Language setting elements.
We have already covered the more obscure, dead, rare or secret languages of the human cultures of Aporue, in the Orbis Furum.
We shall now loook at the often very different-sounding languages of the various beastpeople species of Aporue and the languages and dialects of their particular cultures. Today: The languages and dialects of the newtfolk.
It's still disputed among emerging professional linguistic scholars (one
of the few people who bother with beastpeople languages or dialects at
all, besides some stalwart beastpeoples themselves), whether the
languages of the different species emerged entirely naturally, or were
more of a byproduct of social and political pressures on beastpeople
species, including pressures caused by fear or bigotry of humans towards
beastpeople species.
The proponents of the "ancient natural origin hypothesis" (or "natural
evolution" hypothesis) tend to reject this suggestion wholesale, or at
least in most cases. In turn, the proponents of the "Archontian
experimentation origin hypothesis" (or "magical evolution hypothesis")
maintain that it is one of the most sensible explanations for the
emergence of distinct and unique beastpeople languages. The latter argue
that the very nature of these languages is a priori, that is,
made from wholecloth, to prevent or at least mitigate the risk of
outsiders finding out about the contents of conversations,
correspondence and various writing.
Note that none of the known Aporuean beastpeople languages use tonality
in their vowels, and only use short and long vowels or vowels with
umlauts. This is likely due to the influence of the human languages they
coexist with.
All of the pronunciations in each of the following sections are approximations of pronunciation in contemporary English.
Newtspeak (Nixic)
The native language of the newtfolk.
Though somewhat studied by emerging scientists, it is still rather
poorly understood, both because of human indifference and lack of
interest, and because the prejudice-wary and psychologically somewhat
different newtfolk prefer to keep to themselves to avoid trouble. It is
fairly rarely heard in public, or among other, non-newtfolk species,
outside of the usual domestic surroundings of newtmen and newtwomen.
In terms of phonetics, the language has a very unique feel compared to
the others. Even linguistic amateurs have noted that it has a strange
quality, as if emulating the sounds of water with great nuance. The use
of harsher-sounding consonants in the language is relatively rare. The
consonants "b" and "p" occur, but hearing "d", "t" and "r" is not very
common. Some dialects seem to lack these altogether. However, there is a
high number of softer-sounding vocals, short vocals and palatalized
consonants in everyday use of Nixic. Particularly "ch", "sh", "zh" and
"ly". Even the personal names of the newtfolk generally tend to include
at least one palatalized consonant.
Another unique phonetic feature of the language is the use of tongue
clicks, the use of "chewy" sounds made by the tongue, and the use of
subvocalised sounds that are vaguely reminescent of the croaking of
frogs and toads. Though many of the newtfolk can learn human and even
other beastpeople languages without overly major issues, many
non-newtfolk describe the sound of newtfolk speech as "somewhat
slurred-sounding" or "giving the impression of a peculiar lisp".
Secondary, sound-based layer of meaning of the spoken language:
[1] - a tongue click in this context denotes an emphasis meaning "Trust me."
[2] - a low-pitched, ribbit-like sound in this context denotes an emphasis meaning "Indeed." or "Indeed, it is thus."
[3] - a "chewy", murmuring sound in this context means "I am rather upset."
Some Newtspeak (Nixic) grammar
The "ly" in transcripts are read like a soft, palatalized Slavic "l" (as in the transliteration of names like Lyubov), while the "oo" in transcripts sounds like in English "room". The "zh" is read like English transcriptions of Slavic ž, Navajo "zh" or the "j" in French "Jean", and the "cham" parts sound like English "chum".
The context of the newtfolk's environment and its impact on their
psychology, culture and spirituality can be felt in the etymology of
many words. For example, their main word for "friend" is actually
etymologically related to their word for "water" (čľúp, pl. čľúpým),
and is an equivalent to the expression "water-mate" or "fellow person
of the water". They use this term especially for friends among their own
kind, but have also extended it to other species.
Quick Newtspeak (Nixic) vocabulary summary
Newtspeak (Nixic) pronouns
-ô - indicates "he" when appended to a male personal name as an ending suffix
-o - indicates "she" when appended to a female personal name as an ending suffix
Newtspeak (Nixic) nouns
čľupým - pron. ch-ly-u-peem - "waters" (plural)
ščúľup - pron. sh-choo-ly-up - "friend"
šýlôbš - pron. she-luo-bsh - "kindness"
uľöšoľamšo - pron. u-ly-ö-sho-ly-um-sho - "(the) requested goods"
úšôčamanš - pron. oo-sh-uo-chum-unsh - "patience"
Newtspeak (Nixic) verbs
ža- - pron. zha- - "not" prefix in verbs
anšo - pron. un-sho - "will"
ažúpľa - pron. a-zhoop-lya - "show"
čánš - pron. ch-aan-sh - "cease", "halt" (extra long vowels are for emphasis, when shouting)
čľúša - pron. ch-ly-oo-sha - "provide"
pľaša - pron. p-ly-uh-sha- "help"
šamľônba - pron. shum-ly-uon-buh - "dive", "swim underwater", "traverse"
šýblôma - pron. sheeb-luo-muh - "behave", "behaving"
šúnýl - pron. shoo-neel - "(to) worry"
Newtspeak (Nixic) adverbs
bľalčö - pron. b-ly-ul-ch-ö - "in order to", "necessary to/for"
nöľš - pron. nöl-sh - "foolishly", "foolhardily"
úbaščýn - pron. oo-ba-sh-cheen - "constantly", "all the time"
Newtspeak (Nixic) prepositions, conjunctions, particles, onomatopoiea, etc.
ažolôm - pron. azh-o-ly-uom - "these"
ľamš - pron. ly-am-sh - "through"
ún - pron. oon - "me"
žúm - pron. zhoom - "you"
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(C) 2023 P. Molnár
(C) 2023 Knight-Errant Studios
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