from page 10 of tender buttons by gertrude stein

Historically Booker’s native language would be Occitan and not French . He would also probably deeply resent standard / Parisian French since the government did their damnest to erase regional languages and still do it today .

Agreed! There was another post about this, but since I got an ask (I love you, anon) I’ll elaborate. Buckle up for a primer on the evolution of the French language with a brief aside for troubadours, traveling musician-poets you wish were still a career option. No, being a rock star is not quite the same.

In the early medieval period (as early as ~900CE), the country we now call France had a language divide between the northern and southern regions. In the north, they spoke langues d'oïl which is what eventually became modern standard French. In the south, they spoke Occitan or lenga d'òc and a modern form of this language is known as Provençal. Looking at the regional sub-dialects, the more northern Occitan begins to sound like a langue d’oil and the more southern dialects begin to sound like Spanish.

As I touched upon in a previous post, this is because they all share similar roots as a romance language. Even though modern standard French is a langue d’oil, occitan managed to sneak a few things into the language. If you’ve learned French as a second language, you’ll know that when you respond yes (oui) to a negative question (you don’t like cheese? / tu n’aimes pas le fromage?) that you use a different yes (si). This is a skeleton of Occitan! 

The why of the invention of “standard French” is, as most “standard” things are, a detour into nationalism. In 1635, Cardinal Richelieu (under Louis XIII) founded the Académie Française (French Academy) which was tasked with standardizing the French language so that it could be exported to the rest of Europe and used to gain further prestige of the role of French philosophers during the Enlightenment. During the French Revolution, it was disregarded, but Napoleon Bonaparte restored it as part of the Institut de France (Institute of France) in 1803. To this day, the Académie is tasked with publishing the French dictionary and inventing new words for things such as “e-mails” so that the French needn’t stoop to using English loan-words.

Another part of this was the Toubon Law (August 1994) which required French (the standard French from the Académie) to be used in all official documents and advertising. It required all advertising to use French and even set a certain percentage of music on the radio that must be French. This law was literally the government going “let’s make the French french again.” If a school doesn’t instruct in French (modern, standard French of course), then they can’t receive government funds. The only exception is Breton-language schools (Breton is as north as it gets and is a langue d’oil so it still helps crush Occitan).

Since the previous paragraph probably made you mad as heck, let me give you some irony to laugh at: some French people refer to this as the loi Allgood (“law” Allgood). To explain this joke, it helps to know that Toubon is the last name of the Minister of Culture at the time the law was passed. If you break down his last name, it sounds like “tout bon” in French which translates to “all good.” People took this law saying make everything French, goddammit and replied, sure thing Minister All-Good. I love it.

Now, for the troubadours! I learned standard modern French in high school, but at university I came across Occitan because of those romantic poets. I’ll put this aside below the break so you can continue on with your day if for some reason you’re not interested in medieval French rock star-poets...

Let me begin by quoting the Wikipedia definition:

A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz.

Right away you may notice a few things: 1) they wrote and sang in Occitan; 2) it was an equal-opportunity field (though it was rare for a woman to be one). The first Troubadours were mostly noblemen, but later ones could come from any social class. Yes, you read that correctly: egalitarian travelling poets! If that doesn’t sell you on these performers, I don’t know what will. The troubadours spread their tradition throughout Europe and the only thing that could stop them was the Black Plague.

As you’d expect, they mostly sang about love. A lot of their poems were about courtly love and chivalry, but they could also get bawdy. The especially good performers would be sought after by courts like famous painters. Troubadours are essentially the apex bards: romantic, witty, charming, talented, and able to make serious bank.

To finish this, I will leave you with one of the bawdiest troubadour poems I know of, Farai un vers, pos mi somelh (The Ladies with the Cat) by Guillem de Peiteus. It’s essentially the story of a dude who has sex with these women who pick up a knight on a pilgrimage (though it plays with reality and this guy’s fantasies). I’ll include it in the original Occitan, and then a translation by Robert Kehew (I believe), verse-by-verse. Forgive me for my commentary in between, but I just want you to understand how freaking clever this poem is!

