What do you think Atmosian language would sound like?
For Atmosia specifically, and Terras around it like Rex, I think their native languages sound like anglo-european languages. Kind of a mix of English, Latin and German. Maybe some Scandinavian. Atmosia's central location in the known Atmos makes it a cultural hub so it's natural that its language is influenced by many different Terras.
There is a 'common' language used all across Atmos akin to Common in DnD settings that sounds similar to Latin. It's mostly used by merchants, travellers and Terras that see a lot of traffic from other Terras like atmosian. Also known as Mercantile after the groups that first started adapting the language.
Gale, naturally, sounds as close to French as a country in a world without France can sound. Lots of rough sounds and rolling 'r's.
Cyclonia and its territories mostly speak Cyril (pronounced "sirr-el"). I keep jumping between Greek and Russian for its phonetics and alphabet, and it's punctuated by a lot of clicks and whistling noises. Native speakers may still use that punctuation while speaking Common, which is often interpreted as rudeness by Central Atmosians.
Raptor language consists of hissing and growling, along with other vocalisations that are outside of human capability. Humans may be able to understand the language but would struggle immensely to speak it themselves.
hiii could you write some headcanons for the primis crew with a reader that tries to speak a bit of their native language to surprise them but it ends up sounding really broken 🥺? ty!!
Note: Ooooo I've been excited to write this since the moment I saw the request. I wanted to work on this sooner but I did get busy. I might do something like this for a longer project with Primis richtofen. But until then let's continue with this.
Edward Richtofen - German
He would be thrilled if you surprised him with this, even if you didn’t get everything perfect. The effort alone would mean so much to him, and he'd appreciate the thought behind it more than anything. Learning a new language can be incredibly challenging, and it takes time, patience, and practice to get comfortable with it. (It’s not as simple as just opening an app and instantly becoming fluent) language learning requires consistency, real-world practice, and sometimes even making mistakes along the way. But the fact that you’re putting in the effort to learn, even if it’s just a small gesture, speaks volumes.
You’d most likely end up learning quite a bit from him over time. Whenever he gets passionate about something, whether he’s going on a long-winded rant about a topic he cares deeply about or completely immersed in his work, he naturally reverts to speaking in his native tongue without even realizing it. It’s in those moments—when he’s truly in his element—that you’d hear the language in its most authentic and unfiltered form. Without even trying, you’d start picking up words, phrases, and expressions just by being around him. Over time, you might even find yourself understanding more than you expected, simply because language has a way of sinking in when it’s tied to real emotions and experiences.
Most of the time, he would whisper sweet nothings into your ear as you drifted off to sleep, his voice soft and soothing, wrapping around you like a warm embrace. His words, spoken in German, would be gentle and affectionate, a quiet lullaby meant just for you. At first, the meaning behind them might be lost on you, just a string of unfamiliar yet beautiful sounds. But over time, as the nights passed and the words became more familiar, you might start to recognize certain phrases, piecing together their meanings from the way he says them, from the warmth in his tone, from the way he smiles against your skin.
It wouldn’t just be those whispered endearments that you’d pick up—there would also be the special nicknames he gives you in German, ones that hold meaning only the two of you share. Maybe they’d start as little teases, playful and lighthearted, or maybe they’d be impossibly sweet, ones that make your heart flutter every time he says them. And before you even realize it, those words would become second nature to you, ingrained in your memory, as much a part of your world as he is.
In times like these, learning even a little bit of his language would take time, patience, and plenty of trial and error. It wouldn’t happen overnight, and there would be moments when you stumble over certain words or struggle to get the pronunciation just right. But despite the challenges, the effort itself would mean everything to him. The first time you manage to say something in his native language, even if it's just a simple phrase or a clumsy attempt at a sentence, his heart would absolutely melt. He’d be caught somewhere between surprise and overwhelming affection, completely endeared by the fact that you’re trying just for him.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to resist playfully correcting your pronunciation, teasing you with a smirk when you mix up words or get the accent just a little off. He might repeat the word slowly, exaggerating the proper way to say it, only to chuckle when you try again and still don’t quite get it right. But no matter how many times you fumble, he wouldn’t ever get frustrated—in fact, he’d find it adorable.
And if you were truly interested in learning more, he’d love nothing more than to actually teach you. He’d be patient, guiding you through phrases and expressions, encouraging you even when you make mistakes. Maybe he’d start slipping in more and more German throughout the day, testing you with little challenges, praising you when you get something right. It wouldn’t just be about the language—it would be about sharing something deeply personal with you, letting you into a part of his world that means so much to him. And over time, bit by bit, the words that once felt foreign on your tongue would start to feel familiar, woven into the fabric of your relationship in a way that makes them even more special.
