Icanra
Merchant
Hello All! It's finally here and fully approved as an OFFICIAL LANGUAGE! Will be updating this as the Lexicon updates!
Language of Astremian
===+===+===+===
"The Language of The Mother's Song"
===+===+===+===
[This language MUST be taught to all players and cannot be simply learnt
through your backstory, with an exception for Astremian born characters.]
+== Overview ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The development of the Astremian language originated from the end of the First Age of Astrum. Whilst the refugees who were stranded on the island were fluent in the general language of Common; their paranoia and distrust warranted from their previous circumstances was the catalyst for their separation and the eventual formation of their own culture. In the process of trying to remove their Masters from their history, Common began to be used less and less, with Astremian slowly becoming the dominant language over Astrum up until the start of The Third Age. It is this age in which both Astremian and Common were utilised - due to The Isles abandoning its isolation as a result of its need for trade to acquire resources from the outside world.
The Astremian language began with just a few simple phrases that simplified long sentences. For example, ‘Shall we go fishing’ simply became ‘Fishing?’. Whilst originally a form of slang language to shorten the amount of time spent talking in Common, Astremian had then started to form part of its own micro-language.
However, as the Lexicon of Astremian words began to grow, certain phrases were attached to different things by different people. With ‘Fish?’ now being used as a word that could mean either; ‘Do you want some Fish?’ or ‘Do you want to go Fishing?’. As a means to eliminate the issues caused by the lack of context of such words, phrases were given musicality instead of gender, allowing for a more flexible meaning for the words. After Mal’ko’s age ended and Delius’ age began, the language now consisted of a large array of day to day phrases that eliminated the need for the regular use of Common.
However, with the start of Delius Tek’ton’s Second Age of Astrum, the Tek’tons began to encourage the use of these phrases. As such, they further began developing the basic concept into an official language with a vast lexicon defined by the six musical pitches that allowed their words to take meaning. Such pitches were broken into the defining categories of Airde (“The Highest”), Ard (“The High”), Céanna (“The Steady”), Doe (“The Low”), Doenn (“The Lowest”) and Cúis (“The Broken”).
For the duration of The Second Age, Common had all but become obsolete on the Astrum Isle. The Astremian language replaced it entirely, allowing for a much swifter form of communication that suited their lives of sailing, fishing, hunting and song-writing.
Towards the end of The Second Age, however, Astrum began to realise that its resources were rapidly dwindling. As their population expanded, they needed more houses, food and other resources that there simply were not enough of to go around. And thus began Astrum’s cautious re-emergence into the realm, removing themselves from secrecy and beginning to trade with at first their neighbouring settlements, and then the greater world. During this period, Astremian began to become less useful as no one in the wider world could understand such. This soon caused Common to reclaim its position as the dominant language on Astrum.
The language itself is yet to be widespread, as it is condensed to only the Astremian people. However, it is not uncommon for those frequenting the Isles to pick up a few phrases each visit. Though a majority of the Astremian people speak both Astremian and Common, some islanders dislike Astrum’s transition into Global Affairs and refuse to teach their children ‘Common’ entirely. As a result, some Islanders have been raised to only know Astremian.
Those who witness someone speaking Astremian could most easily identify it from its swift, simple structure and its melodic – almost song-like patterns and tone.
+== Structure ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Due to the fact that words are slightly more limited in Astremian; it is not simply the word stated, but the pitch it is stated at - that identifies the meaning and gender of each word. Each of these ‘Defining Phrases’ can be identified from their different names:
Highest Pitch = Airde = Air-dey
High Pitch = Ard = Ar-da
Medium Pitch = Céanna = Sea-ay-na
Low Pitch = Doe = De-oh
Lowest Pitch = Doenn = De-oh-en
Bass Pitch = Cúis = Qu-es
+== Speaking the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Speaking the language word for word - to the extent that Common is spoken - would be almost impossible to phrase in a way that makes sense, as the main design of the language allows for it to shorten the amount of time spoken rather than match it. For example, to translate the following phrase from common:
{The weather is stormy and so we cannot go out fishing today}
One would first have to break down the sentence into the key details and phrases that define its simplistic meaning. In this case we end up with:
{Weather, Stormy, We, Cannot, Go, Fishing, Today}
However, with Astremian; the more simplistic the structure of the sentence, the easier it is so communicate such. This phrase would still be too complicated of a pattern for a generic use, and so the sentence would have to be broken down again:
{Weather, Stormy, No, Fishing, Today}
To say this phrase, the speaker would have to signal each word individually, leaving a short pause at the end of each word, however as a general rule of thumb – the more fluent the learner, the shorter this pause becomes. Factors such as the speaker’s circumstances and surrounding situation can change such structure as well.
Whilst the pause might only be short, the break allows for the listener know that the first phrase has ended and the second has started. In the context of our example it would look like this:
{Weather [Pause] Stormy [Pause] No [Pause] Fishing [Pause] Today}
Once the general structure is complete, we can substitute the words in Common, for the words in Astremian:
{“Aimsir stoirm níl Iasc-ag inniu”}
+== Writing the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Whilst Astremian did turn out to be practical when spoken, the phrases rarely translated well to a written form of text. This was due to the five different categories of breaking up the gender and meaning behind the words. Formal writing patterns rarely made sense and so the written applications of the language were simply abandoned. This unfortunately resulted in the lack of history books and written anthologies from the First and Second Ages of Astrum, causing information and stories that weren’t passed down from generation to generation to be erased from history.
Towards the end of The Second Age however, an Astremian scholar formed the idea of combining the words with almost hieroglyphic-like imagery that allowed for the meanings to be understood in their full context.
This resulted in each written word of Astrum to be accompanied with a symbol of the associated Defining Phrases that consist of:
Airde – Surrounded by a Zig-zag Circle (Cloud)
Ard – Underlined by a Caret (Feather)
Céanna – Underlined by a Straight Line (Earth)
Doe – Underlined by a Flowing Line (Wave)
Doenn – Surrounded by a Flowing Circle (Ocean)
Cúis – No Symbol Required
Similarly to speaking the language: to begin writing, there must be a visible break between each word so as to differentiate one phrase and it’s symbol, from one another.
As well as this, alike speaking the language, translating from Common to Astremian requires shortening and breaking up the words. For example:
{"I am writing a letter"}
Would have to be broken down and written in its simplest form - this would look like;
{I ‘m Writing Letter}
With a visible gap after each signal to show the sentence is moving to the next word.
However, for longer words, more complicated words, or words with extensions such as ‘-ing’ there would be a dash so as
the word itself is further broken apart;
{I Write-ing Letter}
Once translated, the final product would look similar to the following:
{I scríobh-ag litir}
To write in Astremian, one would need to have the knowledge of the words, the context, and the symbols: causing it to be quite complicated to adopt as a second written language without extensive years of study. Because of such, Astremian is rarely used in writing and is generally substituted for Common due to its simplicity and practicality.
+== Learning the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
To learn the language, you must take lessons through RP, you cannot simply learn the language through backstory. You must frequently take part in lessons over the specified period of times, relating the teacher’s skill to the following time periods. As specified above, learning the written language
Taught by a Fluent Speaker:
Spoken = 2 months OOC.
Written = 4 months OOC.
Taught by an Island Elder/Taught in the Astrum Academy:
Spoken = 1 months OOC.
Written = 3 months OOC.
+== Astremian in Roleplay ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
In roleplay the language would be described as a series of short, song-like sounds and phrases. Usually when emoted, it is described as:
{Astremian: "I am speaking in Astremian"}
or
{Astre: "I am speaking in Astremian"}
or
{A: “I am speaking in Astremian”}
Language of Astremian
===+===+===+===
"The Language of The Mother's Song"
===+===+===+===
[This language MUST be taught to all players and cannot be simply learnt
through your backstory, with an exception for Astremian born characters.]
+== Overview ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The development of the Astremian language originated from the end of the First Age of Astrum. Whilst the refugees who were stranded on the island were fluent in the general language of Common; their paranoia and distrust warranted from their previous circumstances was the catalyst for their separation and the eventual formation of their own culture. In the process of trying to remove their Masters from their history, Common began to be used less and less, with Astremian slowly becoming the dominant language over Astrum up until the start of The Third Age. It is this age in which both Astremian and Common were utilised - due to The Isles abandoning its isolation as a result of its need for trade to acquire resources from the outside world.
The Astremian language began with just a few simple phrases that simplified long sentences. For example, ‘Shall we go fishing’ simply became ‘Fishing?’. Whilst originally a form of slang language to shorten the amount of time spent talking in Common, Astremian had then started to form part of its own micro-language.
However, as the Lexicon of Astremian words began to grow, certain phrases were attached to different things by different people. With ‘Fish?’ now being used as a word that could mean either; ‘Do you want some Fish?’ or ‘Do you want to go Fishing?’. As a means to eliminate the issues caused by the lack of context of such words, phrases were given musicality instead of gender, allowing for a more flexible meaning for the words. After Mal’ko’s age ended and Delius’ age began, the language now consisted of a large array of day to day phrases that eliminated the need for the regular use of Common.
However, with the start of Delius Tek’ton’s Second Age of Astrum, the Tek’tons began to encourage the use of these phrases. As such, they further began developing the basic concept into an official language with a vast lexicon defined by the six musical pitches that allowed their words to take meaning. Such pitches were broken into the defining categories of Airde (“The Highest”), Ard (“The High”), Céanna (“The Steady”), Doe (“The Low”), Doenn (“The Lowest”) and Cúis (“The Broken”).
For the duration of The Second Age, Common had all but become obsolete on the Astrum Isle. The Astremian language replaced it entirely, allowing for a much swifter form of communication that suited their lives of sailing, fishing, hunting and song-writing.
Towards the end of The Second Age, however, Astrum began to realise that its resources were rapidly dwindling. As their population expanded, they needed more houses, food and other resources that there simply were not enough of to go around. And thus began Astrum’s cautious re-emergence into the realm, removing themselves from secrecy and beginning to trade with at first their neighbouring settlements, and then the greater world. During this period, Astremian began to become less useful as no one in the wider world could understand such. This soon caused Common to reclaim its position as the dominant language on Astrum.
The language itself is yet to be widespread, as it is condensed to only the Astremian people. However, it is not uncommon for those frequenting the Isles to pick up a few phrases each visit. Though a majority of the Astremian people speak both Astremian and Common, some islanders dislike Astrum’s transition into Global Affairs and refuse to teach their children ‘Common’ entirely. As a result, some Islanders have been raised to only know Astremian.
Those who witness someone speaking Astremian could most easily identify it from its swift, simple structure and its melodic – almost song-like patterns and tone.
+== Structure ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Due to the fact that words are slightly more limited in Astremian; it is not simply the word stated, but the pitch it is stated at - that identifies the meaning and gender of each word. Each of these ‘Defining Phrases’ can be identified from their different names:
Highest Pitch = Airde = Air-dey
High Pitch = Ard = Ar-da
Medium Pitch = Céanna = Sea-ay-na
Low Pitch = Doe = De-oh
Lowest Pitch = Doenn = De-oh-en
Bass Pitch = Cúis = Qu-es
+== Speaking the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Speaking the language word for word - to the extent that Common is spoken - would be almost impossible to phrase in a way that makes sense, as the main design of the language allows for it to shorten the amount of time spoken rather than match it. For example, to translate the following phrase from common:
{The weather is stormy and so we cannot go out fishing today}
One would first have to break down the sentence into the key details and phrases that define its simplistic meaning. In this case we end up with:
{Weather, Stormy, We, Cannot, Go, Fishing, Today}
However, with Astremian; the more simplistic the structure of the sentence, the easier it is so communicate such. This phrase would still be too complicated of a pattern for a generic use, and so the sentence would have to be broken down again:
{Weather, Stormy, No, Fishing, Today}
To say this phrase, the speaker would have to signal each word individually, leaving a short pause at the end of each word, however as a general rule of thumb – the more fluent the learner, the shorter this pause becomes. Factors such as the speaker’s circumstances and surrounding situation can change such structure as well.
Whilst the pause might only be short, the break allows for the listener know that the first phrase has ended and the second has started. In the context of our example it would look like this:
{Weather [Pause] Stormy [Pause] No [Pause] Fishing [Pause] Today}
Once the general structure is complete, we can substitute the words in Common, for the words in Astremian:
{“Aimsir stoirm níl Iasc-ag inniu”}
+== Writing the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Whilst Astremian did turn out to be practical when spoken, the phrases rarely translated well to a written form of text. This was due to the five different categories of breaking up the gender and meaning behind the words. Formal writing patterns rarely made sense and so the written applications of the language were simply abandoned. This unfortunately resulted in the lack of history books and written anthologies from the First and Second Ages of Astrum, causing information and stories that weren’t passed down from generation to generation to be erased from history.
Towards the end of The Second Age however, an Astremian scholar formed the idea of combining the words with almost hieroglyphic-like imagery that allowed for the meanings to be understood in their full context.
This resulted in each written word of Astrum to be accompanied with a symbol of the associated Defining Phrases that consist of:
Airde – Surrounded by a Zig-zag Circle (Cloud)
Ard – Underlined by a Caret (Feather)
Céanna – Underlined by a Straight Line (Earth)
Doe – Underlined by a Flowing Line (Wave)
Doenn – Surrounded by a Flowing Circle (Ocean)
Cúis – No Symbol Required
Similarly to speaking the language: to begin writing, there must be a visible break between each word so as to differentiate one phrase and it’s symbol, from one another.
As well as this, alike speaking the language, translating from Common to Astremian requires shortening and breaking up the words. For example:
{"I am writing a letter"}
Would have to be broken down and written in its simplest form - this would look like;
{I ‘m Writing Letter}
With a visible gap after each signal to show the sentence is moving to the next word.
However, for longer words, more complicated words, or words with extensions such as ‘-ing’ there would be a dash so as
the word itself is further broken apart;
{I Write-ing Letter}
Once translated, the final product would look similar to the following:
{I scríobh-ag litir}
To write in Astremian, one would need to have the knowledge of the words, the context, and the symbols: causing it to be quite complicated to adopt as a second written language without extensive years of study. Because of such, Astremian is rarely used in writing and is generally substituted for Common due to its simplicity and practicality.
+== Learning the Language ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
To learn the language, you must take lessons through RP, you cannot simply learn the language through backstory. You must frequently take part in lessons over the specified period of times, relating the teacher’s skill to the following time periods. As specified above, learning the written language
Taught by a Fluent Speaker:
Spoken = 2 months OOC.
Written = 4 months OOC.
Taught by an Island Elder/Taught in the Astrum Academy:
Spoken = 1 months OOC.
Written = 3 months OOC.
+== Astremian in Roleplay ==+
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
In roleplay the language would be described as a series of short, song-like sounds and phrases. Usually when emoted, it is described as:
{Astremian: "I am speaking in Astremian"}
or
{Astre: "I am speaking in Astremian"}
or
{A: “I am speaking in Astremian”}
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