Farei un vers, pos mi somelh Em vauc e m’estauc al solelh. Domnas i a de mal conselh,    E sai dir cals: Cellas c’amor de cavalier    Tornon a mals.

While sound asleep I’ll walk along In sunshine, making up my song. Some ladies get the rules all wrong;    I’ll tell you who: The ones that turn a knight’s love down    And scorn it, too.

The singer is establishing himself as a troubadour. The protagonist is dreaming, so we should be careful about what is real and imagined. He’s also invoking the trope of the philandering knight constantly falling in love and breaking his heart.

Domna fai gran pechat mortal Qe no ama cavalier leal; Mas si es monge o clergal,    Non a raizo: Per dreg la deuri’hom cremar    Ab un tezo.

Grave mortal sins such ladies make Who won’t make love for a knight’s sake; And they’re far worse, the ones who’ll take    A monk or priest-- They ought to get burned at the stake    At the very least.

The Middle Ages were not at all chaste; yes, monks and priests were having sex. This isn’t as sexist as it may come across on a first reading however. He’s not saying women shouldn’t have sex (he’s actually saying that it’s a sin not to being having sex), he’s just upset that women who are clearly willing to have sex are turning *him* down. He’s not going to get any awards for feminist of the year, but he’s not the worst. I’m sure this would rouse cheers from a tavern.

En Alvernhe, part Lemozi, M’en aniey totz sols a tapi: Trobei la moller d’en Guari    E d’en Bernart; Saluderon mi simplamentz    Per sant Launart.

Down in Auvergne, past Limousin, Out wandering on the sly I ran Into the wives of Sir Guarin    And Sir Bernard; They spoke a poper welcome then    By St. Leonard.

These are recognizable locations along a pilgrimage route. There’s a good chance that these names are replaceable (Bernard can be replaced with any last name that rhymes with a saint) and this song could be used to goad the audience. And no, he hasn’t had sex with these ladies yet. They’re just saying hello (for now).

La unam diz en son latin: “E Dieus vos salf, don pelerin; Mout mi semblatz de bel aizin,    Mon escient; Mas trop vezem anar pel mon    De folla gent.”

One said in her dialect, “Sir Pilgrim, may the Lord protect Men so sweet-manned, so correct,    With such fine ways; This whole world’s full of lunatics    And rogues, these days.”

I think most would agree that this is happening in the knight’s sex-dream because she’s just sweet talking him. The awesome part is that the “dialect” reflects the singer actually adopting a Northern French language (they’re mutually intelligible). Guillem didn’t have to go that hardcore, but he did.

Ar auzires qu’ai respondut; Anc no li diz bat ni but, Ni fer ni fust no ai mentaugut,    Mas sol aitan: “Barbariol, babariol,    Babarian.”

For my reply--I’ll swear to you I didn’t tell them Bah or Boo, I answered nothing false of true;    I just said, then, “Babario, babariew,    Babarian.”

This guy just mocks their accents as a reply. Wildin’.

So diz n’Agnes a n’Ermessen: “Trobat avem que anam queren. Sor, per amor Deu, l’alberguem,    Qe ben es mutz, E ja per lui nostre conselh    Non er saubutz.”

So Agnes said to Ermaline, “Let’s take him home, quick; don’t waste time. He’s just the thing we’d hoped to find:    Mute as a stone. No matter what we’ve got in mind,    It won’t get known.”

In this stanza we see two repeats and a new thing. First, the names are easy to replace (Agnes doesn’t even have to rhyme with anything) so that this can be done to call out a specific woman’s name. Second, the language skills are being flaunted again as this Occitan-speaker is just casually showcasing that he can sing about sex in other languages too, thankyouverymuch. Lastly, this is WOMEN voicing their desire, not men. The man is silent, they think he’s incapable of speech. This is two women in a poem/song getting to steer the story how they please. Stepping back, this is a guy’s sex-dream so you could argue he’s just got a kink for dominant women, but regardless that’s a pretty cool way to turn masculinity on its head.

