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Konstantin posted:I have to say one of the only parts of any of Pratchett's books that is obviously and specifically British is the discussion of currency in Making Money. I don't see how any American is supposed to understand this: I'm an American and I understand most of it (and certainly enough to get the general gist that it cost more to make the money than the money is worth). I've heard all of those terms for money though I'm not sure I could come up with what all of them are worth. It is super-British though, that's true.
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Aug 23, 2011 19:30
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It is a minor strike-back for all the times I have to read the word soda in anything.
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Aug 23, 2011 19:39
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Konstantin posted:I have to say one of the only parts of any of Pratchett's books that is obviously and specifically British is the discussion of currency in Making Money. I don't see how any American is supposed to understand this: I am American, have never been to Britain, nor ever made any special effort to learn their money, and I still understood perfectly. First of all, it's not too hard to figure out what a "ha'penny" is - it's half a penny. By context, it's clear that "farthin'" is some smaller fraction of a penny; it hardly matters exactly what that fraction is. "Mite" is explicitly defined as half a farthin', so no problems there. I don't know what a "thruppenny" is but I don't particularly care, I've gotten the gist of the passage by now; I'd guess it's a three pence coin but I'm not sure. "Tuppenny" is pretty obviously a two pence coin. So what's the loving problem?
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Aug 23, 2011 20:42
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Nilbop posted:How British people reading his books do you guys think have dealt with a farthing? If you're asking how many have actually used them as currency then anyone over the age of about 50-55. If you mean how many people have just seen or held one then a probably a decent percentage - there are literally millions still floating around in coin collections. I'm only in my 20s and my father has a biscuit tin full of them somewhere in the back of the garage. If you simply mean how many British people know that a farthing is an old unit of currency worth a quarter of a penny - pretty much everyone.
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Aug 23, 2011 20:57
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Taratang posted:If you simply mean how many British people know that a farthing is an old unit of currency worth a quarter of a penny - pretty much everyone. I dunno. Knowing it as an old unit of currency, sure, but a lot of people probably have no idea how much these things used to be worth - I don't! Personally I've seen a few old coins years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember what they looked like. I'm 24, for reference, and I've not seen ye olde currency in at least a decade. Still, the point of the joke still works even if you don't know the real value of those coins. Making it too generic would lose the humour from the fact that there's a fairly ridicuolous number of odd coins with odd names and odd values floating around.
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Aug 23, 2011 21:40
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Terry Pratchett posted:A European says: I can't understand this, what's wrong with me? An American says: I can't understand this, what's wrong with him?
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Aug 24, 2011 01:43
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Adeptus posted:Still, the point of the joke still works even if you don't know the real value of those coins. Making it too generic would lose the humour from the fact that there's a fairly ridicuolous number of odd coins with odd names and odd values floating around. Exactly. He makes it absolutely clear in the joke that the coins are costing more to make than they're worth. You could replace those words with totally invented words and it would still make sense in context. I genuinely can't believe this would cause issues for anyone. 
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Aug 24, 2011 02:06
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Konstantin posted:I have to say one of the only parts of any of Pratchett's books that is obviously and specifically British is the discussion of currency in Making Money. I don't see how any American is supposed to understand this: I don't see how anyone wouldn't understand it. It's about as obvious as jokes get. America to Terry Pratchett: "Why do you insist on being British? Why isn't the book called The Color of Magic? I am so confused."
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Aug 24, 2011 04:21
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Taratang posted:Depends on what you mean by dealt with. I'm from Northern Ireland. I was asking in a stupor of incredulity.
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Aug 24, 2011 05:37
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He (or Gaiman, whichever one actually wrote this bit) explained the money already in Good Omens:quote:"NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One shilling = Five Pee. It helps to understand the antique finances of the Witchfinder Army if you know the original British monetary system: (I was just looking an excuse to repost this quote)
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Aug 24, 2011 09:15
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Isn't part of the joke that it sounds ridiculous due to all the old timey words?
