Recent Posts

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Free Discussion / Re: Surfing.
« Last post by Emlyn Morgan on January 10, 2026, 04:17:38 am »
Major Fortescue-Smythe was asked what he thought about the Welsh.

"Welsh? Welsh? Oh yes, the Welsh. Damn good soldiers. Under white officers, of course."
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Free Discussion / Surfing.
« Last post by Emlyn Morgan on January 09, 2026, 09:54:43 am »
The "grand international" surf competition has started: actually a marketing enterprise by the Quicksilver brand.

How can you judge surfing? Is the winner the one who takes longest to fall off the board!?

All white people.  Local youths come down to the beach wanting to take part. After all, they are the best surfers around here.  But there is a registration fee: 25 guineas, or whatever.  Of course, they don't have so much money.

"It's God's ocean. God's surf. Allah doesn't ask us for money."

The white people don't relent or relate. They only relate to their smartphones. They can't see real people.

Disclaimer: i'm white: if being Welsh counts as white!

Yes, I know, I know! I've gone native, prejudiced against European visitors.


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Free Discussion / Re: Inflated in translation!
« Last post by Emlyn Morgan on January 06, 2026, 12:22:23 pm »
It seems that Chinese people have difficulty pronouncing consonant clusters in the English language and also words ending in the letter 'l', presumably because they don't meet such obstacles in Mandarin, so they tend to insert a vowel sound betwixt the consonants.

When the young Chinese actor MaXinRui was filming in the Jackie Chan film Desert Storm here in Morocco, her voice coach despaired because words such as "battle" she rendered as battulur and "instantly" became inussuttanutturi.

So I was tasked to rewrite her lines using easier words. Fortunately it was an action film with not much for her to say!
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Free Discussion / Re: Inflated in translation!
« Last post by Zyngaru on January 01, 2026, 08:39:45 am »
Quote from: Plagosus on December 31, 2025, 04:18:38 pm
Quote from: Emlyn Morgan on December 02, 2025, 02:14:58 pm
Young Ahmed, whom I help improve his English, is convinced it's correct to say such as firs' an' las' or eatin' an' drinkin', because that's what he hears, even on the BBC.

While young Ahmed may be copying what he hears, there is a possibility that he is not copying what is actually being said. What a person hears can be strongly influenced by the sounds of his native language. In this respect, neither Standard Arabic nor Moroccan Arabic has the nasal sound which comes at the end of "thing" while they do have the sound which comes at the end of "thin". If you say these two words noting the position of the tongue for the final consonant you will find it is a little further back for "ng" than "n". These two sounds are clearly distinguishable by native English speakers, but may sound the same to a speaker of a language which does not have any words which require the sounds to be distinguished - such as "thin" and "thing". The consonant "t" is a plosive, a sound which, though short, consists of three phases: approach, hold and release. In English, when a plosive is not followed by a vowel the release, the point where the air leaves the mouth, is often missing. So, when a "t" follows an "s" it can get a bit lost and appear to merge with the "s" giving the impression that there is only an "s".

Plag never ceases to amaze me with his knowledge of language.
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Free Discussion / Re: Inflated in translation!
« Last post by Plagosus on December 31, 2025, 04:18:38 pm »
Quote from: Emlyn Morgan on December 02, 2025, 02:14:58 pm
Young Ahmed, whom I help improve his English, is convinced it's correct to say such as firs' an' las' or eatin' an' drinkin', because that's what he hears, even on the BBC.

While young Ahmed may be copying what he hears, there is a possibility that he is not copying what is actually being said. What a person hears can be strongly influenced by the sounds of his native language. In this respect, neither Standard Arabic nor Moroccan Arabic has the nasal sound which comes at the end of "thing" while they do have the sound which comes at the end of "thin". If you say these two words noting the position of the tongue for the final consonant you will find it is a little further back for "ng" than "n". These two sounds are clearly distinguishable by native English speakers, but may sound the same to a speaker of a language which does not have any words which require the sounds to be distinguished - such as "thin" and "thing". The consonant "t" is a plosive, a sound which, though short, consists of three phases: approach, hold and release. In English, when a plosive is not followed by a vowel the release, the point where the air leaves the mouth, is often missing. So, when a "t" follows an "s" it can get a bit lost and appear to merge with the "s" giving the impression that there is only an "s".
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Free Discussion / Re: Inflated in translation!
« Last post by squarecutter on December 31, 2025, 12:47:04 pm »
Dropping 'T's is a bete noire for me. It is lazy and not necessary. The tv advertising voiceovers here are the worst offenders and I'm sure are having an influence
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Story Discussion / Re: Charlie (A Mr. Anderson story) by Skip Trace and Jack Wells
« Last post by afinch on December 25, 2025, 04:32:38 pm »
Skip, please don't be done.  Jack and Skip, I have been recommending this story to anyone I know who is aware of MMSA as "not a spanking story, but literature that includes spankings."  I re-read the entire series today as I stayed home alone.
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Story Discussion / Re: Charlie (A Mr. Anderson story) by Skip Trace and Jack Wells
« Last post by Jack on December 25, 2025, 12:52:21 am »
As promised, this is the original 14-page treatment I sent Skip when I first had this idea.  Back then, it was just for me and him to share, which becomes obvious in places (or maybe I was hoping he'd like it enough to expand it, which is really what happened).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1neg3Tzg6J1lAHSxbVdZBDX2AjkZaLsRAWZ9_-blqI5Q/edit?usp=sharing

If this format doesn't work, let me know, and I'll copy and paste it here.

Thanks again for all the kind feedback.
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Story Discussion / Re: Charlie (A Mr. Anderson story) by Skip Trace and Jack Wells
« Last post by Skip Trace on December 25, 2025, 12:14:59 am »
Thanks, Adric, Zyngaru, and Kier! Your kind words are greatly appreciated! After the “too much detail” feedback, and with the post-writing letdown particularly acute after finishing a story that has been in the works since February, I was a little discouraged. (It’s possible I texted Jack to say, “Well, as long as the two of us are happy with it…”) It is reassuring that the three of you enjoyed it too. (“For discriminating tastes…”  :) )

Special thanks to Adric for editing and David M. Katz for expediting the review and posting of the four-part story.

Extra special thanks to Jack for a wonderful idea and the 14-page treatment he mentioned, most of which is word-for-word in the final story. My most recent Anderson story was originally written in 2017, and I really thought I was done. Without Jack’s inspiration and enthusiasm, this story would not have happened.
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Story Discussion / Re: Charlie (A Mr. Anderson story) by Skip Trace and Jack Wells
« Last post by afinch on December 24, 2025, 04:30:56 pm »
I just finished reading the final chapter.  I can hardly see for the tears in my eyes.

I am so sad the series is done, so happy with the ending, and so impressed by the magnificent story you created.  Not a spanking story or stories--but literature every bit as good as "Ordinary People" (the film and novel of which I will now have to revisit).
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