The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
There You Are
Serack:
--- Quote from: Kindler on June 03, 2016, 02:46:39 PM ---If your attempts to date Merlin's life are accurate (and admittedly my thesis was written on the Crusades, not Imperial Rome, so I have little to contribute and can't really argue with your conclusions), then he most likely spoke Greek and Vulgar Latin, which explains why Latin would be the official language of the White Council (though modern Latin is almost literally nothing like the Latin actually spoken by Rome, and don't even get me started on Church Latin). In other words, even if Merlin was the prisoner in Demonreach, he would probably have spoken to Dresden in Latin, as Dresden's pretty obviously a wizard, but Harry's rudimentary Latin wouldn't be able to decipher it. It would be like a college student who took French trying to translate La Chanson de Roland without a reference guide.
Anyway, the point is that Merlin lived before dictionaries, mass media, the printing press, and the electric light bulb, all of which contributed to the significantly to the evolution of language until we have the homogenized English that the prisoner spoke.
Which is actually more interesting to me, because that means that that prisoner either was placed there relatively recently (within the past, say, two hundred years), or is an entity that has somehow kept up with linguistic evolution despite being in stasis. Could also be like Toot-Toot, who apparently can just decide what language he wants to speak. Hmm. Well, based on the information I have, I don't think I can make a reasonable guess. But it's an interesting question, and fodder for speculation.
--- End quote ---
Although the communication between Harry and this particular prisoner might be more accurately assessed by your analysis than the following point, I'll mention that Jim says that what Harry "experienced" at the Outer Gates and what the Outer Gates are actually like are two very different things, but that his mind is "good" at re-interpreting it's paranormal input into simplified terms that he can understand without his head exploding. (that is HUGELY paraphrased from the WoJ) Jim also said that older, more experienced wizards would roll their eyes at his "ability" to do this. Thus it is within the realm of possibility that Harry's perceptions of the prisoner's communication were far different from the prisoner's actual linguistic background.
Kindler:
--- Quote from: Serack on June 03, 2016, 06:21:58 PM ---Although the communication between Harry and this particular prisoner might be more accurately assessed by your analysis than the following point, I'll mention that Jim says that what Harry "experienced" at the Outer Gates and what the Outer Gates are actually like are two very different things, but that his mind is "good" at re-interpreting it's paranormal input into simplified terms that he can understand without his head exploding. (that is HUGELY paraphrased from the WoJ) Jim also said that older, more experienced wizards would roll their eyes at his "ability" to do this. Thus it is within the realm of possibility that Harry's perceptions of the prisoner's communication were far different from the prisoner's actual linguistic background.
--- End quote ---
That would make sense, too. It's explicitly stated that everyone does experience magic a bit differently; doesn't Ramirez experience a soulgaze as music? I can't remember if that was outright stated or if I'm making things up again.
The dialogue from the prisoner is mental; just pulled out my Nook to double check it. So yeah, speculation based on that is limited at best.
raidem:
Iirc, jim batted prisoner is Merlin down though. He outright said that theory was wrong.
groinkick:
--- Quote from: raidem on June 04, 2016, 03:18:07 AM ---Iirc, jim batted prisoner is Merlin down though. He outright said that theory was wrong.
--- End quote ---
I recall him saying you couldn't understand the English from that time period. He could have been speaking Sidhe.
raidem:
He said something in addition to that. I believe he said something like "nice theory but no the prisoner isn't merlin." That was in reply to someone stating their theory that the prisoner was Merlin.
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