starseerdrgn | Languages and Arcegaō/Arusi-gaō

As of late, I’ve seen many people talking about the LGBTQ+ community, and how things are online compared to real life. I’ve also mentioned before that despite being trans* intersex, I fear that community far more than I fear the very people who hate me.

As a writer, I’ve started having to dance around the English language itself, just because of how rapidly the implied meanings of various words have been changing. From one moment to the next, you can’t anticipate what word will be seen as a sexual/*phobic/political slur, and if you step just a little out of line, Twitter and company will come down on you to ruin your life.

It came to a point that I created my own constructed natlang (natural language) for one of my universes, known as Arcegaō/Arusi-gaō—”Language of the Arusi-kō” or ”Language of the Arcekō”, depending on which of the two universes it’s being used in. It’s an entirely descriptive language with a Japanese-inspired base, relaying nothing but blunt meaning and intention through context. In other words, the lexicon doesn’t change on the whim of a bunch of vocal people.

The culture itself is mostly a tribal pseudo-caste system, so individuals are placed within ranks that are higher/lower than others. It’s no utopia, by any means.

However, there are no actual “slurs” toward someone’s species, race, etc… There is no concept of gender or sex, only words to describe what an individual has physically. There are no “implied gender roles”, as phrases such as “warrior” and “young-bearer” hold no such context. There’s no real context for “mother” or “father” either, as those are only used in translation into English for the comfort of English speakers.

TL;DR: Each person is described as an individual based on fact, not classified into a group based on perception.

When I started working on the language, I created a few root words to describe what someone has:

Tari - Penis
Fusai - Testicles
Chaifa - Vagina
Wukai - Breasts

With these four words, along with the negative case modifier nai, one can construct a descriptive word to show what that individual has on their body. (Note: Root words can be placed in any order, but nai must come at the end if used, since it’s a modifier)

Wukaichaifa - Breasts and Vagina
Tarifusai - Penis and Testicles
Tarichaifa - Penis and vagina
Tarifusaichaifa - Penis, testicles, and vagina
Tarichaifawukai - Penis, vagina, and breasts
Tarifusaichaifawukai - Penis, testicles, vagina, and breasts.
Tarichaifanai - Neither penis or vagina (null)

I showed this to multiple people, and one of the first things brought up: “What about gender/sex?” Even one of my boyfriends brought it up, and when I mentioned there are no words for such things, he instantly suggested I put them in, despite being completely against their culture, and he knew as much. When it dawned on him what he’d just said, he actually apologized for it. Others weren’t so nice about the situation.

Words only have the meanings we assign them, but not through definitions. Through our culture. What does it say about our culture when our words are as harmful to some of us as any bullet or knife? What does it say about our culture when we’re fighting wazi to ika, fang and claw, over things that impact us only within the context of our own culture?

Just something to think about. It was something that has been stirring in my mind as I attempt to sort how to word things in a way that a bunch of vocal people won’t attempt to ruin my life once I release a story from that universe, simply because they felt threatened by something that didn’t concern in the slightest.