Remembered Language, Forgotten Discussion
One of my favorite things to read about in the otherkin community was the idea of a remembered language, something you used to write or speak in your kin life but have since lost… supposedly. The Silver Elves wrote extensively on this and even published a few books on the subject, Jarandhel Dreamsinger’s list of elven words can be found here, and Isedon Goldwing’s dragon runes have a wiki. However, these are rather old and fairly well-known languages as far as otherkin goes, but surely there must be more. What caused this sudden drop in remembered languages? Why does nobody talk about it anymore? It’s long been my favorite “lost” aspect of the community, and I honestly don’t know the answers to these questions. (Feel free to reblog/reply if you do know, I’d appreciate it a lot! Sources are even better, if you can find them, along with other languages I haven’t listed.)
Now, I’ve actually explored remembered languages… in the context of fictionkin, believe it or not. I’ve seen a couple of Hylian dictionaries, but I was never quite sure whether the authors were fictionkin or not (and then again, there are many variations on the language in canon, and languages change and evolve over time, or even whether or not the creators accidentally recreated the actual language…) I’ve also done some of my own work with this, and I wanted to discuss it. Now, I’ve only really explored the written aspect seeing as the spoken language is actually more of a pain (imagine saying “quote” and “end quote” and “period” and “comma” for every time you’d write them…) but I have noticed some things about doing so that I want to discuss.
- Don’t go into it with any expectations.
If you can learn automatic writing, please do. It’s the method I’ve been using for this, in addition to talking with soulbonds and patrons about the language itself. You could get something similar to Spanish or Greek or Russian or Chinese or any other conceivable language (even Akkadian cuneiform or Mayan glyphs), or some unusual mixture, or something you can’t make heads or tails of. Similarities also don’t mean anything other that it sounds like that language or looks like it or maybe has some grammatical parallels. You’re likely looking into a nonhuman, non-Earth-based language, so don’t assume there will be anything similar.
- If you’re remembering a spoken language, try and write phonetically until told/remembered otherwise.
This holds especially true if you plan to share it with others. Nobody wants to try and pronounce “Cthulhu” if they don’t know a damn thing about the mythos, so try and write things so you know exactly how to pronounce it. Record yourself saying it if you feel comfortable doing so. Even if you know how it would technically be spelled in English (or your native language, I’m writing this in English and it’s the only technical language I speak), write out a translation. It doesn’t even have to be how you’d see it in a dictionary, those pronunciation keys are hard to read, anyway.
- Don’t overthink things.
I really can’t stress this enough. You will write meaningless scribbles. You will say gibberish words. Take time to meditate and think about what you’ve written or recorded or said, ask anyone or anything that’s helping you remember this language for tips and guidance. I’ve been very lost on one or two things (especially names) that my soulbonds have needed to point out for me, and I have absolutely made up useless words and glyphs as I explore this. Don’t doubt yourself too much, either. If you see similarities and parallels, look into them! See if they help, and listen to your instinct. If you feel a word means something in your heart and soul, it probably does. If you get confused, that’s okay. You can’t remember an entire language overnight. You will get things wrong, you will make mistakes and need to retranslate. That’s normal for any language, remembered or learned. It’s okay.
- You can end up with similar or identical words with different meanings, or vice versa, and other linguistic oddities.
Words that sound/look identical but mean different things exist in a lot of languages. It’s how puns are made. You might end up with a lot of these and some weird modifiers, or no written vowels, or some really strange style of writing (spirals, zig-zags, who knows.) You could end up remembering tonal differences that vastly alter meaning (yes, these exist in real life, notably in Chinese) or have a lot of differences in vowel sounds depending on the surrounding sounds. Everything could be monotone or rhythmic or rolled off the tongue or growled in the throat. Weird things happen with languages.
- Languages change over time.
I know I mentioned this in the intro, but it’s really important. Just look at any language, and human language as a whole, to see this in action. It’s happening to English at least right now with the internet allowing for more unusual forms and variations of written communication. This probably goes for other languages, too, so perhaps you and a buddy from the same world remember different things as a result of this. Don’t be too hard on yourself, this is meant to be an exploration into another part of yourself.
- If you’re fictionkin, don’t be afraid to expand upon a canon language or completely remake it according to your memories.
Some people might not even have access to a spoken or written language other than the language of the media itself in their canon. The canon representation might be right, it might be wrong, or it could be a little bit of both. There may not be a written or spoken counterpart when you remember having one. All of this is okay, it just might take more time to sort out.
Lastly, don’t feel like you have to remember a language or symbols or anything like that. It’s fine if you don’t, and pretty normal. I just hope to spark interest in this topic again with this post. Feel free to reply to this post, send an ask, whatever of anything you or others have remembered, I’d love to hear about it and I might even do a “language spotlight” if there’s enough interest. Good luck, and happy remembering!
Cloud (Portal)
