Other Languages

 

Aside from languages which exist within the major language families, there are two anomalous languages on Tear which do not fit neatly into the classification.

Khat (Year -4500 to current)

Khat is a poorly understood form of communication that can only be used by members of the Khat species. It involves body language and performative display (some of which can be extremely subtle), scent and pheromone transfer, as well as a range of sounds that tend to be very distinct from other languages. All Khat know the language from birth, and non-Khat persons cannot learn it - though they do study it. Studies with willing participants have determined that this form of communication is best used to communicate single concept declarations (which can be seen, heard or detected as scent). While there are many, many regional variations of Khat the format of the language is simple enough that a Khat can learn most of the local idiom after only a few of encounters with local Khat (or their scent markings).

Chittuh (Year -4500 to current)

Chittuh is the Jumiran name for the language spoken by Sectiles, adopted because the majority of large Sectile hives are located in southeastern Jumira, and the vast majority of Sectile individuals who have chosen to abandon their hives and integrate into humanoid society are also in Jumira. Chittuh is a language of clicks, chirps, dance-like movements and pheromone transfers that can only be used by Sectiles. All Sectiles speak it from birth. In the height of the Enlightenment it was discovered that Chittuh was a uniform uniform language across the entire world - with individuals from colonies that had never been in contact with one another speaking the exact same language. This suggests that either the language has never drifted or change at all since it first evolved out of a single proto-colony, or that some unknown connection exists between all the colonies of the world, accommodating language drift while keeping the language in sync around the world.