Hunter Of Worlds

Glossary of Foreign Terms

I

THE KALLIRAN LANGUAGE: like human speech in its division of noun and verb concepts. There is, however, a fossilized Ethical from the time of the Orithain Domination. Although the Ethical corresponds to the Verb of Orithain speech, it has been made an Adjective in the kalliran language.

arethme: (ah-RETH-may) city-deme of kalliran political structure: on the home world, equal to a city and all its land and trade rights; in the colonies, often equal to a hemisphere or an entire world, with its attendant rights.

ehs, pl. ehsim: (ACE) cubed measurement approximately 10 inches.

elethia: (el-eh-THEE-ya) honor, gentility, sensitivity to proper behavior; faithfulness to duty.

Esliph: (EHS-lif) the Seven Stars: a heavily planeted region lying between the metrosi and human space.

giyre: (GIU-rey) recognition of one’s proper place in the cosmic Order of things; also, one’s proper duty toward another. It is ideally mutual.

Halliran Idai: (hah-lee-HRAN ee-DYE) the Free Union, the political structure of the metrosi, the capital of which is Aus Qao, the fifth of Qao.

ikas: (EE-kas) disregarding of giyre and kastien: presumptuous.

kallia (KAL-lee-ah) man, woman; men, women.

kamesule: (kah-MAY-soo-leh) to associate with the iduve; to be servile of manner.

kastien: (KAHS-tee-yen) being oneself; virtue, wisdom; observing harmony with others and the universe by perfect centering in one’s giyre toward all persons and things.

marithe: (mah-REE-theh) a pale-pink wine.

men, pl. meis: (MEN, MACE) a linear measurement of approximately 10 inches.

metrosi: (MAY-tro-see) the Civilized Worlds, those within the original area of kalliran-amaut colonization.

Orithain: (o-rih-THAIN) mistakenly used as generic term for the iduve.

parome: (PAHR-ohm) governor of an arethme

Qao: (KHUA-o) the Sun; home star of the kalliran species.

II

THE IDUVE LANGUAGE: differs from both kalliran and human speech to such a degree that translation cannot be made literally if it is to be understandable. Paraphrase is the best that can be done.

First, there is no clear distinction between the concepts of noun and verb, between solid and action. Reality consists instead of the situational combination of Tangibles and Ethicals; but an Ethical may be converted to a Tangible and vice versa. Most ideas are grammatically complete in two words: an Ethical is affixed to the Tangible. Meanings may be altered or augmented by Prefix, Infix, or Suffix upon either Ethical or Tangible. The nature of these added particles may be: Negative, Intensitive, Honorific, Hypothetical, Interrogative, Imperative, Directional, Futuritive or Historical, Relational or Descriptive.

Second: the language has only scant designation of gender. It is impossible to distinguish sex save by adding the male Honorific -toj or the female Honorific -tak to the word in question. Concepts which would seem to make gender distinction inevitable (man, woman, mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife) exist only as artificial constructs in the iduve language.

In the pronunciations given below, an asterisk (*) indicates a guttural sibilant produced by -kk or -kh-: a throat-sounded hiss resembling a soft kh.

akites, akitomei: (ah-kee-TEHS) a Voyaging Ship

akitemekkhe: (ah-kee-toh-MEK*-heh) worldbound; having bond to person or place outside the nasul.

akkhres-nasuli (AK*-hress-NAH-su-lee) joining of two akitomei for the purpose of kata-sakke among the members of both clans.

anoikhte: (ah-noik*-TEH) bondless; not “free” (akita) but “loose,” and therefore fair game for m’melakhia, q.v. Manlings (m’metanei) cannot enjoy arrhei-akita; by their very terrestrial natures they are akitomekkhe and therefore limited in their sensitivities.

arastiethe: (ah-rahs-tee-AY-theh) honor; the power and burden of being iduve, of being of a particular nasul, or simply of being oneself. Honor is the obligation to use power, even against personal preference, to maintain moral and physical integrity. M’metanei naturally possess no arastiethe, but to describe admirable traits in m’metanei, the iduve have adopted the kalliran word elethia.

arrhei-akita: (AH-hrrey-ah-kee-TAH) being free; an ethical necessity for the happiness and arastiethe of the nasul; especially, the free range of their ship.

arrhei-nasul: (AH-hrrey-nah-SOOL) leaving clan, usually for kataberihe with another’s Orithain. Doing so for any other reason is to invite violence from the receiving clan. Not the same as arrhei-nasuli (AH-hrrey-nah-su-LEE), which is exile from all the Kindred, equal to a death sentence.