However, when you finally learn enough to even speak a little German, he would think you sound absolutely beautiful—no matter how imperfect or hesitant your pronunciation might be. The moment you string together a full sentence, no matter how simple, he would pause, his expression softening as he takes in the sound of his native language coming from you. There would be something incredibly endearing about it—hearing his words spoken in your voice, knowing that you put in the effort just for him.
At first, he might just smile, a little surprised, maybe even stunned silent for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief. “Say that again,” he’d murmur, leaning in as if to make sure he really heard you right. And when you do, his grin would grow even wider, his heart swelling with pride and affection.
To him, it wouldn’t matter if your accent wasn’t perfect, if you stumbled over certain words, or if your grammar wasn’t flawless. He would find every little imperfection charming. In fact, he’d love the way his language sounds when you speak it, as if it was meant to come from you all along. If anything, the slight mistakes and hesitation would make it all the more precious to him—proof of the time and effort you’ve put in, proof that you care enough to try.
He’d gently cup your face, his eyes filled with admiration, and whisper something in German—something soft, affectionate, and utterly heartfelt. And whether or not you understand what he’s saying in that moment, the warmth in his voice would tell you everything you need to know. Because to him, hearing you speak even a little bit of his language wouldn’t just be beautiful—it would be one of the most meaningful things in the world.
Tank Dempsey - English
This man would find endless amusement in your attempts to speak his language, especially if you happened to mess up along the way. The way you hesitantly string together words, trying to remember the right pronunciation or piece together a sentence, would bring the biggest smile to his face. Not because he’s laughing at you in a mean-spirited way—never that—but because he finds it absolutely adorable. There’s something about the way you try so earnestly, even when you fumble over syllables or accidentally say something completely different from what you intended, that makes his heart swell with affection.
He might chuckle softly as you attempt to repeat after him, shaking his head fondly when your pronunciation is just a little off. If you accidentally say something ridiculous—perhaps a phrase that translates into something unexpected or hilariously wrong—he wouldn’t be able to hold back his laughter. But rather than discourage you, his amusement would only make the experience more enjoyable, turning your language lessons into moments filled with warmth, teasing, and lighthearted fun.
At times, he might dramatically repeat the correct pronunciation, exaggerating his accent just to make you roll your eyes and playfully swat at him. Or maybe he’d challenge you, promising you a kiss or a reward if you can finally get a tricky word right. No matter how many times you mess up, he would never tire of hearing you try. If anything, your efforts—flawed as they may be—would only make him fall for you even more. Because, in the end, it’s not about perfect pronunciation or flawless grammar; it’s about the fact that you care enough to try. And to him, that means everything.
He’d absolutely try to help you out and teach you a bit of his language, but the truth is, he wouldn’t really know how to go about it. It’s not that he doesn’t want to—he’d love for you to learn—but explaining the rules and grammar in a structured way? That’s where he’d struggle. He’s so used to just speaking it naturally, without thinking about the mechanics behind it, that when you ask him why certain words are structured a certain way or how verb conjugations work, he’d just blink at you in mild confusion.
"Uh… it just is," he’d say, scratching the back of his head, looking a little lost himself. He might try to give you examples, only to end up contradicting himself because his native language has so many exceptions to the rules that even he can’t keep track of them all. If you asked him to break it down in a way that makes sense, he’d probably end up staring at the ceiling, deep in thought, before finally sighing in defeat.
Instead of formal lessons, he’d end up taking a more casual, spontaneous approach—throwing random words and phrases at you throughout the day, quizzing you when you least expect it, and laughing whenever you give him a completely wrong answer. He might point to objects around the house and tell you their names in his language, watching with amusement as you try to repeat them. If you accidentally mispronounce something, he’d correct you with a teasing smirk, only for you to groan in frustration when the words refuse to roll off your tongue the way they do for him.
Despite not being the best teacher, he’d still be incredibly patient with you, never making you feel bad for struggling. And, in a way, his unstructured way of teaching would make learning more fun—filled with inside jokes, playful teasing, and moments of genuine connection as you slowly start to pick up more and more of his language, one adorable mistake at a time.
Nikolai Belinski - Russian
You trying—but absolutely failing—to speak Russian would make this man laugh harder than he has in years, in the most loving and affectionate way possible. The moment you open your mouth and attempt to string together a sentence, he would already be grinning, bracing himself for whatever hilarious mispronunciations or accidental nonsense you’re about to come up with. And the second you butcher a word so badly that it sounds like something completely different? That would be it—he’d lose it.
