I'm not sure I find David J. Peterson reasoning behind distancing Neo-Chakobsa (movie) from Chakobsa (books) and current Earth-spoken languages very convincing.
One of his main arguments is that in the the 20k years timeframe that separates us from the events unfolding in Dune, it is unlikely that contemporary (or a bit more ancient) languages would have survived, except for barely recognisable influences.
That could work for most sci-fi settings, but imo it misses the target on Dune.
- Great Houses have roots that go back to the Earth days of humanity, and language is a great part of a House's identity, as is perfectly conveyed in both the books and the movies. Houses would therefore protect their historical languages ;
- the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers have access to the memories of their female ancestors, and given the organisation's influence in the Imperium, they could very much act (consciously or not) as "seed crystals" for the survivance of old languages (the name Bene Gesserit itself is Latine, ffs) ;
- in the specific case of Fremen, who are the main speakers of Chakobsa, their culture involves a figure very similar to Reverend Mothers, as well as the Tau "orgy", where minds can experience very close connections. Spice consumption increases life expectancy. In this setting, I don't see why Fremen couldn't speak an old language, kept alive by Reverend Mothers and tradition.
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npub1fa…rt4f0
2024-07-18 10:36:23
Author Public Key
npub1fanjsgy7jghu7d3l5hfq79a3c9kt959x638d5qhjmeeseyr7xp2qert4f0Published at
2024-07-18 10:36:23Event JSON
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"content": "I'm not sure I find David J. Peterson reasoning behind distancing Neo-Chakobsa (movie) from Chakobsa (books) and current Earth-spoken languages very convincing.\n\nOne of his main arguments is that in the the 20k years timeframe that separates us from the events unfolding in Dune, it is unlikely that contemporary (or a bit more ancient) languages would have survived, except for barely recognisable influences.\n\nThat could work for most sci-fi settings, but imo it misses the target on Dune.\n\n- Great Houses have roots that go back to the Earth days of humanity, and language is a great part of a House's identity, as is perfectly conveyed in both the books and the movies. Houses would therefore protect their historical languages ;\n- the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers have access to the memories of their female ancestors, and given the organisation's influence in the Imperium, they could very much act (consciously or not) as \"seed crystals\" for the survivance of old languages (the name Bene Gesserit itself is Latine, ffs) ;\n- in the specific case of Fremen, who are the main speakers of Chakobsa, their culture involves a figure very similar to Reverend Mothers, as well as the Tau \"orgy\", where minds can experience very close connections. Spice consumption increases life expectancy. In this setting, I don't see why Fremen couldn't speak an old language, kept alive by Reverend Mothers and tradition.",
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