Contemporary Fantasy

[Mad Swede]

I dont know. Cafeteria is like a 19th century term. It would throw me if it came up in a medieval style fantasy. Heck, I just nixed a few instances of "okay" from my own just cause they sounded too much of an american phrase. Guess I am one who thinks the 'and then some' matters.

Cafeteria is Mexican Spanish in origin, and it means the same thing as the British English expression coffee house (or coffee-house or coffeehouse, depending on period and spelling). In other words, a place where people (usually men) met to drink coffee, hear news and conduct business. These first appear in the UK in the 1640s and in the US in the 1670s, but originate in the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s, coming via that empire to Europe in the 1500s.

The word cafeteria came into US English in the 1830s, and got it's modern meaning in the 1880s and 1890s.

So your choice of word to describe a place like that will depend on the setting for your story. Personally I use coffee house (fik, as it's called in Swedish) but you could use cafeteria or even cafe.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Having not read Fourth Wing, but it feels like the problem isn't their choice of cutlery but more that the setting isn't consistent or fully developed. A school with a cafeteria where they eat with forks is something that fits perfectly in a modern US school. However, internet tells me we're looking at a late medieval type of world with lots of magic thrown in. And there it does feel anachronistic.

Now, I doubt a single fork is enough to throw most people off. However, do it often enough, and it becomes a symptom of other things wrong with the worldbuilding. And then it's something that stands out and pulls people out of the story.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I don’t remember if they even specifically used the word cafeteria in 4th Wing, or just the concept. I suppose the exact word would throw me, but not the setting of it. Alsooo though I guess anachronistic high fantasy is a fantasy set in its own made up world with lore, magic, etc. but the language is modern American leaning with slang and all. So technically speaking, the language is fine and actually intended for the genre. Personally I’m not a fan of modern slang, but I guess it didn’t “break any rules” so to speak.

Are most people on here European? American? Now I’m curious, cause that would also impact slang and reception to it.

Don't know bout the others here but I'm american.
As far as using modern terms.

I've been sticking to keeping those in narration. But in my case the characters are simi aware their world is a 'fictional' setting in ours, and are very aware of terms that we use. So when explaining the fantasy stuff in the setting that has a proper real world equivilant, they'll go 'think of it like x' but this is more for the reader than the characters. If it's something too modern (for example the internet) the mortal characters will go 'wtf is that?'

 

[pmmg]

I am gonna take a guess that fourth wing did not mean it as a mexican coffee house. But more as an americanized place of dining.

I think the same as PoS on this one.

 

[dantheman93]

This is all so interesting. Knowing it’s a Mexican derived word, it sounds way prettier in my head with a Spanish accent than the American pronunciation . But also reinforces, no, it was not a coffee house in the book either. Ok, I looked it up again. I guess she toggles between describing the setting as a mess hall/dining hall and does specifically use cafeteria at least once as well. In this particular sub genre the language is purposefully modern to “drive pacing, make it easy for readers to understand, and focuses more on character drama than historical accuracy”. Google says “The setting isn’t so much the problem, it’s the institution behind the word” - that cafeterias are assembly lines born out of 19th century American factories, mass production of food and self serve food lines. So technically a cafeteria would not be of her made up world. But - it gets the point across to readers. Which is a debated topic of how well it’s written or whether it’s a good? I guess, mechanic that should be used at all.

 

[Queshire]

On the one hand word choice does inevitably affect tone. A magic school's cafeteria gives off a different vibe than a magic school's great hall even if, functionally they're the exact same thing.

On the other hand you're still writing for modern day people even if your story does not take place in a modern setting. Borrowing what you can reasonably expect the audience to already know & be familiar with can be a useful tool that allows you to focus more on what the story is actually about rather than needing to establish a baseline. I mean, after all, even Tolkein had potatoes in the Shire.

On the third hand there's always a part of me that stops and goes, "Wait... why couldn't they have invented Cafeterias earlier in this universe?" After all, we're dealing with fictional settings to begin with and it's easy to overlook how we've adopted a lot of modern stuff specifically because it's convenient and useful.

Take a cafeteria for example. Having detailed recipes that utilize standardized weights & measures that can be scaled up to cook for a crowd has more to do with culture than technology. Add in fire magic to control the temperature of the oven more precisely, ice magic for refrigeration and, given it's a magic academy, perhaps even portal magic to aid in logistics it becomes entirely possible to have something a lot like a modern cafeteria.

On the fourth hand, depending on what you're trying to do with a story the clashing aesthetics could be the whole point. Maybe you've got an ex-adventurer turned grizzled detective forced to face the ghosts of his pasts when one of his old adventuring party buddies is arrested for murder. With his trusty spell slinger holstered at his hip and a flask full of healing potion to help dull the pain from the dragon scars that put an end to his adventuring career he's all set to go up against the infamous Halfling mafia in pursuit of the truth.