The language of the Gem homeworld

One philology nerd attempts to make a conlang for the Gem species from Steven Universe.

[the-homeworld-speech]

I just realized that I never really clued y’all in on what was up with this blog, and I’m sorry for slowly going dead without any indication as to why. Simply put, I slowly drifted away from caring about Steven Universe enough to put my spoons towards the fandom, for a number of reasons into which I do not wish to go. I may return at some point in the future, but right now, this blog is just going to sit.

[the-homeworld-speech]

I... am not the best singer. but I have half a mind to try and sing your 'translated' gem language songs (the intro and stronger than you). Is that something you'd be okay with? And do you have tips on pronunciation?

I would very definitely be okay with that! I have phonetic notations for all the words in their original entries; a guide to IPA phonetics can be found here.

[shipburner]

so i had an insight about Jasper

so we know that Jasper popped out of her hole perfect. she is the Perfect Gem™. the biggest. the strongest. the toughest. the quartziest. even her hole is perfect.

and i realized, i know what that feels like.

i was a Smart Kid™. sure, i didn’t pop out of my hole perfect; i was also a Weird Kid™. but i was constantly told that i was smarter than other kids. that i was even a little bit better than other kids. i always heard “you’re too smart for the public schools!” “you’ve got the vocabulary of a kid twice your age!” “other kids don’t know as much as you.” “you shouldn’t correct people (but you are right).”

and i’d bet dollars to dolomite that that’s what Jasper heard too.

because Jasper, as we see her after Alone At Sea, is obsessed with strength. she’ll do anything to feel strong again.

beg back the gem who imprisoned her and tortured her? yup.

assemble an army of insane monsters? yup.

fuse with an insane monster just for more power? yup.

and that reminds me of things i’ve done. to me, this doesn’t look like a Jasper Is Obsessive thing. to me, this looks like someone who was constantly told they were good at something being confronted with a problem that they can’t solve.

Jasper couldn’t defeat the Crystal Gems, despite being the Perfect Gem™ (because her strength wasn’t the right kind of strength necessary to defeat them). i struggled since i hit my sophomore year of high school, despite being a Smart Kid™ (because my intelligence wasn’t the right kind of intelligence necessary to solve these problems). like hell i turned to external aids and used every underhanded trick i could in order to maintain my status as Smart. Jasper reminds me of myself, in that she is doing everything she can to maintain her status as Perfect.

i don’t think it’s just the Rubies who were so impressed with Jasper. i think all Homeworld was impressed with Jasper. “The Facet 9 Kindergarten Quartz That Could.” “popped out of the ground with her helmet on.” “took out eighty Crystal Gems before the sun went down.” that’s what she heard her entire life.

so Jasper couldn’t let anybody down. she had to be Perfect. and that’s why she did the things she did.

[the-homeworld-speech]

How and/or where did you get this language from?

Why, none other than my hyper-advanced brain! It starts out with intuition - words that just “feel” right. Then I devise some rules based on what I’ve already set down, and keep on going!

[the-homeworld-speech]

Roshdyavel/RoshdyavetH [ɹɒʃdjævɛl / ɹɒʃdjævɛtħ] (noun l.): Smoky Quartz.

Notes: From rosh, “tectosilicate”, dyath, “irradiation”, and vel, “silicon”.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Shorayaiyav/Shorayaiyad [ʃoɹəjaɪjæv / ʃoɹəjaɪjæd] (noun r.): Nephrite.

Notes: From shor, “iron”, ayai, “inosilicate”, and yav, “magnesium”. Most Gem names put the silicate structural component first, but when it begins with a vowel, it is usually put in the middle. (Really, I was trying to make the word for “Nephrite” have the same lexical envelope as “gurgle-click-click”, because given that nephrite is the same green as Centi’s gem and Bismuth mentions one being pulled out of a dropship cockpit, like the one Centi piloted, I’m fairly sure Centipeetles are corrupted Nephrites.)

[the-homeworld-speech]

Uz/uv [uz / uv] (noun r.): Bismuth.

