Linguistics letter

A Linguistic Language-Learning Letter

from a Little House in the Country

Greetings, my dear family and friends afar! This semester at the little house out in Abilene with the Istre family has been flying by, and will soon be done! The four kids are as lively, creative, and hilarious as always. Rosie has yet to have her calf, and keeps increasing in rotundity. My head has felt a bit overloaded and stressed as well. Linguistics, for example, is intensely interesting, but there are so many new terms and concepts it sometimes seems like learning another language! As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been challenged to tackle hard things with vigor lately; it turns out writing papers this semester seems more taxing than usual. So, since I must write a paper for my linguistics class, I thought it would be exciting to write it as a blog post for your education and enjoyment! I want you to have a taste of what I’ve been learning, and telling it back is an excellent way to see if I understand it myself.

Lately we’ve studied first language acquisition, which comes about in different stages. My textbook notes five stages, ranging from 1 to 4½ years old. This is where the bulk of language acquisition takes place. Yet according to an article titled “Linguistic Development” by Andrew Matthews, “The period from 5 to 12 is evidently one of linguistic refinement. The language that a child employs is perfectly capable of enabling communication with others. It lacks the subtlety, ambiguity and expressive power of adult speech.” Ambiguity? Yes, sometimes, but one delightful thing about young children is their shocking habit of speaking their mind. But that’s another matter. The point I noticed was that, as young as the Istre kids are, Steele (age 5) is the only one who’s still close to those stages of language acquisition. So I set out for the last few weeks to make note of all the odd things he said and how he said them. Helped by Chelsa, his mom and my secret informant, I recorded quite a few. I shall present them now with explanations and conjectures on the linguistic terms and principles they exemplify, and on how they show Steele’s progress in language acquisition.

Before I get into it, I’d like to explain that my notes mainly have to do with phonology (the study of language sounds) and morphology (the study of word formation). There are actually two other areas linguists usually study in conjunction with these, namely syntax (the study sentence formation) and pragmatics (the use of language in specific contexts). But the first two have been the most interesting to me in class, and for the sake of space I’m only analyzing these areas. But I do hope that bit is at least halfway as interesting to you as it’s been to me!

Phonology - study of the sound of language

One of the first things I noticed when I began to listen carefully was that Steele still leaves out his "r"s. This is terribly cute, for starters. For example, he says not “free” but “fuwee,” not “lobster” but “lobstew.” I don’t know if he’s eaten green eggs or ham before, but he likes most food, so I think he would eat them “hewe” (here) or thewe (there). I know for a fact he likes “gwapes” (grapes). He’s so fun to be “awound.” These words exemplify two things I’ve been learning. They confirm my textbook’s statement that liquid consonants (r and l) are usually acquired rather late, and glide consonants (w and y) are generally used to replace them (Parker 181). Steele has mastered the “l” liquid, but since he hasn’t quite got “r” down he’s putting in “w,” the next-closest consonant sound.

There’s something else about “fuwee” (free). Steel puts in an extra vowel sound in there. This is a kind of assimilation, the changing of a sound to make it more like another sound (which is outlined on a class handout from Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. This particular instance of assimilation is called epenthesis, when a vowel is inserted to break up consonant clusters, which can be difficult to say at first. Sometimes children used epenthesis until they’re 7-9 years old (Parker 183).

Another instance of assimilation I noticed was when Steel says “upposed to” instead of “supposed to.” This is deletion (taking out a segment of sound), which may spring from the fact that the preceding word is usually a contraction ending in “s” (“he’s,” “she’s,” “it’s,” rather than “I’m” or “you’re”) and if that’s mostly the context he hears it in, he might not have distinguished yet that the word is “upposed” to start with s. Or perhaps it’s because the emphasis comes so late in the word that only the later part of the word is distinguished. This is all my own guesswork: I haven’t found an explanation of it yet.

There’s one last example of assimilation Steele used that was brought to my attention. I didn’t hear this one in casual conversation, but his dad prompted him to say it in that slyly casual way dads have. Steele has been in love with trucks, tractors, and any of their distant relations for a while. One of these was a machine is an excavator. Now, apparently he’d known about the moving stairs that to him sounded like the name of the machine, so he called both stairs and machine “ecsalator,” switching the “s” and “c” sound from “escalator” in what is called metathesis. (For the record, he doesn’t say “pasketti” for “spaghetti” anymore, but that was the same principle at work, just as his older sister used to say “pecuter” for “computer,” and some in my own family said “mazagine” for “magazine.”

Those are the examples I found where Steele exemplifies some aspects of phonology I’ve been studying. Now on to wonderful morphology!

Morphology - study of word formation

One of Steele’s most-used words in his everyday play relates to his favorite fearsome toys- his “cavemans”. Everyone knows adding s makes words plural, right? Steele does, anyways. But he still has to learn this irregular plural. One class handout shows the progression to using the proper plural on irregulars, and though it doesn’t chart cavemans-to-cavemen, it does show mans-to-men. Unfortunately, the other Istre kids have taken to calling Steele’s little guys “cavemans” also, even though they know the correct form, so it may take lots of gentle correcting from their mom to make the poor “mans” into “men.”

