T’larn - Let’s Go For Drinks
Lhandon Nilsen
(( Outside the Shuttle Port, Port City of I’shal, I-Kiyo Dyson Ring ))
((OOC: I'm on a slight bit of catch-up today, as I ran out of energy yesterday and that's thrown off my simming pattern. I'm posting this one first as it's the one that is in most desperate need of simming — and very close to 72 hours! I will answer the medical scene later today and bring that to an end, and then start on the Barney and hopefully get that out today. So I apologize for flooding your inbox on this fine friday. Putting myself on a two scene limit is about right for me.)
The conversation with the old man had shifted to verbal communication. As he spoke the first words, Stendhal clearly misheard "K'a's'u'th'i'r'a'n'a" as "Kamasutra," but T'larn's brain was firing on all cylinders. Quickly, she figured out that each character in the word was emphasized distinctly, which likely meant each word was spelt how it sounded.
It was now just a case of learning what everything meant and hoping that context-specific faux pas were avoided.
She had heard "My L'a'i't'h'n (beat) am Es'th'o" as he gestured to himself, and with where this was in the context, and the attempt at using common words to link, it could be assumed that he had just told them his name. But the question remained: what was the syntax of this? Did "L'a'i't'h'n" mean name, or did "Es'th'o" mean name?
But combined with his prior introduction of "E's't'h'o S't'a'm'i'n L'a'i't'h'n'a'r'i't'h" and both appearing to be the longer versions of the word, T'larn took a wild guess that "L'a'i't'h'n'a'r'i't'h" might mean "my name is" and that the gentleman in front of them is "E's't'h'o S't'a'm'i'n"
Stendhal:I think his name is Esto or something like that. So Laitn must mean something like my name... Latin Karen!
It seemed that Karen had come to the same conclusions, and T'larn nodded to her in support of this hypothesis.
T’larn: Lt Arlill does have the details. ::to Toxin:: It seems as if our friend would like to see the itinerary.
Stendhal: Do we actually need this shopping list?
St'Amin: ****K'a's'u't'h'i'r l'i's't n'a'r'i't'h? ((ooc: Translated: “What is this list?”)
She heard "list" as well, and the inflection at the end of the speech suggested a question. Perhaps he was asking what the list was about, or what was on it?
T’larn: ::quietly:: I trust you remembered everything
A part of her was just messing with Arlill.
Arlill: I think so (beat) I thought I did.
St'Amin: K'a's'u't'h'i'r confused, a'h'i's n'u't p’uit’h’o.
At that point, T'larn had been left with little context for the other words, aside from the context of the conversation. The question also stood: had he confirmed something related to the list, or had he suddenly switched topics?
Toxin then did something that was seemingly illogical, yet made perfect sense!
Arlill: ::gesturing drinking from a glass:: drinks? ::waving his hand towards the rest of the group::
T'larn understood this as a sort of ritual many races share; they often bond over the consumption of drinks, frequently alcoholic in nature. T'larn was fascinated by this phenomenon. Much like humor, it was a shared characteristic and was certainly worth studying.
Stendhal: A romulan ale may help the situation.
T’larn: I think that sounds most logical.
((A Bar with a name they are yet to understand, Port City of I’shal, I-Kiyo Dyson Ring ))
As the drinks arrived, St'Amin raised the first glass as a toast.
St’Amin: U’d’e’i’t’h ((ooc: Drink))
And drank it all in one gulp. T’larn not one to embarrass their hosts did the same.
Stendhal: Well, it doesn't look or smell like fizzy pops but more like gravy...
T’larn: As the humans say, that puts hairs on your chest
T'larn also wondered about the word "U'd'e'i't'h." In this context, it was logical that this meant "drink," but also, this could be the name of the drink, or could be a show of gratitude, as some human cultures call out "cheers" before a toast.
Arlill/St'Amin: Response
Stendhal: Could this be an elixir of understanding? I wager that after a few draughts, we'll not only comprehend Esto's every word but join him in harmonious song
T’larn: Or this could be the elixir of an enjoyable evening.
Arlill/St'Amin: Response
At the tall man's signal, the waiter returned with four more small glasses and a bottle of dark liquor.
Stendhal: Son of a bench!
T’larn: Language now Counselor
She smiled at the exclamation from Stendhal and showed Karen that she was joking
Arlill/St'Amin: Response
She had her PADD with her and was quickly typing in her observation while running a generative language model that adjusted with each new piece of information. But she needed more.
On each table, was a menu, and she took a look at the studying the unfamiliar script. The written language of St'Amin's people. Each character seemed to represent a distinct sound, with apostrophes separating individual letters. The words were long and complex, mirroring their verbal emphasis on each syllable, but the letters seemed to have no correlation with any script from any federation or Alpha or Beta quadrant worlds.
She saw that one section of the menu was written as "U'd'e'i't'h," exactly as St'Amin had pronounced it earlier. This confirmed her theory that their writing system was highly phonetic, with each character representing a specific sound in their speech.
As she scanned the menu, she observed that longer words contained more apostrophe-separated characters, while shorter words had fewer. T'larn quickly began inputting these observations into her PADD.
T'larn decided to seize this opportunity to gather more linguistic data. She pointed to the drink on the table, then held up the menu, gesturing for St'Amin to indicate which item they were consuming.
T'larn: ::pointing to the drink, then the menu:: K'a's'u't'h'i'r... U'd'e'i't'h?
She hoped that by using their word for "what" (as she had deduced) along with "drink," St'Amin would understand her query and provide more insight into their language structure.
Arlill/Stendhal/St'Amin: Response
Tags/TBC
((OOC: Only one tag as we figure out the speech patterns to avoid all of us getting overwhelmed with creating a whole new language. Tolken, eat your heart out.
We are putting all the details of I-kiyo on this document and I will update it with the new stuff from this sim shortly https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oGZPGkNXa_osKaC7weZi8sWEDFQStDeHTyNJiFdtEJs/edit#heading=h.4u6ik1wbinu0 ))
T’larn
Researcher
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
She/Her (Character)
He/Him (Player)