Dachese

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Often times, the limit of your world equates to the limit of your speech.
~ Guan Lao ~

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Dachese is a group of languages spoken natively by ethnic Dachians. It is made up of thirteen different minor dialects, each of which were named from thirteen of Dachi's sixteen kingdoms, except Ta, Jin, and Chuan. Ta used the Xiong dialect, Jin used the Gao dialect, and Ta used the Zhi dialect. During the Guan Dynasty in the reign of Emperor Lao, the Zhi dialect became the predominant language after the Book of Chuilao, which was written in it, became a famous text, and Dachese became a heavily written language. However, the others can still be found used today.

Speech and Writing

Dachese uses artistic characters that are written vertically, top to bottom. Each character is spoken as a single-syllable tone which, on its own, will relate to its direct translation. However, these characters take on entirely new definitions when they are combined into multiple sets that can be up to as much as four syllables long. For example, Shuixuede is the common Dachian name for the Infinite Serpent. The characters are "shui" (sleeping dragon), "xue" (to learn), and "de" (underneath). When combined, they become the cultural word Dachians have used as his holy name for ages, which means "the wise dragon that slumbers beneath the earth".

Naming

Men and women have very distinct naming roles when using Dachese. A born son will be given the family surname along with a second separate character, so that when written a reader may understand the one being named is a man. Each character is written separately. For example, a born son's name may be He (family surname, to scold) Bin (frequently).
On the other hand, a born daughter will follow the same naming method, however the two characters are combined into one, so that when written a reader may understand the one being named is a woman. For example, a born daughter's name may be Hebin (to scold frequently).
When a woman is married to another man, her single character name will also take on the husband's surname as a separate character that comes before. In this case, if Hebin married a man named Yu Long, her wedded name would be Yu Hebin, a three-syllable, two character name. In some cases, the woman may instead be referred as Nu (Lady, an honorific title of marriage) followed by their original family's surname. In this same example, Yu Hebin may instead be called Nu He (Lady He) to distinguish she is married.

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My words last for but the breath I use to speak them. But, this ink will last for lifetimes to come.
~ Guan Lao ~

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Spoken by

• Dachians