A New Taste On Their Tongues

[Robert Crisman]

It occurs to me that I ought to explain a thing that readers might find a bit odd as this narration winds its way forward; it's a true story, after all, and yet throughout I've had my protagonists speaking a brand of American slangese that, given where they're from, you wouldn't think likely at all.

L'amea, a German, grew up speaking German under the Kaiser, while Elaa and her siblings, from way, way off-planet, originally talked a mixture of sibilant hisses and clicks, both a long way from the street talk you find in our cities.

I stress, however, that's I've quoted them to the best of my memory's ability here--and our memories are such that Elephants stand back in envy--and I've done it all sans translation, or much paraphrase for that matter.

The reasons are simple: first, Nosferatu possess instant access to each other's tongues, no matter how "foreign," and generally fall in with the one that bops best to the rhythms of high-tech and improv and speed, because that's what we are, if you know what I mean. And meanwhile, American language and culture are stamping the whole planet Earth with those rhythms--which pisses the French off no end, especially when rappers from China and Algiers and Paris hit Paris--and I found that the same goes for most other worlds on our inter-dimensional bandwidth as well, the different "Americas" being their top dogs and all...

Lastly--I blush to admit this--you know how Americans are generally morons whenever it comes to learning a language other than ours and--anyway, all this is why my folks were ready to try a new taste on their tongues from the gate...

[Mike Handley]

When you redefine Nosferatu, I don't mind so much. Seems right. Comfy. Logical.

[Angela]

Much better device than Douglas Adam's Babel fish in the ear.