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The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:55 pm
by Somdudewillson
So, I was bored, and so made a written language for the Mantis.

A-[╔═╗
B-[╔═╝
C-[╚═╗
D-[╚═╝
E-[╠═╗
F-[╠═╝
G-[╠═╣
H-[╔═╣
I-[╚═╣
J-[╔╗║
K-[╔╝║
L-[╚╗║
M-[╚╝║
N-[║╔╗
O-[║╔╝
P-[║╚╗
Q-[║╚╝
R-[╠╣║
S-[╔╣║
T-[╚╣║
U-[╠╝║
V-[╠╗║
W-[║╠╣
X-[║╔╣
Y-[║╚╣
Z-[║╠╝
a-[┌─┐
b-[┌─┘
c-[└─┐
d-[└─┘
e-[├─┐
f-[├─┘
g-[├─┤
h-[┌─┤
i-[└─┤
j-[┌┐│
k-[┌┘│
l-[└┐│
m-[└┘│
n-[│┌┐
o-[│┌┘
p-[│└┐
q-[│└┘
r-[├┤│
s-[┌┤│
t-[└┤│
u-[├┘│
v-[├┐│
w-[│├┤
x-[│┌┤
y-[│└┤
z-[│├┘
0-[══╗
1-[══╣
2-[══╝
3-[═══
.-[┼┼┼
?-[┼┼╬
!-[╬╬╬
,-[┼╬┼
“-[╬┼╬
'-[╬┼┼

When translating to/from English, please note that each press of the spacebar in English corresponds to 5 in Mantis. You'll note that everything is straight and slashy, as you would expect mantis-like aliens to be able to create with their claws. They also count in base 4.

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:39 am
by DarkPhoenix141
I thought I was an FTL fanboy but this puts me to shame. Well done.

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:36 pm
by Somdudewillson
DarkPhoenix141 wrote:I thought I was an FTL fanboy but this puts me to shame. Well done.

Thanks! This isn't really all that good TBH. It's not technically a language, but rather a substitution cypher. Also, any ideas what the language of the Zoltan would look like?

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 7:18 pm
by stylesrj
Somdudewillson wrote:Thanks! This isn't really all that good TBH. It's not technically a language, but rather a substitution cypher. Also, any ideas what the language of the Zoltan would look like?


Something orderly yet spiritual? Maybe look at how ancient monks wrote their books and think of something like that.

Although I like to believe that like in real life, the Zoltan have multiple languages, one for each "faction" (Military, Bureaucratic, Religious). After all everyone seems to not have their weapons licensing in order.

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:00 am
by Somdudewillson
stylesrj wrote:
Somdudewillson wrote:Thanks! This isn't really all that good TBH. It's not technically a language, but rather a substitution cypher. Also, any ideas what the language of the Zoltan would look like?


Something orderly yet spiritual? Maybe look at how ancient monks wrote their books and think of something like that.

Although I like to believe that like in real life, the Zoltan have multiple languages, one for each "faction" (Military, Bureaucratic, Religious). After all everyone seems to not have their weapons licensing in order.

...Welp, that'll take a while. I mean, what characters would I even use for that...?

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:08 am
by stylesrj
Somdudewillson wrote:...Welp, that'll take a while. I mean, what characters would I even use for that...?


I dunno, but at least it'll be easier than the Slug language. They've probably got like a thousand words for "profit"
That's if they even have a language considering all the telepathy.

You could try the Rockmen - It'd be a very... solid language.
The Lanius would be all about writing, considering the lack of air used to communicate whole sentences properly.

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 2:53 pm
by Somdudewillson
stylesrj wrote:
Somdudewillson wrote:...Welp, that'll take a while. I mean, what characters would I even use for that...?


I dunno, but at least it'll be easier than the Slug language. They've probably got like a thousand words for "profit"
That's if they even have a language considering all the telepathy.

You could try the Rockmen - It'd be a very... solid language.
The Lanius would be all about writing, considering the lack of air used to communicate whole sentences properly.

The Slug would be a nightmare to write a language for. Each word probably mean a different thing depending on tone, context, font size, and a hundred other things. The Rockmen is who I think I'll do next. Are you even sure the Lanius would HAVE much of a language? I mean, they're some sort of cyborg borg-esque bug. Maybe they communicate in binary? No, wait, that's the language of the Engi...

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 3:17 pm
by stylesrj
Somdudewillson wrote:Are you even sure the Lanius would HAVE much of a language? I mean, they're some sort of cyborg borg-esque bug. Maybe they communicate in binary? No, wait, that's the language of the Engi...


Well they do try and communicate to you with white flags. This probably means they have some sort of gesture-based language. Some do speak, but that's probably only for the advanced Translators who wish to talk to the organic beings inside their food.

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 4:56 pm
by AmoebaMan
That's a super awesome concept. I think it'd be kinda cumbersome to handwrite though...

You know what? I'll up the ante one. When I get home I'll make something that works for hand writing inspired by this, and then I'll make a font so it can be typed easily!

Re: The Language of the Mantis

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 7:59 pm
by Somdudewillson
AmoebaMan wrote:That's a super awesome concept. I think it'd be kinda cumbersome to handwrite though...

You know what? I'll up the ante one. When I get home I'll make something that works for hand writing inspired by this, and then I'll make a font so it can be typed easily!

Well, I thought about doing a custom font, but if you use a custom font then only people with the font can view it. I used special characters instead, which means most everybody can view it. Also, I designed it in such a way so that someone with, say, a pair of claw-like appendages would be able to write it easily.