La unam pres sotz son mantel Menet m’en sa cambra, al fornel. Sapchatz qu’a mi fo bon a bel,    El focs fo bos, Et eu calfei me volentiers    Als gros carbos.

Under her cloak, one let me hide; We slipped up to her room’s fireside. By now I thought one could abide    To play this role-- Right willingly I warmed myself    At their live coals.

Yes, this dude is saying he’s more than happy to let the women take charge. Don’t kink-shame him.

A manjar mi deron capos, E sapchatz agui mais de dos, E noi ac cog ni cogastros,    Mas sol nos tres, El pans fo blancs el vins fo bos    El pebr’ espes.

They served fat capons for our fare-- I didn’t stop at just one pair; We had no cook or cook’s boy there,    But just us three. The bread was white, the pepper hot,    The wine flowed free.

A capon is a castrated rooster, fattened for eating. He’s being fattened (and emasculated by letting them take control) before the women get down to their  fun with him.

“Sor, aquest hom es enginhos, E laissa lo parlar per nos: Nos aportem nostre gat ros    De mantenent, Qel fara parlar az estros,    Si de renz ment.”

N’Agnes anet per l’enujos, E fo granz et ac loncz guinhos: E eu, can lo vi entre nos,    Aig n’espavent, Q’a pauc non perdei la valor    E l’ardiment.

“Wait, sister, this could be a fake; He might play dumb just for our sake. See if our big red cat’s awake    And fetch him, quick. Right here’s one silence we should break    If it’s a trick.”

So Agnes brought that wicked beast, Mustachioed, huge, and full of yeast; To see him sitting at our feast--    Seemed less than good; I very nearly lost my nerve    And hardihood.

So yes, he’s joking about almost loosing his boner and there’s that language play again. The big part of the ending, however, is the imagery of the red cat. Cats are typically associated with women, and the color red tempts the mind into thinking of it as female passion or some kind of prowling sexuality (with undertones of evil). The subtext here is that they’re going to test him by letting this cat scratch him up to see if he’ll cry out. If he can keep his mouth shut and allow the womens’ passions, he can stay. If he can’t, he’s out. Ultimately, I’m going to say that this poem is subtly for women’s empowerment. Go scratch up your knights, ladies.

Kent Yeshua G. Dela Vega-Testimonio,Personal Narrative,Profiling,Close Reading.

TESTIMONIO

There was a woman named, Arminda Tihada who experienced a crime. It was happened while Arminda was walking somewhere in Manila. She was already going home in the middle of the night. It was maybe 12pm in the evening, and while she was walking someone blocked her. And she was really far from the police station. She don't know who's the man who blocked her. And when she saw that the man was getting something in his pocket. Arminda slowly moved backward to get some space from the strange man. While she was slowly moving backward, the strange man was start to move also towards her, so that Arminda decided to run. She runfast as she can, but the strange man run really fast also. And when the time the man already grab her bag, so that she decided to removed her bag from her body and let the strange man get her bag. When the strange man already have the bag he let Arminda to run. But while Arminda was running, she saw a police officer nearby, so that Arminda called the police, and the police followed the strange man. And after an hour how lucky they already saw the strange man and they grab it and put in the gail. And all of Arminda's stuf was back to her. And she get home safely.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

