miw-sher

[alexseanchai]

Title: miw-sher
Rating: G
Summary: Discovering a dead language.
Pairings: None.
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 300

Yuuki frowned at the textbook. She'd ordered the one that she would be using if she were enrolled in the studies-in-Egyptology course this year that she meant to enroll in in a few years. After university. And high school graduation. But the university she was presently set on doing her graduate work at was in the United States; clearly this wasn't the plus she'd thought it was, since it meant all the textbooks assumed their readers were native speakers of English.

Which meant she was trying to translate ancient Egyptian to modern English to modern Japanese and back, and probably losing significant nuance along the way.

"And they're acting like it's a dead language," Yuuki grumbled. "Because all its native speakers are dead."

Yami Yuuki laid a hand on her shoulder, and Yuuki looked over. "You know," said Yuuki's other self, "technically speaking..."

"Shut up," said Yuuki, rolling her eyes.

Yami Yuuki blinked. "We're speaking Japanese like we're both natives," she said. "I must have learned from you, somehow. I wonder if I could teach you Egyptian the same way?"

"Reading and writing as well as speaking and listening?" Yuuki wondered, heart leaping.

"I feel as though I should be insulted," Yami Yuuki said. "Why would I be unable to read and write my own language?"

Yuuki shrugged. "When you were alive, most people couldn't." She slapped her textbook closed. "Teach me something?"

"You wouldn't rather wait till I figure out how to teach you the whole language at once?"

"Nope," said Yuuki cheerfully.

Yami Yuuki took the lead in their shared body, picking up a pen in one hand and tweaking one of the earrings they wore—lucky cats today—with the other. "Miw-sher," she said, sketching the appropriate hieroglyphs. "Kitten."

Comments

[sylvaine]

Awww, I love that Yuuki wants to learn Egyptian, and runs into the problem of translating over multiple languages. Yami suggesting that she might be able to teach Yuuki Egyptian the same way she learned Japanese is interesting and depends rather on the reason why she learned Japanese, doesn't it? If it's because of something like "they're half of the same soul" or "they share a body", it would make sense that Yuuki could learn Egyptian (though it makes me wonder why she hasn't, yet. Lack of opportunity? - nobody to talk to? or does Yami think in Japanese?). If it's something like "the Puzzle has been stuck in Japan for years, Yami learned Japanese that way" or "Yami always knows the language of the country she's been called up in because Shadow Magic", then it would be unlikely that Yuuki could learn Egyptian the same way.

... sorry, apparently I have THOUGHTS about this. ^^;;;

[alexseanchai]

I suspect more "they share a body/soul" than "the Puzzle's been in Japan for years".

No need to apologize! Thoughts are good!

[redsixwing]

So much cuteness. x3
It'd likely be easier for Yuuki if she spoke anything remotely related, but neither Japanese nor English will help out there.

Suddenly thinking Yuuki the Egyptologist would be a lot of fun, if she has native-level comprehension of both spoken and written Natsumi's-origin language.

[alexseanchai]

eee

Yes, true! Though I suspect she'd speak with an accent completely perplexing to everyone who'd learned it from books...