That was a noun. Steele’s also still in the process of learning irregular verb forms. We heard him say, “They hanged onto it.” Oddly enough, if the “hanging” was the executionary sort, this would have been proper, but in the sense Steele was using it (and the sense used more often), the past tense form is not achieved by adding the suffix “-ed.” The same handout just mentioned also shows she progression of proper past tense verbs, some irregular, and the form of “hang” Steele uses correlates with the same stage as “cavemans.” He’s actually quite consistent!

One day recently I was provided with yet another excellent example of Steele-talk, this time because of colored pieces of chocolates. The kids were sorting their allotted M&Ms and making color-coded charts and graphs comparing the amount of each color. Ah, the joyous spontaneity and deliciousness of homeschooling! Then of course they had to choose which to devour first. Steele, being the logical fellow he is, decided, “I’m going to do yellow because that’s the lessest one.” This is an example of using the most common inflectional suffix, this time for a superlative adjective. Yet it stands out because “less” is irregular in its suffixes, unlike fast/fastest, or hard/hardest.

“If he be’s the boss…” Alas, those tricky being verbs! Steele knows one often adds an “s” to make verbs third person singular present tense. But from my class notes I found that learning the auxiliary verbs, the proper forms of “be,” is the final of seven typical segments of morphemes children learn. So Steele’s right on track.

I suppose I have one example of something he said that fits more in syntax. But it’s too good not to share. One day at lunch, he proudly held up an empty grapevine stem saying, “Look, Mommy! There’s none gwapes.” Later while organizing toys, he used two interesting negatives: “The monsters don’t have no noses,” then “Look Mommy, the monsters have none noses.” What a complicated language we have, where even after two variations of negatives he still doesn’t get the form correct! But here I noticed him in the process of acquiring the right form despite its complexities, and what a thrill it gave me to hear him announce, “Mommy, I didn’t want none — any sauce!”

And that wraps up my foray into how Steele is helping me learn and remember concepts and terms from linguistics! This study of language is intensely interesting, but there are so many new terms and concepts I’m still not entirely sure I know what I’m talking about even here. But writing out the terms and examples of them in real life helps. It has amazed me at how logical and systematic the Lord has made our little minds from birth, so that we grow and progress to be able to (hopefully) better communicate as older children and adults. I’ve enjoyed watching this take place this semester with all the Istre kids in their various levels of language development. It may turn out to be more fun than watching Rosie’s calf come out into the green sunlight. Could even that elicit the mirth and amusement provided by “gwapes” and “none noses”?

Works Cited

Matthews, Andrew. "Linguistic Development." 05 June 1996. 24 Apr 2007 .

O’Grady, William, Michael Dobrovolsky, and Mark Aronoff. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 2^nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1993.

Parker, Frank, and Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non-linguists. 4th. Boston: Pearson, 2005.

Not quite Paul Bunyun...

How odd, and beautiful to have snow the day before Easter! The only thing is, I wish I was better at splitting wood.

I did a bit of practice this morning, trying to get some for the woodburning stove, but I mainly learned that the effort

1. warms one up wonderfully,
   
2. produces blisters on unpracticed hands,
3. is much trickier than it looks, and
4. takes muscles I seem to have neglected.

I felt a bit like Eustace attacking the Sea Serpent, and breaking Caspian's second best sword in the process. Silly, but at least I was doing- er, attempting something hard I generally don't do. ;-) I am glad for strong men! But to be a good helpmeet some day, and a good servant wherever I am, I must practice "girding my arms with strength" like the Proverbs 31 woman. I'll bet most pioneer women knew how to split wood. One never knows what life skills will come in handy some day!


Partial inspiration for this post comes from the challenging "Do Hard Things" articles on the Harris twins' blog, such as this one.

Procrastination Paraphernalia

One way I play around in the middle of writing an important paper is to discover my various titles.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Grace Lady Rael the Lackadaisical of Bumswick by the Hole Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Hehe. Has a rather hobbity sound to it, no? It's almost but not quite so grand is "Duchess Rael the Incontrovertible of Leg over Wallop."



My homework-avoidance surfing has also led to discovering the newest trailer for Spiderman 3. Here it is, if you care to look. NOTE: I shan't be doing this posting-of-video much, so take comfort! I think it's too easy to get carried away, not to mention that few video clips are so important to me life that they must take the place of quality postings. But oh my, how shall I be able to focus on finals, knowing this is coming out?

(BEWARE- 'Tis quite unsettling, a bit violent, and if you like Spiderman it may produce dreadful impatience.)



Each trailer has been creepier and creepier! Unless this goes the dreaded way of the last X-men and is drowned in too many subplots, it looks to be just as good as the last two. Maybe I should try being more like Puddleglum, though. That way, if it's totally ruined, with no moral depth and a horrid ending, I shan't be let down. Hm...

