Heterogeneous Linguistics - Vol. 2 Ch. 11

[MangaDex]

 

[OniBarubary]

Fuck yeah more language studies.

So Minotaurs seems to have a language like the harpies based on body movement but also incorporating sound into it. I wonder if like the lizardmen they can't pronounce words due to not having lips or maybe not a developed set of chords that can make more than a couple sounds.

I'm actually really glad they have stuck with the lizardmen for so long, I really like them.

 

[Lord_Carson]

update yes good

 

[cryum]

Wow, that's some high difficulty language switching. Stomping, clapping, wheezing, whistling, sniffing...the Minotaur is quite well-learned.

 

[Drifter]

No wonder fights break out. If you didn't know from the start the Minotaur was friendly, you would be certain an attack was coming.

Thanks for continuing one of the better and more unusual manga on this site.

 

[betsybugaboo]

I love this so much! Linguistics are the best and it's fun to study them, even through the lens of a fantasy society.

 

[roetheboat]

I wonder if the vast differences in language and communication between monster species has essentially (and perhaps ironically) led to a more peaceful society?

Regardless of culture or society, there’s always a need to trade for goods you don’t have (especially when your physiology restricts what items you can make). Therefore, the monsters most efficient at communicating would be the ones to interact with other races. They’d also have more experience and patience when dealing with a language and individual they are unfamiliar with, which would decrease the chances of miscommunication.

 

[Glimmung]

@roetheboat It does seem they assume miss-communication before ill intent. Judging by how community oriented the monsters are, shunning is probably their go to punishment.

 

[Gustbk]

Thanks for the update,
as was said below— I think all the monsters having such a varying array of native languages left them more prone to cooperation and social understanding.

This whole chapter basically shows just how far they’ll go to strike a conversation with each other even when the means are insuficient.

Sociology in fiction always leads to the most interesting reads ever.

 

[kinosseur]

holy shit, it just occurred to me that translating this manga form Japanese to English means there is an added layer of complexity of linguistic barrier. Plus if you translate english into your native language in your head. Man linguistics is interesting

 

[kuma]

seems like monster society still not establishing lingua franca even within region. seems their world is more complex than we though and not that much interacted each other either until very recent? because this shown how limited their interaction experience previously between each other species. but also the tradition seems make it like other wise? is this because talking water/slime is more common used than we tough? i wonder what explanation of this.

also guys, if you don't understand lingua franca, it's language that established to make people who have different native language can use in the region to understand each other. just like the latin then greek then french in Mediterranean. culture that often interact each other will developed necessity for doing so naturally. the lack of lingua franca showing that the needs of it is still recent, or something big happened with society where lingua franca spoke with previously.

 

[Robbini]

@kuma

Considering their different biologies and vocal structures, it honestly seems like either harpy language, a mix of several or the slimes could be the only choices for a lingua franca.

 

[kuma]

@Robbini
i almost also considering their physical limitations, but lungua franca doesn't necessary need a complex figure. we know morse code as even more modern one like emoji as somewhat lingua franca.

 

[Robbini]

@kuma
Even if they could do morse code, not all of them have the fingers or toes needed to either press dots, either into the ground or onto something they're holding, so they would be reliant on visual notice of what they're doing, which frankly would be worse than what they're already doing.

 

[kuma]

@Robbini no i mean, lengua franca is go way beyond physical limitation. as long there is a way to understand each other, it's tend to do so after few times. look at sentinel islands and some of their successful story. that's linguistic works right at there.

 

[Shengar]

Minotaur and Lizardman (and half-werewolf) are so metal that their lingua franca involved head banging.

 

[Doomroar]

U SAID WUT M8!?

 

[Kneel_Breen]

I imagine the lack of Lingua Franca is due to the vast differences in sensory abilities. Without something that can effectively be shared, it doesn’t work well. In the end, you result to creating a mishmash of languages you do know to try and get your thoughts across. It also looks like the continent the monsters live on is pretty scarce on resources. That probably forces the monsters to prioritize in communication to trade for what they need in order to survive. Any kind of hostility could cause you to lose out on a trade, and therefore not survive.

Humans have a huge variety of sounds that we can make with our throat, cheeks, tongue, teeth, and lips, but our range for hearing is pretty small. We also have a pretty limited range for what we see, and an even smaller range for smelling.

Werewolves communicate mostly through smelling/tasting, but also verbal and visual. They are limited by their vocals, though.

Lizard people don’t have much of an ability to smell and are also limited vocally (not as much as the werewolves, but not as flexible as humans). They also have zero sense of taste. But they DO have a better ability to see colors.

Kraken can’t communicate vocally at all, relying on changing colors.

Harpy can communicate vocally, but the pitch at which they speak is so high most other species can’t hear them. And they move too quickly for other species to efficiently communicate using that body language. Harpies likely don’t have much of a sense of smell, either.

 

[wildyukari91]

That minotaur seems like a smart guy. It's interesting how the Lizards and the Minotaur found a common language, maybe Sensei could make a translation out of that?

 

[DreamCarver]

Perhaps the "fight" was less of an argument and more of a consensual word-tussle. Like how cats will wrestle as an act of play, but on a more communicative level.