trans_9 | Speak Up, You

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Speak Up, You

Title: Speak Up, You
Location: Stacy; Media Library

It could be said about him that he has a nearly insatiable desire to learn. While it is the truth, even he has his rough spots. Particularly, when trying to wrap both his mouth and his mind around this language called English.

Once, years ago, he could speak it fairly decently. Then again, once, years ago, he could have (and had the desire to), turn his appearance into something less....frightening. Still he had never refused to acknowledge the necessity of language, and he doesn't do so now.

The only thing is has any desire for is that English not be so blasted difficult.

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It's a while before Billy finds Renne curled up in the library. He'd wondered why it had been so quiet recently, and here was the answer.

"You're having a rough time studying?"

"Eee?"

That voice brings several things to the forefront -- A blush of slight embarrassment (How much bumbling over words had he heard?) followed closely behind by relief and a sense of completeness that only a Bonded could bring.

"Bee. Is....Is harrr-d."

Billy sits next to him, entirely sympathetic. "I know English is complicated. We've even had to help people who speak the language natively, so you're doing well. But would it help if I taught you something?"

"Rrrr-enne noh wahn-t bo-therrr Bee."

That flush on his face brightens and spreads a little bit with cake-frosting blue bordering the brighter cyan. He knows Billy has a demon of a workload.

"It's not a bother," Billy answers, gently poking Renne's side. "I have some time today, and I know it's bothered you that communication is so difficult. If I can help, I want to."

He's serious about this, study-buddy instincts coming out again.

Squeak at the poke. Of course, there's a retaliating nosing. Then he's serious again; his expression a mixed one of "Dear gods, will these life-forms ever understand me?", apprehension and even a little anger at himself that the linguistic barrier still exists even after many long years amongst Humans.

"RRrr-enne noh do ah-lone. Rrrr-enne noh get it."

That was definitely a problem, Billy thought during the nose's assault. What could he do, though?

"I'm not the best of English teachers, but I want to try. You can communicate your meaning well enough, your main problems are pronunciation and grammar. Those can be fixed," Billy was sure. "What if we taught you how to say things certain ways and explained why?"

"Eee? Wha-t be Grrram-berrr?"

Squeak. Already getting him into a curious mindset from the start. That, Billy, is a very very good thing.

"Wha-t Bee mean?"

"Grammar is how we say things---which words we use and their order. Without a grammar structure that we understand, meanings can be lost. So instead of saying 'I chess player-good', I say that 'I am a good chess player', or 'you are a good cook'. Grammar separates who we're talking about, what objects we're talking about, and how we're describing them."

Billy rubs his forehead. Grammar is such a difficult concept to explain, and he's not trained for it at all. But he has to try for Renne's sake.

"Oooh. So, Grrrram-berrr hell-p tawwk goo-d? Li-ke Bee?"

He's taking mental notes but it doesn't escape him that perhaps...

"Bee?"

"Yes, grammar helps us to speak well," Billy confirms. Then there's an odd noise from Renne.

"What?"

"Bee is....Do ma-ke Bee hurr-t head?"

He had missed the Human rubbing his brow, naturally, but he knows well the little 'feelings' of stress. It has a distinct scent amongst Humans as a whole in his sensory experience.

"It doesn't really hurt," Billy answers, glancing over at Renne. "I'm just not a qualified teacher of English. The most I can do is explain how sentences should be structured and teach by more examples. The rules have so many exceptions that sometimes it's the only way to learn."

He hopes he doesn't do too badly.

"It go-t rrrrule?"

That's...interesting. He's not sure if that's a new concept or not, having dealt with his own tongue, Drow and a very limited bit of Welsh -- and only that mostly through music.

"Eee. Rrrr-enne ohn-leee wahn-t be...Be Un-derrr-stahnd."

"Yes, it's got rules." Billy smiles just slightly.

"You want to be understood, just like everyone does. Your grammar isn't bad, it's just missing prepositions or plurals sometimes, the tense is off, and you speak in the third person. I can tell you what to add to your speech if you want, but we'll start slowly."

First was the explanation of prepositions---how they worked to ground phrases to each other and clarify meaning.

"For example, it's a very different thing to say that a book is on a box, under a box, against a box, or in a box. Do you know what I mean when I say that?"

"Oooh."

At first, this whole preposition thing confuses the daylights out of him. However, the example clears it up in no time.

"Eey-ess, Rrrr-enne do."

"Great. Then we'll address a specific one---'to'. It's used in a number of ways."

More example sentences are given. 'to you', 'to the sensorium', 'to take care of things'. He goes on for a little while about it, trying to help Renne understand.

"Oooh."

He listens intently, carefully picking out each different meaning, each different use of the same word.

"'Rrrr-enne go to bed' is noh same as 'Djay-Djay go to...do fight'."

"Renne goes to bed," "Jamie goes to fight," Billy adds. "When they're actively doing something, you make it plural with that -es."

He doesn't expect that rule to stick just yet, but it's close. "Yes, you're getting there. Great!"

"Oooh. So...'Bee do go...Go-es to ma-ke brrrain mohrrre big'."

That's his convoluted way of saying "study". He's just trying to really nail these concepts.

"Yes. I go to study," he answers, a small laugh forming in his throat. "I think you understand."

"Eeee!"

Just 'getting' this, even at such a small, single step is enough to have him squeak in utter delight. Seconds later, his arms fling 'round the Human excitedly.

"Bee do so g--od, tea-ch! Bee is good-est tea-cherrr in all big wohrrrl-d!"

"I'm not the best in the world," Billy answers, hugging Renne to him anyway. "I'm not even close. But I'm glad to hear it."

Best to take it a small step at a time, right? Billy won't push it for now.

"Rrrr-enne know Bee is!"

He's not dissuaded. He'd tried and failed many times to self-teach what is to him, a cumbersome, confusing language when most others speak it. And yet, a few people have this...way. This way of turning that cumbersome, even ugly, language into something amazing.

"I won't persuade you, will I?" Billy shakes his head and finishes the hug, a definite warm look on his face. "Let me know if you have more questions."

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