View source for Xi'an language

[[File:Xiinthle a letters.PNG|thumb|right|The word ''Xi’an'' in Xi’an letters]]

The '''Xi’an language''' {{SClang|lang=xian|srx=uo’aXy’an|kyexiin=œ’ XàN’}} is the first [[Alien Languages|Alien language]] of the Star Citizen Universe released to the public. It will be fully integrated in the game - though the implications on the gameplay side are uncertain for the moment. Developed by conlang artist Britton Watkins and the CIG writing team for Star Citizen and Squadron 42, it is intended to be further expanded together with the community via special Xi’An language sites on the RSI website.

The Xi’An and their culture are initially based on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty Han dynasty China] (around 206 BCE – 220 CE), so their language is influenced by various Asian languages - both in writing and pronunciation. {{RSI|ref=yes|url=/spectrum/community/SC/forum/88013/thread/xi-an-language-discussion-1/563777|text = Britton Watkins on linguistic influences}}. They live for hundreds of years and plan for decades rather than years, and often they come across rather reserved. This restrained and diplomatic demeanor also carries over into their language and speech. Getting the correct tone of politeness can be difficult for non-native speakers.

'''Important features'''

*'Verticality', meaning that writing is usually from top to bottom and right to left (but can theoretically be written in any direction)

*Tonal:

**Long and short vowel distinction

**Pitch is important - syllables may have a higher, neutral or lower tone - usually indicated by '''’''' and '''.'''

**Various dialects, but most important are the so-called ''Proper Xi’An'' (uo’a e thle’a) and ''Service Dialect'' (uo’a se Hyath)

*200 different letters or “glyphs”, written in blocks to form words

*Only 9 verbs, but depending on 'politeness' or 'flavour' they are written differently

As stated above, the distinction into various levels of politeness is very important in the Xi'an language and is difficult to see or hear for non-native speakers. Being overly polite can be as bad as it is to be excessively casual. The right balance is important and not always easy.

== Alphabet & Writing ==

=== kyexiin ===

{{TLT|main|kyexiin}}

[[File:Xi'an letters blocks.PNG|thumb|The word Xi'an written in kyexiin]]

The Xi’an script, also called kyexiin, is based on around 200 glyphs that developed out of the Xi’an way to write in very specific blocks. Depending on whether the glyph is written in the whole block, half of the block or only one corner (usually upper right or lower right), three groups of glyphs can be distinguished:

*basic

*block

*corner

This is a very efficient way to get as much phonetic information in one block as possible, but can also lead to more difficult to read glyphs, especially for corner diphthongs. Additionally, there exist various pitch diacritics to mark pitches on specific syllables - from low or high to falling or rising pitch.

[[File:Xi'an diphthong corner simplification.PNG|thumb|600px|Transition of diphthongs into corner glyphs]]

There exist many different styles of writing Xi’an, but the most important ones are '''''xiinthle'a''''' and Standard Romanized Xi’an ('''SRX'''), which was developed to transscribe Xi’an into easier readable Roman letters.

{{Editorial Note|For a full list of the alphabet in the Xi'an script, see pdf on the {{RSI|ref=no|url=spectrum/community/SC/forum/88012/thread/xi-an-alphabet|text=RSI site}}}}

{{Editorial Note|For an introduction to [[Standard Romanized Xi'an]] (SRX), the translation of Xi'an into the Human writing system, see the {{RSI|ref=no|url=comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/16214-A-Quick-Guide-To-SRX|text=Quick Guide}} on the RSI site}}

=== Standard Romanized Xi’an ===

{{TLT|main|Standard Romanized Xi’an}}

A standardized system of writing Xi’an in Roman letters was developed in the so-called SRX. It introduces '''.''' and '''’''' as equivalents to the pitch markers in kyexiin and rules for translating Xi’an writings.