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Aug 24, 2011 10:21
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Nobody has mentioned that they had trouble with the Making Money thing, someone just used it as an example of British humor in the books. Someone did say however that the wizards university being a perfect parody of a British institution was stupid because not everyone has been to one.
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Aug 24, 2011 10:58
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The vast majority of Britain have never been to private school either but I still got the joke.
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Aug 24, 2011 11:33
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thebardyspoon posted:Nobody has mentioned that they had trouble with the Making Money thing What? quote:I have to say one of the only parts of any of Pratchett's books that is obviously and specifically British is the discussion of currency in Making Money. I don't see how any American is supposed to understand this: Not someone saying "I myself had trouble" but categorically wondering how any American could get the joke. And yeah, you don't need to have ever attended a stodgy British University to think that someone being named "The Lecturer in Recent Runes" is funny. And the whole concept of the teachers being around forever (tenure) and trying as hard as possible to avoid actually teaching is not exclusive to British higher education.
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Aug 24, 2011 13:49
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Oh yeah, someone totally did mention having trouble with it. I missed that for whatever reason. It's crazy to suggest he should avoid mentioning or parodying British cultural stuff since he's a British author and very popular here.
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Aug 24, 2011 14:03
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They had a physical copy of the Snuff preview pages in Waterstones, so I took a look. Not sure what everyone's complaining about, seemed okay to me.
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Aug 24, 2011 17:37
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Konstantin posted:'And don't ask me about the tuppenny piece!' Actually the best bit is when Moist immediately asks "What about the tuppenny piece?" and the guy goes "I'm glad you asked me about that, sir!"
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Aug 24, 2011 20:19
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I'm in the category of the people saying "the more recent stuff just hasn't been up to par." I think Pratchett somehow managed to hit two high water marks - once in Small Gods and once in Night Watch - but UA and ISWM were both just... not very good. ISWM suffers from one gigantic flaw, for me: the word whore, (unspoilered because I was wrong, see below) which, considering Nanny Ogg and the seamstresses exist and no one uses it about them, just didn't exist on the Disc for me. Overall the decline in quality has been partially the fault of editors, who as said earlier probably don't want to tell their friend that he's not as good as he used to be, but they really need to and I believe in Once Again* he comments on how much he appreciates his editors. Nation was really good though. *with footnotes VVV You are right and I was wrong. I read the last five pages of the thread and didn't see any discussion about it, my bad. Edit 2: Also, I just re-read ISWM and while Esk and Time Traveling Tiffany could quite reasonably be removed for the better - Tiffany could experience a flash of foreknowledge about her future (as magical folk already do) to see the Hare pendant instead of talking to her future self - it is actually a much better novel than I initially thought. My problems were mainly that the themes and events were too mature for something meant for 10-13 year olds, but I realize now, thanks partially to this thread, that it is meant for an audience older than that. And the language issue is also moot as Tiffany and Preston both love talking about words, tying into what made Tiffany unique in the earlier stories so using a word like "whore" in the context of definitions shifting over time works fine. VanSandman fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Sep 2, 2011 |
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Sep 2, 2011 06:58
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VanSandman posted:I'm in the category of the people saying "the more recent stuff just hasn't been up to par." I think Pratchett somehow managed to hit two high water marks - once in Small Gods and once in Night Watch - but UA and ISWM were both just... not very good. ISWM suffers from one gigantic flaw, for me: the word slut, (spoilered for those who haven't read it, since its a bit of a minor plot point) Do you mean "Leap, knave, jump, whore" ? That was discussed earlier in this thread already...
