PC266, Giant Episode: The House of Aunts

[Djinndustries]

I too had problems with the accents (an Indian-English accent trying to do a Chinese-English accent, even though most the dialog is supposed to be in Hokkenese)

I'm impressed that you can tell the difference in Malaysian Indian versus Malaysian Chinese accents. Especially since I think the reader is Malay, which is neither of those. Blindfolded, I couldn't tell you if a speaker is Chinese or Malay unless they use a lot more Bahasa words, but even then if they're Malaysian, it's difficult. More, Hokkien is a Chinese dialect, not an English one, and there are plenty of other Chinese dialects spoken in Malaysia (Cantonese probably being the other big one, though). I'm not sure I could tell if the speaker was Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka or whatever other dialect by their spoken English.

I've come to find that our brains turn off the moment someone uses 't' instead of 'th' or throws any non-English sounds into conversation (such as intensifiers, lah, loh, wor, etc, let alone foreign words like walau).

That is not true for everybody, and I don't think it's true even for most people. These days people are much more exposed to other people from different parts of the world with different ways of talking.

I think the replies would indicate that from our sampling here in the forum there may be a little bit of truth in my suggestion. But I still think you (they, whoever) picked a great reader.

[InfiniteMonkey]

Hokkien is a Chinese dialect, not an English one

But that's my point. Given that it's supposed to be Chinese, there's no reason to read it in a Chinese accent. Because it's not English.

[Djinndustries]

Hokkien is a Chinese dialect, not an English one

But that's my point. Given that it's supposed to be Chinese, there's no reason to read it in a Chinese accent. Because it's not English.

Well, I think the Hokkien factor that has more to do with the culture elements more than the accent. Most Malaysians I've met (and Singaporeans for that matter), whether Chinese, Indian or Malay, speak this way. Hence "Singlish". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish. It's written exactly as they speak, so I think the accent is relevant here. Anywho.

[Gordian9]

I'm afraid I only gave this story one try and was unable to
Get past the poor audio quality
It became impossible to understand or follow fairly early on

[Moritz]

Hokkien is a Chinese dialect, not an English one

But that's my point. Given that it's supposed to be Chinese, there's no reason to read it in a Chinese accent. Because it's not English.

I agree, it's like when I once watched a Russian movie (I think it was Daywatch) dubbed in English and they were talking English with a Russian accent. Man what? When I speak my native language, it's not with an accent either!

[Bartok]

I'm another one who could decipher the accent or the audio quality, but not both together. I would just go back and play the muddiest sections over and over again, but with this being a Giant episode already... I don't think I'm dedicated enough.

Is there any chance that there's a master copy of this somewhere that could be cleaned up, and a new version of the file made available for download?

[PatManDX]

I came out of lurking to say I was really enjoyed this story, especially for its setting, not so say the story was any less apparent cause of it. I spend my rides back from school listening to Podcastle, and though I don't usually take the time to listen to the Giant episodes (for SHAAAAME PatMan!), but this one was one heck of an exception. As half-asian who lives in South East Asia, this is very very close to home. It was made even more effective by the fact that my dad was driving through Old Town, making the tropical Kampung (KAM-PooNG) setting all the more easy to place in my head.

I'm really glad it was hosted on here and I loved the reader and her accent (even though I couldn't get past the accent myself at times, might need listen to it again now that I don't have to worry about the drone of the car engine).

Thank you so much for airing this one. I'll have to convince my parents to donate.

[DKT]

PatManX, your description of listening to it has totally made my day. Thanks

For those of you wondering if there will be a re-record, the answer is no, probably not. This was a huge episode. I'm not sure how long it took Nina to record and edit, but she did it more than once for us. (If I had recorded/edited it twice, it probably would've taken me at least six hours - probably more.)

We try and stretch ourselves and find readers who will make the stories here sound authentic. We could've asked someone like Ann Leckie or Mur to read it (I guess?) but we're all pretty happy with what Nina turned in. I hope she reads for us again, and if she does, we'll try and up the sound quality.

If you'd like to read the story, do check it out at GigaNotoSaurus.

[Arri]

Wow what a fun voice! I can't wait to hear this recorded with a better mic and a LOT less compression.
I love accents but sadly I too had trouble making out the words. I know it's a lot to ask but a re record of this story sure would be nice.
Looking forward to hearing more from Nina!

[Devoted135]

Looking forward to hearing more from Nina!

I'll second this

[Whiskerwing]

At risk of jumping on a bandwagon, I'm going to agree that the sound quality squished this one for me. I was enjoying both the exotic twist of the reader's accent and the curious garlic-eating vampire family, but I wasn't able to finish the story.

