Did you find yourself talking/thinking in the Dark Tower Language?

[md10pc]

Started The Gunslinger on Feb. 22 and finished The Dark Tower yesterday (June 22). I enjoyed the "language" of the books so much--the colorful phrases, the use of "thee", "say thankya" "you say true", "we are well met". Now I recognize a lot of the phrases used on this message board.

I found the phrase from the last book, Mordred's a-hungry really spooky!

I loved when Jake saidHile and merry greet the day and Roland's response was "merry see, merry be". So much more colorful than plain old good morning.

So my question - did you find yourself speaking or thinking the lingo? My husband thought I was being sarcastic when I slipped up and said "say thankya"! And I wondered how well the phrases translated to those from non-English speaking countries--if it made it harder to read?

[Prince of Darkness]

Hi,

I do, my English teacher laughed her as$ off when I said to her, before leaving class, "Long days and pleasant nights." :biggrin2:

Long days and pleasant nights

[darktowerjunkie1]

I noticed my self thinking and speaking the little phrases while I was reading the books. You eventually loose it if you haven't read them in awhile :)

[themadone06]

I said Thankee-sai to one of my roommates the other day. He looked at like I was whacked out of my gourd.

I have also said Long Days and Pleasant Nights a few times, but no one thought that was weird.

[jacobtlong]

I haven't read the series in two years, but I do remember a few words and phrases. Sometimes I had to catch myself before calling my teachers "Sai". I'm sure when I begin my reread, my friends will be wondering just what happened to me over summer.

[Neil W]

No, I absolutely do not. Perhaps this is because I am an older person (my school days were back in the 60s), but it would make me feel as dumb as saying "May the Force be with you" to people.

It's wonderful language for a story, but bringing it outside that story would, to me, be an embarrassing affectation.

[michal]

Spoke it and even worst - THOUGHT in it. Thankee-sai, Long Days and Pleasant Nights, the whole thing. Only hit me after Wolves of the Calla though. that Calla slang is something else...

[md10pc]

Spoke it and even worst - THOUGHT in it. Thankee-sai, Long Days and Pleasant Nights, the whole thing. Only hit me after Wolves of the Calla though. that Calla slang is something else...

Wolves of the Calla seemed to do the same to me. I read the entire series straight thru too so that is another reason why the language seemed so vivid--I had been living with it for four months! It was great though.

[Charms7]

May you have twice the number. I've said that on a few birthday cards.

[mercop14]

Lol I actually found myself thinking in the phrases while I read the last four books. I thought it was only me.

[sköldpadda]

The Calla slang was what got me, I really had to stop myself from saying 'do it please ya' and 'I beg', my boyfriend thinks I'm mad enough as it is without sprouting those bizarre phrases at him :laugh:

[Mr Nobody]

I've used 'Cry your pardon' to my g/f. She looked at me like my brain had gone out and left my body behind.
Still, all the DT lingo is better than real world stuff, e.g. 'sh!t for brains'.
Last time anyone called me that, I told them they weren't allowed to use my Indian name. :wink2:

[hile, gunslinger.]

Oh, me and my friends that have read the books use the lingo allll of the time, like whenever one of us is doing a store run we'll be like 'pick me up some nozz-a-lozz.'

[DillonNelson]

Yes, frequently. Haha. And I've only just finished Book 4. On several occasions I've lapsed into DT lingo on accident (cry your pardon more often than all others) and get some strange looks sometimes. Its almost even more strange when people don't seem to notice as all though.

Probably the worst was when, while talking to a girl I have some serious feelings for (i found myself thinking about her the entire time I read of Susan Delgado) I lapsed into that language a bit, and almost pissed myself with embarrassment when the sentance "Long days and pleasant nights (smile)... but mayhap I'll have some money for a change and we wont have to worry about that." Left my stupid lips. LOL.

Luckilly we both have weird senses of humor and I managed to pawn it off as a joke. =) )

[MyJadedEpiphany]

I had a good laugh at this! For weeks after reading the series for the second or third time I caught myself saying Oh discordia! whenever someone wasn't going the way I expected! That's just they way with SK.

