Trossanian
Trossania is perhaps, for an ordinary traveller, the single most dull place to visit in the entirety of existence with the possible exception of the land of death and cessation. There are rules for everything, and it's language is no exception which makes it the most technically complex of the common tongues by quite a wide margin.
The language as a whole is monotone, flat, and devoid of rhythm. Conveying it's entire complexity in summary would be a fools errand and this writer will not attempt it. Instead, let us look at a few notable example that should give an impression of the whole. When addressing someone there is a specific form to be used that varies according to the precise nature of your relationship with them. Not only does this include their position in society relative to you (i.e. family member, co-worker, medical consultant, etc) but also how the speakers feels about that person in general (affectionate, friendly, hostile) and how the speakers feels about that person in the moment. Words are also limited in their use by the social caste of the speaker. Individuals in the Maker caste have access to words for describing machines and devices that are strictly forbidden to those in the Legate caste. Visitors to Trossania have a caste of their own and would be wise to keep their mouths shut as much as possible, especially in the presence of the powerful. More than one unwise ambassador has been imprisoned or worse for using the affectionate prephrase with the leader of a powerful house or by Politician caste vocabulary without permission.
In terms of its actual language, the core of the language is that everything is built in pairs. Two syllables combine to form a word with a simple abstract meaning known as a DoGa. Two simple words combine to form a word with a more complex meaning known has a DoGaHeKa. This can be repeated as many times as necessary. In this way words either have 2,4,8,12 or 24 syllables. There are words of 48 syllables but they are rarely used and limited to the wordsmith caste. The grammar is far too dense to explain in a few words but does operate on the same principle of pairs, the first pair in the sentence is the prephrase, the indicator of relationship. For example addressing your mother with a simple sentence would start with something like KyLaBaFi JoJo (literally parent-woman warm). Following pairs in a sentence have other meanings.
The script itself is sharp and geometrical, written only with straight lines with each syllable being stacked on top of each other to form a word. The first word in a pair is written vertically upwards and the seconds word in the pair is written vertically downwards. In recent decades the script has changed slightly with the vertical and horizontal lines being written slightly out of alignment so as to aid learners of the language.
The language as a whole is monotone, flat, and devoid of rhythm. Conveying it's entire complexity in summary would be a fools errand and this writer will not attempt it. Instead, let us look at a few notable example that should give an impression of the whole. When addressing someone there is a specific form to be used that varies according to the precise nature of your relationship with them. Not only does this include their position in society relative to you (i.e. family member, co-worker, medical consultant, etc) but also how the speakers feels about that person in general (affectionate, friendly, hostile) and how the speakers feels about that person in the moment. Words are also limited in their use by the social caste of the speaker. Individuals in the Maker caste have access to words for describing machines and devices that are strictly forbidden to those in the Legate caste. Visitors to Trossania have a caste of their own and would be wise to keep their mouths shut as much as possible, especially in the presence of the powerful. More than one unwise ambassador has been imprisoned or worse for using the affectionate prephrase with the leader of a powerful house or by Politician caste vocabulary without permission.
In terms of its actual language, the core of the language is that everything is built in pairs. Two syllables combine to form a word with a simple abstract meaning known as a DoGa. Two simple words combine to form a word with a more complex meaning known has a DoGaHeKa. This can be repeated as many times as necessary. In this way words either have 2,4,8,12 or 24 syllables. There are words of 48 syllables but they are rarely used and limited to the wordsmith caste. The grammar is far too dense to explain in a few words but does operate on the same principle of pairs, the first pair in the sentence is the prephrase, the indicator of relationship. For example addressing your mother with a simple sentence would start with something like KyLaBaFi JoJo (literally parent-woman warm). Following pairs in a sentence have other meanings.
The script itself is sharp and geometrical, written only with straight lines with each syllable being stacked on top of each other to form a word. The first word in a pair is written vertically upwards and the seconds word in the pair is written vertically downwards. In recent decades the script has changed slightly with the vertical and horizontal lines being written slightly out of alignment so as to aid learners of the language.
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