[InfiniteMonkey]

For those of you wondering if there will be a re-record, the answer is no, probably not. This was a huge episode. I'm not sure how long it took Nina to record and edit, but she did it more than once for us. (If I had recorded/edited it twice, it probably would've taken me at least six hours - probably more.)

We try and stretch ourselves and find readers who will make the stories here sound authentic.

Dave, brother, I feel bad for you. It's obvious that you and the team put a lot of work into this one, and I appreciate that. I'm glad you sought out an authentic voice. But the combo of hard-to-hear audio and an unfamiliar accent just was more than I could process. I usually have no problem with accents -- this may be a first for me.

Again, thanks for all the hard work.

[Whiskerwing]

For the record? I co-hosted a podcast for a while and I'm guessing that 6 hours estimate above? Was probably a bit light. It takes a very, very long time to record in the first place, let alone do all the splicing and trimming to make it all flow smoothly. Add to that file sizes, compression ratios, and it could have been as simple as a single obscure checkbox or voice filter that damaged an entire day's work.

I can't even imagine what sort of devilish deals or midnight chants 'round black magic servers the Escape Artists folks must engage in so that they can deliver such exceptional quality time and time again. A single blip here and there just reminds me that you're human.

... well, probably. Did that shadow seem awfully tentacle-y to anyone else? And am I the only one smelling burnt feathers?

[DKT]

For those of you wondering if there will be a re-record, the answer is no, probably not. This was a huge episode. I'm not sure how long it took Nina to record and edit, but she did it more than once for us. (If I had recorded/edited it twice, it probably would've taken me at least six hours - probably more.)

We try and stretch ourselves and find readers who will make the stories here sound authentic.

Dave, brother, I feel bad for you. It's obvious that you and the team put a lot of work into this one, and I appreciate that. I'm glad you sought out an authentic voice. But the combo of hard-to-hear audio and an unfamiliar accent just was more than I could process. I usually have no problem with accents -- this may be a first for me.

Again, thanks for all the hard work.

Aw, thanks for that It's appreciated, but I wasn't fishing for that!

And please don't feel bad. I do totally understand that this one bounced off some people for a couple different reasons, and I'm fine with that. And I do appreciate the feedback I'm happy with the recording we got - but I understand that not everyone is, and that's cool.

[eytanz]

This story is awesome, and I loved practically everything about it. I thought the narrator did a great job, and her native accent and the character voices added a really appealing layer to the story. The recording quality - well, I could talk about it, but honestly, I'm feeling a bit bad for the author that the thread for such a great story is being dominated by audio gripes, so I'll leave mine implied rather than said. I am very grateful that I could access the text version of this story online, though.

Anyway, onwards to the story - as I already said, I adore this one. It's long, but its uniformly compelling. I wasn't familiar with the mythology in question before listening to it, but I felt that rather than being a barrier, that made it more interesting as I learnt as I was listening. Mostly, however, this story really knows how to weave likable and real-feeling characters in a setting that never took itself too seriously, and keeping both the emotional reality and the winks at the audience in perfect balance.

I was a bit confused by the ending, in that I was not sure how the aunts also became pontianaks - I originally thought that they were already undead when Ah Lee died, but when I re-read it it seemed that they changed to support her, which makes the internal logic nerd in me a bit confused - certainly, they weren't all pregnant at the time - but I also recognize that that detail is not really important.

[PatManDX]

PatManX, your description of listening to it has totally made my day. Thanks

For those of you wondering if there will be a re-record, the answer is no, probably not. This was a huge episode. I'm not sure how long it took Nina to record and edit, but she did it more than once for us. (If I had recorded/edited it twice, it probably would've taken me at least six hours - probably more.)

We try and stretch ourselves and find readers who will make the stories here sound authentic. We could've asked someone like Ann Leckie or Mur to read it (I guess?) but we're all pretty happy with what Nina turned in. I hope she reads for us again, and if she does, we'll try and up the sound quality.

If you'd like to read the story, do check it out at GigaNotoSaurus.

Oh I'm gla--

PatManX, your description of listening to it has totally made my day. Thanks

What on Earth?

PatManX, your descri

No...

PatManX

PatManDX

Why Dave. Why?

[DKT]

Because I'm a cruel, miserable regent, and the only Ds on this forum that I acknowledge are my own.

That good enough for you, PatManX?


Oh, fine.

PatMandX.

[Scattercat]

What have you got against tailless cats, Pat? 

