This thread has grown to be quite long. I don't want folks to be off put by the work of wading through a long thread to get to the heart of the discussion, so here's a tl;dr for newcomers and those checking back in:
tl;dr - Napanii: government and military language in the Caldari State
- Non-canonical, but there's no alternative and who knows what could happen...
- We have developed grammar, vocabulary, and script for Napanii
- Made to enhance consistency and provide enrichment to Caldari RP
- Enjoy in detail by downloading the .pdf below
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UPDATE: August 2nd, 2010; I won't be updating the .pdf again for some time, but I've added a link to the online version of the primer hosted on Artabanus' evechronicles.com. Head over there and check out the new Napanii script and phonology.UPDATE: July 14th, 2010; Updated the .pdf again. The new forward was rubbish. I've rewritten it and you should re-download. I'll also include it in the OP.UPDATE: July 13th, 2010; The .pdf has been updated with additions to the lexicon and a new forward. This will probably be the last edition of the primer for several months while I'm away. I am also taking down the raw copy of the grammar and lexicon in this post. It's all in the .pdf now.UPDATE: June 2nd, 2010; Now too large to cram into one post, I've created a .pdf to carry the weight of this project's increasingly hefty vocab list. Some new additions to the list are courtesy of Vieve, who volunteered several roots and terms, and Veto Corp's forums, where I found some great terms for various corporate/guristas ranks and plundered them like... well, like a pirate. 
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Hey folks, I posted the following up on the Chatsubo yesterday. I would have done so here, but I wasn't even aware of these forums until this morning. So here goes. In short, I love languages, love EVE, and had the free time and motivation to flesh out the Caldari/Napanii language. Let me know what you think.
Regards, Kenreikko Valitonen
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On Napanii, ReconsideredWhat you have in front of you is the kernel of a created language, an entirely fictitious form of communication. Having found this document you may be wondering at its purpose and at my intentions for having created it. The simple answer is that it is a piece of fan fiction written for the setting of EVE Online. The harder answer is that it is an expression of the freeform play encouraged in the sandbox game world of New Eden and it is also homage to the deep, rich, and dark universe of EVE and the characters that inhabit it. Some players prefer to mission, some to mine, some to steal, and some to save. I enjoy these things too, but most of all I prefer to imagine. Here, myself and several others over the years have imagined the words and sounds of a far future world and brought them out to share.
This project is not aimed at creating a language in which an EVE player could carry on a full in-character conversation. Although there is enough vocabulary and basic grammar here to make that possible, I think doing so effectively would demand a great deal of time. That time one might as well dedicate to studying a language that other human beings actually do use. Instead, this project is meant to be a reference for those whose play might be enhanced with a few strange-sounding words or “authentic” citations of the languages that lie beneath a capsuleer’s automatic translation systems. Do not think of this as a study guide. I would prefer that you think of it as a window into Caldari thought, a peak past the interface of the neocom to a place where common people speak everyday words in an alien world.
The name “Napanii” describes one of two categories of written and spoken language in common use by the people of the Caldari bloc. The other category is simply called “Caldari” (sometimes, and some would say incorrectly, “Caldarese” or “Caldanese”) and it encompasses the several dozen dialectical vernaculars in use within the State’s more than five hundred sovereign systems and beyond. Caldari remains a fluid language, prone to regionalization and rapid changes in usage as well as development of idiomatic expressions specific to particular places and times. Napanii, on the other hand, is in its modern form an institutional language that was artificially resurrected and is today sustained within the umbra of the Big Eight by patriotic legal statutes. A State citizen born and raised aboard a space station in the far end of Lonetrek (say, Torrinos) may have trouble understanding the Caldari spoken by a citizen from a dirtside colony on Paala III. Accent and the impact of lifestyle on their use of everyday language would turn communication into a stream to be forded rather than a bridge to be crossed easily. Those same two citizens could, however, communicate using Napanii and never miss a beat.
Originally, Napanii was a major language of the Raata period. Chance saw that it rose from relative obscurity to widespread use by the time of the Raata Empire’s greatest height. During that time it served as the language of both street and stage and, after a while, of the state as well. The Raata Empire lasted for many centuries, and Napanii enjoyed some stability as a result, supported by the society of the empire and maintained by strict tradition. With the collapse of the Raata and the fracturing of civilization on Caldari Prime, Napanii was again free to shift and change. Linguistic historians today refer to the family of languages that emerged in the post-Raata period as the Napaniin languages, each sounding similar to the old imperial tongue but possessing its own flavor and local qualities. Thus there was no universal language on Caldari Prime when the Gallente made first contact. By that time, Napanii was effectively a dead language, already resigned to history and studied only for its ability to improve etymological understanding of contemporary languages.
Six hundred years of both subtle and overt cultural influence by the Gallenteans on Caldari society had left an indelible imprint on the Caldari vernacular languages by the time the Gallente-Caldari War began some two centuries ago. A war fought for independence, transformed into a war for the very survival of the Caldari people, the conflict would leave its own imprints on virtually every aspect of life for the citizens of the nascent State. Even the words they used to think and speak would not be left unchanged by the fires of bombardment and the traumatic exodus from their homeworld and flight from the old paradigm. Xenophobic patriotism ran so high among the Caldari leadership during the war that they sought to give their nation an entirely new language, free of hated foreign influence, around which the new society could be built. In Napanii they found what they sought. What data still existed on the old language of that last great Caldari civilization was compiled and used to build something new.
When it was reconstructed during the war, the linguists charged with the task set about simplifying the grammar and writing system of ancient Napanii so that it could be accessible to all citizens regardless of their education level or linguistic background. Although modern Napanii is little more than a century old, it is strongly supported by the corporations of the State. Presently, whatever dialect he or she may happen to speak at home or prefer to curse in, each citizen has a duty to study what is officially portrayed as the true language of the people. The actual use of Napanii varies from place to place and between different socio-economic groups in the State. Deeply patriotic corporations and persons are prone to use the “State language” (Napanii) more often than the “street language” (Caldari). Such speakers are also very strict in maintaining Napanii’s purity, intentionally avoiding the use of the few loan words that have nevertheless crept into the language. Napanii is found in a large percentage of official communications and documents and it is favored for use by State representatives in international relations. Napanii is also the official language of use for Caldari Navy operations and Caldari Business Tribunal proceedings.
In the lower tiers of corporate life and the poorer segments of State, one is less likely to hear Napanii in regular use. In fact, in places where the dynamics of the new post-war society have left the people resentful of their lot in life and mistrustful of corporate overlords, speaking Napanii is likely to come off as insulting or down-talking and might well earn one a close, personal meeting with the floor. In those low places, the local Caldari dialect is preferred for nearly everything and may be used for official communications regardless of the norms of the broader State. Enemies of the State are likely to reject the use of Napanii if they are aware of its origins, although some may be found speaking it in ignorance of the irony or merely out of utility. Artists and philosophers remain conflicted over the language.
This document is ultimately only a sample of the Napanii language. It remains open to expansion and improvement from any interested individuals and I make no claims to ownership or even origination of the material. Many of the words are borrowed from older attempts or donated by other players. I would, however, call for consistency. As one of the forefathers of this project said, “The main problem behind player-driven fiction is always the lack of consistency.” Overcoming that hurdle would give this incarnation of a Caldari language staying power, and that, I think, would be a good thing. It has been great fun putting this together and working with the members of the EVE RP community to make it happen, and I hope you can derive some fun from it in turn.
Anvatkaa, suuolot.
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Topic: [Language] Napanii (Caldari bloc) (Read 50528 times)