Monday, October 13, 2003

A friend emails me this:

While discussing an article on students' use of 'inapproprate'slang or
cliche phrases in writing papers or evaluations of classic works such as
Hamlet, someone added this comment:


70 b3, 0r n07 70 b3, 7h47 15 7h3 qu35710n:
Wh37h3r '715 n0b|3r 1n 7h3 m1nd 70 5uff3r
7h3 5|1n65 4nd 4rr0w5 0f 0u7r4630u5 f0r7un3;
0r 70 74k3 4rm5 4641n57 4 534 0f 7r0ub|35,
4nd by 0pp051n6, 3nd 7h3m: 70 d13, 70 5|33p
N0 m0r3; 4nd by 4 5|33p, 70 54y w3 3nd
7h3 h34r7-4ch3, 4nd 7h3 7h0u54nd n47ur4| 5h0ck5
7h47 f|35h 15 h31r 70; '715 4 c0n5um4710n
D3v0u7|y 70 b3 w15h'd. 70 d13 70 5|33p,
70 5|33p, p3rch4nc3 70 dr34m; 4y3, 7h3r3'5 7h3 rub,
F0r 1n 7h47 5|33p 0f d347h, wh47 dr34m5 m4y c0m3,
Wh3n w3 h4v3 5huff|3d 0ff 7h15 m0r74| c01|1
Mu57 61v3 u5 p4u53. 7h3r3'5 7h3 r35p3c7
7h47 m4k35 c4|4m17y 0f 50 |0n6 |1f3:
F0r wh0 w0u|d b34r 7h3 wh1p5 4nd 5c0rn5 0f 71m3,
7h3 0ppr3550r'5 wr0n6, 7h3 pr0ud m4n'5 c0n7um3|y,2,3
7h3 p4n65 0f d15pr1z'd |0v3, 7h3 |4w'5 d3|4y,4
7h3 1n50|3nc3 0f 0ff1c3, 4nd 7h3 5purn5
7h47 p4713n7 m3r17 0f 7h3 unw0r7hy 74k35,
Wh3n h3 h1m53|f m16h7 h15 qu137u5 m4k35
W17h 4 b4r3 b0dk1n? Wh0 w0u|d f4rd|35 b34r6,7
70 6run7 4nd 5w347 und3r 4 w34ry |1f3 --
Bu7 7h47 7h3 dr34d 0f 50m37h1n6 4f73r d347h,
7h3 und15c0v3r3d c0un7ry, fr0m wh053 b0urn8
N0 7r4v3|3r r37urn5, puzz|35 7h3 w1||,
4nd m4k35 u5 r47h3r b34r 7h053 1||5 w3 h4v3,
7h4n f|y 70 07h3r5 7h47 w3 kn0w n07 0f.
7hu5 c0n5c13nc3 d035 m4k3 c0w4rd5 0f u5 4||,
4nd 7hu5 7h3 n471v3 hu3 0f r350|u710n
15 51ck|13d 0'3r w17h 7h3 p4|3 c457 0f 7h0u6h7,
4nd 3n73rpr1535 0f 6r347 p17ch 4nd m0m3n7,
W17h 7h15 r364rd 7h31r curr3n75 7urn 4wry,
4nd |053 7h3 n4m3 0f 4c710n..


There's something about wading through this sort of pig-latin gibberishification that makes the language come alive for me - by forcing a limited sort of decoding, it removes the passage from the parts of the mind that read reflexively, and compels one to read the text closely, directly, as if encountered for the first time.

Update: he tells me that it was from this Fark article comments section.

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