A.F. King
- English: edit level
- French: edit speaking/reading/listening/writing levels
- Flemish/Dutch: edit level
AUTHOR NARRATION
Hear the poem.
Read by A.F. King in the original English.
Brasserie of BabelA.F. King · English narration
POEM + LANGUAGE
Brasserieof Babel
A Paris brunch in English, Flemish, French, gesture, appetite, and finally the one form of fluency that required no translation.
PARIS
Find the brasserie.
The map begins with Paris generally. Replace the query with the restaurant name or address when the location is reconstructed.
STREET VIEW
Add the exact latitude/longitude to the page’s streetViewLocation constant when the precise site is known.
TRIP MATERIAL
The city around the brunch.
Personal photographs can keep the page rooted in the actual trip rather than a generic Paris aesthetic.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERParis photograph
/media/brasserie-of-babel/paris-trip-1.jpgParis photograph
A personal image from the trip or neighborhood.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERAnother view
/media/brasserie-of-babel/paris-trip-2.jpgAnother view
A second image associated with the meal, route, or day.
THE MEAL
Eggs, fries, muffins, spinach.
An actual menu, receipt, restaurant photograph, or reconstructed menu fragment would give the poem’s food-language play a material object.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERThe menu
/media/brasserie-of-babel/restaurant-menu.jpgThe menu
Use an actual menu, receipt, or reconstructed period-appropriate artifact.
Menu notes
Add the restaurant name, date, remembered dishes, and any uncertainty about whether the surviving menu is the exact one or a later version.
WHO COULD DO WHAT?
A small diagram of uneven fluency.
Edit these cards to reflect the actual linguistic abilities of the two people and the French-language environment around them.
The Belgian diner
- Flemish/Dutch: edit level
- English: edit level
- French: edit level
The restaurant
- Menu: French
- Setting: Paris
- Shared fallback: gesture, food, and context
LANGUAGE SAMPLES
Hear the linguistic field.
Short samples can help readers hear why partial mutual comprehension is different from simply saying that two people spoke different languages.
English sampleShort spoken example
French sampleShort spoken example
Flemish / Dutch sampleShort spoken example
THE TITLE'S OLDER STORY
The Tower behind the brasserie.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERTower of Babel
/media/brasserie-of-babel/tower-of-babel.jpgTower of Babel
Use appropriately licensed art, public-domain material, or an original visual.
Add a short explanation of the Babel allusion and how the poem shrinks the grand myth of linguistic division into one comic, intimate brunch.
READER DISCUSSION
Reader comments will appear here after the discussion system is connected.