Languages of Charted Space

Charted Space is filled with a vast variety of languages of every stripe and color, from conventionally-spoken oral-aural languages, to conventionally-written alphabets, to the tactile-visual (gestural) and haptic-palpative (touch) languages of the Hivers, to the psionic-telepathic languages of the Droyne and Zhodani... And more...

Library Data Referral Tree

Language

§ == ( Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information: ) == §

Languages of Charted Space:

• Languages
  • Artificial Languages - including:
    • Digital Languages
  • Aslan Languages
  • Droyne Languages
  • Human Languages
  • Hiver Languages
  • K'kree Language
  • Vargr Languages
  • Other Languages
• Linguistics
  • Linguistic Theory
    • Language
    • Artificial Language
    • Interlingua
    • Variant Language Construct
    • Diplomatic Language
  • Linguistic Support Devices
    • Language Translator
    • Vodor

Description (Specifications)

Language is a word, and a concept, used to describe a variety of communicative mediums used by the advanced intelligent technology-using species known as Sophonts.

• The most commonplace linguistic expectation in Charted Space is for oral and/or aural languages that can be both spoken and heard.
  • There is an additional common expectation that oral-aural languages will possess a written form using symbolic representation.
• However, non-oral languages, while uncommon, are certainly present within Charted Space in significant numbers:
  • The Hivers are renowned as a race whose primary language isn't oral at all, but tactile-visual and haptic-palpative. Hiver Sign Language (HSL) is very common amongst the worlds of the Hive Federation although Hivers eventually found the necessity to adopt Gurviotic as an oral language standard. Hivers are known to use a technological solution to their lack of a physiological speech organ, the Vodor.
  • The Eliyoh are another celebrated example of a sophont species that possesses sensory organs with ranges beyond common expectations. The various types of language employed by the Eliyoh stray far from the norms of the mainstream members of Humaniti.
  • Many other examples of unconventional, or exotic languages exist.

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Languages of the Major Races

The languages of the major races almost always function as default lingua franca's, or commonly-used trade languages, in Charted Space. They are:

