Popular Culture Review 29.2
much the player may sympathize and wish to free The Outsider , certain extra steps must first be fulfilled . Once the player reaches the Void , crawling with members of the Eyeless who fetishize and worship The Outsider , he or she , through careful investigation , can learn of one member called Malchiodi whose special area of research lies in the lost language that The Outsider supposedly speaks as his original tongue . This language takes physical form as well , and Malchiodi discovers that The Outsider ’ s mark is itself a pictogram , a series of 16 distinct images that form both the mark and The Outsider ’ s name . Malchiodi ’ s recorded notes clearly indicate that this name is not in an “ earthly tongue ” and is conspicuous for its “ distinction in tone and pitch to convey meaning .” He further asserts that the language is unusual in that it is especially diphthong heavy . Diphthongs combine two vowel sounds pronounced as one , for example , the “ ou ” sound in cloud and the “ oi ” sound in foil . Together , the different diphthong possibilities create a sense of rising and falling musicality when recited in longer strings . That the language of The Outsider is really whale song proves a logical assessment , with Malchiodi ’ s comment about diphthongs of critical importance . Jade Joddle , a speech development teacher , utilizes the following rhyme to teach diphthongs to her students : “ Deep below where the whales roam / They squeal and moan , squawk and groan / Over the whole wide range of tones ” ( 9 ). She notes that these lines are “ designed to imitate the sound of a whale song ” ( Ibid ) and that this is heard by enunciating and even exaggerating the diphthongs in them . Finally , Billie herself cannot speak The Outsider ’ s name ; it has to be done by someone who is dead and trapped with him in the Void . The implication is that human vocal cords and mouth structures are insufficient to intone the language . Daud has been freed from the limitations of mortal flesh and is trapped in the Void with The Outsider . Armed with this knowledge , Bil-
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