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[Vieve]

How I play Matari languages...

The Republic uses:

• Modern Standard Matari
• Amarish and Amarish patois
• various tribal and clan dialects appropriate to each area.

Also, especially in popular culture:

• Gallentean.

I don't deal with Matari things much, but when I do, I take a similar approach to this.  I've also played:

• There's a Sebiestor dialect (or "standardized" amalgamation of dialects) that has some popularity in science and engineering journals.  It's a required subject in some Federation technical schools. 
  
• Thukker have a common officer-only language for flotilla-to-flotilla comms, which is used instead of relying on translators.  Each flotilla otherwise has its own dialect.
• The Vherokior have a very well preserved common tribal language.  It's not spoken in front of outsiders (or half-breeds of their own kind, unless they are proven devoted to the family unit): business transactions are handled using the outsider's language, even if the Vherokoir's command of that language is shaky or non-existent.   Vherokoir are also notorious for feigning a shaky command of an outsider's language, especially if the outsider's an asshole.
• One reason that the Vherokoir language has survived so long is that in the written form, it's practically indistinguishable from decoration.    When other languages began to be repressed by the Empire, and their written works destroyed, the Vherokoir destroyed their own written works and watched their language survive as ornamentation on clothing, leather goods, furniture, pottery ... and in time, pretty filigree tattoos on Amarr skin.  Not that any Vherokoir who values his or her survival would ever claim that a devout Amarr heiress was walking around with their alphabet and oh, "Ask me about my vegetable-oriented fetishes" branded on her forehead.

[Matariki Rain]

Nice. Thanks, Vieve.

(I'm still unsure how far the Amarrian ban extended and whether it covered all tattooing or only Matari tattooing on Matari. But if tattooing is the sort of thing an Amarrian heiress might do I'd love it if it included the vegetables.)

Also, from my play:

• There's a language of hand signals that's used particularly in commerce: market haggling can be done with a rapid flurry of movements even in a crowded and noisy bazaar. This language can be used for basic communication in other loud environments (between waitstaff in a crowded cafe; at a rustcore concert), where there's enforced silence (certain rituals; once the fussy children have finally gone to sleep); for communication at a distance; or as private communication when one part of an audience can see your hands and another part can't.

I think I gave this a name, once. If I find that I'll edit it in.

[Vieve]

Nice. Thanks, Vieve.

(I'm still unsure how far the Amarrian ban extended and whether it covered all tattooing or only Matari tattooing on Matari. But if tattooing is the sort of thing an Amarrian heiress might do I'd love it if it included the vegetables.)

You're welcome!   Dark powers, happy to help, and all that.

(The idea about the Vherokoir-language related tattooing came up when we had our old avatars.  I figured that 'purely ornamental' things might be preserved, when Voluval marks and obvious symbolism wouldn't.)

[Ava Starfire]

Languages. A favorite topic of mine, indeed.

We have no idea what, if any, language family(s) the Matari languages are descended from, or even if they have anything at all to do with our languages in the here and now. However, a few things to consider:

Minmatar languages are certainly varied. The "tribes" seem more akin to what we would label as "tribal groups" rather than as "tribes" in the sense we tend to think of them, and all members of a tribal group would probably speak related, but not necessarily identical, dialects of the same language. My mother was Roma, and the Romani people are a good example of such a culture group; the language varies quite widely depending on location, mostly due to inclusion of loanwords from surrounding languages, but also due to simple dialectical differences.

Amarrian loanwords, as well as Gallente to a lesser extent, would likely fill Matari language, and some attempt would almost certainly be made at some form of standard Matari, even if it were little more than a "Minmatarized" Amarrian or Gallente.

Local dialects would be interesting; The Sebiestor, for example, being from the polar regions of Matar, would likely have lots of words for "snow" or "ice" but very few for "sunshine".

I had always imagined that Sebiestor was patterned after a norse language, with similar structures, due to the apparent mythological similarities, but meh... who knows.

[Mizhara]

If we're assuming a similar seasonal shift as with Earth, (adjusted for length of year) then the Sebiestor would have a lot of words for sunshine. The polar regions half half a year of snow and darkness and the other half the damn sun refuses to go down.

[Horatius Caul]

... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ...