Major Race Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
!Kee and Raxkiir	Supercentral	K'kree	Two Thousand Worlds	Conventional	Canon	!Kee is the dominant family of regional dialects and also the most commonly-used term to describe the language of the K'kree. "Raxkiir" is a pidgin form used by many of the clients of the K'kree. !Kee is a deeply informative language when spoken by a well-educated K'kree, and most linguists believe that it can convey information about a wider range of social relationships than any other with the notable exception of the concept of being alone. The word for being alone, pure misery, and the maximum evil of hell's hell all appear to be the same utterance. !Kee is a sophisticated language and well-suited to most aspects of interstellar society.
Anglic	Hypercentral	Humaniti (Solomani)	Solomani Confederation & Third Imperium	Conventional	Canon	Anglic possesses an incredible number of linguistic variations: dialects, pidgins, argots, cants, slang, etc. Anglic remains one of the primary official and most commonly-used languages of the Third Imperium and is used by many interstellar agencies such as the Imperial Starport Authority. Despite its many variations, Terran-standard Anglic remains one of the most sought-after prestige versions of the language. Terran-non-standard Anglic possesses a bewildering number of variants and related languages ("feeder tongues") largely due to the incredible diversity of the Terran culture.
Gurviotic	Supercentral	Hivers & Gurvin	Hive Federation	Conventional	Canon	The language of the Gurvin sophont species is a flexible language capable of expressing a variety of sophisticated concepts and fairly easy to pronounce as far as spoken languages go. The Gurvin have strong aptitudes for both diplomacy and trade and their language, Gurviotic, is particularly well-suited to those pursuits.
Hiver Sign Language (HSL)	Supercentral	Hivers	Hive Federation	Unconventional	Canon	Hiver Sign Language is one of the most ambiguous and yet exact languages used within Charted Space. Hivers are fond of saying, or at least communicating, that HSL can convey any concept used by any other language in at least twice as many forms... Being that the language is so fantastically complex, few non-Hiver species ever master fluency in it to the degree that Hivers are rumored to attain. Whatever HSL is, it's a fascinating language as any interstellar linguist will tell you... The written form of the language is known as Hiver Glyph.
Marine Battle Language	Sub-central	Imperial Marines	Third Imperium	Unconventional	Canon	Marine Battle Language is gestural sign language designed for Imperial Marines to quickly and quietly convey basic ideas about battlefield conditions such as danger, types of threats, etc.
Oynprith	Supercentral	Droyne	Droyne Oytrip Yatroy & Third Imperium	Conventional, Exotic	Canon	Oynprith is probably the oldest existing and yet still regularly-spoken language within Charted Space. It has an ancient and proud lineage and is still a language of common use despite the relatively low numbers of Droyne within Charted Space. Oynprith most certainly has a psionic aspect to it although this isn't well understood by Imperial scholars. Written Oynprith has never been fully or adequately translated by Imperial scholars, some suspect that it can only be written accurately with psionically-active materials.
Trokh	Supercentral	Aslan	Aslan Hierate & Third Imperium	Conventional	Canon	Trokh is an epic language of poets, and skalds, and warriors... The Aslan love to say that from such language comes great feats (achievements). Perhaps in connection with the Aslan psyche, it attracts a certain type of sophont speaker to truly appreciate it. Few Imperials or Vilani ever truly master it although, for some odd reason, many Sword Worlders do. The vast expanses of the Aslan Hierate have yielded many dialects and varieties of the language, but basic Trokh has fundamentally changed very little since the days of the writing of the Codices of Aosoilte and Sakolusalo.
Vargr Languages (Aekhu, Arrghoun, Gvegh, Irilitok, Logaksu, Ovaghoun, Suedzuk, Vuakedh)	Supercentral (Gvegh) (Various L-H) (Other Vargr Languages)	Vargr	Vargr Extents & Third Imperium	Conventional	Canon	Gvegh is probably the most commonly-spoken and heard language in the Extents, but true to Vargr nature, this sophont species has never standardized on one language and... Dozens, perhaps hundreds or even thousands, of Vargr languages exist within the greater area of the Vargr Extents. Almost all Vargr languages contain three aspects known as high, modal, and low versions. High versions possess sophisticated technical, and specialized language, often employing many loan words. Modal variants are functional languages designed for brevity of speech and concise, quick communication. Low or primal variants communicate many concrete concepts and emotions, but cannot express more complicated abstract thought. Vargr psyches mean that all but the primal variants of the language differ greatly, sometimes so much as to be incredible puzzles to historical linguists. It's unclear just how and when these many languages diverged or even whether they share common roots or a universal linguistic ancestor tongue.
Bilanidin	Supercentral	Humaniti (Vilani)	Ziru Sirka & Third Imperium	Conventional	Canon	The Vilani language was once the dominant hypercentral language of Charted Space, but after the Terrans conquered the Ziru Sirka, the use of the Vilani language began to decline. However, by no means, did it fall out of use within the spaceways. Anglic eventually eclipsed it in common usage when the Third Imperium began using Anglic as one of the official languages of the Imperial Bureaucracy. Vilani is still considered required study for members of the Imperial Nobility and the Emperor himself speaks Vilani in most of his formal addresses and has all of his official communiques translated and/or interpreted into Vilani. Vilani dictionary
Zdetl	Supercentral	Humaniti (Zhodani)	Zhodani Consulate	Conventional, Exotic	Canon	Zdetl is an incredibly sophisticated and yet suave language. It is particularly well-adapted to expression of advanced scientific, philosophical, and psionic concepts. Some concepts that can be expressed in just a few specialized words in Zdetl require many sentences or paragraphs to be expressed in Anglic. Some sophontologists have conjectured that this linguistic symbolism helps to contribute to the relative strangeness of the Zhodani to mainstream interstellar society. Zdetl, in its present modern form, was adopted as their official language in the 300th Zhodani Olympiad, around the year -6055 Imperial.

Key Parameters

• L-Name: The name of a language or term by which the communicative medium is best known.
• L-Hierarchy: This is a linguistic term expressing cultural dominance of a language within interstellar society.
• Associated Race/s: This conveys the originating sophont species, who most often created the language and one or more of its most prolific users.
• Associated Polity/ies: This conveys one or more of the largest polities that use this language as an official or primary means of communication.
• Medium/s: The medium of a language convey the means by which the language is received and expressed. This practically means sophontic senses. Mediums are broadly grouped into conventional, unconventional, and exotic categories.
• Canon: Self-explanatory.
• Remarks: These remarks expand upon previously shared data to reveal other cogent factoids.

