Grrl Power #1084 - Suprarenymer (Patreon)

Thank you for the support! You guys are awesome!

In defense of whoever comes up with the codenames (or, supranyms) for Galytn supers, they do speak at least eight languages over there (at least they do in Mozambique) and that's before introducing Alar and Chiktr. Presumably English is also spoken, as it is the official language of Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, which are all neighbors. Someone  in that environment might not understand all the subtleties of English, or at least, not all the subtleties of American English. Likely they have their own double meanings and word play.

It does make me wonder if in an environment where English is just one of many languages spoken, if it develops the same level of depth and word-play. I mean if everyone speaks 2-6 languages, and there's a better way to say something in another language, it would mean that people aren't trying to wring every last drop of utility out of their one and only option. I do wish I knew more than one language. I've made several attempts to learn Japanese because I'm a proper nerd, but without the immersion of being around other speakers, it was too much of an uphill battle for me. That said, what very little I do know about it is super interesting and really expands my understanding of how language can shape or limit our thinking. Think about the most obvious example. In English, we "love" our parents, siblings, pets, domestic partners, video games, cake, spending the weekend laying on the couch binging Swedish serial killer shows on Netflix, organizing tiny screws, etc. But those are all different kinds of love. At least, hopefully the way you love your favorite kind of desert is different than how you love your pet or all brunette women that remind you of your mother, or else there might be a Netflix special about you one day. I think English would be better if we had separate words for familial love and romantic love and culinary love etc, etc. Having only one word for all those concepts limits our thinking. As good as English is about roughing up other languages and shaking them down for spare verbs, we ought to keep an eye out for opportunities like that. Apparently Sanskrit had 96 words that meant "love" in one form or another. Let's get to pilfering!

Oh, and also, we need a gender neutral pronoun besides "it." Yes, I know, "they," but personally I'm not impressed with they since it's both singular and plural and that can lead to confusion. I'm sure the collective efforts of the English speaking world can come up with something better. We make up new words all the time and embiggen ourselves in the process.