[Drawn to Ka-tet]

Immersion in 'Calla-speak' made me learn to speak the language. Once learned, it isn't easily forgotten , cry pardon.
I still find myself either thinking in Calla-speak or talking in Calla-speak. I drive my family crazy with the 'thee's and thou's', the cullies, the sai's and sohs, the clearing at the end of the path, and the rest of it.
I wouldn't give it up if I could.
Long days and pleasant nights.

[Ophelia]

I actually burst out with "hile, gunslinger!" the other day.
At church.

Folks thought I was loony and asked me what a gunslinger was.

[sköldpadda]

Seems I can't help myself from picking up King-isms I've recently read The Dreamcatcher and now find myself thinking Jesus christ bananas! when something surprises me and also right here, right now from The Talisman, which has so many uses :grinning:.

[EricMint]

I just read the last 4 books this summer so a lot of the language is still fresh in my head. Most of it I only do in my head. Like if I'm wondering how many days I have until my vacation, I'll answer myself with "delah."

Or when my lunch hour comes I'll think "say thankya big big!" lol. love that one.

Or if I see a pretty girl in the street, I'll think "Many a married man has had his gilly" even though I'm not married.

I actually caught myself giving the gunslinger finger twirl to my niece the other day who can stretch a two minute story into an Dark Tower sized epic.

Oh and now "ka" is my fallback answer to any kind of "what do you think will happen" question.

I'm still waiting to tell someone, "May your first day in hell last ten thousand years, and may it be the shortest," but I doubt that'll ever come to me naturally during an argument.

[Sammy-Baby]

The only thing I say is from when Susannah is stuffing her face and it says she's "hooooonnnnngggrrrryyyyy" I say it all the time when I'm starving lol. I use other phrases on purpose with my boyfriend though. But I've never accidentally "sai-ed" my teacher, lol

[plgordon]

I have experienced this phenomenon with other authors as well, most notably TOLKIEN. not just from Lord Of The Rings, but also from the Sillmarillion, The Children of Hurin. Like others, I think it more than speak it. It's fun I don't mind at all, and sometimes when a phrase verbaly escapes me I do get some interesting looks!

[Mr. Palmer]

...it would make me feel as dumb as saying "May the Force be with you" to people.

Uh... I say that to people. :oo:

[Ferret1981]

A few times, and when my friends started to read it, we spoke in it regularly for a few monts. Oy was one of my favorites to, quoting the Billybumbler, though most people just think I"m having a Yiddish moment. We even sometimes did the formal bow that they used to do before the world moved on. fist to the forhead, one leg stretched forward and bow. thank the gods for friends that read some of the same books, makes you feel less crazy,lol.

[Suzana]

Started The Gunslinger on Feb. 22 and finished The Dark Tower yesterday (June 22). I enjoyed the "language" of the books so much--the colorful phrases, the use of "thee", "say thankya" "you say true", "we are well met". Now I recognize a lot of the phrases used on this message board.

I found the phrase from the last book, Mordred's a-hungry really spooky!

I loved when Jake saidHile and merry greet the day and Roland's response was "merry see, merry be". So much more colorful than plain old good morning.

So my question - did you find yourself speaking or thinking the lingo? My husband thought I was being sarcastic when I slipped up and said "say thankya"! And I wondered how well the phrases translated to those from non-English speaking countries--if it made it harder to read?

I found the "language" very interesting, as in all SK books where he "makes words up" (such as Lisey´s story).
I read the books in English, part for practicng my English, part because I like it better, and part to see how the guy that was supposed to translate would find a solution and make up a whole new language based on ancient Portuguese and stuff (I must say, not an easy job, sai :D). Sometimes a lot of things get lost along the way, when a story is translated. I think it didn´t make the books harder to read, but some of the "feeling" was missing. The guy who translated it is very good and creative, though.
And as English is not my native language, (I speak Portuguese), I sometimes think (haven´t said it yet LOL) in the language, but the sentence I loved the most was no doubt "long days and pleasant nights". It reminded me something of "long live the king".
And as we´re speaking about it, could you help me with this? When Roland says "First COMES smiles, then the lies. Last is gunfire", is it correct? Or should it be "first COME smiles"? Or both? (thanks and sorry, I just had to ask ;) ) Whoa, this post is way too big!!