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Well-known Languages of the Minor Races

Many of the languages of the minor races are particularly well-known and these include the following:

Significant Minor Race Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
Aaca	Central	Humaniti (Luriani)	Luriani Cultural Association	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Standard Luriani (language) AKA Aaca AKA "Aaeebuany't' limmisdasca". Language of the Luriani Minor Human Race. The Luriani adapted well to Imperial society and quickly began absorbing vocabulary and concepts from Imperial languages into Aaca. Two functional pidgins developed: "Lurglic," a blend of Anglic and Aaca... And "Lurglani," a blend of Aaca and Vilani (language).
Genosha	Central	Humaniti (Geonee)	Geonee Cultural Region Geonee Confederation	Conventional, Exotic	Semi-Canon	Genosha, the language of the Geonee, has traveled Charted Space with the Geonee. The language, interestingly enough, has many loan words particularly from Oynprith indicating a long association with the Droyne. The language is very adept with technical terminology, psionics, mathematics, music, and has one of the most complex and descriptive systems of verbs of action known. An increasing number of non-Geonee have been learning it to facilitate trade.
Kadli	Central	Humaniti (Darmine)	Darmine Cultural Region	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Kadli is the language of the Darmine, a minor human race, who experienced subjugation as the Vilani conquered Zarushagar Sector. Their culture, a largely pacifistic one was focused towards symbolic conflict and stood culturally opposed to violence. Kadli is a language of exacting ethics, deep philosophy, and gregarious social interaction. After the fall of the Ziru Sirka, the people and culture grew increasingly mercantile and trade minded. Kadli is still an important central language within the Darmine Cultural Region.
Kehuu	Central	Humaniti (Lancians)	Lancian Cultural Region	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Kehuu is the language of the Lancian peoples, a minor human race primarily located in the Gushemege Sector. Despite a relatively small native population and area of influence, Kehuu has achieved a central language position due to the pervasive and influential nature of Lancian culture. Lancian tradesmen and artists are famed throughout Charted Space and are perpetually in high demand. Some believe that Kehuu removes inhibitions, encourages creativity, and engenders innovation.
Klatha'sh	Sub-central	Humaniti (Ziadd)	Zedan Cultural Region	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Klatha'sh is the language of the Ziadd, a Minor Human Race (MHR), primarily residing in the Dagudashaag Sector. Like other MHR's the Ziadd are believed to have been geneered by the Ancients and then left to develop largely in isolation until the Vilani of the Ziru Sirka conquered them. The Ziadd are an aggressive species and have few qualms against violence as the greater body of Humaniti asserts. Klatha'sh is a complex language full of both subtle and blunt distinctions that lends itself to both war and trade. Ziadd sports, martial arts, and physical pastimes tend to be amongst the most physical and complex within Charted Space. The language is particularly studied by many interstellar militaries, mercenaries, and body builders. The Ziadd life sciences are particularly advanced with an incredibly complex vocabulary for nutrition and physical fitness.
Na'ans	Supercentral	Suerrat	Suerrat Republic	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Na'ans is the language of the Suerrat people, a Minor Human Race. While the Suerrat may be atavistic in appearance, their language is anything but in function. Na'ans is a language that lends itself to astrographics, statistics, and just plain mathematics. It has a logic that Terrans find constructed or artificial, but it isn't. It's not a wonder that so many Suerrat are mathematical savants.
Sagamaal	Peripheral	Humaniti (Sword Worlder)	Sword Worlds Confederation	Conventional	Canon	Sagamaal is the language of the Sword Worlds and Sword Worlders. It is by no mistake that the Sword Worlder are so often referred to as "Vikings". Many Sword Worlders were once Terran refugees and exiles. Sagamaal has many of its roots in ancient Terran Scandinavian languages including Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish. Modern Sagamaal has since taken loan words from many other languages, but the "Viking" character of the language persists.
Sfuizia	Central	S'mrii	S'mrii ConSentiency	Conventional	Semi-Canon	The S'mrii are a race of insect-like centauroids with a distinguished and ancient culture. Their language Sfuizia contains a number of sounds not reproducible by many other sophont species so Vodors are recommended when communicating to the S'mrii in their native tongue. However, S'mrii vocal apparatuses can reproduce Anglic near perfectly so few other races even attempt to learn Sfuizia outside diplomats, enthusiastic linguists, and several of the race's old allies and neighbors, namely the Lancians and Ziadd. The language is known for its ability to relay non-linear chronologies in ways that translate well to few other languages.
Te-Zlodh	Peripheral	Humaniti (Daryen)	Darrian Confederation	Conventional	Canon	Te-Zlodh is the language of the Darrians or Daryen as they refer to themselves. Te-Zlodh is an incredibly interesting language that apparently developed in isolation from the vast majority of other languages except one: Oynprith. This lends credence to the Daryeni claims of progeniture from the Ancients whom many theorize might have been related to the Droyne. In the last few hundreds of years, Modern Te-Zlodh has absorbed increasing numbers of loan words from Anglic and Vilani. Te-Zlodh is a language particularly well suited to the study of science.
Wawa-pake keke-wawa	Supercentral	Bwap	Grand Council of Crèches	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Wawa-pakekeke-wawa is the language of the most-famed and skilled bookkeepers of Charted Space. It is a language of intense organization, order, logic, codes, ciphers, and functional hierarchies. Some other races have adopted it as a language of bureaucracy as well. Almost all governments of means will hire a few Bwap bookkeepers if at all possible. And while almost all Bwaps are talented linguists, where they go, so does Wawa-pakekeke-wawa and its many shorthand and coded variants.