Ashanome: (ah-SHAH-no-may)

asuthe, asuthi: (ah-SOOTH, ah-su-THEE) lit.: companion. A person linked to another by chiabres.

asuthithekkhe: (ah-su-thi-THEK*-heh) mental linkage.

Chaganokh: (cHag-ah-NOKH*)

chanokhia: (cHan-ok*-HEE-ah) artistry; (2) as an Ethical: the practice of virtue, the studied avoidance of crudity, and a searching after elegance and originality.

chiabres: (cHee-AH-bress) internal device for communication.

dhis: (d*eesss) lit.: nest. A communal em-bryonics laboratory and nursery for the nasul. Children leave at maturity.

dhisais, dhisaisei: (d*EE-sice) female driven to temporary madness by biological changes at childbirth; may last years.

e-: (ay) negative prefix: not, un-.

ghiaka, ghiakai: (zhee-AH-kah) curved sword, now ceremonial.

harachia: (ha-rak*-HEE-yah) lit: presence, seeing. Visual impact of a person, thing, or situation which elicits an irrational emotional response.

idoikkhe, idoikkhei: (ih-DOYK*-heh) from idols, jewel. The bracelet of a nas kame, patterned with the heraldry of the nasul, and capable of transmitting sensory impulses.

iduve: (ih-DOOVh) man, woman, mankind.

Iqhanofre: (ik-HAH-no-fray)

izhkh:(izsk*) mountainous region of Kej IV famed for its geometric art.

kameth, kamethi: (KAH-mef) Honorific of nas kame.

kataberihe: (kah-tah-beh-REE-heh) mating of an Orithain to produce orithaikhti, heir-children. Only children of such a mating may inherit the title; it goes to the eldest regardless of sex. The bond of kataberihe forbids the woman in the pair from katasakke for ten months after announcing her intention; the male suffers a ritual abstinence for twenty days. This is for the sake of establishing paternity, and for mental preparation, as kataberihe- mates are usually from another nasul.

katasathe: (kah-ta-SATH) pregnant

katasakke: (kah-ta-SAK*h) mating-for-children, requiring a three-month abstinence should the woman desire to change mates. It is also counted improper for the male to have more than one current mate. Each katasakke mating will almost certainly result in a child; such a high rate of conception was once advantageous to species survival. Extreme longevity and limited space on the akitomei have made it otherwise, giving rise to the custom of katasukke.

katasukke: (kah-ta-SOOK*h) mating-for-pleasure, done with m’metanei, and not (for aesthetic reasons) with amaut. This cannot result in offspring, and neither the purification period of kataberihe nor that of katasakke forbids katasukke.

Kej: (Kezh) the Sun; home star of the iduve.

kkh: relational infix, from kame, bond, bind. Binding or obligation: necessity.

kutikkase: (ku-tih-KAH-seh) lit.: things. Earthly necessities, food, bodily comforts, all arts save the pursuit or use of intangibles. Opposite of chanokhia.

lis, lioi: (lihss, LEE-oi) 1,000 paces, approximately ¾ mile.

Melakhis: (meh-lakh-HEESS) from m’melakhia; the Council of Acquisition, composed of the Orithain, his/her sra, and one member from each of the elder or major sri of the nasul. The Melakhis assists the Orithain in decisions of major importance and technical complexity.

