David_Gerard comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 5 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: NihilCredo 02 November 2010 06:57PM

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Comment author: David_Gerard 15 November 2010 10:45:36AM *  1 point [-]

However, I think they'd be good enough examples that Harry PVE could be expected not to talk in American slang.

Comment author: NihilCredo 15 November 2010 09:37:34PM *  5 points [-]

Can you give a few examples of MoR's more blatant Americanisms? As a non-native speaker, asides from the spelling issues ("realis/ze", "toward/s") and the most iconic terms ("bloody" vs. "doggone"), it's hard to notice and remember which side of the Atlantic any given phrase comes from.

Comment author: AstroCJ 25 November 2010 04:05:54PM *  4 points [-]

raises hand

Hey, I'm originally of British origin. I can indeed confirm that the language Harry uses has made me wince a little. This hasn't happened in the last few chapters, since we've been hearing from harry!Mort rather than Harry, and mind-dumps don't respect style, but

"I'm in Mary's Place, Professor, in Diagon Alley. Going to the restroom actually. What's wrong?"

-contains the word "restroom", which no speaker of British English would <i>ever</i> use in that context, and the question "What's wrong?" is a little aggressive. I would suggest something like

"I'm in Mary's Place, Professor, in Diagon Alley. Ah, I'm actually just going to the bathroom - is there something wrong?"