Notes: All of these languages tend to be the better known ones with more commonly encountered hierarchies.

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Lesser-known Languages of the Minor Races

This AAB database has not received an update in some time.

• 1. Anglic-derived Terran-Human Languages
• 2. Non-Anglic Terran-Human Languages
• 3. Non-Anglic Non-Terran Human Languages
• 4. Non-human Terran Languages
• 5. Non-human Non-Terran Languages

1. Anglic-derived Human Languages

Anglic-derived Human Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
Changlic	Peripheral	Humaniti	Mercantile Concord	Conventional	Non-canon	Changlic is a contemporary Anglic daughter language with many loan words and features derived from Terran Asian origins. Some linguists still call it a pidgin while others salute its linguistic originality. Use of the language has been growing within Crucis Margin Sector.
Core Anglic	Hypercentral	Many races	Domain of Sylea	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Core Anglic has developed primarily in the Domain of Sylea as a prestige dialect of Anglic. Many speakers tend to use Vilani grammar and styling in a similar manner as English speakers once used Latin grammar.
Galaach	Peripheral	Humaniti	Ushran Trade Association	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Galaach is one of the pervasive trade languages of Dagudashaag Sector and neighboring sectors. It is a highly inflected form of Anglic with an incredible array of loan words from the creche of diverse lifeforms that were birthed in Dagudashaag. The Ushran Trade Association was one of the first organizations to declare Galaach its official language.
Gheldaght	Peripheral	Humaniti	Principality of Caledon	Conventional	Non-canon	Gheldacht is an ancient Celtic language related to Terran Scottish spoken in Reaver's Deep Sector and specifically in the Principality of Caledon. It began absorbing non-human vocabulary in the hundreds and can now sound quite strange to mainstream Anglic speakers.
Kdaar	Peripheral	Humaniti Aslan Saie	Grand Duchy of Marlheim	Conventional	Non-canon	Kdaar is the language of the Grand Duchy of Marlheim in Reaver's Deep Sector. Most linguists argue that it is an Anglic-derived language for its basic structure, but it possesses many components of Trokh, Reavers Cant, and a number of components from what many conjecture was the language of the ancient Saie precursors. The Anglic component of the language has been heavily influenced by the nearby Caledonian culture.
Reavers Cant	Peripheral	Various races	Reavers League	Conventional	Non-canon	Reavers Cant evolved among the multi-species pirates in Reaver's Deep Sector during the Long Night. It is a multilingual pidgin of the languages of a number of regional sophont species. The Reavers League was eventually defeated, but elements of the culture still linger on. The language still remains in popular use on several worlds once frequented by the league.
Rim Anglic	Semi-Central	Humaniti	Solomani Far Frontier	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Rim Anglic developed along the rimward regions of Charted Space and is still widely spoken in the Solomani Far Frontier. Unlike many other dialects of Anglic, it is relatively free of Vilani influence. TBD
Riftian	Semi-Central	Humaniti	Domain of Deneb	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Riftian Anglic is the name of the dialect of Modern Anglic developing primarily in the Domain of Deneb. It has absorbed much vocabulary and many concepts from neighboring cultures including the Aslan, Vargr, and Zhodani.
Transform	Semi-Central	Humaniti	Domain of Antares	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Transform or Transformic Anglic originally arose from non-Anglic origins, form the amalgamation of Vargr and Vilani languages and cultures under the First Empire. After the Rule of Man, Anglic entered into the picture after a solid new language had developed from Gvegh and Vilani. TBD
Ushi (language)	Semi-Central	Various races	Greater Gushemege Trade Association	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Ushi and Galaach are related trade languages of Anglic derivation. Ushi dominates Gushemege Sector, while Galaach is better known in Dagudashaag. The Greater Gushemege Trade Association declared Ushi its official language many years ago.