Thinking such gloomy thoughts shouldn't be this hard!

I must now go back to paper-writing, accompanied by Constant Comment. I shall try to keep visions of the evil Spiderman from swooping through my head. He ought to obey, since I am such, erherm, a peculiarly-titled aristocrat.

Lackidaisical indeed... Do you ever get the feeling these "randomly-generating" programs know a bit too much and are too deliberately accurate in their so-called-randomness?

A hunter, a weaver, and the great outdoors

As I walked back along the road this Monday, Dusty’s soft horsy nose and whiskers tickled my hand. We plodded in the quiet spring afternoon, tiredly content from the ride. The weather was warm, but breezy and pleasant. Wide grassland stretched out on either side, the once-flaxen waves of grass turning wonderfully green in earnest. I sigh, and breath in the air, filling my lungs as one can only outside.

Suddenly I was arrested by a soft, commanding scent nestling into my nose and head, echoing in shadowy corners of memory. It hinted of flowers, of earth warmed in sun, of the green things breathing and shooting up after the past week’s rain whispered “Spring!” But it’s more. Something about the smell made me think of a certain little house on a rutted back road, on the edge of a small thicket surrounded by fields. It was the place of walks with grandparents now gone, of their deep laughs and solemn prayers. The smell calls me back…

In cowboy hat, boots, and gentle blue eyes, Granddaddy would sit on the porch with a coffee mug every morning hours before the sun peeped up. I don’t think he usually brought a book. He just sat there. When I was little I thought that would be so boring. I was an early riser too, but it only meant more time for my current Black Stallion book or historical fiction adventure!

Now I can admire that stillness.

What went through his mind? Did he reflect on years of farming, hunting, growing girls, growing algebra students, Sunday school and choir practice? Was it his special time to talk the Creator as he watched His world come alive? Granddaddy was normally stiller than any wild creature who might wander across the yard. Bird, fox, deer, coon, he knew them all. Even the hunter in him was loving, tender with all wild and growing things, never killing recklessly or wastefully.

I learned early on that Disney and I could never agree on the inherent badness of hunters and guns.

Grandmother, too, loved the outdoors. She went on walks every day, until soon before she died. Oatmeal was cooked every morning without fail. When we grandkids visited, she fed us well. But sweets or ice cream were only the rare treat Granddaddy brought out. They were hearty, healthy, going on hunting and hiking trips in the mountains with their Jeep Cherokee even in their mid-sixties. It was a surprise when they left within about a year of each other. Her raven-black hair was only beginning to gray, and his mind has been sharp and active only months before.

Grandmother may have been wrinkled, but she could shoot the shuttle across the warp of the loom like a marksman. Which she was. She helped Granddaddy with whatever he was building at the moment, and always amazed me when her thin arms lifted what I thought heavy.

When my family came to visit, some time was spent inside, watching Granddaddy’s beloved collection of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, and other classics. Or we would lie on beds, on the couch, and read. The hardwood floor was fun, especially slippery in socks.

But outdoors was the place of adventures. There were the huge tangled pines to climb, our clothes and hair getting all sticky with sap and scratched with the rough bark that called us to go just a bit higher. There were the wandering paths, weaving between mesquites and brush and around prickly pear patches, not long, but enough to make us brave explorers.

My heritage has grown in odd twists. Rather like the mesquite trees around here. It’s no coincidence, no mere chance that I've grown up with delight in windblown hair and dusty clothes, seeing reflections of my Creator God’s genius and imagination in every spider’s web or wildflower. Even in smells, and a horse's breathy soft nose.

Who, not where

I 'll try to post more later, but for now here's an excellent quote I found this morning.

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One Who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us "go." The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success."

~Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest, March 19 (italics mine)~

Amazing Grace

When my mom, two youngest brothers, and I arrived, we saw the theater wasn’t exactly a happenin’ place at 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon. There may have been six more folks besides us at the showing. But what a joyful experience was had by we happy few! When we walked out the doors and out into the bright sunshine, I felt none of the sadness at going back to real life that I often feel on emerging from those caves of visions. This vision was not a couple-hour’s escape to Neverland. It was a window wiped clear for me to see bravery and compassion lived out by a real man through Christ’s power.

John Newton, Wilberforce's old pastor and mentor, encouraging him to "Do it, for God's sake. (Image from www.rottentomatoes.com)

The film centers on William Wilberforce, one of those great Christians from the past whose stories need to be told to our cynical world. It shows his long fight to abolish slavery, his moments of despair, his struggle with bad health, his faithful friends, numerous pets, and a wife who supports him and his work wholeheartedly. For a great summary and review, see Plugged-In Online. I generally agree with their conclusions, and I think they hit this spot on.

It was good. Aesthetically, an authentic, well-made, historical drama. And more. It was not unpleasantly preachy, but gloriously visionary. It’s about a humble hero, who also happens to have lived in real life. It has the same feel to me as Chariots of Fire, or Luther. It makes me want to do good for Christ for the beauty of it, to live out my talents and abilities for His pleasure. And to do it despite what anyone else may think.

