Spoilers Treecats post UH

Peregrinator wrote:

pappilon wrote:Not specific to your post. Just a general observation directed over the text differences over signing Yes. The ESL was used as a starting point, and each cat may have his/her slight variations call it accent or slang, or emphasis. Because cats may all learn from the memory singers, doesn't mean their unique personalities are not expressed in the way they sign as long as the correct meaning is preserved.

It's certainly true that sign language speakers have "accents" in the way that they sign or even in the signs they use. "Yes" is pretty fundamental though. And I think the fact that the knowledge of sign language is transmitted through a memory song rather than through traditional teaching would make the evolution of the language less likely than it would be otherwise.

Dr. Arif might have used other sign languages besides ASL to develop TSL. There are more than a dozen different SL's with different signs and similar signs for different words. And yes ASL has different accents just like spoken languages.

saber964 wrote:Dr. Arif might have used other sign languages besides ASL to develop TSL. There are more than a dozen different SL's with different signs and similar signs for different words. And yes ASL has different accents just like spoken languages.

This isn't news to me But I still doubt that there would be multiple signs for "yes" among treecats.

Peregrinator wrote:

saber964 wrote:Dr. Arif might have used other sign languages besides ASL to develop TSL. There are more than a dozen different SL's with different signs and similar signs for different words. And yes ASL has different accents just like spoken languages.

This isn't news to me But I still doubt that there would be multiple signs for "yes" among treecats.

I would tend to agree given that once a 'cat has learned to sign the "ability" is transmitted mind to mind, so all the 'cats would have the same base accent. More so when you consider that the first 'cats to learn were Nimitz & Samantha, Nimitz can't transmit because his "transmitter" is not working so it would be Samantha who transmits and she has a mind voice as powerful as a memory singer.

(all of the above notwithstanding Honor's thoughts about how different the signs "tasted" between 'cats from different clans)

George J. Smith wrote:I would tend to agree given that once a 'cat has learned to sign the "ability" is transmitted mind to mind, so all the 'cats would have the same base accent. More so when you consider that the first 'cats to learn were Nimitz & Samantha, Nimitz can't transmit because his "transmitter" is not working so it would be Samantha who transmits and she has a mind voice as powerful as a memory singer.

(all of the above notwithstanding Honor's thoughts about how different the signs "tasted" between 'cats from different clans)

I believe the treecat "accents" come not from the sign language they learn from memory singers. That should be remarkably consistent, but vocabulary is only a set of building blocks. The "accent" would be more a matter of each treecat's choice of phrasing. I'm not sure how well treecats grasp linguistic concepts like irony, puns, and sarcasm, much less two-leg abstract ideass like platonic love, conflict of interest, or opposing political viewpoints.

dscott8 wrote:

George J. Smith wrote:I would tend to agree given that once a 'cat has learned to sign the "ability" is transmitted mind to mind, so all the 'cats would have the same base accent. More so when you consider that the first 'cats to learn were Nimitz & Samantha, Nimitz can't transmit because his "transmitter" is not working so it would be Samantha who transmits and she has a mind voice as powerful as a memory singer.

(all of the above notwithstanding Honor's thoughts about how different the signs "tasted" between 'cats from different clans)

I believe the treecat "accents" come not from the sign language they learn from memory singers. That should be remarkably consistent, but vocabulary is only a set of building blocks. The "accent" would be more a matter of each treecat's choice of phrasing. I'm not sure how well treecats grasp linguistic concepts like irony, puns, and sarcasm, much less two-leg abstract ideass like platonic love, conflict of interest, or opposing political viewpoints.

I havn't really gone back to check it, but what if the different signs are for the different meanings of the work. "Yes" can mean an agreement (Is this the correct answer) or an acknowledgement (did you do it) - similar, but slightly different - what if Treecats have a different thought (and associated sign) for each?

George J. Smith wrote:I would tend to agree given that once a 'cat has learned to sign the "ability" is transmitted mind to mind, so all the 'cats would have the same base accent. More so when you consider that the first 'cats to learn were Nimitz & Samantha, Nimitz can't transmit because his "transmitter" is not working so it would be Samantha who transmits and she has a mind voice as powerful as a memory singer.

(all of the above notwithstanding Honor's thoughts about how different the signs "tasted" between 'cats from different clans)

Her mind voice is as powerful as a memory singer because she are one. Honor Among Enemies

dscott8 wrote:I believe the treecat "accents" come not from the sign language they learn from memory singers. That should be remarkably consistent, but vocabulary is only a set of building blocks. The "accent" would be more a matter of each treecat's choice of phrasing. I'm not sure how well treecats grasp linguistic concepts like irony, puns, and sarcasm, much less two-leg abstract ideass like platonic love, conflict of interest, or opposing political viewpoints.

Theemile wrote:I haven't really gone back to check it, but what if the different signs are for the different meanings of the work. "Yes" can mean an agreement (Is this the correct answer) or an acknowledgement (did you do it) - similar, but slightly different - what if Treecats have a different thought (and associated sign) for each?

Again there is the yes of simple agreement; the yes of oh come on wake up and smell reality; the yes of Oh For God's sake, the answer is so friggin' obviously yes to all but the mind-blind.