Word Clones / Word Clowns

[Nemonymous]

I mentioned en passant 'word clones' and 'word clowns' in my ON THE HOOF review of CATHR posted a few days ago. These sort of slid in unbidden and I've wondered ever since what on earth I had in mind!
Within the review, it is sort of hinted, I believe, that these represent the relative strengths of autonomous lettering, even to extent that the letters themselves perform like puppets or dolls or clowns before settling down within the pattern of semantic fields, graphologies, phonemes, morphemes, syntactical-formations-between-them etc, as sort of ... writing automata? The pre-performance is not controlled by the headlease writer or even by that writer's set of collusive or non-collusive narrators who develop within the texture of the text, but the actual settlement of the letters after the performance (when the letters' duty of 'meaning' is due within the ordinary work-a-day scenario of the written communication business) is controlled by the headlease writer and his amanuensis narrators. Dependent on the pre-performance of the letters, the actual end-message can be subsequently skewed or focussed accordingly. This does not absolve the headlease writer from responsibility for the end-message, but there are occasions where word clones or word clowns among the letters can be artful in themselves, even evil. (The word clones are rather sad creatures and will fall back flaccidly even at a suspicion of the headlease writer coming back to work into the 'garden of his literary cultivation' after lunch, whilst the word clowns have more bravura and will sit out their own existence as long as possible).

[G. S. Carnivals]

des,

Your assertion/theory has given this fellow logophile much new territory to wander and ponder. Thanks!

A headless writer,
Phil

[G. S. Carnivals]

Upon reflection, I might have signed my previous post as by "A heedless writer" with equal sincerity and validity. The clone and the clown are tussling. May the best word win...

[Spotbowserfido2]

"All I did was turn my back for one moment. What is here is where? Is there comfort in my confusion?" Heathcliffe asked as his fingers gently raked Ezmerelda's arm, taking a cruel census of the appendage's hairs, pores, and such.

[Nemonymous]

Tonguage n. (derivation: 'Weirdtongue' novel 28 August 2006):

A language that is physical; a language with words of inter-grammatical force and bulk; a language (of meaningful or meaningless words and their constituent letters) which interacts negatively or positively with those using it; a language possessing the familiar phonetic, semantic, graphological and syntactical usages as well as being a tangible thing-in-itself, often with its own consciousness and ability to change those very usages.

[G. S. Carnivals]

Quote Originally Posted by DF Lewis

Tonguage n. (derivation: 'Weirdtongue' novel 28 August 2006): A language that is physical; a language with words of inter-grammatical force and bulk; a language (of meaningful or meaningless words and their constituent letters) which interacts negatively or positively with those using it; a language possessing the familiar phonetic, semantic, graphological and syntactical usages as well as being a tangible thing-in-itself, often with its own consciousness and ability to change those very usages.

des, the idea of Tonguage in relation to word clones and word clowns is fascinating. Perhaps another storey or nine billion will have to be added to the Tower of Babel...

Spotbowserfido2, what I've read of your novel Sugar Cane Carte Blanche is quite excellent. However, I suggest that you hold onto the leash as you compose your novel. Harlequin, without a doubt, pays much more than certain less respectable publishers for the works they put between covers. The excerpts which you have chosen to share with TLO have thus far remained within the bounds of decency. I hope your novel does, too. Just an idea...

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE