Zombie Language
Zombies have a complex system of communication that includes vocalizations, facial expressions, posturing, and gesturing. Their communication is much more similiar to what is seen with animals rather then the language use that is seen in sentient humans. However, with study, a person can become familiar with the manner in which the Zombies communicate with one another. This can give a person advantage with insight checks when trying to understand how a Zombie is going to respond to a given situation or stimulus.
The vocalizations, which zombies use to express emotions, include grunts, lip-smacking, screams, laughing, and alarm calls. The intensity of the emotion is conveyed by repetition of the sounds in association with other forms of communication.
Zombies communicate with each other primarily through body gestures and facial expressions. The most noticeable facial expression is an open-mouth threat where the zombie bares their teeth. Preceding this may be an eyelid signal, raising the eyebrows and showing the whites of the eyes, that is used to show displeasure. If a zombie really becomes aggressive, they will begin making threatening sounds and the ground will be slapped.
In response to aggressive facial expressions and body gestures, other zombies usually exhibit submissive gestures. A fear-face, a response to aggression, involves pulling the mouth back in what looks like a wide grin. It also involves the submissive Zombie lowering their body, often going prone in front of the aggressor. The most submissive posture is to lay on their back with their stomach exposed in front of the aggressor.
Presenting among Zombies takes place in both sexual and nonsexual contexts. A female will approach a male and turn her rump for him to show that she is receptive. This type of presentation can lead to mating or to a special relationship between the pair. She may use this body gesture as a simple greeting to a male, indicating that she respects his position.
When a Zombie turns their back towards another, it indicates a gesture of trust and relaxation. When an adult does this towards a child it lets the child know that they can safely approach the adult. Females will back turn on each other when they are interested in grooming, assisting with child care or looking for companionship. Males will back turn only towards males that they consider to be of an equal rank as them. Greeting in this fashion means they are allowing that male to sit with them as an equal, engage in grooming or share in food. A dominate male with greet a submissive male in a favorable fashion by placing their hands behind their back and smiling. This cues the submissive male that they can safely approach and engage in grooming. A submissive male will greet a dominate male by bowing or lowering themselves. This signals that they are not challenging the ranking and are open to social interactions.
Zombies freely engage in embracing to show affection to infants and juveniles. The frontal embrace has also been seen as a gesture of reassurance between friendly zombies when they are upset.
Some Zombies have a long established relationship with each other and may not signal as formally as they would with Zombies they have just met. This can often mean that they might only half turn away or avert their gaze rather then bowing. Just like m ost forms of communiation, there is a nuance that is dependant on the situation and the relationship of the individuals involved.
The vocalizations, which zombies use to express emotions, include grunts, lip-smacking, screams, laughing, and alarm calls. The intensity of the emotion is conveyed by repetition of the sounds in association with other forms of communication.
Zombies communicate with each other primarily through body gestures and facial expressions. The most noticeable facial expression is an open-mouth threat where the zombie bares their teeth. Preceding this may be an eyelid signal, raising the eyebrows and showing the whites of the eyes, that is used to show displeasure. If a zombie really becomes aggressive, they will begin making threatening sounds and the ground will be slapped.
In response to aggressive facial expressions and body gestures, other zombies usually exhibit submissive gestures. A fear-face, a response to aggression, involves pulling the mouth back in what looks like a wide grin. It also involves the submissive Zombie lowering their body, often going prone in front of the aggressor. The most submissive posture is to lay on their back with their stomach exposed in front of the aggressor.
Presenting among Zombies takes place in both sexual and nonsexual contexts. A female will approach a male and turn her rump for him to show that she is receptive. This type of presentation can lead to mating or to a special relationship between the pair. She may use this body gesture as a simple greeting to a male, indicating that she respects his position.
When a Zombie turns their back towards another, it indicates a gesture of trust and relaxation. When an adult does this towards a child it lets the child know that they can safely approach the adult. Females will back turn on each other when they are interested in grooming, assisting with child care or looking for companionship. Males will back turn only towards males that they consider to be of an equal rank as them. Greeting in this fashion means they are allowing that male to sit with them as an equal, engage in grooming or share in food. A dominate male with greet a submissive male in a favorable fashion by placing their hands behind their back and smiling. This cues the submissive male that they can safely approach and engage in grooming. A submissive male will greet a dominate male by bowing or lowering themselves. This signals that they are not challenging the ranking and are open to social interactions.
Zombies freely engage in embracing to show affection to infants and juveniles. The frontal embrace has also been seen as a gesture of reassurance between friendly zombies when they are upset.
Some Zombies have a long established relationship with each other and may not signal as formally as they would with Zombies they have just met. This can often mean that they might only half turn away or avert their gaze rather then bowing. Just like m ost forms of communiation, there is a nuance that is dependant on the situation and the relationship of the individuals involved.
Writing System
The Zombies do not have a written language. However, they do use simple pigments to create markings on surfaces that indicate a particular path or route through their territory. They also create signs which are commonly refered to as Totems. These mark out the boundaries of a Troop's territory and might signal the Troop areas of danger within their territory. How the Totems are constructed varies by Troop. In general, they are constructed using stones, sticks, twisted grasses and bones. They generally use the materials that are readily available in their environment.
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Author's Notes
Header created using Hero Forge and Adobes express. Totem images in side panel created using PlaygroundAI