[glyde69]

I've said Thankee-Sai many a time the last few years. Usually get blank stares in return, but once I met a fellow DT fan in Shop-Rite.

[costanza]

At work I give promotional speeches every hour. The last speech of the day I'm supposed to end it with "Noble guests, until we meet again, may the Gods of Great Fortune smile upon you all!" Instead I like to say, "Noble guests, until we meet again, may you have long days and pleasant nights!"

No one's recognized it so far. The geek in me knows that, one day, someone will.

[Bryan James]

These days I find oxygen foreign to my body.

[lilythmageborn]

It's likely because all the lingo is still fresh in my mind from my recent read that I find myself thinking in DT slang frequently. Like most others, it happened most big-big after reading Wolves of the Calla, though the whole Mejis flashback was a pretty big sticker as well, with the 'thees and thous'. I've not used any of it in real-life context, not even by accident. But I am an avid role player, and I've just about mandated Calla slang as the new 'Common' slang. Maybe it's because I've never been to Maine or even met anyone from there, but I find the way John Cullum speaks to be a little too exaggerated and unreal. It fits in fantasy-town Calla Bryn-Sturgis, but not Maine, USA.

[Jaedpact]

My wife and I read/listened to the books at the same time and would try to one up each other with our ability to work the language. I still say "Oh discordia!" but one thing that hits me hard and deep would be when I sometimes identify people as gunslingers. For instance I was watching a John Lennon documentary specifically the part about the "bed in" and with no thought at all I told my wife "that's a gunslinger". or in other situations I have refered to dubious folken as Low-Men. It's just awesome how ingrained these things have become in me. Oh or my favorite "short timers aught not mess in long timers buisness" I think about that phrase from insomnia when there are certain insurmountable situations at hand.

[vinividivicci]

Uh... I say that to people. :oo:


Uh, I do too :wow:

[taipeidryad]

hehe ,, yep , i have found myself using 'the clearing at the end of the path' , since reading the Dark Tower, I've not lost anyone myself, but several friends have, I find it a gentle approach. Oh yeah, and a phrase from Talisman, I won't even say how many times I've read it, 'all will be well, all manner of things will be well' . I've used that phrase since the 80's.

[dubisaxel]

yes

[pathoftheturtle]

"All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well" also was used in Wolves of the Calla. It's a famous quote from the medieval Catholic mystic known as Julian of Norwich.

As for myself, yes, I do sometimes like to use various phrases from TDT. I kind of wish that King had better developed the various dialects and kept them straight and separate from each other. He's not really the kind of person who has a way of thinking that is highly organized. However, he is highly creative, and has a great sense of style. The language in this series is definitely fun.

Personally, I'm always pretty deliberate in my use of words. It's just a matter of choice when I include bits of "High Speech" or Calla patois. Occasionally, though, I do come across a situation in which the word "ka" seems to fit better than any more conventional term.

[Cthulhu]

No, I don't think or act like any characters in the DT - especially not after meeting that crazy kid in rehab back in '92 who was convinced he was actually Roland.

[fishandChips]

I find me self saying I a lot, say true. then people look at me funny and so I say ya instead. I found my self saying that a lot after I read dark tower.

[thewordisnineteen]

One of my friends lost a close personal belonging recently, and he rhetorically asked himself, "Why did I lose it?" I, not realizing the question was rhetorical, replied: "Ka."

[Lencho_of_the_Apes]

A distant acquaintance, someone I had never talked about SK with (and reallly didn't know well at all) once said "Thankee-sai" to me...

We all float down here.