Sea voyage terminology

Use this forum to discuss the April 2019 Book of the month, "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon
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Krishnapriya Sev
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Re: Sea voyage terminology

Post by Krishnapriya Sev »

It was hard for me to follow the boating terminologies like Breakwater, port-side, bow, stern. I felt it is a little difficult to remember what each term meant.
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Post by Orithea »

I have spent some holidays on my grandparents’ sailing boat, so general sailing terms were no great disruption in my reading. The context usually gives enough explanation. But I did have to give up at the first mention of “splicing cables” and went to ask Google. If this happens far too often, it does impair my enjoyment of reading the story, but the balance in Adrift was fine for me.
I’m always happy if a book is entertaining and educational at the same time - I don’t expect this from fiction as much as from non-fiction, but learning about worlds I only visited on paper always feels like a double win.
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Post by babcockar »

I always love a book that brings in terminology that I don't yet know. It makes me learn more about topics that I hadn't thought of before!
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Post by Uinto »

The terminology made the reading for me quite laborious on account of the many times I had to refer to a dictionary. But it did take away anything from the story.
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Post by Onyinye Excel »

I found new words in the book that looked quite ambiguous but generally, I had to overlook them and try to follow the story.
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Post by SavannaEGoth »

My grandfather and a few of my aunts and uncles served in the U.S. Navy. Papa would use a lot of the terminology around me growing up, and would even sit me down and teach some of the terms to me. That being said, my knowledge on these terms is pretty rusty, but I do okay to remember some of them. A couple like "port" and "starboard" are engrained in my mind because of how often he used them. Those two he was especially keen on me learning, for whatever reason, and would encourage that I use some of the terms he taught me in conversation with him.

If I'm unable to make sense of a term I'd just look it up real quick. No real issues learning new words, you know?
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Post by Adedayo+23 »

Although ignorance of the nautical terms didn't detract from the story for me, a footnote would have been appreciated. The terms went right over my head.
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Post by SavannaEGoth »

Adedayo+23 wrote: 20 May 2019, 03:40 Although ignorance of the nautical terms didn't detract from the story for me, a footnote would have been appreciated. The terms went right over my head.
Actually I agree with this. Any book dealing with "niche" subject matter should probably implement some sort of footnote/glossary system of important and commonly-used vocabulary in relation to the subject. It keeps the reader from having to continuously interrupt their reading by looking up the words on their own, or from having to wait until they have an opportunity to do so should they be away from their phone/computer.
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Post by Tiffanyli »

I had a hard time really understanding the terminology the author used. It was a little irritating at first having to look up words every once in a while but I feel like it really gave the book a distinct quality. After a while, it didn't bother me but I have to admit, it would have been nice to have some footnotes or just some kind of explanation of the terms, even if it would have been outside of context.
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Post by OliviaLouise »

Did anyone feel that researching the nautical terms enhanced their understanding of the book?
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Post by Helena91 »

I did look up some words in the dictionary, for example, 'Aft' in naval terms means towards the rear of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship.
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Post by Seraphia Bunny Sparks »

I'm always open to learning new jargon, but nautical jargon always throws me for a loop. I will understand/remember the correct meaning for a few minutes but then I'll have to look up the meaning again just so that I fully understand what the author is saying. Despite the fact that I have read several books with the terms - starboard and port I still manage to get them confused. If anything I simply got frustrated with myself for not correctly recalling what each meant.
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Post by iced_sunshine »

I think terminology is often important in a book. It lends a certain realism that can't be faked. I'm familiar with a number of sea terminology given how much time I spent reading Pirates of the Carribean fanfiction in high school, so it wasn't anything new.
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Post by beccabecky »

I learned a few words and had to google some others. It's a good learning oportunity if nothing else, and I always welcome expanding my vocabulary.
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Post by godreaujea »

I also had to continually look up the sea jargon. It was a little tasking but I’m glad the author stayed true to the terminology. It also shows that the author knows what their talking about and it makes the story seem more genuine.
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