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2010-04-03

dreaming in subtitles

At some point many years ago I started to dream in German. At first it was just an awareness that there was some German dialogue, but nowadays there will be extended swaths of conversation that are in German, usually because my dream setting is somewhere in Europe. Last night was the first time Hungarian crept into things. But as subtitles or printed labels, not as something aurally coherent. I think it is the combination of watching BBC reruns of Weakest Link and Antiques Road Show, which have hungarian subtitles along with spoken english dialogue, and my being surrounded by hungarian signage. ever so slowly i am able to pick out individual words. the other day i had an aha experience.... background: one of the german teachers here is named cilla (=stella), and we see each other at the lunch table about once a week and have a good 5=10 min chat auf deutsch. other background: just to the south of the gimnazium there is a small observatory complete with dome and retracting door for telescope. the building has a sign on it, cannot recall it but it goes something like this

LAZATONY KAROLY CILLAKOSPONT

and then it hit me: it is a STAR somethingorother (starwatchcenter, stargazeplace, starmeasureroom, etc etc) named after Karl Whoozitz.

So in my dreams, there were letters or words hovering around the people who were speaking, not quite a threshhold of understanding, but at least the door was open a crack.

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