Notes: The word for “Bismuth” is much shorter than the names of other Gem castes because bismuth is composed of a single element.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Gem Biology Time

Okay, so I said I wasn't going to deal with Gem reproduction, but that was before two things happened. One, Peridot said that Gem creation requires "resources" of which Homeworld is running out, and two, Gem corruption has been confirmed as being caused by sound. I'll explain the significance of these as we go. So: We already knew that the bacteriophage drills were used somehow in Gem creation, which involved implanting them in a planet's crust, but we didn't know whether or not implantation was their only function. My hypothesis is that they do in fact have another function: that of extraction, as well as implantation. Because of Peridot's "resources" comment, as well as her "lava is made out of the same stuff as Peridots" comment, I posit that Gems aren't made from the physical material of other Gems: Gems are physically created from gems. Now, unless life on Homeworld is significantly different from Earth, I don't mean to suggest Gems have used drills for their entire existence (although it would be a truly STUNNING plot twist if Gems are entirely artificial, engineered by a completely different species). I think the drills are just a way to make the reproduction process faster - a reproductive process that begins with a nonsentient mineral. However, I didn't come up with a mechanism by which this could occur until Monster Reunion, when the mechanics of Gem corruption were revealed. I considered physical carving when Peridot said "I like the cut of your gem", but I didn't really feel like that would work. So when Centipeetle described the corruption superweapon as a sound, everything just clicked. If a sound can cause a Gem to lose control of their manifested form, might it not also give a Gem the ability to manifest that form in the first place? Even to think? My hypothesis is that Gems reproduce through vibration, setting up specific harmonies in nonliving crystal in order to give it life. I know I've left most of it up to quantum, but I don't think the concept of Gems as a self-repeating harmonic life-form is totally far-fetched. I’m not sure how this will make itself manifest in the lexicon, but I did want to post this here as a basis for future entries.

[the-homeworld-speech]

OHryos [oħrjos] (verb): To compel, control, take by force.

Notes: used both for manipulating inanimate substances such as water or metal and for manipulating sentient beings.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Lumashtos [lʊmaʃtos] (verb): To shapeshift.

Notes: Comes from lum, “hand”, and masht, a general negative phoneme. Connotatively similar to “to dirty one’s hands”, a necessary but unpleasant evil.

[the-homeworld-speech]

AAAAAAAA

I THINK WE’RE GOING TO SEE GEM WRITING IN THE SHOW WITH TRANSLATIONS

[bellsingur]

SO There’s this new quiz/interview hybrid Buzzfeed had with Rebecca Sugar. Sugar has headcanons about her characters, and the quiz was whether we could guess the correct headcanon. Take it here! 

But more importantly, here’s an interesting tidbit:

Rebecca Sugar just revealed a bit more information about the nature of gems! 

Blue Gems are apparently in a diplomatic role, and it seems fitting with what we’ve seen of Blue Diamond, Sapphire, and Lapis Lazuli. 

Green Gems are implied to be ones that take action, and, well, Peridot is pretty go-getter in her attitude. 

Gem colors! They mean something.

[the-homeworld-speech]

!!! I may need to change some words to account for this, but this is a Very Interesting development and I will definitely try to incorporate that into LelHdeveth!

[the-homeworld-speech]

Dyovosh/dyovom [djovɒʃ / djovɒm] (noun r.): Laser cannon.

Notes: Dyovosh is onomatopoeia.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Vuthanshe/vuthansheng [vuθanʃɛ / vuθanʃɛŋ] (noun r.): Discorporator (the weapon Jasper used to separate Garnet).

[the-homeworld-speech]

FarHal usarashe/farHad usarasheng [fɑɹħɑl usɑɹæʃɛ / fɑɹħɑd usɑɹæʃɛŋ] (noun r.): Limb enhancer.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Esurinol/esurinoth [ɛsuɹinol / ɛsuɹinɒθ] (noun l.): A Gem weapon or similar device. The weapons of the various Crystal Gems are esurinolta, but so too are Lapis’ wings.

Notes: A portmanteau of esurin, “gem (the anatomical feature)”, and yinol, “tool”.

[the-homeworld-speech]

Ririat luvalash/ririad luvalad [ɹiɹiæt luvɑlæʃ / ɹiɹiæd luvɑlæd] (noun r.): Control pad.

Notes: the word luvalash refers specifically to a technological pad.