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Sep 2, 2011 07:06
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I didn't think much of ISWM, I just couldn't see what direction the plot was trying to go, and I was kinda dissapointed with the ending. I loved Nation though. The characters, the setting, the situation. The only thing that niggled me, was that I felt Mau and Daphne should have been alone for longer, when they meet. Because after only a few chapters, suddenly all these people come to the island. I just felt that they should have been own on thier for just a few chapters more, and then have the surprise of others. I'm looking forward to Snuff though. The Watch books are my favourite. One thing I'd like to ask any Americans out there, do the US editions change any words for localisation, like the Harry Potter books do? Just curious is all.
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Sep 2, 2011 16:40
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Pesky Splinter posted:One thing I'd like to ask any Americans out there, do the US editions change any words for localisation, like the Harry Potter books do? Just curious is all. No, and I wasn't aware anything was changed in Harry Potter other than "philosopher," which isn't even a localization issue. A quick googling tells me they changed lots of things, like tin -> can, and other things Americans would have had no trouble with. British people need to stop assuming Americans are dumb. Sure, some Americans are, but the dumb ones don't read, so you don't need to worry about them. Also, why bother making all these changes but then not change "er" to "uh"? That's just about the only legitimately confusing word to an American - there's no goddamn "r" sound in it.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:04
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It took me like a while into one of the Harry Potter books (the fifth or sixth one) to figure out what snogging meant and even then the word kinda grosses me out.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:11
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DontMockMySmock posted:Also, why bother making all these changes but then not change "er" to "uh"? That's just about the only legitimately confusing word to an American - there's no goddamn "r" sound in it. Er, eh, u(h)m, erm, ah, em and ahm are all different sounds people make instead of words. To me, anyway.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:19
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rejutka posted:Er, eh, u(h)m, erm, ah, em and ahm are all different sounds people make instead of words. To me, anyway. That is indeed true. And the first one you listed is spelled "uh" in America.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:26
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Harry Potter was originally written and marketed to 12 year-olds. American kids probably don't know jack poo poo about Britishisms and there's no sense in being confusing if you don't have to. No one knew it was going to become an all-ages sensation like it did, and once you start doing it stopping is even weirder. I wouldn't have minded either way, but like you said, you didn't even know about it, so who cares?DontMockMySmock posted:Also, why bother making all these changes but then not change "er" to "uh"? That's just about the only legitimately confusing word to an American - there's no goddamn "r" sound in it. Because the Sphinx puzzle would make way less sense if you write it as "uh" instead of "er" and the pronunciation would be way off for Americans even though the pronunciation of the word would probably still work for Brits.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:46
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DontMockMySmock posted:British people need to stop assuming Americans are dumb. Sure, some Americans are, but the dumb ones don't read, so you don't need to worry about them. Also, why bother making all these changes but then not change "er" to "uh"? That's just about the only legitimately confusing word to an American - there's no goddamn "r" sound in it. As far as I know it was the US branch of the [Scholastic Corp. that made the changes. I'm not assuming any Americans are dumb, and didn't mean to offend you, if that's what you thought I meant.
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Sep 2, 2011 18:58
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DontMockMySmock posted:That is indeed true. And the first one you listed is spelled "uh" in America. I would distinguish er and uh as different sounds. Basically, watch just about every role Hugh Grant has played ever as he does both of them.
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Sep 2, 2011 19:14
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Pesky Splinter posted:I loved Nation though. The characters, the setting, the situation. The only thing that niggled me, was that I felt Mau and Daphne should have been alone for longer, when they meet. Because after only a few chapters, suddenly all these people come to the island. I just felt that they should have been own on thier for just a few chapters more, and then have the surprise of others.
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Sep 2, 2011 19:30
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Pesky Splinter posted:As far as I know it was the US branch of the [Scholastic Corp. that made the changes. Really? Well, then, americans need to stop assuming americans are dumb. loving americans!