Wilberforce playing with his son, little William, and one of their animal friends.
(image from www.ioanonline.com)

The film was not all dreary! There were some delightfully humerous moments, such as when a married couple who are Wilberforce’s good friends conspire to “happen” to run into a young lady who is, like himself, “very much un-married.” His butler is also a delightful chap, even though he thinks his master is a bit odd. And the animals he keeps about the house provide subject matter for a few amusing remarks. We see an unexpected game of— But if I told you, it wouldn’t be anymore. ;)

Going to see this film is NOT a waste of time, money, or attention. Again, I proclaim it is good. The colors, the costumes, the acting, the story, the heroes are fascinating. Alive. They will draw you in from the first scene of a British country road in the rain, and a man acting who cares about life. What he does in the first scene seems small. But like the rest of the film, it shows his active compassion, regardless of personal health and reputation.

Wilberforce is the sort of fellow who is the best of heroes. We need more of them in movies. And we need to be them here, now.

(image from www.ioanonline.com)

Blanket

I’m a great fan of comfort things. Some of these include my puppy (who is technically not “real,” but remember Woody and Buzz). Whinnie-the-Pooh books. Mashed potatoes. And since I was two, my yellow blanket.

Soft, like woven fuzz. Synthetic, but more instantly snuggly than Great-grandmother’s smooth quilts I now love in a different way. My blanket was edged for a while with a silky border, I think, which gradually loosed itself and dragged about still attached. I had to have it to sleep. It was cozy for watching movies, for cold days of reading ensconced in the brown Ronald Reagan chair, for making multi-chambered tents over tables and chairs to store books and pillows and Playmobile and brothers.

At night, especially when wearing sweats or fuzzy pajamas, it was exciting to move and rub against the blanket, to see tiny sparks of light in the dark. I went to sleep with the light on back then, but under the comforter, or if I woke later on when the house was dark, I could see the electricity flash. Threadlike. As though my blanket came alive.

Sam had a yellow blanket. I think his was a paler yellow. He probably had his from when he was a baby, but the story is that little two-year-old Rael wanted to have a blanket like big brother. His fell apart first, and the remains had to be smuggled out to the dumpster and not mentioned for a time. I think I was older, maybe eleven, when I realized mine had the same symptoms as Sam’s mysteriously raptured blanket. Or maybe I knew where it had gone. Knowing that it would only keep falling to shreds before my eyes, I bravely volunteered it up, keeping only a few small remnants.

During the day, it was the greatest thing for wild hair. It would slip off the yellow monster’s head, and my day-old braid gave up frizzy strands like sunbeams. Only they were brown; the blanket was sunny.

I still like blankets and their flexabilities, as you can see in this picture of me wearing one my Grandmother wove on her huge loom. For a recent birthday, I recieved the snuggest of blankets from my other Grandma. It has a fleece-like side and a brushed suede-like side, and though it’s not big, it’s one of the warmest things. Great for Lord of the Rings marathons, or warm quiet-times with Bible and journal at the dinner table, or for wearing about the house with a pin, pretending it’s a Britain-woman’s fur cloak, my hair thrown about in wild cascades. (It's much longer now than in this picture.)

I think a soft blanket is the childish cousin of grown-up quilts. They don’t always know how to behave, to lie flat and trim and proper. Their fluff can stick with you. So untidy! Yet for story time, play, or simple comfort, they are quite at home.

Eplanation of our presidential chair: My mom bought it at a junk store the day Reagan (her favorite modern-day president) was first inaugurated. It's quite the family heirloom now! Here’s an oldish picture, though with no yellow blanket.

No idea what I'm reading there, but if you look closely, you can see the nose of my ever-faithful pup who is reading along. I'll have to do a piece on her someday: she's a facinating character, and has had many adventures.

Sister's keeper

"Younger girls tend to look up to the older ones as perfect role models—and though none of us are perfect, we need to remember to try to emulate Christ in everything we do, so that we can be a good "big sister." So please, be always ready to give advice or a comforting word to a younger "sister." For in actuality, we are all sisters in Christ... And we have the Biblical instruction in Titus 2:4 to the older women to train the younger women."

~Jennifer L. Straw, from an article at YLCF~

This is something I've been thinking about quite a lot lately. Maybe because I'm living with a family that has two girls (ages ten and six) and I finally feel a bit what it's like to have younger sisters. When Sierra sprawls on my bed to read books I bring her, when Samantha wants to drink tea from my teapot and starts liking skirts, I realize- I am being watched! It's both a burden and joy. I want to be extra careful of that my behavior is God-honoring and not leading His precious little ones astray. But I also remember the older girls who influenced me in sweet, steady humility as I was growing up, and I thrill at the big-sistering adventure the Lord has laid before me. And once I'm done with college, I hope to continue walking with whatever younger girl the Lord sets in my path.

