#theyre a gaseous based lifeform... in very early stages of development. and their name is sadly not writeable

[junipershouse]

communication in multi-species living spaces

it's relatively easy to learn a language. what is harder is learning to speak a language. this barrier becomes even more insurmountable when you do not have the anatomical parts to produce a sound used in a language, or don't have the organs to interpret the medium of that language. then, miscommunication isn't simply a case of miscommunication - it's a case of incompatibility. for example. rrikrik is a kkariko, and soh is a ki. kkariko communicate auditorily, using a specialized organ to produce noise alongside their exoskeleton teeth and antennae noises. ki communicate using low frequency waves, and their antennae organ is poised specifically to interpret said waves. kkariko lack any sort of organ to sense low-frequency waves, and ki physically cannot make the noises required to speak kkariko languages. so how can rrikrik and soh communicate?

this is an issue which affects almost every single multi-species living space in the universe. especially more political or industrial spaces, where communication is incredibly important. a lot of time and energy has been invested into figuring out ways that species with drastically different anatomy can still communicate clearly with each other. there are three methods used in tandem among multi-species living environments to ease communication. press keep reading to learn more about them! :3

the first method: common lingua franca and assistive devices

most sophant species already have hundreds, if not thousands, of languages and dialects spoken within their own species populations. in many cases, a couple of languages may emerge as "lingua franca" among the population, typically due to complex political situations. this lingua franca is often expressed in multi-species environments too.

just because somebody cannot speak a language doesn't mean they can't learn it. there are also plenty of assistive devices used by / fore example, referring back to rrikrik and soh - rrikrik could use a technological device designed to pick up low frequency waves to hear what soh is saying, and soh could use a specialist voice synth program containing a kkariko noise library to communicate in a kkariko language.

this is obviously the most labor-intensive method of communication for all involved. however, it's the most reliable and often the most personable. it feels good to be able to communicate with your friends in a language they understand, and

the second method: universal sign communication

universal sign communication (USC) is a constructed language developed in the founding age of the ICDCI by a cross-species team of linguists. the goal of USC as a language was to level the playing field by offering up a universal language with a low theoretical accessibility barrier.

USC as a lexicon relies on simplistic movements of limbs, with movements designed to be replicated by those with varying body anatomy. due to this, USC has a "less is more" ethos and relies on the stringing together of movements as opposed to fine motor control and expressiveness, with one sign or movement meaning multiple things depending on context. the only thing that a person needs to be able to communicate in USC is a moderately flexible body and potentially one limb. although some individuals without conventional limbs will simply perform the USC signs with their whole body instead. USC can be modified as a vocabulary to accommodate other more static body plans if needed, too.

this is the most common option when it comes to communicating in a work environment. USC is relatively easy to learn, is easy to understand, and doesn't require any technology. it can also be used in environments where other forms of communication are impossible. almost every cosmonaut knows at least rudimentary USC, and its required to work and live in many astral communities just because of how convenient it is in that environment. USC also has a pictographic "written" form which acts as diagrams in performing the specific signs.

of course, USC is largely inaccessible for those who lack visual senses. whilst there has been an attempt to "translate" USC into a spoken language, it sort of defeats the purpose of Universal Sign Communication. there has been discussion about developing a sort of spoken USC but it's a much more complicated feat due to the diversity of sounds vs the diversity of gestures and movements.

another pitfall of USC is the nature of its vocabulary. because USC was a language designed to be used in a professional environment, its vocab is often limited to professional topics. its easy to tell somebody what a certain lever does using USC, and even ask them how they are and if they rested well, but its significantly harder to chat about that piece of media you just love using USC. and forget about making jokes. some linguists have expanded the USC vocabulary with more casual gestures and signs, but these signs are often considered "non essential" for learners and seen as optional side studies for those more invested.

USC can also be easily misunderstood, especially by beginners. those communicating in USC are reminded to sign slowly and with intent.

the third method: received speakers.

received speakers are a specialized "memetic-will hybrid" device. "will" is a catch-all term for a grouping of energies exerted by beings onto the complex structure of energies/concepts referred to colloquially as "reality". memetic in this context refers to an idea or concept, translated into language, which can be brought into the consciousness of a being with behavioural changes apparent. this is a very basic description of both terms.

received speakers work by utilizing the memetic affect and will-energy together. the material that the received speaker made of is a sink and an amplifier of will-energy, a conductor of it. (the material used is a potentially-biological "fossil" alloy, found only in a few places.) before use, received speakers need to be calibrated to the specific will-energy of their user. after that, the received speaker will pick up on their user's will-energy and their user's will-energy only. however, a received speaker with no intentionality is useless. intentionality is built with memetic conditioning. the goal of the conditioning is to fix ideas in the consciousness of the user. these ideas are: 1: when the user communicates with a recipient, their intention with their words is transferred to the received speaker. 2: received speakers are able to send the intentionality of the communication between each other using will-energy waves. 3: despite the difference in language, the intention of the words are carried over perfectly to the recipient and they will understand the communication as it was intended. 4: likewise, the user will understand the recipient's communication with the same level of intentionality.

if both will-energy calibration and memetic conditioning are successful, then the received speaker will allow individuals with vastly different languages to communicate as if speaking the exact same dialect of the exact same language. they'll sense the communication almost instantly, and it'll be in their own voice, which can be a bit confusing to get used to. sarcasm and double-truth does not translate well using received speaker, which can be a good thing if you feel as if the individual you are communicating with is untrustworthy, but can be difficult when trying to tell a joke.

there are some issues with received speakers. first of all, they're single person use. you can't swap received speakers, or borrow them, or use one which has been used by another in the past. this is because calibration is very difficult to reverse. it's a very specialized task to reverse the calibration, and it takes a lot of time and energy. so once you've calibrated your received speaker, that's it. this also means that received speakers are a unrenewable resource. there is only so much material to make them, and there are more important things to use it for. for this reason, received speakers are often only provided to certain individuals. rrikrik was given one, as was some of the individuals they work with, but most of their crewmates do not use them.

different beings have different will-energy fields. even with the amplification that received speakers provide, some individuals just won't have the will-energy to broadcast their intention. some individuals also have high resistance to will-energy, and won't be able to receive the intention and often not be able to complete the calibration process. there is also the issue of memetic resistance. memetic resistance can be developed, but some people are just naturally resistant. for example, the sadum species is known for their memetic resistance. this makes sadum immune to cognitive diseases and other harmful things which spread via memetic transferral, but it also makes them immune to received speakers.

received speakers can also be very dangerous. if the memetic conditioning is replaced with a different sort of memetic conditioning, then a received speaker can be used to essentially brainwash or kill people.

#sci fi #alien species #speculative biology #alien biology #worldbuilding #xenobiology #oc #been working on this for ages orz... sorry if its confusing! the stuff with real energy/will energy is very difficult to describe #inspired by stuff that aconite @ / wolfsbane and thistle said about universal “translators” and sign language in this setting :3 #pls go follow them their worldbuilding is awesome and always an inspiration #oh yeah. the purple and blue cloud in the center of the first image is actually the ship's translator and linguist #theyre a gaseous based lifeform... in very early stages of development. and their name is sadly not writeable #and the other qoosai is epowi who manages food and materials on the ship