…Well, he hadn’t quite thought of it that way. Rino ran a hand through his hair as he attempted to mull over Sly’s thought processes.
He could understand the idea of forgetting a word in one language – so that could be losing. On the other hand, he’d sometimes considered substituting to be simplifying. Unique definitions were more like adding, in his opinion; or was that a “loss” for the other language?
“…I guess it could be any number of things, really. Simple forgetfulness being one, or knowing more of one language than the other. On the other hand, assuming everyone else is multilingual and therefore will understand what you’re saying anyway is something that… may or may not happen sometimes.”
Which he had certainly never been guilty of in his life, nope.
His eyes appeared more and more glazed as Rino spoke but despite that detail’s bored connotation, this was the most sly had focused during the whole session. Rino’s theories were more concert cues than he had originally imagined, however this line of thinking intrigued him, as his thoughts usually weren’t privileged to such concert examples. It was a nice change from the usually ethereal speculation.
The last statement struck another emotion other than intrigue; amusement. He knew all too well bilingual people, at least the one other he had met, managed to slip through a number languages all in the small space of a conservation. “I’ve seen your last point with a companion of mine…She’d always had a way of using those words illustrate her main point.”
“Not that I ever understand the word but…it’s all about context, isn’t it?”
((Aw, heck it. I was going to wait a couple days before writing with her, but I can’t resist. Here’s my replacement Hoenn muse; go follow her, please. owo))
They had gotten about a third or so of the way through their current meetup – intended as a bit of a check-up to see how Sly’s progress was coming. Rino had agreed to a couple of these smaller lessons, figuring they’d be a good way to help the other man out without being too intrusive, either.
But, quite honestly, Rino’s words were starting to blur a bit, as well. What was he even speaking anymore? Ah, bilingual problems. True, it wasn’t going terribly, but…
“Er… I suppose I’ve had moments of mixing the two when speaking. Especially when I was younger. So, perhaps?” He wasn’t sure if that was precisely what Sly was getting at, but it was sounding pretty plausible, either way.
Rino’s words only added oil to the blaze of questions rather than putting them out. “Would mixing up two languages be the same as losing grip on both?” Mixing was usually considered a practice of adding two element,not taking them way. However, a heavy thought or two later and the Sinnohian reconsidered his statement. “Hmm, then again mixing and losing could be the same in this case, as languages usually have unique definitions for the words, even when referring to the same subject.”
Afterall, many have said it was the language that laced through society, tying culture together. Some souls would have even go as far its an expression of perspective, which would explain the many interpretations and tones when various words had when talking about the same. Which brought up a whole another inquiry; was mixing, switching languages a true form of using them then, as words would flow out to match that situation without the precise conscious choice choosing that particular word?
“But then again, perhaps not. I suppose you wouldn’t know if there’s any thing that causes you to mix up the languages?”
He’d paid for Rino for an hour of how to decode, or rather, teach him the Kalosian language but a part of Sly decided that he wasn’t going to learn a thing; Rino’s words and his own had become just stringed up syllables, and though Unovan words were ones he knew, his knowledge of their meaning was equal to the foreign Kalosian words. Sly was puzzled by this: wasn’t learning a new language was meant to add to one’s vocabulary versus taking from it?
“So,” Sly managed to wrangle comprehension of Unovan enough to speak, curious of the brunette’s insight would contribute an answer to his recent pondering but unable wrangle any consideration for the possible interruption or sudden change of topic. “Is it normal when learning a language to forget all of them in a moment?”
“One day,” she grinned and shook her head, “you will see it coming. But not today. How have you been?”
Her first statement was received with a slight huff, but the second commanded a thoughtful answer. “I have been dandy, full of Butterfrees and Sunfloras.” His face and tone far matched that though. “But, just smidgen confused.”
Hearing the man’s question, Estella fell into a moment’s revery upon it’s response. It was a simply question which - if life were fair and equal - would mean she only needed a simple answer. But life did not treat equality the way it should and she could not at first glance find the proper words to described what this place meant to her.
It meant the world to her, that was certain enough. This place had so much meaning to her for the few short years she had lived in the city. Her and Lin had spent numourous hours out by this river together. And, whether it was filled with silence or chatter, Estella came away from their time together refreshed and prepared for any struggles she may face.
But that was far too sappy to speak aloud. Estella would never admit to all that to a simple question. And that was where she found herself lost. What response was simple yet filled the entirety of what she knew this place meant to her. What the river meant to her.
Taking a step forward, she let go of the man’s hand and moved closer to the running water. Her mind already felt calmer, but that was the effect that this place often had on her. The worries she held about how the date would go began to fade to the further recesses of her mind and she could once again think more clearly and without fear of mistakes.
"Yes, it does,“ She responded finally, grey irises still turned towards the flowing water. Pausing a moment, she attempted to find words that sounded the least amount sappy. “I come here often to get away from the bustle of life. Lin and I, well I suppose that this is our special place.”
The small smile on his face turned, the twenty six facial muscles unraveling his lips into a thin line as she spoke. The departure of the gesture wasn’t an indicator of a drop in his mood, rather, he forgot to continue the unnatural sentiment as the man withdrew his attention, withdrew himself from the present.
Distancing himself from the current moment was a common behavior of his, the quirk gnawing at his focus before he could ever admit this was a bad habit. Yet the duration of the date, he had been unable tap into the thoughts that would usually ensnare him; though Sly couldn’t say this sudden inability was by choice: After all, he’d did wish to spend the moment with her,to actually acknowledge her presence versus just theorizing about it, or simply his nerves led him unable to think, despite his past proving otherwise.
Whatever was stopping him from thinking too deeply before, dissipated in the purpose for recalling who Lin was, curious how the soul had made this place special for the woman. There wasn’t a face to picture, no echo of a voice and there was no real subjective thoughts this Lin had expressed, at least that he could recall. The indicators all pointed to him and this Lin never meeting but the name did have some association linger to it.
“Lin,” He dominated the name out loud, pausing slightly as his focus was pulled forth by the slight babble of the river and alike, his thoughts were pulled into audible words His choice of wording wasn’t that of questioning but his tone was, as the man’s voice fluctuated in shades of various monotones versus the constant vibration his usually was. “She had to do something with you and songs?”
(( Whelp, disregaurd that other post about leaving this account, as I’ll get it going again with some threads and memes in a day or so. Just need to get over this cold and a few family stuff)