Lion calling

“I love an Untamed Lion, He’s calling me to come

My cold heart, how it hesitates, I want to turn and run

His power is dangerous, His power is endless love”

~Michelle Tumes~

(Image from wallpaper on NarniaStory.com)

It is often surprising to look back through your life and see what kinds of things really affected you. Sometimes it is big events, but often it is a collection of small moments that can have the most impact on what we think and do. In my life, I have been changed by a series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia, or more specifically, by a character in them, a lion named Aslan.

I was probably about eight years old when I got my first taste of Narnia, playing at my friend Sarah’s house. Remember the carefree days when you could just go play at a friend’s house for half a day, with nothing planned and nothing bigger to worry about than annoying brothers who came too? Anyway, Sarah and I had wandered inside from the swings, munching on huge pieces of homemade mint-chocolate candy (oh, that was soooo good!) and we decided to watch one of their library movies. Now none of us ever really watched TV, and movies were a big deal, so of course when Sarah’s brother and sister and my three brothers got wind of our plan, they all had to come and help us decide what to watch. I think the choice was between a girl movie like Anne of Green Gables, probably what Sarah and I would have chosen if left to ourselves, and a movie I had never heard of before called The Silver Chair. Sarah’s older brother, Aaron, tried to describe it. “It’s really neat! Two kids go to another world, and there are giants and dragons and they go underground and there are all these weird earthmen, and it’s great!” Sarah, on the other hand, kept reminding him of how scary it was and assuring us that we wouldn’t like it. But they let us decide because we were the guests. Needless to say, my brothers have never been daunted by the word “scary.” “Girly,” yes, but “scary” never! I was also curious to see something new, so when the vote came out in favor of The Silver Chair, Sarah and I stuck around to watch it, even though our movie had been taken over.

On one hand I was hooked. Any story about two children who get into another world just in time to escape school bullies is interesting, but that was just the beginning. It was a whole new and exciting world, but with many elements of the fairy tales that I loved. There were castles and giants, talking animals and dwarves, and an evil witch who stole away a prince and kept him under her spell. Pretty basic fairy-tale ingredients so far. Nevertheless, it was somehow more serious, more real, you might say, than any fairy tale I knew of. Perhaps most captivating was Aslan, the great talking lion who brought the children into Narnia, the other world, and gave them the task of finding the lost prince.

As I was saying, on one hand I thought it was quite interesting. On the other hand, I must say I did not fall in love with Narnia when I saw the movie. For one thing, it was made by BBC, whose movies tend to be low budget. It seems to me that, for some kinds of movies, the special effects or lack thereof don’t matter that much, but when it’s obvious that talking animals are people in suits and that a flying owl (person in a suit) is not really flying, it’s a bit disappointing. (That’s why I’m so excited that now they are planning to make the whole series into movies. I think the recent Lord of the Rings movies are wonderful examples of successfully taking a fantasy story from a book and making it believable on screen with the help of technology and computer graphics.) Still, when I was about eight that sort of thing didn’t bother me that much. Perhaps what made me not love it right off was the fact that, not only was the Silver Chair in the middle of the series and therefore confusing, but it was also the most dreary and depressing story, even though it has a good ending.

To get back to the story, we finished the movie and, despite what I have just said, we thought it was interesting. The Grubens told us it was part of a series of books that we should read, the first one having the funny name of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Later we went home, and that night I had an experience that implanted itself in my memory like few other things ever have.

Before I go on, let me explain a crucial scene of the Silver Chair. The two children and their Narnian friend, a creature named Puddleglum, travele for weeks over bad terrain, through miserable weather, and across dangerous lands on their search for the lost prince. The Lion, Aslan, had given Jill signs to memorize that would tell them the way to go, but gradually she ceases to repeat them. Finally she almost forgets them completely, because she’s so anxious to get somewhere warm with good food and a hot bath. Against Puddleglum’s better judgement they eventually seek lodging in the castle of some seemingly friendly giants. Everything seems fine until that night.

And then came the deadest hour of the night and nothing stirred but mice in the house of the giants. At that hour there came to Jill a dream. It seemed to her that she awoke in the same room and saw the fire, sunk low and red, and in the firelight the great wooden horse [a toy horse to giants, but huge to Jill]. And the horse came of its own will, rolling on its wheels across the carpet, and stood at her head. And now it was no longer a horse, but a lion as big as the horse. And then it was not a toy lion, but a real lion. The Real Lion, just as she had seen him on the mountain beyond the world’s end. And a smell of all sweet-smelling things there are, filled the room. But there was some trouble in Jill’s mind, though she could not think what it was, and the tears streamed down her face and wet the pillow. The Lion told her to repeat the Signs, and she found that she had forgotten them all. At that, a great horror came over her. (C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair)

Then the Lion shows her the next thing they should have been looking for and in the morning they get back to their quest. But the point I want to make is that this scene stood out to me, and we’ll see why.

