An update: The Matoran Dictionary, 3rd Edition
It has been a while since I posted anything conlang-related here, but I know that the Bionicle fandom survives in this place. Even though this blog has been relatively uneventful on the surface, I have actually been hard at work on the project that has developed, in my mind, into what I’m calling the 3rd Edition of the Matoran Dictionary.
If you read “3rd Edition of the Matoran Dictionary” and thought “what are you talking about” or “wait, where’s the 2nd Edition?”, then follow this link for many minutes or hours of reading about an incredibly niche part of the already very niche BIONICLE fandom.
For now, here is an explanation of what the Matoran Dictionary 3e project looks like:
On the world of Spherus Magna, many millennia have come and gone. Under the auspices of the Annoxtan Institute of Languages and Cultures, a team of linguists, historians, archaeologists, and agoropologists has been assembled, funded by grants from the educational initiatives of the System Adherency, to produce the definitive work on the ancient languages and dialects of the Mata System.
(a) 3e is a complete reimagining of the etymologies of the names/terms that exist within Generation 1 of BIONICLE. It aligns with the version of the Matoric Language that I have lately released (see here).
(b) 3e shares some features with 2e, but in general it is a separate work. Whereas 2e was written by a linguistics undergrad in the margins of lecture notes, 3e is written by the wizened future version of that linguistics undergrad, now typing on a keyboard, and with a somewhat better grasp of how this language thing works.
(c) these etymologies incorporate a large amount of work on dialects and language variants within the world of BIONICLE, both the world of the Matoran Universe and the world of Spherus Magna. The final version of 3e will include an explanation of these dialects and their interrelations. In particular, you will find many references to the other major work of BIONICLE conlanging I have undertaken, the Etymological Dictionary of the Agori Language, given that the languages of the MU are partly derived from the language of the Agori.
(d) many of the entries for name/place/item-designations will include encyclopedic information fleshing out how that name originated, its dialectal provenance, and any other relevant lore. You may find some interesting tidbits included in these portions of the entries.
Although the project will not be fully complete any time soon, it has reached a stage of development where I feel good about showing some parts of it off. It is my intention to release some drafts of separate portions of 3e in the near future (names of Kanohi, names of locations, for example), so that people can get a taste of what it looks like.
For now, here is a description of the major languages & dialects that will be referenced. I’ve put all of this in a Google Doc as well, if you don’t want to read it on Tumblr: link here!
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DIALECTS
Proto-Matoric (PMtc.): The theoretical earliest form of the Matoran Language, artificially constructed by the Great Beings and preloaded into the base programming of Matoran units within the Mata System. Consists of a finite-but-expandable lexicon and a small set of recursive combinatorial operations. Forms in Proto-Matoric are unattested (marked with *), being reconstructed by comparison amongst descendant dialects within the Mata System and within the Agoric language family (Old Agoric and descendants). The lexical stems of PMtc. are, in large part, selected from forms existing in historical variants of Agoric utilized by the Great Beings: Proto-Agoric (PAgc.), early Old Agoric (eOAgc.), and Praetar Agoric (Prtc.).
Archaic Matoric (AMtc.): The earliest attested form of the Matoran Language, immediate descendant of Proto-Matoric (PMtc.). The label AMtc. is more precisely a cover-term for a range of linguistic variants manifesting across a wide geographic area and time-depth in the early Mata System. Variation in AMtc. is the result of the process by which the abstract internal forms of the base linguistic system (represented by PMtc.) were externalized and articulated by individuals within populations. A variety of additional lexical items were “transplanted” from Old Agoric (OAgc.) as a result of some contact (likely unintended by the Great Beings) between AMtc.-speaking populations and users of OAgc. in the pre-launch period. All major dialects and dialect groups are descended from AMtc., except where noted.
Inscribed Archaic Matoric (IAM): Forms attested in early inscriptions left by the Great Beings in areas such as the Bohrok Nests of the Cranial Region, the chambers of the Mangaia, Valmaia, and elsewhere. Inscribed Archaic Matoric represents a variant of language somewhere between Proto-Matoric and Archaic Matoric, and the inscriptions themselves show evidence of orthographic conventions and abbreviations utilized by the Great Beings.
North Matoric (NMtc.): Primary dialect of Metru Nui and associated areas. The dialect is comparatively conservative, preserving many aspects of Archaic Matoric, while also incorporating innovated forms from other dialects, and has the status of a lingua franca within the Cranial, Acromial, and Superventral regions (“far north”, “upper northern”).
Metru Matoric (MMtc.): Descendant of North Matoric; cover-term for the diverse dialects originating in the subregions of the city of Metru Nui. The most notable representative of Metru Matoric is the Le-Matoran dialect of “Chutespeak”.