His laughter would start as a chuckle, but the more you try, the harder he’d laugh, eventually doubling over, clutching his stomach, his whole body shaking with amusement. He wouldn’t mean to make you feel bad—on the contrary, he’d find it absolutely endearing. The effort you’re putting in, even when you’re failing spectacularly, would only make him adore you more. He’d wipe at his eyes, struggling to catch his breath, before finally managing to correct you—though whether or not he can do it without laughing again is another question entirely.
"Wait, wait—say that again," he’d beg, grinning ear to ear, still trying to recover from his laughing fit. The moment you repeat the word, somehow butchering it even worse than before, he’d be gone all over again, shaking his head as he pulls you into a hug. "I love you, but that was so bad."
He might tease you about it for days, randomly bringing up the funniest mistakes you made just to hear your groan of frustration. But despite the endless teasing, he’d always encourage you to keep trying. Because underneath all the laughter, he’d genuinely love that you’re making an effort to learn. And no matter how much you struggle, the fact that you’re doing it for him would mean more than any perfectly pronounced sentence ever could.
Like Dempsey, he wouldn’t exactly be the best teacher—he’s more of a "learn as you go" kind of guy rather than someone who sits down and explains things step by step. Structured lessons? Forget about it. Grammar rules? He barely even thinks about them himself. More often than not, if you ask him why a word is the way it is, he’ll just shrug and say, “It just is,” as if that’s the most logical explanation in the world.
But despite his lack of formal teaching skills, he’s doing his best, and that’s all you can really ask of him. He’d try in his own way, slipping words and phrases into everyday conversations, repeating things slowly for you when you struggle, and even making little games out of it to keep things fun. He might point at objects and wait for you to name them in his language, raising an eyebrow when you get it wrong and grinning when you finally get it right.
His teaching methods would be a little unconventional—sometimes helpful, sometimes just plain chaotic. He might jokingly teach you phrases that are completely useless just to see if you’ll actually say them. Maybe he’d trick you into thinking a ridiculous sentence means something sweet, just so he can hear you say it and then burst into laughter when you realize what you’ve just said. But when it comes down to it, he wants you to learn, and he’ll always be patient with you, even when you’re struggling.
And while he may not be the best teacher, there’s something about the way he tries—the way he lights up when you get something right, the way he playfully teases you when you don’t, the way he unconsciously switches to his native tongue around you more and more—that makes learning from him feel effortless. Because in the end, it’s not really about the language itself; it’s about sharing something important to him with you. And even if neither of you have any idea what you’re doing, the journey of learning together makes it all the more special.
Takeo Masaki - Japanese
He’d be completely taken aback the moment he heard your poor attempt at speaking Japanese, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as he processes what just came out of your mouth. For a second, he’d just stare at you, lips twitching as if he’s trying to hold back a reaction. Did you really just say that? Was that actually supposed to be Japanese? Or was it some strange, new language you accidentally invented?
He’d blink a few times before leaning in slightly, his curiosity piqued. “Wait… say that again,” he’d urge, his voice caught somewhere between amusement and genuine confusion. Maybe he misheard you. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t as bad as it first sounded. But the second you repeat yourself, struggling even more with the pronunciation, he’d completely lose it.
A chuckle would slip out before he can stop himself, and before long, he’d be full-on laughing, his shoulders shaking as he covers his mouth. It’s not that he’s laughing at you—he just finds your effort, no matter how flawed, absolutely endearing. The way you furrow your brows in frustration, the way you try so hard to get the syllables right but somehow still make it worse—it’s adorable to him.
He’d probably tease you about it for a while, dramatically repeating what you said in an exaggerated, butchered version of your already-botched pronunciation, just to mess with you. “Are you sure that was Japanese?” he’d joke, flashing you a playful grin. But after his laughter dies down, he’d ruffle your hair affectionately and reassure you, “It wasn’t that bad… well, maybe a little.”
And despite all his teasing, there would be this unmistakable warmth in his eyes—because deep down, he’s touched that you’re trying. Even if you’re struggling, even if you absolutely butcher the language, the fact that you’re making an effort means the world to him. And if you’re serious about learning, he’d be more than happy to help—just don’t be surprised if he makes you repeat words over and over, not just for practice, but because he secretly loves hearing you try.
Unlike the others, Richtofen and him especially would be incredible teachers if you truly wanted to learn the language. Both of them have an uncanny ability to break things down in a way that makes sense, even though their teaching methods might be unconventional. Where the others might give you half-hearted attempts at helping, Richtofen and him would take genuine care in making sure you understand the language, guiding you through each step with the patience and attention you deserve.