At home that night, I couldn’t really get to sleep for a long time. I drifted in and out of wakefulness; it was one of those times when dreams feel just as real when you are awake as when you are asleep. I had my own room, and I was alone. Or, maybe not so alone. The Lion was there, and He would not leave. I would open my eyes and look at the light in the hallway, and He didn’t go away. Then I would scrunch my eyes shut and burrow my face in my pillow. That was worse. I saw Him then even clearer, with that huge mane and those deep golden eyes that looked and knew me. It was terrible. I would call it a nightmare, because I was so miserable, but still I knew that He wasn’t bad. So what was the problem? I don’t know that I can explain it, but He wanted something from me. I felt a bit like Jill. I was afraid, and I may have cried, but I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong. What was it He said to me? It’s funny how we remember emotions and feelings longer and easier than we remember words. But now that I think about it, I do remember, at least a little. He was probing, seeking, calling me: “What about you, Rael?” It was frightening, because then I knew that he was more that a character in a story. He was real and he would not be ignored, but I didn’t know whom in this world He was yet. Somehow I eventually got to sleep.

That was definitely not the end, though time passed and Narnia slipped to the back of our minds. Then one Christmas we found The Chronicles of Narnia in our stockings, and soon they became our favorite books. We still have that set, but it is falling apart. When I first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I finally realized who this mysterious Lion was. He gives his life sacrificially to save a traitor, and then shows His power over death by coming back to life. Sound familiar? I was so excited when I found out that I already knew Aslan, only by a different name. At the end of one of the books, when he tells two children they will never come back to Narnia, they express what is so special about being in Narnia, whether there in the flesh or only in imagination.

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.

“Are ---are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” (C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

And that is the very reason I have been so deeply impacted by a children’s fantasy series. By learning to love and know Aslan more in Narnia, I love and know Him in this world by another name so much more than I did before. One thing that I’ve learned about him is that He calls and teaches His children. Now I believe He was showing me that night that He would not be ignored or forgotten. When I am doing something I shouldn’t or forgetting to do something I should, He will let me suffer the consequences, because He loves me and wants me to grow, even if it hurts at first. As Mr. Beaver says about Him to the children, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” I am learning that He is the one who I can fear and love at the same time.

I could go on about all the many other things I have learned from Aslan, but I will not. First, it would take a long time, and second, it would leave less for you to find out on your own. This is only my story, after all. If you want to attempt to read The Chronicles of Narnia and remain unchanged, go ahead and try. I’m about ready to read them again!

Addendum: I wrote this in my first semester of college, about four years ago. Now, in my next to last semester, I actually am reading the Chronicles again, this time for a C.S. Lewis class! It’s been a pleasure, and if I have time I’d love to post insights and quotes gained this time around. My teacher, Dr Tony Ash, is wonderful. Like Lewis, he’s rather balding, though usually he wears oddly-patterned sweaters instead of shabby suits. I was anxious at first, because having a horrid professor teach one of my favorite authors would have been misery. I needn’t have feared, for he is quite the authentic Lewis enthusiast. Wise, patient, twinkle-eyed, he reads us quotes till my delighted heart laughs for joy and sighs in longing. Again, I am being drawn near the Lion. And as I have grown, I find Him still bigger.

“I love an Untame Lion, His music fills my dreams

I’m filled with longing for a place, a place I’ve never seen

He’s calling, I want Him so, He’s calling, I can’t let go”

~Michelle Tumes~

Small Blessings

A Valentine's Day spent lifting up a dear friend walking through a dark valley, many states away. Sprinkled white flakes from the Heavens, bringing whispering hope: Wait on Me for blessings; you've no idea what I'll do next! Was the Lion's mane shaking out the snow on me, wild eyes glimmering tears of pain, yet also shining from joyful depths?

A flock of fifteen turkeys trailing off the corrugated dusty road, offended that my loud Oldsmobile would force quicker waddling, and make them forget what they were saying to each other. But surely they wanted to be in the pasture among craggy mesquites, dried brush... There are only so many seeds and such one can find on a road, right?

Sitting in a friend's house after the kids are asleep, waiting for the married couple to return from their date. Trying to read Dracula, dozing off, and jerking awake at the cookoo clock's abrupt clanging. Wishing for a cozy bed, but afraid to stretch on the couch and give in. Looking over at Sally, with her delicate long Sheltie nose curled up near her tail, my couch companion now that she's stopped staring out the back door at unseen terrors.

Coming home to an empty but cozy house, loading dishes while listening to Adventures in Odyssey, snacking on Ezekiel bread and homemade bean dip, slipping on comfy PJs. Building a fire in the wood-burning stove, for warmth and enjoyment, and watching the flames dance and the bed of coals settle and spread like a glowing-hot pile of pirate's hoard.

Thank you, Lord, for dappled things, and each small so-much-more You continually pour out. May I see, and listen, and thank You ever more.

Greetings, reader! (from a distracted student)

I'm going to try to do a post in, say, ten minutes. I still need to finish Linguistics homework, so I must be brief, but since I've neglected my poor blog (and more importantly its readers thereby), for this reason I type.

