About Anjshé

• It is the #1 most-used language on the Crimson-Null Foundation worlds, with Terran English a close second, and the Mannaki xh’omké trade language a distant third.
• Most humans and other sentients find it quite easy to learn, due to its easy accessibility in both pronunciation and conjugation.  Bridgetown University and Spender College both offer degrees in Anjshé studies.
• It is the main language used in transworld negotiations within the CNF.  One can make a lucrative career out of negotiation translating.
• The most intriguing and baffling thing about the language is the fact that the real intended meaning behind Anjshé-spoken words is not so much in the phrasing or the inflection, but in the spiritual and emotional intent given by the speaker.  Therefore, a very literal translation to Terran English would come out as poor, vague grammar.  One must listen and sense what one is saying in this language in order to fully understand it.  Most humans, though, have learned to do this instinctively after two and a half centuries of communication with the Meraladian society.

THE FIRST WORDS SAID IN ANJSHÉ TO THE HUMAN RACE, 22 SEPTEMBER, YEAR 2383 CE, MAIN STREET SECTOR, BRIDGETOWN PROVINCE, 05.18am EDT:

dehndarra Né hra nyhndah

 Although there is no single correct translation of these words, its basic meaning is a creed of Mendaihu heritage.  Some have taken it to be the same as Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am,” though its intent is more spiritual.  A near-literal translation (“To know thyself is to be One in Spirit”) offers a much better example of the Meraladian faith in the One of All Sacred.  Without going into too much detail (and incorporating the sometimes baffling Meraladian “circular thinking”), the basic creed of the Mendaihu is to understand one’s own spirit fully in order to be part of the One, and its place within the One, as well as the One’s place within the spirit.

These were the first words uttered by the Meraladians to Earth humans, both via transmission and in person.  A 20″ by 20″ plaque with these words inscribed on them is on permanent display at the northern entrance of the Mirades Tower.

A FURTHER NOTE ON ANJSHÉ PRONUNCIATION:

For accentuating, pronouns and names usually accent on the second syllable, and regular nouns and verbs accent on the first. There is the occasional exception, of course.  Those are often due to the Terran appropriation of the word to make it easier to pronounce.

Unless otherwise noted, all names and words that have spiritual reference to them are capitalized.  All other words, including the first words of an Anjshé sentence, are rarely if ever capitalized.

A FURTHER NOTE ON THE NAME ‘MERALADIAN’:

In Anjshé, the proper word would be Meraladhza (literally “those from Meraladh”) and is pronounced as such on other planets within the Crimson-Null Foundation, but due to the overwhelming use of Terran English on Earth by these peoples, this word gets the “Terranized” version on Earth.

A FURTHER NOTE ON MERALADIAN SURNAMES:

Throughout the province, one will find variations of Meraladian clan names, such as Mirades/Miradesi and Usara/Usarai.  The additional letter ‘i’ at the end of the name pertains to clan ancestry; in this case, it denotes a distant relation of some kind (like a cousin), rather than a direct descent of the main clan who would maintain the original.  Names ending in that letter simply have another ‘i’ added, such as Shaleii and Runeii.