World-building through a character's language and dialogue
I encountered a character in Maya: Seed Takes Root, whose low place in its social hierarchy and caste-system is reflected in his language itself.
Some context: the world is a science-fantasy filled with seven sapient species, loosely based on South Asian mythology. There are avian aristocratic Garudas, law enforcement simian Vaanars, minority races like the serpentine Naags, and a race of oppressed laborers called Kulies, bred solely to operate as tools.
The rare White Kulie in the novel, Baluta, is an anomaly because he is remarkably intelligent and resilient. The way he speaks, rendered in a unique syntax, simultaneously captures both his low place and his undeniable intelligence. In a scene with his highborn garuda master Tarkash, he's asked how he's so easily able to slip in and out of places without being seen. You'd expect a monologue about stealth or other feats of espionage. Instead he says: "Dust come, dust go. Who see dust?"
With such matter-of-factness, he explains how he simply exploits the invisibility his systemic objectification affords him. No "the", no "a", no past or future tense. Nothing joining thoughts together to convey the ontology of a sapient person. Elsewhere in the book he says "Baluta keeps its word." He refers to himself as an "it". And he doesn't use people's names either. He calls Tarkash "pretty-bird-master" and the condemned prisoner Yachay "good-sad-man". He refers to them by their traits and their functions, just like they do to him. But how he "names" people also works as deep character judgment, more insightful than any lengthy exposition.
Two other popular characters come to mind: Gollum and Dobby.
Gollum slips between "I" and "we" because there are two minds fighting inside him. His syntax externalises his fractured self-talk.
Dobby also refers to himself in the third person. "Dobby is a free elf" packs his entire life of house-elf servitude into one phrase. Dobby is a being who was never allowed personhood, never allowed identity. Why would he learn to say "I"? Obviously Dobby's syntax was probably not as intentionally devised as my analysis suggests, but it's still a popular example that illustrates this idea.
Here are a few other great Baluta lines from the book:
- "Good-sad-man big tool. Big dark tool." (remarking to Tarkash that the protagonist Yachay is a good recruit to a team he's building, precisely because he's mysterious and unpredictable)
- "Pretty-bird-master have pretty head-tool. No kill Kulie also." (commenting on Tarkash's wise decision to not kill Baluta during an altercation, even though nobody would bat an eye if he were to)
Baluta is a great example of encoding character and world-building into linguistics. Not sure how many people have read the book. I actually got the Kickstarter version before its worldwide retail launch. Just wanted to park my thoughts here.