I like my classes. Ideally I shall soon post a character outline of each unique one, but alas, not here! I think, with my precious moments, I shall impart some great bits of wisdom which has been sifting down to me of late:

• An amazing number of pages can be perused by college students in this manner. Take a book, (or anything else with words theron, be it novel, note, Norton, or nefarious nimbus thoughts), and while walking across campus, keep your nose stuck in firmly. Keep to this diligently, and for this reason mourn no more when greeted by fast stretches of sidewalk or grass or pavement to be traversed.
  
• While doing the above, pop up now and then. Not only might you see curious glances at the passing bookworm, but mayhaps you shall also not find yourself on the opposite side of campus from that intended.
• Once you leave Facebook, the most common question asked of you shall be if you're on it.
• Eating raw garlic cloves is healthy, and rather unpleasant except for the thrill factor.
• Wood stoves can give off incredible heat, but also use tons of wood.
  
• Mysteries of undrained tubs might be solved by removing plugs.
• Blog posts take much longer for me to write than I usually expect.
• The main key to getting scholarships is to apply.
  
• I have a dependable lemon bread ally in "Number Two", but on his days to choose breakfast he's been sweetly choosing what his siblings would rather have. I have much to learn from such selflessness.
• I'll have to read about 2 or 3 books every week.
  

That's all. I have of course typed for much longer than ten minutes, alas! Now I'm away to phonemic transcriptions. Dear reader, have a glorious day.

Iced over

This is a tree in our backyard.

Apparently I should have left for school Friday, since it was the last nice day for a bit. Since yesterday, and supposedly on through Monday and maybe even Tuesday, the roads I must traverse are coated with ice. "Light freezing rains expected," the forecasts say. Ah well. My first class is Tuesday, and I only have several hours to drive, but I expect professors will be merciful to students who must miss a day or two.

At the moment, it's not entirely unpleasant to be housebound. The pine needles encased in silvery ice are enchanting, especially seen from our snug little house. And I think I see a few dusty flakes blowing about...

"That's all the better. Means we shan't have any visitors"
~Mr Beaver~

I'm sure that would suit Bella here. Our fat feline is rather possessive of this coveted fireside chair, which she only shares grudgingly with many a pained "Muuuuueoooow." See how suspiciously she eyes you, even as we speak. Beware, she can have a bit of a sulky temper.

A poet who plays guitar

My older brother, Sam, recently introduced me to a wonderful musician named Andrew Peterson. For Christmas he gave me Love and Thunder, from whence came my quotes of the last few posts, and which I've been listening to and humming repeatedly without tiring. He reminds me a bit of Chris Rice, rather acoustic with some of the deeper lyrics I've heard in a while. He's a fan of Lewis and Tolkien too, which he hints at in some songs. If you feel so inclined, you may legally listen to his album, A Far Country, which he has posted on his website. I especially recommend "Little Boy Heart Alive" and "Heavens Grey" to my Inkling-loving readers, but all the songs are good. "Lay Me Down" is a great example of his ballad-type songs.

*Note: The above picture is from cover art for A Far Country, courtesy of www.andrew-peterson.com

