stillsostrange: (Default)
stillsostrange ([personal profile] stillsostrange) wrote2012-04-22 06:34 pm

Help me, LJ-wan Kenobi!

I need a gender-neutral respectful address suitable for mages. (In the same setting as The Bone Palace, if you've read it.) Greco-latinate roots are acceptable, as are Turkish or Persian, but plain English is fine too as long as it sounds cool.

I don't know what I'm going to do about the damn pronouns.

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/jane_drew_/ 2012-04-23 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
According to Wikipedia (yes, yes, I know...), Zoroaster (the legendary founder of the Magi, inventor of astrology and magic and so on) was reputed to be Chaldean, which leads to the Greek "Chaldaia," Akkadian "māt Kaldu," Hebrew "Kaśdim," or Aramaic "Kaldo." I would say "Kaldo" is probably out, but what about something based off of one of the others?

The Akkadian might be fun, although I'm not sure whether a "u"-ending would read as male for native English speakers. Possibly replace the "K" with a "Ch"?

(Okay, going to stop frolicking about the Interwebs and get back to work now...)