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The Meaning of Ichairi
Sep. 4th, 2015 22:05Icairi: 1: no. An phublyaț, pholyațakånasț apeyån år staițmaț foțațe tua tupholyațakån. 2: no. Phaipålasț. Wuțogħi apeyån.
Ichairi: 1: noun. A public, political opinion or statement held by a politician. 2: noun. Popular. Any opinion.
Ichairi: 1: noun. A public, political opinion or statement held by a politician. 2: noun. Popular. Any opinion.
It was that time of the nine-year cycle again. Half the news pieces on Ada Collier were political. Marai had never been one for politics. If voting hadn't been compulsory, she wouldn't have done it. So she was surprised when her boss told her to talk to some reporters about the galactic mapping and exploration they were doing at Lockwood and Al-Hajj.
The reporters—both female, and whose names were of the popular style 25 years ago—came the next day at ten to interview her. They all sat down in a conference room and started. Marai was prepared, in part due to a quick study session sandwiched between a date and sleep last night. The interview went well. Marai didn't embarass herself or the company, which she counted as full success.
"...asaț fåme fåicairi ve va axtlåraihån wekånțeyuț..." Marai Shaus, 18/5/2804.
"...it's my ichairi that the exploration will continue..." Marai Shaus, 18/5/2804.
Marai was proved wrong the next day. When she got into work, the first thing she always did was check her email. She normally only had one or two emails, often departmental ones, or ones from coworkers asking a question. This morning, she had nine. One departmental one, and the rest from email addresses she didn't know, with subject lines either relating to her interview yesterday, or the word ichairi, or had a wording like "Bad Eglyash", "Grammatical Error", etc.
The departmental one was easy to read and acknowledge. It was just a request to tweak the formatting of the .gnmap files a little. The rest she was a little apprehensive to read. She had prided herself on her excellent Eglyash throughout secondary school, and while that wasn't how she identified herself now, it would still sting to learn she had made a mistake.
The first one, from an Amabilis Deyålsu, entitled "Your interview":
The departmental one was easy to read and acknowledge. It was just a request to tweak the formatting of the .gnmap files a little. The rest she was a little apprehensive to read. She had prided herself on her excellent Eglyash throughout secondary school, and while that wasn't how she identified herself now, it would still sting to learn she had made a mistake.
The first one, from an Amabilis Deyålsu, entitled "Your interview":
Dear Ms. Shaus,
I watched your interview with Ms. Shosu and Ms. Țolmåhur, and found you very eloquent until the end where you said, and I quote "It's my ichairi that the exploration will continue". I have to say, I was very disappointed that such a seemingly well-educated woman as yourself could fall prey to a dullard's error.
You see, an ichairi has a three-point definition: it is public, it is political, and it is held by a politician. One such as yourself cannot have an ichairi because you are not in the political realm.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Sincerely,
Amabilis Deyålsu, esq.
I watched your interview with Ms. Shosu and Ms. Țolmåhur, and found you very eloquent until the end where you said, and I quote "It's my ichairi that the exploration will continue". I have to say, I was very disappointed that such a seemingly well-educated woman as yourself could fall prey to a dullard's error.
You see, an ichairi has a three-point definition: it is public, it is political, and it is held by a politician. One such as yourself cannot have an ichairi because you are not in the political realm.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Sincerely,
Amabilis Deyålsu, esq.
Ms. Shaus, I am disappointed in you and whatever schools you went to, because they certainly did not teach you proper Eglyash! Ichairi does not now, and never has meant opinion! You cannot have an ichairi because you are not a politician! It is people like you who are ruining the Eglyash language and making it merely a shade of its former self! If you take as much care for your work as you do for you language, I expect to hear of starships being lost because of your shoddy work!
Flora Qoța
Flora Qoța
Marai wasn't sure what to do about this. She told herself that it wasn't that imporant; she was an astronomer, not a writer. Ships wouldn't be lost because she misused the word "ichairi". It still stung though. For a girl who had gotten the highest marks possible in pre-modern Eglyash, any accusation of misusing the Eglyash language hurt.
"Ve yus sicairi tumai apeyån asaț es auld es ve yus sicairi tumai foț pholyațakånasț. Asaț we țe newåmädmi fåve fångoxi sgrema, baikus af deda vair fåfoțas, wai shotsețus ngiau spaica fåPhrauțou-Wuld." Ursula Shaus, ngia ngiblog, 5/2/2804.
"The use of ichairi to mean opinion is as old as the use of ichairi to mean political stance. That's why I ignore the grammar nazis, because if they had their way, we would be sitting at home speaking Proto-World." Ursula Shaus, on her blog, 5/2/2804.
"The use of ichairi to mean opinion is as old as the use of ichairi to mean political stance. That's why I ignore the grammar nazis, because if they had their way, we would be sitting at home speaking Proto-World." Ursula Shaus, on her blog, 5/2/2804.
Marai had some coworkers who poked fun at her misuse of "ichairi". Some of them were self-professed grammar nazis. Her boss had told her that she received some recommendations to fire Marai because of what was now referred to variously as "the incident" or "how Marai doesn't know how to use 'ichairi' right".
Marai never could have guessed how much vitriol such a simple mistake could bring. At first, she had felt ashamed, like she had failed the Eglyash language somehow. But the tone of the continued responses made her pause. Why would anyone think it would be okay to fire someone because they said something grammatically incorrect?
Her brother-in-law translated documents from a couple dialects of pre-modern Eglyash into modern Eglyash. Whenever she worried about making some grammatical error, he always said "Don't worry about it. Eventually, everyone will die and that grammatical error will be a standard part of Eglyash." He said that he translated part of a grammar guide from the 22nd century in university, and that half the grammatical corrections it proposed were obsolete the next century.
Marai on her part ignored the criticisms of her language that continued. They rehashed the same message over and over again. She decided not to be bothered by such a trivial mistake. If her brother-in-law was right, it wasn't even a mistake. It was progress.
"Ve leqash asȚeglyash yusțuqogħațe tu-'English', ed baho tuveț tu-'Ænglisc'. Baho tuveț, hånț asaț fål fåleqash. Aulyi asaț fån fåäpohaas. Sau spaicu o lețu, baikus leqashas ågħais shaishaț" Ursula Shaus, ngia ngiblog, 20/5/2804.
"The Eglyash language used to be called 'English', and before that 'Ænglisc'. Before that, it isn't a language. It's only a hypothesis. So, speak how you like, because languages always change." Ursula Shaus, on her blog, 20/5/2804.
