![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theexdisgracedacademic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
benthic_university2025-06-17 07:31 am
Correspondence Scholarship, Class Two [Tuesday Morning, June 17th]
The Clay Substitute laid her hands upon the podium. "PLEASE. OPEN YOUR TEXTBOOKS TO PAGE-"
Much the same as last week, there was a hubbub in the hall outside. The door slammed open, and one figure marched another to the front of the class. The Beleaguered Dean, swathed in a coat of thick tweed and a thicker coat of nervous sweat, was all but pushing The Ex-Disgraced Academic back into their pace behind the podium.
The Academic wasn't missing a beat in the argument: "-can't at all see what the issue is, so long as they learn the material-"
"You cannot offload your duties to an Underclay aspirant!" The Dean's fury is only matched by the fearful tension in his voice, "And an unfinished one at that! How did you get it up here-"
The Academic's eye widened in almost-honorable affront. "You can't prove that this perfectly capable worker is unfinished, can you?"
"No, but I can certainly prove that it's not on the faculty list." The Dean wiped his brow. "Get on with it, man!"
The Clay Substitute barely moved, but the grinding of her turning head rumbled through the floor. "I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD BE PAID IN FULL, REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG CLASS WENT?"
Coin was exchanged, and, the Dean ushered The Clay Substitute out of the room. The Academic hissed through their teeth, clearly ready to vent their terrible mood at the first faces to cross theirs.
They turned to look at the class. And smiled a terrible smile. "Good morning."
"So! You've all decided to return for a second week. I suppose it can't be helped. Any damage you incur from here on out is upon your own heads." They began their lecture.
“English is a phonographic language, as the distinct letters of the alphabet each represent units of sound. The Correspondence is logographic, meaning that similar to the languages of the second and fourth cities (and the Khanate, of course), Correspondence Symbols each represent units of meaning.”
In bold, rapid strokes, The Academic scrawled a symbol onto the chalkboard:
They whirled around, pointing an accusing claw at anyone unfortunate enough to still be moving their pens. “Do not copy this into your notes! If you fancy yourself cheeky and attempt to copy it whilst my back is turned, I will still know, so do NOT try me.” They turned back, circling the image. Anyone foolhardy enough to ignore the command would earn immediate combustion to their notebook, and a quick, scathing look of satisfaction from The Academic.
“This is the symbol for “an unmappable direction. It is one of the more frequent symbols to be found in practical human application of The Correspondence, as well as in architectural engravings ranging from first city ruins all the way up to lapsarian London. It is also exceptionally flammable. None but the most expensive of papers can contain it.” And with a terrifically wicked smile: "Chalkboards are fine, though."
They continued. “The Correspondence is a purely semiotic construct. There are currently no known pronunciations or verbal applications for these signs-“ The Academic covered a bark of laughter, and then continued, “-apologies, but I would hate for my lectures to contradict the well-documented research that the Ministry of Public Decency has gently requested I adhere to."
The Academic pushed their current chalkboard up and out of the way, revealing an unblemished second layer. They added a tidy column of six simple symbols. "There are one hundred and eight basic radicals, and we've discovered twice as many in total. But for this course, we will begin with six."
And, after writing these on the board, the academic turned to the students. “These you may record in your notes, however-“ their tone sharpened, slicing through the momentum of those who may have rushed to begin- “confine each radical to its own sheet for practice. None of these, alone, is a complete symbol. But some can be converted very easily into real Correspondence symbols, and it is vital that you do not accidentally do so. Spend the rest of today's duration memorizing and practicing these radicals until you can reproduce them by heart. You'll know if you're doing well, because you paper will become warm to the touch once half-full. I will also be writing additional complete correspondence symbols on the other chalkboards. Your homework is to discern which of these six parts of speech each of the symbols is.”
The Academic pointed once more at the spray bottles on each row of desks. “At any sign of smoke, you are to douse the offending student’s work, without hesitation. Last week was not a one-off exercise. Consider this both a basic safety precaution, as well as your first taste of operant conditioning. Get to it!”
Re: Activity
If accepted, the Professor would share both their written notes and side thoughts stemmed from them.
Re: Activity
(ooc: for ease, the Professor might do the trade and share their thoughts, and as followup the Tailor will consider the Professor's notes? This way we don't have to mix up threads when we've already got links to them.)
Re: Activity
"Don't be afraid. The way of learning involves giving unsteady steps, making mistakes, developing ideas and refining them until they're closer to reality. Prudence, beyond preventing something catching fire or causing harm, isn't useful in the endeavour. Trying your best implies trying, after all."
Re: Activity
Trying, meant risk of failure. Failure was frustrating; it meant a lack of skill and ability despite all attempts to improve and--ah, that was an unnecessary tangent. They took the Professor's proffered notes and examined them. Some of their thoughts were reflected back to them, others were a new angle they certainly hadn't considered. Maybe their idea of boxes relating to confinement said a bit too much about them...
"You think the slash in some of the symbols is a negation?"
A jester, for that last one, now that was a thought. They had nearly considered an actor, possibly from their own experience around them in the costuming rooms at Mahogany Hall. And "to do something strange", yes, they could see how the Professor had gotten there.
Re: Activity
"My apologies" said, simply. "And yes, I'm not entirely sure but it seems likely. After all, if a radical has a meaning, an antonym may be easily formed by denying it, rather than through an entirely new radical... I can be wrong, though. But it looks fairly common, looking at the given examples... Also taking into accoun the first example, the 'Unmappable direction'. See how the slash is placed right next to the verb radical? And acknowledging the place and adjective with now an obvious interpretation leaves the bigger radical, looking like a curved place radical. I thought it seemed like a place radical was becoming a noun radical, thus the individuation of a place, or its mapping. Then we have the map, the place, the verb, an adjective... What's missing? The 'Un-' in 'Unmappable'."
This explanation, despite excited, was obviously open to debate. The look directed towards the Tailor, in fact, could have been a request for feedback.
Re: Activity
There was the verb radical. There was the place radical. There was the adjective radical, on the very outside of the symbol, possibly indicating the entire subject was an adjective? Or was it just the looping radical that it claimed as one?
Their mouth moved silently, their finger trying to draw the shape without consigning it to ink, but maybe that in itself was still risk. They didn't know, they weren't paying attention to the action.
"Verb intersecting with place, a verb being done to a place, or in relation to a place--but if it's a negation, the verb cannot be completed... But then why not intersect with the verb? Why the place? The place itself can't have the action done to it?" They shook their head. "Even knowing what the symbol means, I don't think I see all that you're finding."
And then, looking back to the homework: "If it is a negation, then I don't know that these first and last symbols are right. The slash doesn't run parallel to the verb, so would it be attempting to negate the noun?" Their finger tapped on the page. "I keep.... seeing it in a third dimension, if that makes any sense. Like when a thread is run through a fabric, and exists on either side of it and needs to be illustrated as passing through. But that, I think, is a little unlikely."
Re: Activity
The Professor observed both the symbols and the Tailor's hands intently before looking back at them with an excited smile, the overstretched makeup already revealing the the red scales around too thin white lips, from which two sharp fangs poked out.
"It's a good thing we are here. There's so much to learn, and these classes provide the means to do so"
Re: Activity
But they detected absolutely no threat, and that instinct at least was honed. So there was only the barest moment of adjustment when they responded, "I really am looking forward to this semester, I think. Thank you again."
Re: Activity