Lost in Translation

For the past week my late night efforts have consisted of attempting to regain some basic knowledge of Syriac.  Why?  I'm wanting to use this old Semitic tongue in a story I'm writing.

But the Syriac is tough going.  It was tough enough when I was sitting in a class with Dr. Orville Wintermute (also studied Aramaic and Talmudic Hebrew with Orville), but now with the passing of years the language has all but passed from my synapses.

I have enough problems with English (I'm still masterin' the Hoosier dialect).  But it has been fun trying to write Syriac again.  I love the alphabet.

As I head back to annual conference today after a short night, I'll be eager to hear other dialects in play.  People from southern Indiana who say, "Ya'll."  Good old boys from Sullivan County (where I grew up) who suck on toadstools and ask, "Where the hell ya' been lately?"  Folks from up north who have just a tinge of Wisconsin drawl who say, "Oh, but it's a hot one today ain't it?"

That's why I like to sit in the back row and observe all of this.  It's fun watching people as they try to figure each other out.