't say you are not meaning to offend, because you very much are. (Unless, of course, you would like to be called a carrion-eater. Or a refuse-digging Suidae domesticus.) If you have something to say to me, come out and say it like an articulate adult. Don't do it the little girl's way and use insulting blanket statements you think will apply to me, because they just lessen your credibility and, more often than not, backfire.

Just the name, please.
Kiya

http://www.evergreen.edu/writingcenter/handouts/general/sources.doc

It is totally normal in the German language to use the word "usus" as a word which means "the use of something".

I could for example say "In our home it is usus to wash our hands before eating the meal."

It is as usual and norml, as I would say : "This text has a special ductus". The word "ductus" means "diction", or way of speech / writing (hope I've spelled it correctly).

So I could say "this texts has a special diction", and this would be the same.

She's Asian, Alrik - so, being able to identify the word "ursus" as Latin - might not be the same case for "usus". I don't think Latin is taught in Asia <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> - it's the Mother of European language, after all.
Kiya

Yeah, you're right. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

My usual <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> tip for anyone interested in German and generally european languages : "The Loom of Language" by Frederick Bodmer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />


By the way :

The Dialect Domain , thread in the Fan Fiction area at www.theforce.net covering writing of dialects (English dialects, of course <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> ) .


Thread there about writing stories in own languages - seemingly www.theforce.net has very few of them.

And so? Therefore? I thought we were communicating in English, here. Shall I start inserting random Chinese, Japanese and Thai into my posts?

Kiya: uhm, how about no. If you were resourceful, you could probably find the person yourself. I don't feel obliged to acquiesce to any request of yours, sorry. Next time, maybe you could make a request without slinging insults at the same time, hmm?