Notes: Anglic is the dominant hypercentral language of Charted Space and all of these tongues are sub-languages that developed from a root Anglic tongue. Please note that several of these Anglic-offshoots later evolved under non-human tongues and cultures. Please note that while Anglic is a language descended from venerable Terran English, they are not the same language.

2. Non-Anglic Terran-Human Languages

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_total_number_of_speakers

Notes: All of the Terran languages originated in the massive hyper-culture of Terra and from just one species, Humaniti. No other world has bred such diversity and been the home culture of so many different languages. There are literally thousands of Terran languages. Other races and cultures typically unite before such linguistic variegation takes place.

3. Non-Anglic Non-Terran Human-derived Languages

Non-Anglic Non-Terran Human-derived Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
Anseri	Central	Humaniti: Answerin	Third Imperium	Conventional	Semi-canon	The present world government had its basis in the nation which spoke North Answerin. Together with some Vilani borrowing, this language became the world’s official language. Galangic has had little influence on the North Answerin tongue. Only North Answerin and Vilani are spoken by any large number of natives, but all four greater dialects (and some smaller ones) still exist.
Loes (language)	Peripheral (endangered)	Humaniti (Loeskalth)	Loeskalth Empire (conquered)	Conventional	Canon	Loes is the dieing language of the Loeskalth people, an ancient, aggressive, and warlike minor human race. Despite the language's endangered status, exolinguists keep finding traces of it throughout Charted Space leading researchers to believe that the Loeskalth may have had greater cultural influence than previously imagined. Some think that the Loeskalth eventually migrated spinward out of the Vilani core towards Zhodani Space.
Na	Peripheral (endangered)	Humaniti (Aquan)	TBD	Unconventional	Semi-Canon	Na, also known as Sign or Aquan is the comprehensive sign language used by Aquans. Na is a very subtle language, which relies heavily on interpreting the signer’s body language in order to be able to 'read' the message in its proper context. It uses a variety of finger flicks and minute alterations in facial display to convey a wide variety of concepts.
Sagamaal	Peripheral	Humaniti (Sword Worlder)	Sword Worlds	Conventional	Canon	Please see entry above in Well-known Languages of the Minor Races section.
Sylean language	Peripheral	Humaniti (Syleans)	Sylean Worlds	Conventional	Canon	The Sylean language is the primary cultural vehicle of the Sylean people, an influential minor human race, whose vibrant society practically underwrote the founding of the Third Imperium. Sylean is used in a number of native philosophies regarding trade supremacy and the assertion of power.

Notes: Many of these non-Terran languages are sufficiently well-known that their data is presented elsewhere in this AAB article since they are the tongues of many of the better-known minor human races.

