Accents and Dialects

therisingdarkness:

Between the six major polities–those being Iacon, Praxus, Kaon, Vos, Tarn, and Crystal City–there exist several dialects native to the mecha who inhabit them. Each one is uniquely devised to reflect the culture, history, and social structure of the polity it represents.

Iacon

  • As the political hub and capital of Cybertron, the language is based on governmental patois.
  • Conversation revolves around the verbal structure of an open debate, treatise graphing, or Senate hearings.
  • Quick, clipped, and unerringly polite, even when it’s not meant to be.
  • Body mods, paint details, and personal decor imply rank, faction, caste, and political lean–it is an important abstract to the language as a whole; rarely will you find an Iaconian without one or more mods.
  • Body language is reserved almost to the point on nonexistence; likewise, EMF has no place in public spaces.
  • The language has few contractions and is always short and to-the-point among the middle- and lower-class.

Praxus

  • A lilting language, expressing exuberance and joy.
  • Colorful and overly descriptive, it is a mixing of many cultures, including its own, and thus will fluctuate from sector to sector.
  • Unlike Iaconian dialect, Praxian involves excessive movement and EMF patterns, and many citizens are Chirolingual; physical touch is highly important and used to convey deep emotion.
  • Facial expressions and motor noises–chirring, chirping, purrs, growls, and chuffing–are used intermittently with the spoken word.
  • Singing, though not essential, is also considered part of the local dialect.

Kaon

  • Brash and loud, the Kaonite dialect is less refined than the others and is considered ‘barbaric’.
  • Graphic use of glyphs to illustrate ideas and desires, as opposed to lengthy descriptions.
  • A deep, guttural language originating from vocal synthesizers attached to the engines, as opposed to vocoders, which filter air.
  • Excessive use of violent or wild gestures, as well as body language–flaring and tightening plating, shifting kibble, etc.
  • Tone is often grating, or rough, due to constant abuse of vocoders, but always passionate and exceptionally proud.
  • Similar to Praxus, motor noises are also common markers of the language.

Vos

  • As the City of the Seekers, Vosnian vernacular is heavily dependent on having a certain frametype.
  • Gestures play an enormous role as an integral part of the spoken language; without wings, or the knowledge of how to interpret their movements, one cannot ever properly converse in the language.
  • A political language, though not necessarily to the degree of Iaconian; it draws more heavily from Primal Vernacular than Basic.
  • Verbose, and yet articulate, the language is woven together with soft tones and a cultured, rich accent that belies a simmering passion below the surface.
  • A sly, secretive language preferred for making deals and negotiating contracts.

Tarn

  • As a militaristic polity, the language reflects the rigid social structure of Tarn in its harsh, orderly composition.
  • Posture alone is worth half the language; plating is always pulled tight, and facial expressions are very neutral.
  • Binary and code intersperse the spoken language, but EMF pulses are rarely utilized in day-to-day conversation.
  • Relies heavily on data emissions.
  • Flat and cold tones with few contractions.
  • The language is heavily dependent on status and military rank, which regulate how members of the different castes are to speak to one another; each caste holds a different ‘rank’, and the lower the caste, the less mecha permitted to speak to you. 
  • Only the lowest castes rejected the strict and ordered speech, thus interring themselves in the slums where they would oft go ignored.

Crystal City

  • As the foremost scientific community on Cybertron, the language of Crystal City revolves heavily around binary, code, equations, and glyphs.
  • The language is complex, but entirely factual; some might say insufferable.
  • The tone is cultured, but very matter-of-fact and sometimes even described as cold or harsh.
  • Enunciation is key to everything, and few words have less than four syllables.

As always, there are differences between the castes themselves. The higher the caste, the more strictly one adhered to the chosen vernacular; lower castes often had their own languages, which were bastardized versions of the ‘higher’ language.