Vherokior 

[Saede Riordan]

So, I know we're not going to reach anything remotely near a consensus on speech patterns or languages, and we know that there are likely to be many, many, many many languages in Matari culture. But would it be somehow possible to develop a matari Lingua franca that could be used by all minmatar RPers the way Napanii is used for the Caldari? Because I think that'd be rather fun to have.

[Mizhara]

No, no, no and... oh wait, no.

Napanii isn't even used by all Caldari, nor would there be any 'lingua franca' for the Matari.

You can create whatever you want, but trying to impose that shit on other RPers isn't going to happen.
There's people of all manner of clans out there, and each of them have their own view of their clans.
The language, the roots of it, the culture, everything. The same goes for 'universal' languages.
I know I will damn sure refute any 'universal' Matari language based on Gaelic or whatever.
The Gripdjur wouldn't be speaking that, with their remnants of Norse influences still around.

Is it really so hard to just invent something for your own clan? It doesn't impose anything on others, and still gives you what you want.

[Casiella]

No, no, no and... oh wait, no.

QFE.

[Ulphus]

Is it really so hard to just invent something for your own clan? It doesn't impose anything on others, and still gives you what you want.

I'm guessing here, but I don't think it would. My impression is that Nikita thinks the way the Caldari all say "Sisal" when they meet each other, and "Wakka" when they leave and "Moitay" when they're wishing people good fortune is kind of cool in a secret-language-part-of-the-in-crowd sort of way, and if the only person using your secret language is you, it sort of defeats the purpose (Which was mostly the problem I had with PGP integration into my email - nobody else ever encrypted anything)

So what it seems to me Nikita is actually asking for is a way of having the Matari differentiate in speech from the non-matari on chat channels, possibly to have another sense of belonging, (or exclusion of the other) I'm not sure about that.

While it works (in my opinion) for the Caldari, for whom cultural uniformity seems to be very important, I'm not sure it makes sense for the Matari, and I don't personally support it.

[Ciarente]

I'd also note that not all Caldari use those terms.

[Saede Riordan]

Is it really so hard to just invent something for your own clan? It doesn't impose anything on others, and still gives you what you want.

I'm guessing here, but I don't think it would. My impression is that Nikita thinks the way the Caldari all say "Sisal" when they meet each other, and "Wakka" when they leave and "Moitay" when they're wishing people good fortune is kind of cool in a secret-language-part-of-the-in-crowd sort of way, and if the only person using your secret language is you, it sort of defeats the purpose (Which was mostly the problem I had with PGP integration into my email - nobody else ever encrypted anything)

So what it seems to me Nikita is actually asking for is a way of having the Matari differentiate in speech from the non-matari on chat channels, possibly to have another sense of belonging, (or exclusion of the other) I'm not sure about that.

While it works (in my opinion) for the Caldari, for whom cultural uniformity seems to be very important, I'm not sure it makes sense for the Matari, and I don't personally support it.

That was basically it, but if you guys really don't think it would work at all...eh, whatever.

[Matariki Rain]

[...] the Caldari all say "Sisal" when they meet each other, and "Wakka" when they leave and "Moitay" when they're wishing people good fortune [...]

* Matariki Rain still grins at Ulf's mutilation of Napanii.

While it works (in my opinion) for the Caldari, for whom cultural uniformity seems to be very important, I'm not sure it makes sense for the Matari, and I don't personally support it.

As an advocate of Modern Standard Matari, I think there could be a uniform language that most of us in the Republic do understand. However, at the moment my impression is that most Matari roleplayers are happy to assume that the translator can take care of our communication needs except when there's a concept or thing that doesn't have an easy translation.

Maybe, instead of making up new vocabulary for things we have words for, consider the ways you'd use the words you have? How do you greet people or take your leave of them? Do you talk differently with people whose clan you don't know? Do you talk with them at all? What concepts are good and might be referred to in well-wishing? Freedom? Wellness? Good hunting? Kinstrength? Maybe see what you can draw out of things like that to explore how you might speak as a Matari.

If you want to speak as an Angel... that's something to explore in a similar way.

[Vieve]

... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ... Vherokoir ...

Vherokior 

Now you know the secret behind why I've never played one as a PC.   And my characters tend to call them 'Vherkies".

[Matariki Rain]

And my characters tend to call them 'Vherkies".

"Vherks", "Sebbies" and for some reason mine never get around to shortening "Brutor".