I love the concept of Jumon no Gengogaku (『呪文の言語学』）[The Linguistics of Incantations] written by Dr. Yusuke Sumi. While you might expect a book about magic to be categorized under fantasy, this book is a work of linguistics and anthropology. Dr. Sumi is a linguist who lives in Romania and studies the language of the Romani. The “witches” living in Romania practice “magic” with words, and those words fall under the purview of linguistic research. I’ve translated two short sections from the book which are about the witches who use magic. These sections contrast the conception of witches and magic from fantasy with the everyday reality of magic that is practiced in the modern day. I owe my thanks to the publisher, Sakuhinsha, for permitting me to post this translation.
Click here to read it.
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