4. Non-human Terran Languages

Many of these languages were created for or by Terragen variant race species

Non-human Terran Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
Delphinic Trinary	Peripheral	Dolphin & Orca	Solomani Confederation & Third Imperium	Conventional	Semi-Canon	Dolphins and Orca still use this sophisticated language that originally evolved for use in an oceanic environment via a liquidinous medium. Whales also use this complex language despite the fact that few are considered more than Proto-Sophonts by the greater scientific community. TBD.
GAL (Great Ape Language)	Peripheral	Uplifted Ape	Solomani Confederation	Conventional, Unconventional	Non-canon	Primates, and more specifically the Great Apes, are probably the most successful extant relatives, perhaps cousins, of Humaniti. Well-meaning humans have long held a dream of uplifting these magnificent Proto-Sophonts to a more sophisticated sophont society. GAL was and is the result of early aboriginal language and human development of this revenant language. Uplifted Apes still use GAL in addition to Anglic.
Ursotic	Peripheral	Ursa	Solomani Confederation & Third Imperium	Conventional, Unconventional	Semi-Canon	Ursotic began life as the language of the Terran bear species, a creature with high intelligence potential, but far short of a Proto-Sophont. As GenAssist company uplifted, the species, increased intelligence led to increased ursine language skills. As an animal language, it was a series of grunts growls, and assorted vocalizations that primarily expressed basic biological needs and concrete conceptualizations. As it grew, an increasing number of abstract ideas and concepts entered the language. By the time that GenAssist began genetically engineering ursine vocal cords to approximate human speech, they were surprised to find well-developed minds already developing. Modern Ursotic is a mix of a number of languages, Anglic, Yerkish, and the original animal speech of the Terran Bear.
Yerkish	Peripheral	Uplifted Ape	Solomani Confederation	Unconventional	Non-canon	Yerkish was an artificial language originally created for the primates of ancient Terra. It was originally a lexigraphic language onto which many other elements were added such as a gestural sign language, a later vocalized variant, and many other developments. While Yerkish began as an artificial language designed for primates, it was later adapted to many other variant race species and remains a cornerstone or foundation language for many genetically engineered species or variant races.

Notes: These are languages developed by or for non-human species from Terra. Thus, they are the languages of variant or genetically-engineered races

5. Non-human Non-Terran Languages

These languages are distinctly Non-human in nature and most tend to be peripheral languages in influence.

Non-human Non-Terran Languages

L-Name	L-Hierarchy	Associated Race/s	Associated Polity/ies	Medium/s	Canon	Remarks
Ginsharian (language)	Peripheral	Ginsharian	TBD	Conventional, Unconventional, Exotic	Non-canon	The Ginsharians are an artificial race so it comes as no surprise that the Ginsharian (language) is also of an artificial nature. The Ginsharian language has evolved far beyond what the Ginsharian 's creators originally imagined.
"Guy-Troy language"	Peripheral	Guy-Troy	TBD	Conventional	Semi-Canon	The Guy-Troy or Controlled have a very different throat structure and sound-generating organs compared to humans. Their language requires the use of a Vodor for most mainstream sophont species. Guy-Troy are flyers and their piercing language of whistles, clicks, and high frequency sounds carries well over great distances on their homeworld. Despite the significant presence of the Guy-Troy within Charted Space, the language is not better understood and the Guy-Troy themselves seem to have little interest in attracting greater attention to their language and culture. Guy-Troy are known for using universal translators and vodors with great frequency.
Hhraki	Peripheral	Hhkar	Hhkar Sphere	Conventional, Unconventional, Exotic	Non-canon	Hhraki, the language of the Hhkar, is a remarkable language of incredible complexity. Universal translators still lack adequate files to accurately translate it and the Hhkar culture has managed to preserve many of its secrets to this dsy, one of those secrets being the incredible complexity of its tongue.
Ithkluri	TBD	Ithklur	TBD	TBD	Non-canon	TBD
"Llyrnian language"	Peripheral	Llyrnian	TBD	Conventional, Unconventional, Exotic	Non-canon	TBD
Ungeti	TBD	Ivot	TBD	TBD	Non-canon	TBD
Virsashi	Peripheral	Virushi	Virushi Pacifistocracy	Conventional	Semi-Canon	The Virushi are amongst the largest sophonts in mainstream Imperial interstellar society and their society, language, and culture are markedly special and unique for many reasons. Their language retains many cultural elements of their individualist yet herdal tendencies as well as their strong identification with both anti-authoritarianism and pacifism. Physiologically speaking, the Virushi language uses many ultra low level frequency vocalizations designed to carry over great distances compared to more conventional languages. Few sophonts can duplicate these sounds without a Vodor.
Vrynsyss	Peripheral	Eslyat	Eslyat Magistracy	Conventional, Exotic	Apocryphal	The Eslyat are a reptillianoid species, who have built a civilization in the Beyond Sector outside of the Third Imperium. Their rather large pocket empire is well known to travellers. Their language Vrynsyss is still being actively studied.
Yiirabarhi	Peripheral	Shrieker	TBD	Conventional, Unconventional, Exotic	Semi-Canon	The Shriekers are amongst the youngest of the species known to the Third Imperium despite an ancient lineage. A misunderstanding led them to initially be identified as game animals, but Imperial explorers rectified the situation, made first contact with the sophont species and began the process of studying Yiirabarhi. The language is still poorly understood.
Yohi	Peripheral	Eliyoh	TBD	Conventional, Unconventional, Exotic	Semi-Canon	TBD
Za'tachshprakh	TBD	Za'tachk	TBD	TBD	Non-canon	TBD