North Insular Matoric (NIsl.): Regional dialect-group of the individual islands and island chains of the Superventral (“upper northern”) region (excluding the Northern Continent), somewhat localized toward the Dextral Lateral (“northwest”); historically associated with the ancient Kingdom of Kalmah.
North Continental Matoric (NCtl.): Primary dialect of the Northern Continent (excluding the Tren Krom Peninsula), covering the (Medial) Superventral (“northern”, “upper northern”) regions; historically associated with the ancient Kingdom of Pridak.
Tren Krom Peninsular Matoric (TKP): A dialect of the Northern Continent, originating in the Tren Krom Peninsula region. The dialect exhibits features of both Northern Continental Matoric (NCtl.) and southern dialects (likely as a result of influence by the Makuta in the post-Matoran Civil War period).
South Insular Matoric (SIsl.): Regional dialect-group of the individual islands and island chains of the Ventral (“southern”) region (excluding the Southern Continent); exhibits many instances of contact with South Continental Matoric (SCtl.) and northern dialects, esp. North Insular Matoric (NIsl.).
South Continental Matoric (SCtl.): Primary dialect of the Southern Continent, covering the full Ventral and Sub-/Inferioventral (“southern”, “far south”) regions; historically associated with the ancient kingdoms of Mantax and Carapar, as well as with the Makuta Collective and its associates.
Far South Regional Matoric (FSRg.): Regional dialect-group of the individual islands and island chains of the Subventral (“lower southern”) region; historically associated with the ancient Kingdom of Carapar.
Austral Matoric (AuMtc.): Regional dialect-group of the individual islands and island chains of the Sinestral Brachial (“eastern corridor”) region; historically associated with the ancient kingdom of Takadox.
Occidental Matoric (OcMtc.): Regional dialect-group of the individual islands and island chains of the Dextral Brachial (“western corridor”) region; historically associated with the ancient domain of Artakha.
Archaic Aquatic Matoric (AAqc.): The earliest attested form of the Aquatic Matoric dialect, coeval with (and possibly derived from) Archaic Matoric (AMtc.). The label AAqc. is more precisely a cover-term for a range of linguistic variants manifesting amongst the various aquatic and amphibious species in the early Mata System.
Aquatic Matoric (Aqc.): Primary dialect associated with species inhabiting the undersea regions of the universe, esp. localized in the Superventral (“upper northern”) region; historically associated with the ancient Kingdom of Ehlek.
Proto-Agoric (PAgc.): A reconstructed stage of the Agoric branch of the Spherus Magnan Language, also labelled Deep-Proto-Agoric; the deep-time ancestor of Old Agoric (OAgc.). Forms in PAgc. are listed as unattested (marked with *). This form of language was utilized in work by the Great Beings (such as the construction of the Proto-Matoric language) even though it had not been spoken by populations on Spherus Magna for anywhere from 300 to 900 millennia before the Shattering (400-1000k). It has been speculated that the Great Beings’ access to and subsequent use of Proto-Agoric was a result of their development of technologies allowing psychometric and transtemporal perception.
Old Agoric (OAgc.): A widespread dialect functioning as a lingua franca across a wide area of Spherus Magna in the period preceding the Shattering, spoken by both the Great Beings (in addition to their use of Proto-Agoric) and their associates. A variety of lexical items were “transplanted” from OAgc. as a result of some contact (likely unintended by the Great Beings) between populations speaking Archaic Matoric and users of OAgc. in the pre-launch period. The dialects of Common Agoric (CAgc.), West Agoric (WAgc.) and North Agoric (NAgc.) descend from OAgc. in the post-Shattering period.
ABBREVIATIONS KEY:
Proto-Matoric (PMtc.), Archaic Matoric (AMtc.), Inscribed Archaic Matoric (IAM), North Matoric (NMtc.), Metru Matoric (MMtc.), Ga-Metru Matoric (GaMtc.), Le-Metru Matoric (LeMtc., “Chutespeak”), Onu-Metru Matoric (OnMtc.), Po-Metru Matoric (PoMtc.), Ta-Metru Matoric (TaMtc.), North Insular Matoric (NIsl.), North Continental Matoric (NCtl.), Tren Krom Peninsula (TKP), South Insular Matoric (SIsl.), South Continental Matoric (SCtl.), Far South Regional Matoric (FSRg.), Austral Matoric (AuMtc.), Occidental Matoric (OcMtc.), Archaic Aquatic Matoric (AAqc.), Aquatic Matoric (Aqc.), Proto-Agoric (PAgc.), Old Agoric (OAgc.).