Let's start with their name, "The Eden." This is not what they call themselves. It's an interesting story. When the Eden first established contact after The battle of the Pillars, humans described them as beautiful, even angelic. When confronted with the species name, especially in written word, we settled for a simpler name. Even today, most humans have never met an Eden.   There's a phoneme in their language comparable to the letter v, but when written in our language, they use the letters, "bh." This isn't unusual for human languages but few among us have ever encountered it. When we write it, we just use v, its simpler that way, but if caught they will correct you. We called them "Eden." They call themselves Tyre Lebha (tier-uh lay-vuh.) This literally translates to "we are." Take in various other factors like grammar, common usage, and intent and you may be left scratching your head. They basically named their species, "Those we are."

Why do the Eden translate their names? The ambassador, Diavae, introduced herself literally as 'The Saint of Loss.' They didn't use it as their name.

That's a really good question, actually. Okay, so this is another aspect of their language that seems off to us, and that's because of how we deal with names. Diavae is considered a divine title. It wasn't her name given at birth.   When she entered Somnihein, she inherited her name and effectively became a different person. Names are as fluid as their gender and appearance. They still have a meaning, but they don't use names as we do.   Take your name as an example, Amberlie.   All names have a meaning, and the Eden are no different. We speak English, but since leaving earth, we've forgotten where the word "English" comes from.   Most of our languages faded in usage or blended together to form dialects. When the majority of people speak one language, you're at a disadvantage if you can't speak it, as well, right?   Now, Amberlie is a "combination name." It combines elements from two different names, Amber which is a color and a fossilized resin, and Kimberly, meaning from the meadows of the royal forest.   That being said, translators won't translate your name. They have large swaths of data that identify names and how we use them. A name is untarnished by translation, the meaning behind them is retained but never spoken. You wouldn't introduce yourself as "Red Resin from the meadows of the royal forest," so the translator won't either.   The Eden see names in a very literal sense. "Diavae" is a word that means loss but in a divine context. It establishes what you are, as well as who you are. Another example is the surname of Tailor and Carpenter. These were originally very literal and described someone as a tailor or carpenter.           Their naming conventions are the reason so many words in our language are used when talking about them. If an Eden refers to a ship by its name, in our language or their own, the name is translated literally and we don't really know what to actually call it.   The archangel, for example, is truly called Laybholheim, (lay-vool-heem) meaning divine messenger. The eden pointed to this massive ship in the sky and said, "It's The Divine Messenger." Naturally, we were a little confused. It's not a stretch to see how we chose our name for it.   When the eden speak another species' language, they'll translate the meaning of their names instead of using their names as they come. It's usually a sign that the speaker has little to no experience in speaking to humans, as well. The rule is often forgotten when they learn the language. After a few interactions, it becomes clear that names are to be spoken without that translation and they adjust accordingly.       That's not the only weird thing about the language either. It has some serious gaps.   The eden have texts dating back before humanity even evolved. The oldest texts are easily deciphered. If you could speak to the first few generations of eden, you'd understand everything said regardless of their class, ethnicity, or planet of origin. The eden are hundreds of thousands of years old, at least. They might even be millions of years old, or even older. Yet they only have one language, and that language is static.     In any language, you have cultural drift, slang terms, dialects, and other signifiers of age. The eden language doesn't. This is the most frustrating fact of their language for me as a linguist. It's as if the language just appeared out of nowhere, fully formed. It then went unchanged for untold eons.   They are so old most of their history is gone. History became legend, then faded to myth. Despite all of this, there are zero differences between the oldest known states of their language and now. We've asked about this and they seem just as surprised as we are.