He’d give you structure and consistency, making sure you don’t just memorize words but understand how to use them in context. He’d be the one to correct your mistakes with care, never laughing or mocking, but instead gently guiding you to the right pronunciation or grammar rule.
Asari headcanon series: Language [part 1: general information]
I felt this insanely strong urge to make a headcanon post about asari languages. Here we go. @shepcdr I know you are the biggest alien language nerd so I will tag you.
I'm giving all of my key points titles to keep things organized.
Language diversity among the asari
For starters, I'd like to mention that there is no such thing as "the asari language". I don't think the asari would have one unified language. They are a wise species, they have a population of billions, no doubt did they have myriads of languages before they invented translators, and no doubt would a species as wise and intelligent, as embracing of diversity in life, appreciate the various ways you can express yourself through different languages. Asari are the last species I would expect to force a unified language on people, causing a generational loss of languages. I think throughout history, asari have done more to maintain the perseverance of languages rather than the loss.
To get an idea of how many languages the asari might have, I looked at Earth statistics. It is said that Earth has about 7000ish living languages, with a total number of approximately 30.000 languages having existed in human history.
The asari have a population of 5.5 billion, rather than 8 billion like 21st century humans, but they also possess mind-melding abilities that would make sharing languages easier, so I'm bold enough to claim that that over 10.000 languages are spoken on Thessia despite there being fewer asari than humans. And that's just limited to Thessia. I will get into more detail later.
The thousands of languages, just like human languages, would vary in phonology, structure and grammar to an incredible degree, which is why there is no clear answer to "what do asari languages sound like", just like you can't give a clear answer to the question what the human languages sound like.
The vocabulary is influenced by the environment in which the language evolved, languages native to communities found in coastal areas possess more words to describe tides, sand or water, those who evolved in snowier regions might have more words for different kinds of snow.
Endangered languages specialists
Thinking of how many languages were lost throughout human history made me ponder how many languages asari once had. And that made me come up with the idea that while asari probably lost many languages, they used their mind-melding abilities to keep their languages from going extinct.
Over time, that evolved to asari linguists specializing in the art, training their mind-melding abilities specifically for language acquisition. In the game, we can see that language acquisition is possible through the mind-meld, as Shepard is able to understand the Prothean language. Large amounts of information can be transferred from the mind of one individual to the mind of an asari.
Asari linguistics specialized in language acquisition via melding will seek out members and communities speaking endangered languages, form bonds with members and learn their languages through various sessions of mind-melds. Obviously, this is a demanding job requiring great sensitivity, charisma, empathy and patience, as the recipient of the meld should be ready and feel comfortable and interested in sharing their language and culture. By learning the endangered language, the asari can use her specialized knowledge of linguistics to analyze the language and record its features in the Codex of Galactic Languages.
There is no doubt that some romantic relationships have formed through these agreements, with asari children being born and growing up as native speakers of the endangered languages.. Sometimes it's a topic found in novels. An asari growing up in a small isolated alien community due to her mother having been a scientist researching the language.
Mind-melding to learn a language
Mind melding is said to be mentally exhausting for an asari if large amounts of knowledge are transferred. Liara feels light-headed after melding with Shepard in Mass Effect 1.
Asari do not learn a whole language in a single melding session, rather, it takes a series of sessions. Asari who are more experienced with melding have an easier time with it, those specialized in language acquisition via melding even more so.
The melding process does not grant the asari spoken fluency. The asari gains passive language skills, she is able to understand the language, but for as long as she has not practiced speaking the language to a sufficient degree, she won't be able to speak it anywhere near fluently. Their speaking abilities are comparable to human children who have responded to their parents in another language their whole life or for most of their life (this is very much a real thing, passive bilingualism). They struggle to retrieve words, build sentences, and use proper grammar, overall possessing little to no conversational skills despite understanding the language at a high level.
Fluency can be gained relatively quickly once a high level of understanding has been reached, within months of being intensely surrounded with the language every day conversational fluency is usually reached, since there is a sort of a subconscious baseline understanding of how the language works that sets the framework.
Asari multilingualism
Despite the existence of universal translators, the asari are a species who highly embrace multilingualism and recognize its benefits. The universal translators are never used to translate all languages into a single language, rather they enable the asari to learn all the languages of the people involved in raising her.
Many asari grow up multilingual. Asari have been known to grow up to understand or even speak the languages of various species natively: krogan, turians, drell, quarians, batarians, salarians, humans (humans have been around for a little less than 30 years, meaning some of the earliest born children to human-asari couples are now adolescents), volus, vorcha.
