Below are two term projects from the Spring 2021 edition of the course! They should give you ideas about what past students learned from the course.
Bri'ana Kednon (Brianna Caedmon of Slytherin - note that Bri'ana chose the "More Parseltongue!" option so her project is in two parts):
Part 1:
Something which I find really interesting about parseltongue is the fact that as fas as I’m aware all of their counting systems use a different base (either unary or binary or both) to the human counting system of base ten. So much about how I, as a human, see the world is tied up in this counting system in subtle ways that it really makes me wonder what seeing the world through a binary or unary lens is like. After all, with the sense of five and ten as good round numbers gone, it drastically changes the idea of what a ‘round’ or easy amount feels like. Other human civilisations have used other counting systems, and I really wonder how much (or how little) it changes. I think with parseltongue being binary/unary it certainly makes counting to large numbers harder, and may also result in large numbers conveying a more accurate idea of what the size of something is to a snake as, unlike in the human decimal system where 506 feels fairly meaningless, do get quite long.
Source (that humans have used other number systems): https://www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/num-sys.html
Part 2:
Tasi snek tina gira girou asuna tira sliʃe ʃane sobne suu. Fasi snek Nai’a fraeslis ha. Fasi girou sarna slu. Nai’a fasi girou raʃe slu. Sisisisi snek fasi girou raʃe or sliʃe sobne. Sivasiva or sivavasi snek fasi girou raʃa ha! Ai fasi girou raʃa! Ai sisisisi snek fraeslis ha!
Slusi'a Dinapoli (Lucia Dinapoli of Slytherin):
At the beginning of this term I was drawn towards this class, just as I have been drawn towards the language since a iang age. Parseltongue never seemed like something inherently evil as it can so often be portrayed, but something special and useful. As a Slitherin ai wear my house slehara with pride and love my house emblem in all of its glory. I felt when this class was offered it my duty to attempt to connect deeper with Slitherin house traditions, past Professors and their Parselmouthed talents, as well as our house sneks by giving Parseltongue a go! That and I had got fed up of Bslas stealing my sweets and not being able to work out where he had hidden them.
Since starting this course, Parseltongue has been undoubtedly useful in my daily life. Although I doubt my abilities and find the language very difficult, I have found it extremely useful, even though I am anything but fluent - barely even intermediate if we're being majorly truthful.
In the common room, I no longer feel awkward communicating with our house sneks, and I have made a life long fraeslis in my partnered class snek S'Loki. Through use of Parseltongue I have been able to connect much more efficiently, and effectively create stronger bonds with these animals which would not have been possible if I had not tried to attempt their language. Not only all of this, but I feel as though I am understood talking to these creatures. In a way, I often feel Slitherin and sneks are misjudged and I feel that our house emblem is very well suited to us as people who value certain things just as sneks do. We are kindred spirits if you will, learning to understand one another dai by dai and word by word. I have also noticed, on the rare few occasions might I add, that whilst duelling, if one is to translate spell incantations in Parseltongue and use these instead of english, it can give you an advantage. If you are to use Parseltongue, those unable to translate or understand and slower or even unable to produce a counterspell, therefore leaving the spellcaster victorious. Very snart and sneaky if you ask me!
The experience of learning this language has also helped to abna up a new interest into magical creature communication. My all time goal in my wizarding life fasar is to be a Magizooligist - and a practised one at that! Parseltongue proves that ʃen and animal communication is possible, and if we can learn to communicate with sneks then vuʃ not others? This could be a great leap in helping to heal and understand all types of magical creature classifications - meaning healthier and more balanced ʃen-creature relations.
Thank you so much for a wonderful and insightful class Professor!
Thanks, I actually had a good bit of fun writing this!
Bri'ana Kednon (Brianna Caedmon of Slytherin - note that Bri'ana chose the "More Parseltongue!" option so her project is in two parts):
Part 1:
Something which I find really interesting about parseltongue is the fact that as fas as I’m aware all of their counting systems use a different base (either unary or binary or both) to the human counting system of base ten. So much about how I, as a human, see the world is tied up in this counting system in subtle ways that it really makes me wonder what seeing the world through a binary or unary lens is like. After all, with the sense of five and ten as good round numbers gone, it drastically changes the idea of what a ‘round’ or easy amount feels like. Other human civilisations have used other counting systems, and I really wonder how much (or how little) it changes. I think with parseltongue being binary/unary it certainly makes counting to large numbers harder, and may also result in large numbers conveying a more accurate idea of what the size of something is to a snake as, unlike in the human decimal system where 506 feels fairly meaningless, do get quite long.
Source (that humans have used other number systems): https://www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/num-sys.html
Part 2:
Tasi snek tina gira girou asuna tira sliʃe ʃane sobne suu. Fasi snek Nai’a fraeslis ha. Fasi girou sarna slu. Nai’a fasi girou raʃe slu. Sisisisi snek fasi girou raʃe or sliʃe sobne. Sivasiva or sivavasi snek fasi girou raʃa ha! Ai fasi girou raʃa! Ai sisisisi snek fraeslis ha!
Slusi'a Dinapoli (Lucia Dinapoli of Slytherin):
At the beginning of this term I was drawn towards this class, just as I have been drawn towards the language since a iang age. Parseltongue never seemed like something inherently evil as it can so often be portrayed, but something special and useful. As a Slitherin ai wear my house slehara with pride and love my house emblem in all of its glory. I felt when this class was offered it my duty to attempt to connect deeper with Slitherin house traditions, past Professors and their Parselmouthed talents, as well as our house sneks by giving Parseltongue a go! That and I had got fed up of Bslas stealing my sweets and not being able to work out where he had hidden them.
Since starting this course, Parseltongue has been undoubtedly useful in my daily life. Although I doubt my abilities and find the language very difficult, I have found it extremely useful, even though I am anything but fluent - barely even intermediate if we're being majorly truthful.
In the common room, I no longer feel awkward communicating with our house sneks, and I have made a life long fraeslis in my partnered class snek S'Loki. Through use of Parseltongue I have been able to connect much more efficiently, and effectively create stronger bonds with these animals which would not have been possible if I had not tried to attempt their language. Not only all of this, but I feel as though I am understood talking to these creatures. In a way, I often feel Slitherin and sneks are misjudged and I feel that our house emblem is very well suited to us as people who value certain things just as sneks do. We are kindred spirits if you will, learning to understand one another dai by dai and word by word. I have also noticed, on the rare few occasions might I add, that whilst duelling, if one is to translate spell incantations in Parseltongue and use these instead of english, it can give you an advantage. If you are to use Parseltongue, those unable to translate or understand and slower or even unable to produce a counterspell, therefore leaving the spellcaster victorious. Very snart and sneaky if you ask me!
The experience of learning this language has also helped to abna up a new interest into magical creature communication. My all time goal in my wizarding life fasar is to be a Magizooligist - and a practised one at that! Parseltongue proves that ʃen and animal communication is possible, and if we can learn to communicate with sneks then vuʃ not others? This could be a great leap in helping to heal and understand all types of magical creature classifications - meaning healthier and more balanced ʃen-creature relations.
Thank you so much for a wonderful and insightful class Professor!
Thanks, I actually had a good bit of fun writing this!