Notes: These language are distinctly non-human in nature and originate outside of Terra and human cultures. Many of them possess unconventional and exotic natures.

History & Background (Dossier)

Sophisticated language is a hallmark of NILs, Sophonts, Sapients, or whatever other term is used to describe the lifeforms (species) who employ advanced technology.

• All advanced species use some form of language, without any known exceptions.
• And all advanced languages make use of abstract conceptualities.
• Less advanced languages are largely composed of concrete conceptualities.

Language & Proto-Sophonts

Not all species who develop language go onto become sophonts. Some stay at a pre-technology-using phase in which sophontologists refer to them as creatures.

• Others develop many to most of the hallmarks of a sophont species and reach a TL-0 Proto-Sophont "plateau stage," but never advance into more advanced uses of tools and technology that qualify as the TL-1 to TL-33 series by IISS sophontilogical standards.
• Almost all of the languages of Proto-Sophonts are nearly entirely composed of concrete conceptualities and few to no abstract conceptualities.
• At any rate, some species are known to develop very advanced languages and still not develop technology judged to be at an IISS TL-1 or greater standard.

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Sophontic Senses

No information yet available.

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Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is a linguistic theory of language relativity or determinism. In short many believe that language helps to determine culture and vice versa. In other words, language favors certain kinds of thought and action. For instance, Aslan Fteirle culture is regulated by codes of honor and encourages orderly behavior and martial competency. Hiver culture, on the other hand, favors disorderly thought and action in comparison. Hivers place no premium on the use of force and find the pursuit of uplifted sophont species to be prestigious. Many of the languages of Charted Space seems to support the linguisticly determinative aspects of Sapir-Whorf theory.

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Linguistic Forms

Conventional Linguistic Forms

Conventional linguistics forms are the most commonly encountered ones within Charted Space. Humaniti is probably the most numerous, or at least the culturally dominant sophont species within Charted Space. As such, human norms form many of the cultural folkways of the Third Imperium and surrounding astrographic regions. Due to these cultural norms, mainstream languages are most often considered to be:

• Spoken languages (sound, expressed by a voice)
• Written languages (vision, expressed through physical symbols of various types )

Unconventional Linguistic Forms

Some language forms, while not necessarily less common, have nevertheless taken a subordinant role to conventional written and spoken languages and these include:

• Body language (vision, expressed by a body)
• Haptic language (touch-palpative, expressed with manipulators from one to another)
• Visual language (vision AKA tactile gestural language AKA sign language, expressed with extremity manipulators from a distance)
• Computer language (electronic)
• Mathematical language (various)
• Musical language (sound)
• Symbolic language (mental AKA philosophical)

Exotic Linguistic Forms

And other language forms are of a sufficiently exotic nature, to not be well-understood or considered mainstream:

• Biochemical language (Pheremonal aka chemical aka biochemical, expressed using bodily organs)
• Psionic language (Telepathy, expressed using Psionics)
• Radioscopic language (EM, expressed using radio waves)
• Thermal language (EM, expressed using heat patterns)
• Other (various)

