Because You Asked: Language.: seanan

Because You Asked: Language.

I said that I would once again answer five questions about Toby's world to celebrate the upcoming book, and this is question #3.

scorbet asks, "Do the Fae have their own language or do they just adopt the language of where they are?"

Great question!

So the fae, insofar as anyone knows, basically just started one day, when Oberon, Maeve, and Titania came strolling out of wherever it is they came from and said "Yeah, this'll do." They did say it. The three of them began with a common language, which we can call, for lack of a better word, "Fae." They spoke the language of the fae, and that's not what they called themselves in that tongue, because "fae" is a loan word. They didn't call themselves by name, either. They were the only three things that mattered in the entire world, and when you have a population of three, you don't so much need proper names.

Now, creating a language is hard. There's a reason that most of us are pretty relieved when we discover that hey, there's a word for that. As the Three wandered around, encountering people and making trouble, they began acquiring words for things. Tree. House. Car. Uncivilized behavior. Frog. Witch. Spell. Humans turned out to be incredibly useful in the "naming things" department, and the Three wound up being called things other than "one I'm with" and "one I'm not."

When it became apparent that whoa, hey, all their kids were totally radically different from one another, and so were their children, humanity stepped up to the plate again, slapping all kinds of names on them. (This is why so many fae races have names that translate as either "funny-looking people" or "kinda like a whale/horse/tree/whatever, only not.") The fae, lacking any better ideas, sort of rolled with it. This is why a) so many fae races have names from so many different languages, and b) fae pronunciation and grammar is a little...questionable. They're literally their own messed-up polyglot linguistic drift.

That's where their consistent vocabulary (race names, etc.) comes from. There are regional variations (Kitsune in Japan don't call Firstborn "Firstborn," they have a local name that I can't spell), but for the most part, those pieces will remain consistent. As for conversational "I can talk to you, you can talk to me" speech, that tends to fit whatever the local language happens to be. So Toby speaks mostly English, as do coastal Undersea fae. Li Qin speaks both English and Mandarin. The Luidaeg speaks about eighteen languages fluently, and can tell you to go fuck yourself in any and all of them.

Fae who have been isolated from humanity for any length of time will tend to develop their own language, although the anchored "root words" will remain, as artifacts to facilitate communication with other races. The deep Undersea has its own language, as does the Oversky. Some fae are not equipped to speak human words, and find other forms of language. Dryads are fluent in wind, for example. But when it comes to the spoken word, the fae are thieves, and they don't give a damn about your grammar.

So there.

sleightedge

August 27 2012, 18:15:37 UTC 4 years ago

New comment

"The Luidaeg speaks about eighteen languages fluently, and can tell you to go fuck yourself in any and all of them."

Ahhh, the Luidaeg. How I love her. Here's to hoping we see something go a little better for her in the series sometime soon!

seanan_mcguire

August 27 2012, 18:58:43 UTC 4 years ago

She's having a lovely time, really.

mariadkins

4 years ago

Deleted comment

August 27 2012, 18:58:53 UTC 4 years ago

Hee.

dewline

ironed_orchid

cbpotts

August 27 2012, 18:46:46 UTC 4 years ago

But when it comes to the spoken word, the fae are thieves, and they don't give a damn about your grammar.

Somehow when I read this it comes out sounding like that PBS "The Story of English" guy in my head, which is very odd indeed. Neat, but odd. Thank you for the best bit of cognitive dissonance I've had all day.

(Yipes, Google reveals that series is like 25 years old. So thank you for the trip WAY down memory lane as well as the cognitive dissonance)

August 27 2012, 18:59:07 UTC 4 years ago

It's a lot like that!

bercilakslady

August 27 2012, 19:07:45 UTC 4 years ago

The Luidaeg speaks about eighteen languages fluently, and can tell you to go fuck yourself in any and all of them.

And this is why we love her.

August 29 2012, 14:43:56 UTC 4 years ago

Precisely.

chinders

August 27 2012, 19:26:01 UTC 4 years ago

Speaking of The Luidaeg, I loved the story of her and Elizabeth. Heartbreaking and beautiful, and I just loved getting backstory that wasn't in the book.

Also, she's my favorite cantankerous sea witch.

August 29 2012, 14:44:05 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you!

erinwrites

August 27 2012, 19:59:20 UTC 4 years ago

This is less of a comment and more of a marginally-related question...does there exist any sort of timeline of events (a wiki or something?) of the Toby books thus far? I ask because of reasons. ;) (Of course I have read them all...I just have a terrible memory...)

August 29 2012, 14:44:26 UTC 4 years ago

Not outside of my continuity guide, sadly.

Sunil is right. People are falling down on the job!

kassrachel

August 27 2012, 20:16:25 UTC 4 years ago

Okay, I am sufficiently intrigued; I've just nabbed Rosemary & Rue for the Kindle. \o/

mac_arthur_park

August 27 2012, 21:20:31 UTC 4 years ago

You won't regret it!

dulcinbradbury

archangelbeth

August 27 2012, 21:20:00 UTC 4 years ago

My inner linguist just had a nerdgasm. I think I'll go make her write for a while. ;)

August 29 2012, 14:44:44 UTC 4 years ago

Awesome!

kippurbird

August 27 2012, 22:27:40 UTC 4 years ago

I just had to drop this icon here.

September 17 2012, 17:10:56 UTC 4 years ago

dragonsally

August 27 2012, 23:21:04 UTC 4 years ago

One of the many reasons why I love The Luidaeg as much as I do.

September 17 2012, 17:11:06 UTC 4 years ago

She's easy to love, from a distance.

wmilliken

August 28 2012, 02:03:55 UTC 4 years ago

"So the fae, insofar as anyone knows, basically just started one day, when Oberon, Maeve, and Titania came strolling out of wherever it is they came from"

Aha! Now I know why they've all disappeared... the three original fae must have been virtual particles. And so, like all good virtual particles, they had to vanish to balance the Universe's books before classical physics caught up with them.

Oh, dear, I've used "physics" and "fae" together in the same paragraph....

And now I'm wondering what force they were the carriers for. I think I'll go have a nice lie-down.

August 28 2012, 02:38:56 UTC 4 years ago

Phaesics?

peachtales

August 28 2012, 02:28:08 UTC 4 years ago

I love languages (don't speak as many as the Luideag, but a few more than 2, and definitely more than the average American), so this is very cool. Thanks!

September 17 2012, 17:11:38 UTC 4 years ago

Welcome!

willibald

August 28 2012, 02:59:45 UTC 4 years ago

"Dryads are fluent in wind, for example."

Maybe it's a Brit thing but the idea of them communicating by flatulence immediately comes to mind, either by sound or smell.

While I'm sure there could be fae that do this I don't think it's the Dryads.