“Long distance, is it?” Banichi said. “If you go up there, we go, nadi.”
He couldn’t say he understood Jago or Banichi, or Tabini.
Couldn’t say they understood him.
Scary thought, Banichi had. But he suddenly saw it as possible, even likely, when negotiations happened, when Mospheira got that lift vehicle, or the ship up there built one in order to deal with them. Atevi were going into space. No question. In his lifetime.
Baji-naji, The lots came down, Fortune and Chance made their pick. You weren’t born with your associates. You found man’chi somewhere, and you entered into something humans didn’t quite fathom with an altogether atevi understanding.
But in the way of such things, maybe atevi hadn’t found the exact words for it, either.
* * *
Pronunciation
« ^ »
A=ah after most sounds; =ay after j; e=eh or =ay; i varies between ee(hh) (nearly a hiss) if final, and ee if not; o=oh and u=oo. Choose what sounds best.
-J is a sound between ch and zh; -ch=tch as in itch; -t should be almost indistinguishable from -d and vice versa. G as in go. -H after a consonant is a palatal (tongue on roof of mouth), as: paidhi=pait’-(h)ee.
The symbol ’ indicates a stop: a’e is thus two separate syllables, ah-ay; but ai is not; ai=English long i; ei=ay.
The word accent falls on the second syllable from the last if the vowel in that syllable is long or is followed by two consonants; third from end if otherwise: Ba’nichi (ch is a single letter in atevi script and does not count as two consonants); Tabi’ni (long by nature)—all words ending in -ini are -i’ni; Brominan’di (-nd=two consonants); mechei’ti (because two vowels sounded as one vowel) count as a long vowel. If confused, do what sounds best: you have a better than fifty percent chance of being right by that method, and the difference between an accented and unaccented syllable should be very slight, anyway.
Also, a foreign accent if at least intelligible can sound quite sexy.
Plurality: There are pluralities more specific than simply singular and more-than-one, such as a set of three, a thing taken by tens, and so on, which are indicated by endings on a word. The imprecise more-than-one is particularly chosen when dealing in diplomacy, speaking to children, or, for whichever reason, to the paidhi. In the non-specific plural, words ending in -a usually go to -i; words ending in -i usually go to -iin. Ateva is, for instance, the singular, atevi the plural, and the adjectival or descriptive form.
Suffixes: -ji indicates intimacy when added to a name or good will when added to a title; -mai or -ma is far more reverential, with the same distinctions.
Terms of respect: nadi (sir/madam) attaches to a statement or request to be sure politeness is understood at all moments; nandi is added to a title to show respect for the dignity of the office. Respectful terms such as nadi or the title or personal name with -ji should be inserted at each separate address or request of a person unless there is an established intimacy or unless continued respect is clear within the conversation. Nadi or its equivalent should always be injected in any but the mildest objection; otherwise the statement should be taken as, at the least, brusque or abrupt, and possibly insulting. Pronunciation varies between nan’-dee (statement) and nah-dee’? (as the final word in a question.)
There are pronouns that show gender. They are used for nouns which show gender, such as mother, father; or in situations of intimacy. The paidhi is advised to use the genderless pronouns as a general precaution.
Declension of sample noun
Singular
aiji Nominative
aijiia Genitive
aiji Accusative
aijiu Ablative
Non-specific plural
aijiin Nom pl. Subject The aiji
aijiian Gen pl. Possession’s, The aiji’s
aijiin Acc. Pl. Object of action (to/ against) the aiji
aijiiu Abl. Pl. From, origins, specific preposition often omitted: (emanating from, by) the aiji
* * *
Glossary
« ^
Adjaiwaio—a remote atevi population
Algini—glum servant’s name, security agent
Alujis—river Brominani disputes re water rights
agingi’ai—felicitous numerical harmony
aiji—lord of central association
aijiia—aiji’s
ateva, pl. atevi—name of species
Babsidi—“Lethal”; a mecheita