Something I've been thinking about

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Micamo
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Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

Put yourself in the shoes of one of your conpeople and take this scenario:

You are approached by a stranger who says something to you in your native language. However, from their accent, clothes, and mannerisms, it's obvious that it is not their native language and you immediately recognize where they are from. You just so happen to be fluent in their native tongue. Do you...

A. Continue speaking to them in your own language.

or

B. Switch to their native language.

How would your conculture, in general, respond to this?
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by rickardspaghetti »

Couldn't this also be applied to the real world? I meet a guy on the street who speaks to me in Swedish with an English accent. Should I speak to him in Swedish or should I speak to him in English? I think this is a very individual question which cannot be applied to a whole people.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

rickardspaghetti wrote:Couldn't this also be applied to the real world? I meet a guy on the street who speaks to me in Swedish with an English accent. Should I speak to him in Swedish or should I speak to him in English? I think this is a very individual question which cannot be applied to a whole people.
All ethnographic generalizations are this way. For example, Americans are, in general, more willing to take people to court over disputes than the Japanese are, but this doesn't mean every American is sue-happy or that every Japanese will let someone walk all over them.

What got me thinking about this is how to handle Agyonnar-speaking humans. Agyon, in general, consider humans to be inferior, and also have a strong pride of linguistic unity. So how do they react to humans speaking their language? Are humans "unworthy" to speak Agyonnar (so they speak the human languages with them instead), or are the human languages "unworthy" to be learned by Agyon (such that they expect humans to learn their language)? How do other cultures feel about foreigners using their language?
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ossicone »

It depends on who is meeting whom.

Inyauk meets Amjati: Kidnap them or kill them.
Amjati meets Inyauk: Continue talking in Inyauk. Hope not to be stabbed.
Inyauk meets Iusanuug: Continue talking in Inyauk.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

Iusanuug?
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ossicone »

Micamo wrote:Iusanuug?
The mountain people! :D
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

Oh. Don't think you've talked about those. They wouldn't happen to speak Agyonnar, would they?

Also why do they hate Amjati so much? Other than because they're Inyauk?
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ossicone »

Micamo wrote:Oh. Don't think you've talked about those. They wouldn't happen to speak Agyonnar, would they?

Also why do they hate Amjati so much? Other than because they're Inyauk?
I have only hinted about Iusanuug (their name is in Inyauk too).

Mostly just cause they're Inyauk. But they see Amjati as being stupid and arrogant.
The Amjati seem them as crazy barbarians. Oh the fun they'll have.


Fun trivia you may have missed:
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Yes - atx
No - yan

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Not - eʨ

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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

Ossicone wrote:The Amjati seem them as crazy barbarians.
All things considered I find this belief a bit justified!
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ossicone »

Well they're both true.
Inyauk do have a tendency to be crazy barbarians.
And the Amjati are usually either stupid peasants or arrogant nobles.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by zelos »

Depends on fluency

If im more fluent in his native tounge than he is in mine they would respond in his =O if not their own
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ainuke »

I'd wonder how the crap someone was speaking English in a totally different dimension.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

zelos wrote:Depends on fluency

If im more fluent in his native tounge than he is in mine they would respond in his =O if not their own
For this case I'd like to ignore practical concerns (if it's a new boss it might get on his good side to switch to his language, for example.)
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Testyal »

I would be polite and talk in his native tongue.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ossicone »

So... no one has done this?

A: Spanish...
B: English...
A: Spanish.
B: English.
etc.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Micamo »

Ossicone wrote:So... no one has done this?

A: Spanish...
B: English...
A: Spanish.
B: English.
etc.
I don't have an L2 so the scenario has never happened to me.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Tanni »

Micamo wrote:
Ossicone wrote:So... no one has done this?

A: Spanish...
B: English...
A: Spanish.
B: English.
etc.
I don't have an L2 so the scenario has never happened to me.
But you surely have an L0?
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by Ilaeriu »

It really depends, I think. In the real world, for example, if I saw someone who was clearly Filipino speaking to me in English with a Filipino accent, out of respect I would ordinarily stay in English, especially if it was just a simple question with a one line response.
If it was lengthy conversation, however, I would probably ask "Filipino?", to which they would most likely nod and we would continue in Filipino.

In my conworld, my most developed conpeople the Coricans would probably switch into the other language. This would make them feel that they well-learned and educated, since to them Corica is the centre of the whole universe. Most other cultures would probably remain in their native language, simply because the majority do not speak the other languages.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by jseamus »

I have been thinking about something similar for a while myself. I recently asked someone to speak in their native language (not English), so that I could try to transcribe it; I felt very uncomfortable making such a request, and I apologized quite a bit when I did.

It got me wondering, how do the speakers of my conlangs feel about the linguistic diversity around them? Is it impolite to highlight another person's linguistic foreignness? I was trying to create a story scenario where a speaker of OL meets a speaker of Ayacilõ/Manhitolo, and they exchange pleasantries. Still gotta work out a lot of stuff before it's ready, though.

As to an answer to your question, I don't think I could generalize about that yet (or ever, perhaps). Sorry.
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Re: Something I've been thinking about

Post by SLiV »

Ossicone wrote:So... no one has done this?

A: Spanish...
B: English...
A: Spanish.
B: English.
etc.
I was about to suggest that. Damn you, I wanted to be original.

I have been thinking about diplomats doing that out of respect of each other. So A speaks in B's language, and B in A's. You'd have crappy conversation, but excelling in this would show you care.

In my conworld, however, the Luriones do not interfere with Barbares, i.e. speakers of other languages, a lot, as they despise the Phartians, and look down on the Gerimans. Other than those, Luriones all speak the same language, albeit with different accents. I guess a Lutian would try to speak with in the other's dialect (as the Lutian's are not too shy about their intelligence).


IRL, however, I've seen all kinds. Being the tourist, efforts to speak German/French/Russian etc are usually completely ignored, and most responses are in English (beit accented or simply terrible).

I also know about this Chinese colleague of my brother, who insist on everyone talking Dutch to him, although responding in English. (FYI, Dutch is my (brother's) L1.)
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