In the first day of my immersion, it was really exciting. After a few minutes that we arrived at the school some of the teachers gave us an task. And ma'am Michelle told us "puwede bang mag patulong magupit ng mga ticket para sa program", so we put down our bags and get the tickets and cut it just what she said. After that task, we go at the canteen to visit other teachers. We saw our high school adviser and we greeted her. "Hi ma'am! musta po hahaha" and then she ask, "what are you doing here? what brought you here?" we answered that we have an OUT or Immersion. We buy some snacks and we talked about what's happening in the school. We talked a lot and also we laugh a lot too. In the second day I have a scheduled class in one section, and I am to teach the subject of P.E. And the experience of teaching was really great. And I am so happy to teach and have some bunding with my students. Because on that day we played board games like scrabble. And it was really fun. In another day I don't have an scheduled class so that I help the other teacher if they need something. And also I experienced how to arrange the teachers papers or their personal papers as a worker. And one teacher showed me the proper arrangement of the papers, and it was really fun. And she guided me to do my job correctly. On the next day one of the talked to me she said that "salamat!! ang laking tulong na nagawa mo" and I reply "walang anuman po hahaha!!". And then we prepared our self for the next day that will come. We don't have immersion on Thursday and Friday so that we go back at school on Monday. And we dont have any task by that day, so that we find anything that we can do, for us to have something to do. So that we help at the canteen and after we help at the canteen we go again to the other teachers that need our help. On the other day we teach or discuss TLE class on one section, and it was really great, because on that day the topic was given to us and on that time also, the time were going to discuss it without preperarion. And it was fun. After the breaktime I get the chess board, because one of the teacher gave me a task to called one by one the student for them to recite the name of the pice and the stand of the pice, and how it work. But before I called them one by one, I discuss it first for them to have some recall about our topic on that day. And the day ends really great.

DANIEL JOHN FORD PADILLA

Daniel Padilla is a famous actor in the Philippines. Aside from being an actor, he is also a recording artist signed under Star Magic, with him being labeled as an OPM Junior Ambassador, an association where young Filipino artists gather together to promote the Original Pilipino Music scene. Daniel Padilla is currently in contract with ABS-CBN as an actor and Star Magic as his record label. And he was once rumored that having relationship with Kathryn Bernardo. Daniel Padilla was born on April 26,1995.As of this year, he is currently 21 years old.Daniel’s zodiac sign is Taurus. Daniel Padilla stands 5 ft 11 (180cm) tall and weighs 72 kg (160bs). He was born in Manila, Philippines with his original name Daniel John Ford Padilla. His parents are both actors named Rommel Padilla and Karla Estrada. The two have already separated, although they were never married. Daniel Padilla came from a family full of actors. His uncle is a famous action star named Robin Padilla and he also has another famous uncle named Bb. Gandanghari, who is now a transgender woman. Some of his famous relatives in the acting industry are Kylie Padilla, Queenie Padilla, and his brother RJ Padilla. As a child, Daniel transferred to different schools from time to time. He also had a dream of becoming the best singer and to vanish the “bad boy” impression the people sees in him because that trait happens to run in the family. Daniel Padilla began his acting career at the age of 15 during the year 2010, having the TV Show Gimik 2010 as his first acting debut. He was transferred schools from time to time, and the last school that he attended to was Montessori de San Juan in 2008. Daniel Padilla is the first son of Karla Estrada and Rommel Padilla. Daniel has three half siblings from his mother, namely JC Padilla, Magui Planas, and Lelay Ford. He has four other half siblings from his father’s side, namely Ralph, Ronnel, Roanna, and Red Padilla. His mother, Karla Estrada, is an actress and a singer. She is currently on a 2-year contract under the management of ABS-CBN. Meanwhile, Daniel’s Father, Rommel Padilla is an actor. He was arrested in 1996 and was jailed for three years because of drug arrest. Rommel is currently married with Annabelle Antonio. Daniel Padilla started his acting career in 2010, landing in his first minor role in the remake of the 90’s TV Show Gimik. He also replaced the role of Albie Casino in Growing Up. In addition to that, in 2011, he received his first major acting role in his acting career. Furthermore, he was cast as the main lead for the primetime Filipino TV series Princess and I, co-starring Kathryn Bernardo as his leading lady. In 2012, he began his work as a singer, with the song “Hinahanap-hanap kita” as his debut song. The aforementioned song was used as an official soundtrack of the TV series Princess and I. On the same year, he also released his self-titled debut album named Daniel Padilla, which garnered thousands of sales in its first week. Aside from doing television programs and singing, he has also starred in numerous films such as the film 24/7 In Love and Must Be Love. He was also the main cast alongside Kathryn Bernardo of the movie She’s Dating the Gangster, which instantly became a box office hit. Lastly, Daniel also has a lot of music video appearances from different artists. With all his movies, albums, television series, and endorsements coming in, he’s definitely one of the highest paid actors in the Philippines as of today. Favorite Things Chocolate: Ferrero Rocher,Band: The Beatles,Color: Black, Gray, and White,Actress: Kathryn Bernardo,Junk Food: Cheetos,Hero: Batman,Perfume: Givenchy,Favorite Food: Lasagna,Pizza and Corned beef,Favorite ice cream: Vanilla,Favorite Drinks: Gatorade,Favorite Cartoon Character: Batman,Favorite Sports: Basketball and Skateboarding,Favorite Movie: The Butterfly Effect/In time,Favorite TV Show: Family Guy,Favorite Character: Batman,Favorite Actor: Johnny Depp,Favorite Singer: Michael Buble,Favorite Band: Foster People,Beatles and Oasis,Favorite Holiday: Halloween,Favorite Smell: Strawberry,Favorite Website: Youtube. Daniel hates dancing,but he started learning how to play musical instruments at the age of 14.He is dubbed as the Teen King of Philippine showbiz and he hates writing notes. He had his first girlfriend at the age of 13 named Kelly He is scared of frogs and Daniel has an asthma.He loves playing DotA and NBA as a hobby.He dislikes vegetables and did you know that daniel was born on the year of the Pig. And his favorite subject is Biology, and he got a grade of 75 in Math. His religion is Catholic His nickname is DJ He doesn’t like wearing V-neck shirts instead he prefers round-neck plain white t-shirts. He was 14 years old when he started playing instruments. He was 16 years old when he finally met his half-sibling from his father, Rommel Padilla. Until 2012, he had 3 girlfriends named Kelly, Nicole, and Zharm. He is the bassist guitarist in his band called “Parking Five”. 