Obviously there is some limit to what sounds an asari can make due to their physiology, asari who find they cannot replicate the sounds will typically remain passive users of the languages, whereas those who possess the anatomy to produce the sounds either speak with accents due to some minor physical limitations remaining or are capable of speaking the language exactly like their alien parent. Since phonetics vary greatly between languages, it is very possible that, for example, one krogan language could be perfectly pronounced by an asari, but another may not.
An example of a multilingual asari upbringing:
An asari grows up on Omega in a community consisting mainly of other asari and batarians. Her father is a salarian. Through her salarian father, the asari learns to speak the salarian language Girmu. She is close to the mother's ex-partner, a batarian, and his two sons. During her formative years, she interacts with them enough to at learn their language Armeldan, which is also spoken by many other batarians in the community. She also speaks her mother's language Ioleta. Her translator is set to translate different languages not native to her (not spoken by her closest community/caretakers) into her native languages. Other batarian languages might be translated into Armeldan, other asari languages into Ioleta. Adjustments can be made to ensure an even distribution, for instance, if the asari finds her vocabulary limited due to only speaking Girmu with her father, other languages can be translated into Girmu for a broader exposure of vocabulary.
Translators, therefore, aid the asari in learning the multiple languages of her community, as well as allowing communication between the asari and those speaking languages foreign to her.
Dialects
In the past millennia, the asari have developed thousands of colonies in space, some of which are multispecies colonies. Asari growing up speaking alien languages natively, or acquiring them fluently as second languages have shaped the asari languages, creating new asari dialects influenced by alien languages.
Most asari languages come in a vast amount of different dialects due to these circumstances. Additionally, over time some changes have been so drastic that eventually a language split into different, new languages. Over time, various aspects have changed: Pronunciation, melody, grammar, idioms, vocabulary.
The way a single asari language is spoken on Omega differs from the way the same language is spoken on Thessia or on Illium. Furthermore, with the strong social class division and presence of gangs on Omega, there is an even stronger presence of regional accents and dialects on the station.
Although I described what Harry and his children look like, but I can't decide what ethnicity they are. Harry is either an india/bangladesh kid or a latino, but I prefer the indian/bangladeshian headcanons because I want him to learn hindi/bengali to feel more connected to his father.
And he of course thought the kid too, so the Potter children are bilingual.
For Scorpius he can speak fluent french, but he would commit arson rather than use it.
I think that if the turtles were humanized they would all be black and/or blasian since they’re siblings and would have to have the same genetic tree (in 2012 I’m pretty sure they’re biologically related). However I love idea that they have slight differences between them since they hang out in different areas in nyc (a diverse city with a bunch of different cultures that I think would really interest them).
So anyways I hc that Splinter brought them all up to be bilingual, however Raph and Donnie aren’t as good at Japanese anymore since I think they aren’t as good with languages and they would consume a lot of English content growing up + Leo probably started translating Splinter for them and they kinda stopped needing to use it, so it faded a bit. I think Raph stopped speaking Japanese but can still understand it and could speak it (with some grammar and pronunciation errors) in a pinch. Donnie rarely speaks Japanese but he speaks it from time to time with Splinter, Leo, or Mikey. Leo is probably fluent in Japanese and English and I think her (Leo is transfem in my books) and Mikey can read Japanese while Raph and Donnie can’t. However, I think that Leo code switches and sometimes makes tiny grammar/pronunciation errors, with Mikey being the best at Japanese of all their (Mikey is aroace gender-fluid) siblings.
I don’t think Raph is a big language buff (unlabeled he/him non binary Raph supremacy), so he probably just knows English and Japanese. Meanwhile, I think Donnie knows code languages and probably taught themself (They/them for Donnie, source: me) obscure/dead/constructed languages like Esperanto or Latin. Leo probably can understand/read Spanish to some extent, though she’s barely conversational speaking it. She might also know certain phrases in a bunch of different languages since I hc that she wants to travel. Mikey, in my opinion, will be the best at picking up languages, probably fluent in Latin American Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese, conversational in Italian and Korean, and has begun to pick up some Haitian Creole (though her pronunciation isn’t good because she probably sounds either very American or has WAY to heavy of an accent). They also codeswitch and mesh together languages pretty often, so his siblings have begun to pick up a bit of their languages, especially Leo (how she learned Latin American Spanish)
I think they speak primarily English among themselves and Japanese/English with Splinter, who is plays a little game with himself when he hears music to guess the language it’s in
