The serpentine girl and the silver-haired witch is a tale that tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two very different magical beings. The serpentine girl, with her stunning green scales and slithering movements, is feared and misunderstood by the human villagers. They believe her to be a creature of evil, capable of casting curses and bringing harm. The silver-haired witch, on the other hand, is known for her ethereal beauty and her ability to manipulate the forces of nature. She floats through the forest, a mysterious figure with her silver hair glistening in the moonlight. Though she possesses great power, the witch is lonely and yearns for a companion who can look past her magical abilities and see her for who she truly is.
Though she possesses great power, the witch is lonely and yearns for a companion who can look past her magical abilities and see her for who she truly is. One fateful day, the serpentine girl and the silver-haired witch cross paths deep in the heart of the forest. At first, the witch is wary of the girl, unsure of her intentions.
A new book spells out the magic of language
I N “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”, a superhero blockbuster, the baddy’s Infinity Gauntlet gives him the power to snuff out the universe with the snap of a finger. This may sound impressive, but—although few realise it—ordinary people possess an infinite power, too: language.
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Write a new sentence and Google it. The chances are good that it appears nowhere among the billions on the internet. Steven Pinker, a professor of linguistics, reckons a conservative estimate of the number of grammatical, 20-word sentences a human might produce is at least a hundred million trillion—far more than the number of grains of sand on Earth. Most can easily be made longer (try adding “She said that…” to the beginning of any declarative sentence). In theory, the only thing preventing this power from being literally infinite is the human lifespan: some possible sentences would be too long to say even in threescore years and ten.
This awesome talent is the subject of a new book, “Language Unlimited” by David Adger of Queen Mary University, the president of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain. Mr Adger does not just celebrate language’s infinity. He maintains that it is the distinct result of a unique capacity, advancing a series of arguments whose best-known exponent is Noam Chomsky.
The book’s first, and strongest, claim is that human language is different from animal communication not just in scope, but in kind. Most important, it is hierarchical and nested in structure. A highly trained bonobo called Kanzi can obey commands such as “Give water [to] Rose”. But Kanzi does no better than random chance when told to “Give water and lighter to Rose.” Meanwhile, a two-year-old child tested alongside Kanzi quickly intuits that two nouns can make up a noun phrase, tucked as a direct object into a verb phrase, which in turn is part of a sentence. This “recursive” structure is key to syntax.
The second claim is that language is innate, not merely an extension of general human intelligence. Fascinating evidence comes from children who are deprived of it. Deaf pupils at a school in Nicaragua, having never shared a language with anyone before, created a grammatically ornate sign language on their own. A few deaf children in a Mexican family devised a rich sign system with complex grammatical features found in spoken tongues: in their “homesign”, nouns are preceded by a “classifier”, a sign indicating their type, just as they sometimes are in Chinese. It seems the human mind simply cannot help but deal in grammar.
A more controversial claim is that all human languages share what Mr Chomsky calls “universal grammar”. This proposition has taken some hard knocks. Whether recursion is universal, for example, is contested. In 2009 two linguists published a widely cited paper called “The myth of language universals”, which seemed to find exceptions to other putatively universal rules. The paper said it was not even clear that all the world’s languages observed a noun-verb distinction; Mr Adger counters with evidence that even the supposed outliers pay some attention to this split.
Many of the universals that hold up best are negative. There are many sensible things languages could do, but don’t. Notably, their grammars do not make use of “continuous” features, such as the length of vowels. For instance, a past-tense verb could be pronounced for a longer time to indicate how long ago the action occurred—perfectly logical, but no language does this. Syntax uses discrete units, not continuous ones. Whether this is proof of universality is a matter of opinion.
Lastly, Mr Adger embraces the latest of Mr Chomsky’s theories, “Merge”, a mental function in which two units may be joined to a larger one that can then be operated on by the mind’s grammar-processor. The two-year-old who beat Kanzi could Merge “water and lighter” and apply the verb to both; Kanzi seemed to treat words like beads on a string, rather than mentally grouping them into bigger units in a structure.
Mr Chomsky thinks a single human developed the ability to perform Merge tens of thousands of years ago, and that this is the only feature unique to human language. Mr Adger does not explicitly defend either of these claims. But his tour of Chomskyan linguistics is entertaining and accessible—in contrast to Mr Chomsky’s own notoriously baffling prose. His book is a handy introduction to a vexed debate on the infinite power of the finite mortal mind. ■
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "Everyday superheroes"
However, as they spend more time together, the witch realizes that there is no malice in the serpentine girl's heart. Rather, she is a misunderstood creature who longs for acceptance and understanding. The two begin to form a deep bond, sharing their stories and their struggles. They learn from each other, teaching the serpentine girl to embrace her uniqueness and helping the witch to see the beauty in the world once more. As they traverse the forests and meadows together, the villagers begin to see the serpentine girl through the witch's eyes - as a creature of wonder and gentleness. Despite the initial skepticism and fear of the villagers, the friendship between the serpentine girl and the silver-haired witch helps to bridge the gap between magical and human worlds. The tale teaches us the importance of looking beyond appearances and preconceived notions, and to embrace the diversity that exists in our world. In the end, the serpentine girl and the silver-haired witch become champions of unity and understanding, reminding us that friendship and acceptance can come from the most unexpected of places..
Reviews for "The Music of Serpentine Girl and the Silver Haired Witch: Understanding the Soundtrack’s Role in the Story"
1. John - 2 stars
I found "Serpentine Girl and the Silver Haired Witch" to be quite disappointing. The story seemed promising at first, but it quickly lost its charm. The characters were underdeveloped and lacked depth, making it difficult to connect with their struggles or root for their success. The plot also felt disjointed, with random events thrown in simply for shock value rather than to further the story. Overall, the book failed to capture my interest or leave a lasting impression.
2. Sarah - 1 star
I regret picking up "Serpentine Girl and the Silver Haired Witch". It felt like a poorly written and poorly executed attempt at creating a dark fantasy world. The writing was clunky and filled with unnecessary detail, making it difficult to stay engaged. The story itself was confusing and lacked a clear direction, leaving me feeling unsatisfied and confused about the purpose of certain events. I struggled to care about any of the characters, as they were bland and lacked depth. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a truly captivating and well-crafted fantasy novel.
3. Mark - 2 stars
"Serpentine Girl and the Silver Haired Witch" fell short of my expectations. The writing style was overly descriptive and dragged on, slowing down the pacing of the story. The plot lacked originality and failed to offer any surprises or twists that would have made it more interesting. The protagonist, in particular, was difficult to relate to or sympathize with, as her motivations and actions felt forced and unconvincing. Overall, this book felt like a missed opportunity and left me feeling underwhelmed.