Mijanothe: (mee-jah-NOTHe)

m’melakhia: (meh-meh-lak*-HEE-ya) desire of acquisition; sometimes used to approximate m’metane concept of “love”; sometimes translated “ferocity.” A basic and constant activity of the iduve, necessary for arastiethe. (2) m.-tomes: the acquisition of prestige or spatial lordship, needful as operating room for the dignity and freedom of the nasul. (3) m.-likatis: acquisition of knowledge, most honorable of activities.

m’metane, m’metanei: (meh-MEH-tah-nay) manling: a being which approximately conforms to iduve appearance: kallia and humans.

nasithi: (nah-sih-THEE) Honorific plural of nas, a member of the nasul.

nas kame, noi kame: (nahs KAH-may, noi KAH-may) bondchild; a m’metane in service to the nasul.

okkitan-as, okkitani-as: (OK*-hee-tahn-AHSS) lit: helper. Amaut in service to the nasul.

Orithanhe: (oh-rih-THAHN-heh) council of all available orithainei of orith-nasuli, at least twenty for a quorum. It meets on the home world. Due to the iduve predilection toward arrhei-akita, it is almost never convoked.

paredre: (pahr-ED-hre) ceremonial center of authority of an akites; the hall of the Orithain.

prha: (prah) particle meaning “hypothesis” or “one supposes.”

serach: (SEH-rak*) funeral display; a destruction of kutikkase in proportion to the arastiethe of the dead.

sorithias: (so-rih-THEE-ahss) from orithois, mastery. The obligation of an Orithain to the nasul.

sra: (ssrah) bloodkin (ship) (2) bhan-sra: vertical (parent-child). (3) iq-sra: lateral (brother-sister; half-brother and half-sister).

tak: female Honorific suffix.

takkhe: (tak*h) having takkhenois in agreement.

takkhenes: (TAKH*-he-nayss) group-consciousness of the nasul, by which decisions are made and justice determined.

Tashavodh: (tah-sha-VOD*h)

tekasuphre: (tek-ah-SU-frey) stupidity, irrationality, nonsense.

toj: (tozh) male Honorific suffix.

vaikka: (VAI-k*hah) or (vai-K*HAH!) a demonstration of arastiethe; could roughly be translated as “revenge” if not that vaikka is often taken in advance of actual injury, to offset niseth (disadvantage). Vaikka need not involve damage, for arastiethe can be demonstrated by help as well as harm. It is, however, a fighting or predatory instinct basic to the iduve psychology.

vaikka-chanokhia: an art form peculiarly iduve, practiced generally upon other iduve, as m’metanei have limited appreciation of chanokhia. True vaikka-chanokhia is such that the recipient cannot possibly reciprocate.

vra-nasul: (vrah-nah-SOOL) subject-clan; formed when an elder clan splits because of size or disunity.

III

THE AMAUT LANGUAGE: similar to kalliran speech in structure, with many kalliran words appropriated into the language, and showing much tendency to imitate the elaborate politeness styles of the iduve. The alphabet is native, but literature as such dates from first contact with the iduve.

amaut: (ah-MAUT) man, woman; people.

bnesych: (b’NAY-sikK) director; karsh- head at colony’s foundation.

chaju: (CHAH-ju) a musky, potent liquor.

geshe: (GESSH-eh) a stringed instrument.

habish: (hah-BEESH) all-night bar and sidewalk cafe, featuring music, singing, dancing, and chaju.

habishaap: (hah-beesh-APPPH) keeper of a habish.

karsh, karshatu: (kahrssh) basic family unit of the amaut, taking its name from the founder, either male or female, who acquired land and began the family line. Without land there is no karsh save the one of ancestry. Possessing land entitles one to found a karsh of a size commensurate with the productive capacity of the land.

Kesuat: (KEZ-wat) the Sun; home star of the amaut

rekeb: (REK-ebp) a sistrum-like musical instrument.

shakhshoph: (sshak-SHOPPH) lit: hiding-face. Politeness to hide true feelings from outsiders.

sushai: (ssu-SHAI) from sus, Shade. A word of greeting.