Who Put Graffito on My Graffiti?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

... learning other languages is a good thing...

’ve never formally studied the Italian language, but from my music studies I know piano means quiet or soft and forte means loud. Put them together to create pianoforte, the original word for piano. Somewhere in a forest the forte ran away. It shouldn’t be confused with fortepiano. A forerunner to the modern piano. It also ran away.

From music to film we pick up certain words. I can still hear Roberto Benigni saying, “Principessa” in Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella). When Dean Martin sings in Italian I learnt, no, scratch that, there’s just the hangovers.

While we learn any language by listening, we gain insights by reading. This week it was a lesson in Italian. Graffiti is an Italian word and is plural. Whereas, graffito is the singular form. Anyone who knows Italian understands this distinction.

To write, “The graffiti was…” or “There was graffiti on” sounds right, but to someone who speaks Italian, knows that language, they might object.

I think if I wrote, “Kofi’s graffito was covered over,” readers would scramble for a dictionary. If I wrote, “My graffiti were covered over,” readers would feel unsettled.

What to do?

Find a new word like urban art.

What do you think?

Posted 2011/09/22 at 16h38ET in Words.

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Day 109: Writing a Novel—The Deep Blue Hold

Sunday, March 6, 2017 Note: Unedited writings from my notebook for this novel. Square bracket items represent added comments.
At 18:47 Office ... I barely remembered anything about this story... H as it really been three months? I guess it has. I put it out of my mind [so much so] that I barely remembered anything about this story. Not even the title. [Unreal!!!!!!] I had the general premise and an ending—enough I thought for a novel. What I lacked was a determination and desire to want to write it. Why bother… I wasn’t enjoying the process and I had no reason to believe the result wouldn’t be anything more than what’s gone before—nothing.
James Piper Kitchener, Ontario Post comments on facebook page. Follow me on twitter. Posted 2017/04/14 at 14h02ET in The Deep Blue Cage | Writing A Novel

Words: Fairy—Ferry

Thursday, September 6, 2012
A homonym.
FAIRY—A fairy tale. A fairy godmother. Fairy—not a long, long way to run.
FERRY—A boat or ship to transport drunken Swedes back home from Copenhagen. It’s the Danish beer.
Fairy Ferry Samantha the Swimming Fairy by Daisy Meadows Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler
Posted 2012/09/06 at 5h02ET in Words, Writing.

Day 2: Writing a Novel—The Deep Blue Hold

Friday, November 18th, 2016 Note: Unedited writings from my notebook for this novel. Square bracket items represent added comments. ... There’s also poetic justice for this crew for what they did to the women they kept.... I t’s still Friday to me. [Writing early Saturday morning.] I wasn’t in bed until 6h and up at 14h. Then lots of errands. Lots of walking. Felt tired earlier—something different. I haven’t spent much time thinking about this story. I seemed to have put my mind into another lane. Not what I want. I was thinking too much about my future as a successful writer. Not simply being a writer, but a successful writer. One that makes a good living off or from it. That’s a better goal. So what to say about this story. No title. Oh. I did decide on something. She can’t die. Too much of a downer. That would seem to rule out a revenge aspect by the husband. Maybe she does it. These guys [the baddies] have to get it in the end. I was thinking about how she wants to sink the s…

James Piper, Author

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