Sunday, May 8, 2011

Language!




Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm slt
Babbage Palisade & Academy of Industry

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Palisade/254/60/106
and
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Academy%20of%20Industry/2/56/106

Wordplay: Enhancing the immersion experience through creative use of language

You’ve been there: the beautiful avatar approaches you; her clothes are perfectly chosen for the time period; her hair immaculately arranged; she seems to fit seamlessly with the wonderfully textured and exquisitely detailed environment that surrounds you both....you feel as if you have been transported...you have come unstuck in time and place and landed in something that is so utterly some place else from your usual mundane world...and then, the radiant avatar before you types into local chat:

“o hi! u r cute LOL is there a club here hey can u plz give me sum lindens, :)”

Ok, yes, that’s an extreme example. But the fact is, the words we choose and the ways we organize and use language in the context of an immersion environment can certainly affect the extent to which we--and the people around us--have the sense of being within a different historical or literary context. And those choices can work both ways: they can detract from the experience of an immersion environment OR they can enhance it, for you as well as the people who are in that space with you.

Long-time SL resident and rolepayer Dio Kuhr will discuss some of the language-related strategies and tactics she has utilized and witnessed over her years in-world. Her primary focus will be on the potential positive impact of language; how we can "speak" in ways that help to establish character and persona, to foster a sense of time and place; to enhance the theatricality of our interactions, and yeah, to just freakin’ have some fun with words. We will explore the process of matching language to particular environments, finding sources for appropriate style and vocabulary, the potential benefits of well-crafted language, as well as common pitfalls, and even a bit about the dreaded d-word...dialects.

Join us on Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm slt

Wordsmiths,
Jasper, Viv, Jed, & Sera

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