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Sep 2, 2011 21:42
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I'm not too keen on the recent books - with the exception of Thud, which blew me away - particularly Unseen Academicals. Took way too long for the story to get going, and Pratchett seemed to be trying a bit too hard with all the stuff about the Shove and the rivalries between the teams. It all seemed really out of place in the Discworld universe. I'm really looking forward to Snuff, though - the Watch books are my favourite, followed by the Witches books. I've only seen bits of Going Postal, but I found the Angua bit weird because if I recall correctly, she's quite discreet about changing when there are other people around. Not least because it really freaks people (and Gaspode) out. Pratchett did make a point of saying it wasn't like the movies depict it, it's more of a 'full body sneeze'. NobbytheSheep fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Sep 10, 2011 |
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Sep 10, 2011 20:18
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So, here's a thing I just realized about the Fairy Land in the Wee Free Men - it's a videogame. The draw distance thing is a big hint. Weird that I never noticed that before.
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Sep 11, 2011 12:07
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NobbytheSheep posted:I've only seen bits of Going Postal, but I found the Angua bit weird because if I recall correctly, she's quite discreet about changing when there are other people around. Not least because it really freaks people (and Gaspode) out. Pratchett did make a point of saying it wasn't like the movies depict it, it's more of a 'full body sneeze'. I gave it a pass as that whole sequence was really fast-paced and they needed a way to show 'Angua is a werewolf' in about 3 seconds, doesn't give her much time to slip around a corner and change. Otherwise it's just Angua growling a lot, and someone who doesn't know the Watch would just be confused. Like it or not, they can't make these films just for us Discnerds if they're shown on primetime TV. I was annoyed at that sequence for personal reasons though. My son is really getting into Discworld and reading all the books, and when we watching Going Postal he was far enough into Men at Arms to know that something was up with Angua but not what it was yet. I've heard of parents previewing what their kids watch for sex and violence, but now I think I ought to do it for spoilers.
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Sep 11, 2011 23:57
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Has there been anymore word on the watch tv series?
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Sep 18, 2011 22:35
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I haven't seen anything. But I saw on Wikipedia that quote:Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals, announced commencement of production in 2011. This is news to me, but apparently a thing. I'm not sure about this, because while I don't think UA is that bad, it's not among my favorites. I'd rather see an adaption of, say, The Truth or... Well, there's not really much else. I don't see any Watch movies, if the tv series is still moving forward. I don't like their Rincewind (he's young in the books), and they are already doing a Wee Free Men. Perhaps the Witches books could be interesting?
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Sep 19, 2011 07:30
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Iacen posted:I don't like their Rincewind (he's young in the books), In fairness, he's at LEAST 40, since he's 35 when the Discworld series started. Even with Trousers of Time and dimension hopping, he's got to have put on 10 years by now.
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Sep 19, 2011 07:32
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Iacen posted:I'd rather see an adaption of, say, The Truth or... Well, there's not really much else. Small Gods. There needs to be a Small Gods movie so hard.
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Sep 19, 2011 09:44
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Mister Roboto posted:In fairness, he's at LEAST 40, since he's 35 when the Discworld series started. Even with Trousers of Time and dimension hopping, he's got to have put on 10 years by now. Early forties, not last sixties and grizzled looking as gently caress mind you. David Jason had the pefect role as Albert too.
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Sep 19, 2011 15:31
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Latest SFX has a review of Snuff, they gave it 5 stars like they always do with TP books. Obviously how much that means to you depends on what you thought of UA and ISWM since those also got 5 stars. No major plot spoilers obviously, just an outline of it like saying Feat of Clay is about Golems and a murder mystery. Sounds like it's nearly all set in the country and the review doesn't mention any characters but Vimes, Sybil and Young Sam, so maybe we won't get any City Watch character stuff at all after the beginning bit from that preview. Which kinda sucks because Cheery, Colon, Angua and Detritus are probably my favourite characters.
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Sep 22, 2011 11:54
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Sounds like some Midsomer Murders shenanigans.
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Sep 30, 2011 11:57
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The_Doctor posted:Sounds like some Midsomer Murders shenanigans. Because it doesn't have any ethnics in it?
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Sep 30, 2011 19:48
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