Aether Salon - Language!

May's Aether Salon featured a woman of many roles: Mrs. Diogenes Aurelia Kuhr of Deadwood/Miss Diogenes Pentheseila Kuhr of Hogwarts, and Diogeneia, Freifrau von Kühr - among others. Miz Dio is also the author of the wonderful Aetheric Journal "The Ephemeral Frontier," wherein she recounts some of her adventures in Second Life and provides high-quality stories of her days in Deadwood.

The subject of the day's Salon was Language - specifically, how the use of language, both in terms of words appropriate for the time and place and in terms of the choice of words and dialect, can help create a believable character and contribute to good roleplay.

Miss Viv Trafalgar introduced the Salon, while it fell to Mr. Jasper Kiergarten to introduce the speaker.

Miss Trafalgar, center front.

Miss Sera Puchkina

Mrs. Diogenes Kuhr

Miz Dio expounds

I listen intently

A rare appearance by Doctor Obolensky!

Dame Kghia Gherardi and Mr. Simeon Beresford, hosts of the "Off the Shelf" show

Mrs. Kuhr had a number of suggestions for how role players could learn about the language of their time, from Internet research in order to avoid anachronisms to reading books of the period in order to better understand the syntax and dialect that would be appropriate for the period.

(As an aside, I was tickled by the term "temptation bumps," which Mrs. Kuhr assured us was Civil War-era slang for female breasts. Quipped Dr. Obolensky, "That's going to end up as someone's display name, just watch.")

Miss Bookworm Hienrichs

One of Mrs. Kuhr's recurring themes in her Journal, and repeated at the Salon, was the idea that role playing is an excellent and underappreciated form of group education. Each player conducts her own research to become a better player, and group members learn about the period from one another. Because this learning is voluntary and, with any luck, fun, it may be a more effective method of learning than a purposefully "educational" sim.

The talk - punctuated by some of the lady's trademark colorful expressions - was delivered to an appreciative audience. After some discussion during the question period, the Salon presented its gift to the audience: appropriately, a dictionary, from which we can choose the precise words for any occasion!