One correction that I would make to Greg's explanation is that where
he used Brithini
I would have said Logical as Brithos was a comparatively late phase
in the history
of the Land of Logic.
A RW analogy that may be useful is Koine (the language of the new
testament) and
Attic Greek (the language of the philosophers), with the Malkioni being the
common speakers of a language rich in faith while the
Zzaburi/Brithini are the speakers
of a refined language of sophistication and philosophy. So while
Malkioni holy texts
are comprehensible to the Brithini and vice versa, one is seen as a
barbarous cant of
illiterates while the other is an incredibly abstruse language of
little relevance to
everyday life.
Another thing is that I don't think an official old Malkioni becomes
established until
the Abiding Book. Up till then the Loskalmi and the Seshnegi have
several dialects
of Old Malkioni (and holy texts written in them) but for most intents
and purposes
official communication (ie diplomacy and stuff) is done using
Brithini because that's
what the Waertagi and their allies use.
When the Abiding Book is revealed it creates a canonical version of
Old Malkioni
that is intelligible by other speakers of Old Malkioni dialects yet
possesses its
own rhythms and internal dynamics that firmly establish it as a Sign From God
- accept no substitutes! It's impressive enough that the modern Loskalmi who
do not accept the Abiding Book have their own texts in the
language. After the
Waertagi become toast, there's no compelling necessity to retain the use of
Brithini in official correspondence and so people switch to Old Malkioni.
--Peter Metcalfe
Powered by hypermail