A spelling bee word. A genre perhaps started by Goethe,a novel about the development
of a young man's character and personality.
"So ist Wilhem Meisters Lehrjahre ganz zweifellos ein Bildungsroman, ja
der Prototyp des Bildungsromans überhaupt; Bildung hier verstanden im
umfassenden Sinne einer Formung der Persönlichkeit eines Individuums
durch innere und äußere Kräfte."

We're written about this one about a year ago. tsuwm saw us and upped us one. I'll see whether I've got it in a file I can access...

Back in a minute...

unless I disremember correctly, I probably was trying to figure out the difference between bildungsroman and entwicklungsroman; if that's not it, what IS the difference between these two?

Here's a little from the site tsuwm sent us to:

"Well, the most important differerence is that Bildungsroman is relatively common in English and Entwicklungsroman is so rare that only a few hardcore types will know what it means.

The words, which are so close in meaning as to be almost synonymous, both refer to types of novels common in German literature that discuss the personal development of a single person, typically in youth. A Bildungsroman, from German Bildung 'education; formation' and Roman 'novel', focuses on the esp. moral and spiritual development of the main character. The definitive example is Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (in English, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship), which greatly influenced later German novels. A more recent example is Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain. "

tsuwm was giving us a chance to learn "Entwicklungsroman." I didn't. I just remember that he'd try to teach us about it.

Here's the site url he gave us:

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/?date=19970825

You know, it's a great feeling to realize I don't forget everything we discuss! In other words, what's opposite a 'senior moment' for we seniors?

(And I still would like to know a workable opposite for 'inert.' I don't forget my questions to you, wwh!)

Re: only a few hardcore types
tsuwm pretty much declared himself to be one of those types.

>one of those types..

or not, since I still couldn't tell you the difference!

My German is so rusty I can't pose as any kind of authority. But Entwicklung is a much more
gereral term. It could refer to development of embryo, or physical sexual maturation, or
mental develpment in a child. But Bildung refers to the social development, intellectual
development of adolescent becoming an adult.
wsieber, bellligerntyouth, where are you when we need you?

it's a great feeling to realize I don't forget everything we discuss!

Just the important stuff, right? If you're anything like me, anyway.

I still would like to know a workable opposite for 'inert.'

I would think context would have a lot to do with it. In chemistry, reactive would be a pretty good choice.

Dear Faldage: "Nascent" is a special term meaning extra reactive, as when oxygen is released
from some compounds, before it becomes O2. Pnly half my cortex is dead.

Heavens, wwh, and "nascent" seems to an equivalent term, not an opposite, in everyday terms. Doesn't nascent mean something like "quiet" or "dormant" or "sleeping"? If so, chemistry is a lot different from everyday life.

Will now go look up "nascent" to see whether I'm an idiot here.

Edit: The idiot returns. Here's MW on "nascent":

": coming or having recently come into existence "

Have no idea how I confused nascent with a sleeping state. Perhaps I was thinking of babies--sleeping ones, newly come into existence, so to amend my association.

At least now I can understand better the nascent v. inert relationship.

So, there's the state of being "inchoate," then that of being "nascent"---and eventualy that of being "inert"?

2nd Edit: Thanks, Faldage. This "inert" problem has been bothering me. So, there's inertia v. reactivism? And, according to wwh, v. nascence?

Parturit mons, nascitur mus. Which is supposed to mean "the mountain was in labor, a mouse was
born. A put down for someone doing a lot of talking, but accomplishi;ng little.
Faldage: correct my Latin.

Well, gee, thanks, wwh. Here I'm trying in earnest to get this terminology straight in my head, and you go off and tell me (or someone) I'm a mouse head.

At least I'm not a seven-headed mouse king. ('Tis the season of "The Nutcracker"...leastwise, fast approaching...)

correct my Latin

Looks pretty good. Can't tell whether it should be nascitur or nascetur. My dictionary, in its defintion of parturio, gives parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus but has both nascitur and nascetur in its defintion of nascor. Maybe the nascetur is subjunctive.

parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus

Both parturient and nascetur are future indicative. parturient = they will be in labour
nascetur = he/she/it will be born

The quotation comes from Horace's Art of Poetry (line 139).

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M2F031FA2


Bingley

Thanks, Bingley. It's certainly a great line.

Dear WW: I had no intention of administering a putdown to you. Can't even remember
what made me think of that quote.
I had to go back. It was just a play on "nascent" and 'nascitur".

Mrs. Byrne indicates that the bildungsroman is about the development of the central character in the early years, and the other roman, the entwicklungsroman, is about the development from childhood through the mature years.

that's basically what I found from W3, but from the German elements the difference ain't obvious; entwicklung = development, bildung = education, culture

-joe mincemeat