Sometimes Life is Just Hard · 5:51pm Nov 20th, 2014
Y'know, I consider myself pretty well-versed when it comes to English. Sure, I can't rhyme for fuck, and sure, it's been three years and I still can't pronounce the word 'schedule' correctly, and sure, my accent is probably pretty funny. But I can talk in English with little to zero trouble, and me grammar is well. Usually. Now and then I fuck up, but, you know. Normal stuff.
But then, shit like this happens. You wake up, believe it's just going to be another day, and then you turn on your computer and surf the internet. And it hits you. It fucking hits you.
There's this thing about learning a language by yourself -- you're kind of forced to talk like the comics/books you read. Or the shows you watch. This implies I can talk a lot about friendship but very little about finances, for example. And this also means that now and then, a word I thought was legal and perfectly normal in everyday English turns out to be something not only absolutely wrong, but MOTHERFUCKING "STAR WARS-PREQUELS" WRONG. STAR WARS PREQUELS, PEOPLE.
WHY THE FUCK DID NOBODY TELL ME THAT THE WORD "YOUNGLINGS" WAS MADE UP BY GEORGE LUCAS. WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK, PEOPLE. I'VE BEEN USING THAT WORD FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG AND NOW IT TURNS OUT I WAS QUOTING MOTHERFUCKING OBI-WAN KENOBI.
EVERYBODY WILL THINK I'M AN IDIOT.
GOD FRIGGING DAMMIT.
I SERIOUSLY BELIEVED THAT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL WORD AND TURNS OUT I WAS TALKING SPACEWANKIAN FOR "CHILDREN" LIKE THE BIGGEST DORK THAT EVER WALKED THE PLANET.
I'VE USED THAT WORD IN FORMAL ESSAYS.
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT PISS ON A SANDWICH, I'M SO ANGRY AT MYSELF RIGHT NOW I'M A FUCKING IDIOT.
That is so awesome. Do you have any quotes from the essay in question? Look on the bright side, Shakespeare invented dozens of words people still use today, maybe you're just ahead of the curve?
SKED-you-uhl
Also, Merriam-Webster says the first use of "youngling" was before the 12th century. I think you're in the clear.
Made-up words enter the public lexicon all the time. It's perfectly natural, muggle.
Actually the word existed way before Lucas.
Just be thankful that you did good on those formal essays (if you did)
Just keep this in mind. If you spelled your name the same way on two or more of those formal essays, you are still ahead of Shakespeare. Also, if you actually use real words more than 3/4ths of the time you are ahead of Shakespeare in your use of the English language.
But, we all make mistakes when we are youngins.
Also, "younglings" follows the rules of construction of words in English to the point that its meaning is obvious, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Bahahaha but it sounds like you're in the clear.
Huh. Just figured you really liked Star Wars :P
As a fellow non-english speaker you have my sympathies. Still, this is so hilarious you should put it in next installment of DONE! somehow.
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Will I ever release another DONE! story? That's the real question here. Although I guess Parenting is Easy I Swear can be seen as a DONE! story somehow, so who knows. I'm not stopping writing about the Sparkle Family I made up in my mind, that's for sure (I like it too much), but epistolary stories are a completely different thing. Hmm.
2606927
2606934 Sure, but it was popularized by George Lucas, and even then it's generally restricted to science fiction and fantasy stories. Very, very few people use the word 'youngling' as a substitute for 'child' normally.
Man. I hate when I mess up languages. Just today, I pronounced Saint Dennis's Cathedral wrong. It's awfully embarrassing when you remember there is the difference between the actual name and the modern name.
However, you take it to the next level, Aragon.
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I consider all of your Sparkle family stories part of the Done! series, so I hope for more.
Epistolary form is not required and I prefer mixing things up instead of repetition. Maybe as a final part you could do a character trying to write a letter only to be interrupted/inconvenienced multiple times until she/he declares to be done with letters*.
*random ideas are not guaranteed in any way to be actually good
Oh geez! Younglings isn't normal English?! I've always lived here and I didn't know that!
2607149 I thought Aragon
was just trying to say young changelingsmade a small mistake. I mean, with how messed up English is—beating up other languages and rooting around their pockets for loose words and phrases—there's bound to be someone who messes up.2607301 That is actually the PERFECT description of American English.
Bonus points to you.
Don't you worry, Spaniard dude: I understand your feelings.
In fact, I wish I could work behind a phone more often, so I could keep a proper pronunciation without spraying people.
Know what's my milestone for knowing whether I'm pronouncing English correctly? If I'm spitting!
I can confirm this (2606934), at least for the German part. Jüngling is a fully acceptable word, although a little dated. But that was not invented by George Lucas, nor was its Engliah variant youngling. If anything, Lucas made it popular, though I highly doubt that too.
Think of it this way. Band-aid was actually the name of a product, but nowadays everyone uses it as a synonym for plasters. And nobody cares. Same thing applies here.
(Also, schedule pronounced somewhat like sked-yool.)
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How about 'youngin'? It's a very similar word, yet isn't restricted to sci-fi or fantasy as you said as it was from around the civil rights age.
2607436 That's what my AP World teacher called my class. However, I don't think those two truly traded the ability to be deprived from one word with the same meaning. I feel like youngin' fell from "young one" to "young un" to "youngin'" while youngling is something different altogether.
I should know about the former. I live in Kentucky. I am struck by a cold knife whenever someone says y'all.
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You do make a point there. Youngin' would sound like a term an older person would address to a pre-teen or young teen.
You know, aside from the fact that 'youngling' was not invented by George Fuckhead Lucas, English is not a dead language. New words are phased in all the time. Really, if everybody uses it and they all know what it means, it's a legal word to use. Some English teachers (and grammar Nazis) will disagree, but they can go fuck themselves.
2606927
Heathen!
SHED-yul!
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Indeed. "Younglings" is a perfectly cromulent word.
Don't worry. I've used muggle once like that for a big project. I was just late to the HP fandom, and I stood there next to my project like a big menzo (Mexican Spanish for dumbass) that I am.
Heh, I never noticed the connection. I also thought 'youngling' was an official word.
--Sollace
oh my god
im sorry that you feel so baTHIS IS HILARIOUS HOLY KARP
It could be worse.
You could have learned your English from Jar-Jar Binks.
Yeah, self taught English is so full of pitfalls it ain't even funny. I recently discovered that I had been using trash and thrash interchangeably. Makes you wonder how many other words you are messing up like that...
I understand this feel. I tried to teach myself German and well... there was almost a brawl at a German bar.
Well at least you didn't learn sentence structure from Yoda.