CLOSE READING Poem:

Spring and Fall (to a young child) Margaret

, are you grieving Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Leaves, like the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Ah! As the heart growa older It will come to such sights colder By and by,

nor space a sigh Thoughts worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;

And yet you will weep and know why. Now no matter, child, the name:

Sorrow’s springs are the same. Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed What heart heard of

, ghost guessed: It is the blight man was born for, It is Margaret you mourn for,

1.Why is the poem entitled “Spring and Fall” is the poem about spring and fall? Or is it about something else?

Answer: Because the author compared this spring and fall in what happened in this season.

2. The poet addresses his poem “to a young child”? Who is that child? (There may be more than one possibility here.)

Answer.The poet addresses to the young child Margaret.

3. What is Margaret crying about in the opening lines? What does she see that saddens her?

Answer.Because someone will leave her.

4. What does the word “unleaving” mean? How do you know it means that? The poet makes up other non-existent word also. List them.

Answer.It means you will not leave anyone.

5. Why are Margaret’s thoughts “fresh”? What connotations does that word have instead of “innocent” or “immature” or young”?

Answer.Because she was a young child that have an innocent mind.

6. What is strange about the phrase coming to “sights colder”? Does the word “colder” modify “sights”? Does it modify the word “heart”? or does it modify the verb” come”?

Answer.It means for me someone slowly fading or their reaction getting colder and it didn’t explain such thing that would happen.

7. How does the speaker say Margaret will react in the future to the sight of dead plants? (Trick question!)

Answer. She was sad because someone will lose to her life,or someone will leave her.

8. Why does the poet say that the “name” doesn’t matter in line ten? Whose or what’s name is he talking about?

Answer. It was talking about the name of the young child.

9. For what purpose are people born, according to the poem?

Answer. Because everything happens for a reason, so that we all born for a reason. And we born also to leave and die.

10. What does the speaker suggest Margaret is really crying about, even though she doesn’t know it?

Answer. She was crying because something will change, beacues there were not permanent in this world, and all of things that happened will gone.