Post by raindrops on Apr 6, 2019 0:55:51 GMT -5
25th Century Languages
A report by the Galactic Cultural Research Institute
Galactic Common was invented in an evolving, concerted effort by the early galactic community, in order to create one standardized and universal form of diplomatic communication. Both a written and spoken language, Common was made in such a way to be easy to learn, speak, understand, and write; no easy feat for the various sapient species and their alien biologies. Many races have different speech organs, lips, beaks, tongues, voice boxes, air sacs, plasmotic membranes, mandibles, etcetera, wherein lies the difficulty of one unified spoken language. Early forms of Galactic Common were derived from interspecies bridge languages, which sought to bridge the gap between the varying biologies of alien species. But, with the growing number of space-faring species, attempts to create common languages based on shared linguistic features grew more and more difficult. Instead of seeking to force commonality between such alien forms of communication, Common simply seeks to accommodate the gaps of biology with a simple set of consonant and vowel sounds that can, in one way or another, be spoken by each alien race. Whether it be by chitter, click, coo, or call, all races have a way to form the similar sounds of Common.
A report by the Galactic Cultural Research Institute
Preface
If there is one facet of evolution that is shared among all the sapient races of the galaxy, it is communication, verbal, nonverbal, written, and otherwise. From the vast, ancient shallows of Kyasekai where early hylotl sounded through the waters to warn each other of fearsome predators, to the great plains of Earth where nomadic, hunter-gatherer humans coordinated their hunts, to Avos, where avians formed the longest lasting and most widely known religion in the galaxy, well developed communication has been a cornerstone in the development of civilization. Conversely, a lack of communication has led species to conflict, strife, war, and almost to total societal collapse. Take, for example, the two century long Warring Period on Kyasekai, or the cold war during Earth’s nuclear age in which humankind teetered on the brink of destruction. Perhaps the most surprising instances of communication were the many peaceful, chance first contacts made among most of the space-faring races of today. Today, galactic society stands on a strong foundation thanks to the various bridge languages and the eventual creation of Galactic Common.
Galactic Common
Common is easy to learn and understand, with simple tenses, conjugation, numeration, no tones, and an easily understandable basic alphabet and syntax. Perhaps the most useful and effectively unifying aspect of the language, Written Common conveys ideas in a similarly simple fashion, and is quite easy to learn. One of the most difficult parts of learning Common is, surprisingly, learning the simplified structure in which words are put together to form sentences, described as unorthodox yet straightforward. Communication technologies, such as a phone or PDA, helps one learn and adapt to Common as well, standardizing keypads and characters to ensure a shared understanding of the language. Common also tends to be remarkably basic, which leads to one of its biggest flaws. Poems, stories, and other quality forms of written art are largely lacking in Common due to the broad lack of specific descriptive vocabularies. Most information available to consume tends to be informative or educational, news, information, data, etcetera, and what attempts are made in terms of creative writing is about as entertaining to read as a children’s book. Humor tends to be lost as well if one is not careful, and jokes can fall flat if one is not careful with their words. For these reasons, Galactic Common is usually learned as a second language in addition to a person’s first, where they can have a greater understanding of culture and creativity.
This is an open lore thread, meaning anyone can contribute! Things to write about are common and uncommon alien languages, different forms of communication, and anything else relating to language and communication. Some things that can be noted are a language's origins, how aliens communicate it, how the language might sound and possibly some grammar rules and other linguistic tidbits. Anything more is definitely welcome!