[PatManDX]

What have you got against tailless cats, Pat? 

They are sad shadows of true feline ferocity, hardly cats at all. Honestly, what poor four-pawed soul would go around without their de facto fifth limb?
(I have no idea what's going on, but I'm not going to start acting like I don't.)

[Scattercat]

(Patmanx = Pat manx = manx is a breed of tailless cat = Your level of unhappiness suggests a personal vendetta against the nub-butted.)

[PatManDX]

(Patmanx = Pat manx = manx is a breed of tailless cat = Your level of unhappiness suggests a personal vendetta against the nub-butted.)

I.

Wow. Even I wouldn't of read that far into a typo (even if I wanted to). I'm effectively envious.

Dang.

Heh. Nub-butted. Aren't all butts nubby if they pack enough mass?

(Insert video link to a hundred hour loop of Baby Got Back).

[naum nurgle]

just comming out of the lurk to say as a non american, non first worlder I really enjoyed the diverse accent in this

yes it took a bit to get used to but if you are used to diverse multi cultural day to day life such skills exist; I pity those of you in a mono culture

the sound quality was not great but the long                                                                                   pauses between chapters were like a spicy curry coming out the exit shaft

But I really wanted to come onto the site to find out what kind of vampire the story featured and no one seems to be talking about that...

The pontianak (Dutch-Indonesian spelling: boentianak) is a vampiric ghost in Malay and Indonesian mythology. It is also known as a matianak or kuntilanak, sometimes shortened to kunti. The pontianak are said to be the spirits of woman who died while pregnant. This is often confused with a related creature, the lang suir, which is the ghost of a woman who died while giving birth. The word pontianak is reportedly a corruption of the Malay perempuan mati beranak, or “woman who died in childbirth”.[1] Another theory is that the word is a combination of puan (woman) + mati (die) + anak (child). The term matianak means "death of a child". The city of Pontianak in Indonesia is named after this creature, which was claimed to have haunted the first sultan who once settled there.

Pontianak are usually depicted as pale-skinned women with long hair and dressed in white, but they are said to be able to take on a beautiful appearance since they prey on men. In his 1977 short story collection The Consul’s File Paul Theroux posits that the phantom is an invention of Malay wives who wanted to discourage their husbands from random sexual encounters with women that they met on the road at night.[2]

In folklore, a pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries. If the cry is soft, it means that the pontianak is close, and if it is loud, then it must be far. Some believe that if you hear a dog howling, that means that the pontianak is far away. But if a dog is whining, that means the pontianak is nearby. Its presence can sometimes be detected by a nice floral fragrance identifiable as that of the plumeria, followed by an awful stench afterward.

A pontianak kills its victims by digging into their stomachs with its sharp fingernails and devouring their organs. In some cases where the pontianak desires revenge against a male individual, it rips out the sex organs with its hands. It is said that if you have your eyes open when a pontianak is near, it will suck them out of your head. Pontianak locate prey by sniffing out clothes left outside to dry. For this reason, some Malays refuse to leave any article of clothing outside of their residences overnight.

The pontianak is associated with banana trees (pokok pisang), and its spirit is said to reside in them during the day.

To fend off a pontianak, a nail must be plunged into the hole on the nape of her neck. This is said to make her a beautiful woman and a good wife until the nail is removed. In the case of the kuntilanak, the nail is plunged into the apex of her head.

The Indonesian kuntilanak is similar to the pontianak, but more commonly takes the form of a bird and sucks the blood of virgins and young women. The bird, which makes a "ke-ke-ke" sound as it flies, may be sent through black magic to make a woman sick, the characteristic symptom being vaginal bleeding. In the female form, when a man approaches her she suddenly turns and reveals that her back is hollow, but this apparition is more specifically referred to as sundel bolong.

[LaShawn]

Agree that the sound quality was hard and not easy to listen to at first. I'm glad I stuck it out though. LOVED the story! This made me homesick for my own aunts and grandma and mom. I liked how the author weaved the pontianak elements seamlessly into the story. (And thanks Naum for the definition of pontianak. I can see how the guy in the story used it for his own means to try to save Ah Lee.)

The relationship between Ah Lee and the guy was so sweet, especially when they were trying to admit their feelings to each other. Glad to see the two of them were able to get together, even with those pesky aunts watching. And I also love how the aunts are pesky, yet become fierce when defending Ah Lee. The part when they kept talking about Ah Lee crying and the news spreading through the whole house had me in stitches.

(Edited to correct Ah Lee's spelling)