A few of my Favorite Things

(Addendum to last post: I finished the book a few days ago. Don't read Beyond the Summerlands if you hate surprise endings. This one is rather upsetting, though once you know to look, you can almost see it coming. I still want to know what happens, and if the writing improves, but I don't think I will now, or for a while. I'd rather spend my gift cards on classics, Lewis, Peter Kreeft, or John Piper. As long as I decide before I use it all on coffee in the Cafe.)

~~~

Today, for lack of premeditated profundity, I'm writing about some things I'm thankful for.

My dear Daddy
The other night he took me out to eat, but better than the delicious coconut shrimp dipped in raspberry sauce was spending time with my daddy. We talked about lots of things, like changes in life, work, writing, the oddities of English classes, the oddities of people's hair, and the mysterious tiny forks (one was brought out on my plate, caught in the very act of impaling a hapless lemon slice). It was a good time. Girls, if I can be a bossy sister for a minute, I implore you to spend time with your dad. Be his little girl, and let him know it, and seek his advice. Not only is it right and beautiful to God when we honor our parents so, but it's also great practice for when we get married. You know they tell girls to watch how guys treat their mothers? I think the converse advice is also telling. I know I'm not the perfect daughter, Daddy, but I'm working on it. You are so dear to me.

Handwork
I'm finishing a skirt I started a while ago, and it's turning out nicely. Since I'm not an experienced seamstress, it's usually a toss-up if clothes I sew will fit or not. Most often they bulge, gape, or constrict someplace, and some have done all three. But this is a simple skirt, with a nice busy pattern to distract from minor flaws ;), and all I have left is the hem and some hand-stitching. Since I finished a scarf earlier, around Christmas, I haven't done much besides read, write, and do dishes. Which all needed doing, and had varying levels of worth attacked. But there's something about handwork that gives more satisfaction than staring at a page or screen. Washing dishes may be a distant relative, since that's doing something with your hands, and bringing order to chaos. But making dishes would be more fun. I know, in our busy culture it's not many who have time (or would want) to make all their own clothes, build their own house, and grow their own food. But I hope we don't forget the value of working with our hands to make useful and/or beautiful things. And by value I mean a sort one can't find at Wal-Mart. So I'm thankful God gave me hands, and work to do with them.

Classics
I've started Jane Eyre, and so far it's quite good. Rather dreary, as it's a Romantic novel, and perhaps even Gothic. So far, poor Jane has had a miserable childhood, living with a mean aunt and cruel cousins, and now she's just arrived at a charity school for orphans. I've only heard a bit about it, and don't know much of the story at all. Last semester I was given a horrified look when a 19th century British Lit classmate heard my confession of not having read it yet. I may have to finish it amid many other books, though, as the re-advent of homework is only days away. I also need to finish North and South by Elisabeth Gaskell, which I had to abandon during last semester, alas. But it's so comforting to know many good classics await me, patiently. They don't get flustered and fall to dust when flighty folks overlook them and snatch instead new thrillers and popular-for-a-month paperbacks. They know none of those will keep in bondage people hungry for good meat. Maybe it's the difference between whole wheat bread and the white bread fluff. One might go down easier, without as much chewing, but for those who want more nutrition, fiber, and lasting goodness, the sort that needs chewing is chewed with pleasure.

*Note: The above picture is called "Northwest Passage," by John Everett Millais, a Pre-Raphaelite painter

Catch-up Post VI: Summerland Revisited

Friday night

I’m re-reading this book. It’s the first book of a fantasy series written by a Christian, which I heard about in World Magazine a few years ago. It had an interesting plot, but at the time it was the only book of the series out. Since then there have been two more written, but money and time to read never seemed to collide. I hate starting a decent series and not finishing it, so when I received several sizable Barnes and Noble gift cards for Christmas, I decided to catch up. I’ve ordered the next two, but figured I should re-read the first one to reminding myself of the characters, plot, and world. It’s been a bit disappointing so far. The author, Graham, is only about thirty-six, so maybe his writing will get better. Stephen Lawhead’s did. But I have found myself criticizing him on many points of his writing. The painful thing is that I most likely have some of the exact same problems. To be fair, let me mention some pros and cons I’ve noticed so far:

Pros
-Interesting fantasy elements, like “slow time” and the eerie Malekim
-Interesting place known as the Summerlands, where all the future young leaders meet every seven years to train, learn, and form bonds that later help unify the Assembly.
-Christian, with good theology as far as I can tell
-Admirable main character
-Respected authority figures
-Interestingly applicable thoughts on guy’s responsibilities to girls (protecting, not pursuing except for marriage)
-Relationships aren’t killed by too much action
-One of the semi-main characters is mui cool. He has a tiger, who’s his “battle brother,” and they share a close bond. And he also has a mysterious past. What could be better?

Cons
-Graham is a bit wordy, in my opinion. If half the length was cut and much condensed, it would be much better. I’m not against long books, but this is pretty rambly.
-A bit heavy on the romantic stuff. Nothing bad, as far as I recall, but it seems like that stuff’s half the plot. Ugh.
-Run-on sentences and many oddly placed commas.
-I can’t find any good quotes. This makes me sad, as it’s one way I tend to judge a book’s worth. I know a book can still be good as a whole story, but chewable quality pith is what makes returns joyous.

Despite the problems I feel so guilty about finding, I’m doggedly slogging through. I think things do get more exciting about the middle. It would be nice if it didn’t take 300 pages to get there. But I feel a burden to read it. For one, since it’s in the precise genre of what I want to write (and written from a clearly Christian perspective), I have the selfish motive of spying out my competition and predecessors. Also, as my mom reminded me, I’m supporting a fellow Christian writing fantasy. I do have the gnawing suspicion that by the time I actually finish a book, what I once saw as an empty vacuum will be crowded by dozens of Tolkien/Lewis wannabes. Sigh.

I do have a question I’m dying to ask Tolkien. What might be his view on all these different fantasy writers? Is it good to have so many varied worlds being built? Should Christian fantasy writers try to be as different as possible in their inventions, or is that just creating further chaos? Maybe it’s not as simple as that. Tolkien and Lewis wrote quite differently, and invented quite different worlds, but they are simultaneously wonderful in their own ways. Maybe I need to be more focused on being creative and writing well for God. As much as I love my Inkling heroes, I need to give up aspirations of being the first true woman Lewis/Tolkien. It would be all for the best. Right?

Some dreams die hard.

But some things endure, as the end of Andrew Peterson’s song reminds me.

Long after we are dead and gone
A thousand years our tale be sung
How faith compelled and bore us on
How barren Sarah bore a son
So come to Canaan, come

Where westward sails the golden sun
And Hebron’s hills are amber crowned
Oh, Sarah, take me by my arm
Tomorrow we are Canaan bound

~Andrew Peterson~