Language and Mind 06 - tattered and torn

When person speaks to you in a foreign language you do not understand, it just sounds jargon, strings of meaningless vocal sounds. You would not notice or mind if the person is saying something abusive or nasty. But funny, once you understand the language, the strings of sounds make sense to you, carry meaning that can move your mind and emotion. The same strings of sounds could be meaningless or meaningful to different persons.

This is a story about me when I was about 10, living in Australia. Three years had passed since my first encounter with English, and I was able to communicate without much problem at school. 

One day when I was at home, the phone rang so I picked it up. I said in a cheerful voice, 'Hello?'. On the other end of the line, there was a voice of a man, a deep coarse voice, breathing heavily, and slowly and dirtily saying,

"I am wearing lady's underwear, all tattered and torn..."

I yelped, hung up the phone! What was that?! 

I was only 10, and I had never had this kind call before. It was revolting, disgusting, I felt abused. All I could do was to cry and tell my parents what had happened. 

After three years of education in a local primary school in Australia, ironically and unfortunately, my English was good enough to understand what the pervert was saying. If my English had not been that good, I would not have understood what had been said and the words would have not disturbed me.

Many years had passed since the call, but I still remember precisely, word for word, what I heard. It isn't a good memory at all, but I now think that I was sort of attracted to the alliteration of 'tattered and torn', that woodnote tone of the 't' sounds.

This pervert phone call became a subject of a talk among the Japanese families and friends circle. Some of the mothers felt sorry for me. One Japanese lady who was not so good in English said to me,

"Maki, so unfortunate that you understood English. If I had picked up the phone, I wouldn't have had the faintest clue what he was saying, and would have said 'Pardon? Pardon?' over and over, and it would have gotten rid of him!"

Sometimes it is better not to understand so much.

King Arthur fights with a giant in Brittany

King Arthur was considered as a "legendary" figure now, but he was much more like a "historical" hero throughout the Middle Ages. First appearing as a military leader of Briton, he combats against the intruding Saxons and rescues the Britons from the invasion. (In fact, his "historical" fame was gradually overshadowed by appearance of other stories centering on his Knights of the Round Table)

One of the memorable episodes concerning King Arthur is a fight with a giant in Brittany (Little Britain). Brittany was often deemed as a place of magic and enchantment, and the giant dwells in Mont Saint Michel. Arthur hears the news that the giant, a constant harass in the region, killed and abducted the niece of Brittany. Finally, Arthur defeats a giant by showing his prowess.

(Egerton 3028   f. 49   Drawing of king Arthur finding a giant roasting a pig)

The story is recorded in the 14th-century alliterative poem. Confronted with Arthur, the initial description of the giant runs with concentration of "g" sound.

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Then glopined the glutton   and glored unfair;
He grenned as a grayhound   with grisly tuskes;
He gaped, he groned fast   with grouchand lates
For gref of the good king   that him with grame greetes. (1074-77)
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Simon Armitage, one of Britain's most celebrated poets, translates the passages as follows:

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The startled glutton glared gruesomely,
grinned like a greyhound with grisly fangs,
then groaned and glowered with a menacing grimace,
growling at the good King who greeted him angrily. (41)
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A sequence of "g" sound helps to heighten a nature of his brutality and ferocity as well as a sense of terror. The "g" alliteration really creates a fitting atmosphere that heralds monster's entrance on the stage.

"G" consonant has been traditionally associated with such effect, reminding us that the first monster slain in the history of English literature is called "Grendel."