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Language Hierarchies

Languages are frequently ranked by the Imperial Interstellar Language Society by their commonality of usage or sociological standing:

1. Hypercentral
2. Supercentral
3. Central
4. Sub-Central
5. Peripheral

Interstellar Linguistic Hierarchies

L-Hierarchy	Commonality	Convention	Synopsis	Remarks
Hypercentral	Very frequent	Very High	(Dominant diplomatic & trade language)	Anglic is the hypercentral language of Charted Space, Species unable to use Anglic, use languages interpreted or translated into Anglic. Despite its many limitations and cultural baggage, its widespread use makes it a "go to" or chosen language for many sophont species. A hypercentral language is used throughout the vast majority of known civilization.
Supercentral	Frequent	High	(Frequently-used language of diplomacy and trade)	Supercentral languages are ubiquitous throughout Charted Space. Any book or communique of note will be translated into one or more of these major languages, which include not only the languages of the Big Six Major Races, but also those of several other species with significant interstellar influence such as the tongue of the Bwaps. Supercentral languages are often used as connector languages between several central language speakers to have a common communicative tongue. Supercentral languages are almost always used throughout many sectors.
Central	Common	Average	(Commonly-used language for interstellar relations)	Central languages are those that often possess significance that goes beyond frequency of encounter: national, official, or tongues of historical importance. Many multilingual sophonts speak a central national or racial language as well as one of the supercentral languages and/or the hypercentral one, Anglic. Central languages typically are used in more than a sector-sized area.
Sub-central	Uncommon	Low	(Uncommonly-used language)	Sub-central languages are far less commonly encountered than central ones. They are the tongues of lesser actors on the interstellar stage. They are "languages of conversation and narration." Many of them are still being codified and recorded by Sophontilogical Ethnologists. Sub-central languages typically are used in an area smaller than a sector, but often larger than a subsector.
Peripeheral	Rare	Very Low	(Rarely-used language outside of cultural in-groups)	Peripheral languages are tribal languages, or the variant languages of balkanized peoples, who have often not yet formed a unified World-State. They are often limited to native speakers and are passed over by younger sophonts wanting to gain greater access to interstellar society. Peripheral languages typically are used in just a handful of World-Systems and often on just a single planet.

Key Parameters

• L-Hierarchy: This is a linguistic term expressing cultural dominance of a language within interstellar society.
• Commonality: This indicates just how common or easily-encountered the language may be.
• Convention: This indicates the presence of vocabulary expressing commonly encountered galactic folkways and cultural expectations. The more central a language, the more likely it possesses concepts to express such thoughts or that its non-mainstreamed ideas become mainstreamed. Languages with lower levels of conventionality tend to be increasingly strange or exotic to the mainstream norms of Charted Space. They lack common cultural concepts.
• Synopsis: This term briefly explains the role the language plays within interstellar society.
• Remarks: These remarks expand upon the synopsis to reveal more information.

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Linguistic Origins

The origins of various languages are often a useful tool for comparative research.

• Natural languages are thought to have evolved as evolutionary advantages for many lifeforms.
• Un-natural or academic languages were later developments from sophont societies seeking to further explore knowledge. They generally include mathematical and philosophical languages. Later computer languages also belong to this class.
• Constructed or artificial languages were the next step, attempts to custom design communicative mediums to fulfill specific needs such as data system communication protocols, bridging languages, or even as new communicative mediums for uplifted species.

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Linguistic Typologies:

• Natural Language ("evolved")
  • Wet Life Languages (organic)
  • Dry Life Languages (inorganic)
  • Exotic Life Languages (Neither organic nor inorganic)
• Un-Natural Language ("developed")
  • Formal Languages
  • Informal Languages
• Constructed Language ("imagined")
  • Interlinguata
  • Variant Language Constructs
  • Artificial Languages

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References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Loren Wiseman. "Language in Traveller." Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society 16 (1983): —.
• Jae Campbell, Leighton Piper. "Languages of." Signal-GK 03 (1989): —.
• Traveller RPG at Frath Linguistics Wiki
• Author & Contributor: IISS Junior Administrator and Master Astrographer Ensign Phillips