Geth Language Lessons

[forwearemany]

Who: Legion and you (and probably a lot of other people)
What: Exactly what the title says
When: Throughout November
Where: Islet 2
Warnings: I have no idea

1) Group lessons

(Every day, unless something happens to make it difficult, Legion will hold a group lesson at a time specified over the stones.

Outside their house, you can find them teaching … whoever decided to come.

Perhaps you’re here because you heard the announcement and were intrigued, or perhaps you were just wandering around and decided to check things out. Either way, welcome.)

2)Private lessons

(Or perhaps you have an issue that demands 1 on 1 attention, or just don’t want to be a part of the group. Legion is, of course, more than willing to accommodate that as well.)

Comments

[dedamastai]

[Damen doesn't necessarily respond on the rock very often, but he does listen to it relatively frequently. The idea of language lessons is intriguing - it reminds him of sitting in a tent with Laurent, gently correcting his grammar and trying not to laugh at the realization Laurent's knowledge was hopelessly limited in an incredibly Laurent-esque way.

So he goes, out of a curiosity and a genuine love for languages.

He brings his horse Chuck, occasionally - more because Chuck gets restless if he doesn't let her go to places other than their house than because he actually wants to bring Chuck along. Whenever he has Chuck, however, he also has a basket of fruit as, y'know. Snacks for everybody. It's just polite.]

[forwearemany]

(At the beginning of every lesson, Legion goes over the basics, in particular clicking and tongue popping, both as a review for those who already know and for the benefit of any new students.

They've also started greeting students with the basic Geth greeting signal, which they do for Damen when he arrives.)

Group lessons

[savedbyasong]

[Shion had seen the announcement and was interested. Languages were something he hadn't really studied much of. In his own world everyone around him spoke the same language and both here and the Tower had translated everything everyone said.

But learning anything was good and so Shion approaches Legion's house, heading towards the group.] Um... Is it alight if I join?

[forwearemany]

(At the sound of the voice, Legion immediately turns to the newcomer.)

Affirmative. We will go over basics.

(If anyone else happens to be less than happy with this, Legion ignores them.)

Geth aural language is produced via clicking. (They chatter a basic greeting signal as an example.) The closest organic approximation is achieved via "tongue popping".

[savedbyasong]

Thank you. [He sits and listens, hoping that no one minds. But going over things is a good way to learn.] Tongue popping? [He has no idea what is meant by that.]

[forwearemany]

It is the action of pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth to create a vacuum, then pulling it away to create a clicking noise.

(A pause)

We are incapable of demonstrating it.

[savedbyasong]

Oh. [He frowns but tries it, pushing his tongue to the top of his mouth and pulling it away, making a click.]

Is that right?

[forwearemany]

Yes. With practice, volume and tone can be varied.

(Which is all you need to speak Geth.)

[savedbyasong]

[He tries it a couple of more times and nods.] Alright. I think I understand so far.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(They repeat a sequence of clicks, slowed down so it's easier to understand.)

This is a greeting signal.

[savedbyasong]

[Shion listened carefully, having a good memory was going to be helpful here it seemed and once Legion had finished demonstrating he tried to repeat it back. A couple of the sounds didn't sound right, he had to experiment a bit to get the length and tone right. Luckily he was able to hold what it should sound like in his mind and eventually got somewhere close.]

[forwearemany]

(Even if he wasn't able to hold it in his mind, Legion is glad to repeat it for him, and will probably do so without prompting.)

Acknowledged. We will continue the lesson. Please request clarification from us or a fellow student if necessary.

(Gotta pay attention to other students too, after all. It's unlikely they'd be happy with a lesson just covering stuff they'd already learned fro the new person.

They're not into anything advanced though. Right now they're apparently talking about grammar, or what passes for it.)

[savedbyasong]

Thank you. [He blushes slightly at having monopolised the time of the teacher and sits quietly to listen to the lecture on grammar. He has his notebook out and is taking notes.]

[forwearemany]

(Geth language is ... bizzare.

A mashup of the alien language Khelish and programming language, it has been stripped over time of many of the grammatical quirks and structures organics find necessary. Pronouns, for instance, don't seem to be much of a thing--everything is referred to by designation, be it name, number, or a combination of the two. Though they have words referring to emotions, they do not have an easy way to refer to experiencing them.

It's a language that, while it may have, at one point, borrowed from organics, is clearly designed by and for robots.)

[savedbyasong]

[Shion might not be a linguist but he does know programming language and though this one is different than the one's he knew back on his world there are enough similarities that he picks up those parts pretty quickly.

It's a fascinating language though, one that is clearly designed rather than one that has evolved.

He makes lots of notes.]

/shows up late to group lessons with starbucks

[pidgeypidge]

[If Pidge had known about the announcement, she would've been all over it. Because she's constantly on the hunt for more things to learn, and she's in the market for a distraction.

Which is why she's taking a walk in the first place. But when she spots something going on, she'll eagerly make her way over and wave.]

Hello~

[forwearemany]

(Legion has taken to greeting new arrivals with the standard Geth greeting signal, and, though she is unlikely to recognize it, they do so for Pidge as well.)

Pidge. Have you come to participate in lessons?

[pidgeypidge]

[She doesn't actually recognize it for what it is, but she makes note of the way it sounds for future reference.]

I wasn't actually sure what was going on, but I'm not going to turn down free lessons if you're offering them.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged. We are teaching the language of our people.

(They repeat the previous sequence of clicks.)

It is a greeting signal.

[pidgeypidge]

Awesome!

[She's always here to learn something new when the opportunity presents itself. And don't mind if she makes an attempt to replicate that same sequence of clicks. With... moderate success?]

[forwearemany]

(It's successful enough.)

Affirmative. If you have questions, you may ask us or a fellow student. Additionally, we are willing to teach outside of group settings.