mayapuppies Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Hola folks, Another brain freeze moment: I have a race of elves (called Brethiel) in my world that are racially isolationist, but nationally they are superlative merchants. Their society is ruled by a council of Merchant Princes (each being the leader of a Merchant House). They are a very proper people and do not look upon social indescretions very favorably. Honor to ones House and family is of utmost importance and even the lowest Brethiel garner some respect. However, there is one class of Brethiel that are considered to be less than "elven" (though still higher than foreigners). These are the ones that are born out of wedlock. They are not bound by any normal obligations as their parents have no obligations to each other, consequently they have no rights either. It is socially acceptable for the mother to kick the child to the curb and never think of them again (and most do). My trouble is coming up with a name for this gutter class within Brethiel Society. I'm trying to come up with something non-cheesey, but sounds eloquent enough for this society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetle Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Skipping past the problems with "isolationist merchants", how about "the unhomed" for the group of elven untouchables? Or you could pull a Tolkein and invent a high-falutin' elvish sounding word for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted December 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Isolationist really isn't the right description (my bad)...more akin to the Japanese opinion of non-Japanese. The Brethiel do not allow non-Brethiel to enter their cities without a Writ of Passage and a sponsor from one of the ruling Merchant Houses. Even then, the foreign traders must be kept isolated and generally among the open markets on the forest floor beneath the Brethiel tree cities. The Brethiel, themselves, send caravans of their own far and wide. Or you could pull a Tolkein and invent a high-falutin' elvish sounding word for them? I was actually thinking of doing this with EBoN, but I wanted something a bit more "solid". "Unhomed", sounds pretty good, but honestly, "Untouchable" is definitely the direction I'd like to go in with this. hehe, maybe I'll just stick with that as my attempts thus far seem to hinge around different variants of that title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help From a Tolkien Dictionary, a collection of two words: La, meaning 'not' and Dúnhere being a fortified place, this being Elvish can me different things for different people (protection, "house", "home & hearth" "acceptance" etc.). Hence, your outcasts could become: Ladunhere, and I'd put the emphasis on the first syllable LADunhere or on the last syllable, ladunHERE, with 'here' pronounced 'hare-ay.' So, la-dun-hare-ay. Sounds fancy, comes from Tolkien, draws on actual Gaelic roots. Let me know if that helps. I'd've posted sooner, but it took me a bit to get you a decent answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Another alternative is to pick something arbitrary and poetic-sounding and then retcon a historical reason for it. This kind of thing happens pretty frequently in real life, actually. (Consider the eytmology of the word "lesbian" and compare it to what the word generally means now, for example.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Peasants. The honourless. Those without decorum. Houseless. Leihterb. Lea Tehb. Leet Ebb. Lee Teb. Those without gravitas. Those whose shadow is small. Small shadows. Noondayers. Nighters. Those whose footprints are shallow. Lightfeet. Lightweights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A. Ward Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help The Unspoken Ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Since they are without rights........ The Wrong, or the Lefts......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help bastards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help This site http://www.dragons-inn.org/Ifreann/Tynntangial/eng_elf.html has a long list of elvish-english translations. I'm partial to "almare" or "maara" which are variations of "good", which I'm sure is how the pointy-eared freaks see themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help bastards What he said. Just invent a word for bastards in that language and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help *points to McCoy & Captain Obvious* Yeah, that, but with a pre-built Tolkien translation. Geez, you guys, always so "nyah, nyah!" Hmph! I'm going to go over here with my meticulous research and scratch my butt with my pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayapuppies Posted December 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help This site http://www.dragons-inn.org/Ifreann/Tynntangial/eng_elf.html has a long list of elvish-english translations. I'm partial to "almare" or "maara" which are variations of "good", which I'm sure is how the pointy-eared freaks see themselves. Hmmm, using the Bastards suggestion and the above link I come up with: Ilnota: literally "Not Birth" I like Thanks for all of the suggestions! You folks have saved me once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Re: Social Class name help Groovy! I'll have to hold onto that link. Somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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