Teegarden English

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Teegarden English
Teegarden English
Native to: Eden
Major dialects: High Teegarden, Vulgar Teegarden
Writing System
Writing system(s): Latin Alphabet
Official Status
Official language in: Eden
Minority language in: Eden
[Source]

Teegarden English is a variation of English originally from Eden and the disfavored language of the state under Edenite. The language is most common in Eden’s large cities and other possessions. It is also the lingua franca of Eden’s military, who still hold it in higher regards than Edenite.

Example[edit | edit source]

A very important part of life on Eden is religion, and the Lord's Prayer is a common refrain for many on Eden. In formal Teegarden English, it is:

  • Our father, witch art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdawum come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this here day our daily bread. Ayn' fawgive us our trespasses, as we fawgive them that there trespass against us. Ayn' lead us nahwt into temptation, but delivuurr us frawum evil. Faw thahn is the kingdom, the power, ayn' the glawy, faw evuurr ayn' evuurr. Amen.

Background[edit | edit source]

Realistically speaking, the languages of the year 4005 would be completely different to the ones spoken today. For comparison (although it is known that languages do not change at a fixed rate), two thousand years in the past English was a western descendent of the Germanic language family, and was mutually intelligible with dialects that'd in the next centuries become German, Dutch, Swedish, Friesian and etc. Obviously, we can't have our characters speaking a future English. But we can at least simulate the effects of varying degrees of mutual intelligibility between the dialects of English that are likely to emerge, particularly between the inhabited planets.

Teegarden English developed on Eden as a natural variation of the English language spoken by many of the original colonists. It was originally the favored language of the elite on Eden but fell in status after the Commonwealth occupation made it less attractive in comparison for the more “unique” Edenite language. The language takes some influences from Edenite but is largely intelligible with other forms of English. The language largely differs from base English in that it actively incorporates slurred language into the vocabulary, as the slurred dialect is something most Edenites possess.