The LIR Common Tongue

Note: when reading the phonology etc, just the sounds are shown. The symbols are too whacky for us mere humans.

Fast version: Toppers and Claws didn't like one another and had a perpetual war. Toppers wanted peace because economics and sent emissaries who got rekked. Claws captured Toppers and learned their language so that they could insult them better and know their plans in the war. A peace was agreed that led to a 100 year cold war. Goners try to conquer both the Toppers and Claws and get rekked by those arsenals they've been competitively building for 100+ years. Toppers and Claws form early LIR and, for practicality in combating the Goners, a common language using sounds they can both make. Electronic devices are used by other species so they can speak this language, although it has still evolved over time due to the way words are used.

Toppers and Claws had a history of not getting along. Their hatred of one another was an instinct meant to motivate each to remove the competition the other brought by merely existing. Out of 13 intelligent species that existed in the Topper's Ring of Worlds (unfair naming but that which controls the bureaucracy, has more numbers, has several other species worshiping it, multiple Illuminati-like organizations that work and compete with one another among its upper classes and a complete mastery most aspects of government controls the names), the Toppers and Claws were the only remaining after they all kept genociding one another. Toppers survived because they were more cunning, better at teamwork and numerous. Claws were still quite intelligent, although most were lacking in tactical thinking and struggling with teamwork as instincts regarding dominance were still very strongly ingrained within them, and extremely strong.

Despite that, simple practicality was in favour of them not ripping one another to shreds, despite each having their own federations of nations that had become increasingly tight over time that were founded on exactly that, once each started to have fairly advanced technology. Essentially, it was like the prisoner's dilemma but if it changed after several rounds to both jailing one another got each 50 years, one being jailed by the other 80 years, and both not being snitches 0 years.

The Toppers, who had more advanced technology (Victorian) but knew the Claws (Commonwealth Period. Basically means you wouldn't be able to tell at first glance but closer inspection shows huge differences) were both catching up fast and still dangerous enough despite their weapons not being as advanced, were the first to make the moves towards this. The weapons being made in this period used an equivalent to gunpowder that released many toxic gases and, if war continued, many planets could've been left uninhabitable. There had already been attempts by adventurers from both sides to learn more about the other, although most had been killed and so rumours were where most got their false knowledge about the other from... this is probably why both were surprised to learn that neither side consisted of cannibals.

The first emissaries from the Toppers were all killed and the Claws thought these were outcasts being sent to die. However, General Kloruman, who was acting as regent because the Emperor of his nation was ill, also had language related ideas. Specifically, he wanted to know the Topper tongue so that they could understand the insults he yelled in battle and so he could gain information on their future actions to further the aims of the Perpetual Topper-Claw War. For this reason, he kept a few alive for the sake of trying to learn their language, as well as to occasionally torture them for his pleasure.

He learned the Topper words for quite a few things and wrote them down so that other Claw generals in the Claw Federation could know what Toppers were on about. Many Claws questioned his actions, simply due to their fanatical hatred for the leading cause of Claw deaths. Later on, he and a team dedicated to this would capture Toppers from battlefields so that they could learn and compile the language faster.

Yes, that's right. The Claws beat the Toppers to something. Learning the other's language, with which comes the fun fact that the Topper Federation enforced a common language within itself for ease of management, trade and other muckery. Also the Claws suddenly had a huge advantage over the Toppers in the form of knowing what was being said when they intercepted Topper primitive radio transmissions.

Toppers couldn't understand how Claw hordes would always be striking where they were weakest for some time, and doubly doubled their efforts to pursue peace. Knowing the Topper language, some Claws were able to understand the Topper emissaries when they said "yo we don't wanna fight the chemicals we're using are gonna kill all the ZAWARUDOS".

Eventually, Claws and Toppers met to discuss peace conditions. It was a complex and messy issue, with the war between both races continuing in the background. Killing of the other was ingrained into the culture of each of the cousin races, with many religions within both species having messed up origin stories for where one race or the other came from.

After 7 years of learning one another's languages, including fringe languages within each species, for their main languages were just the ones easiest or most beneficial to learn for all members of the species or had special cultural value (like how large numbers of people not born in or native to English-speaking countries can speak English, or how Latin was every other noble's second language despite almost nobody, even the Italians where the language originated (Vulgar Latin doesn't count), knowing it as their first) rather than actually being universal, and actual negotiations and compromises, a conclusion was reached.

All territories would be given to whoever owned them at the beginning of the talks, making there some big winners and even bigger losers (especially among Claws, who had far more rulers over smaller bits of territory each) in terms of those regaining lost territory and losing territory they'd expended all their resources to acquire. It was agreed that Toppers and Claws would be able to buy territory off of one another with resources, as no common currency was agreed between the two.

About a century of Cold War, complete with massive leaps in technology, later and the Goners showed up, both confused and delighted by the ring of planets full of new slaves for them to conquer.

Except they didn't... conquer them, that is. The Claws and Toppers, having been competitively building up vast arsenals and populations for a century, were able to push the Goner forces out and decided to remain allies afterwards due to the continuation of the Goner threat. During this war, the LIR Common Tongue was made using sounds that both species were capable of saying.

Over time, it would be modified. Initially, a species would not get to influence the LIR Common Tongue, relying on electronic translation devices in their ears and next to their mouths to know what everyone else was saying at work and to make themselves heard as well. Despite this, however, more influential species and cultures within species that spoke this same language through the devices in different ways, some doing so like poetry and others gruff and crude, would find themselves influencing the way that others spoke too. The Toppers were, to say the least, disheartened with how the Claws ended up having more of an influence than them due to Toppers being more prone to isolating themselves from other species... that's what you get for thinking you're better than everyone you stupid but also extremely clever Toppers (top lads in the LIR).

Writing System

Their symbols consist largely of straight vertical lines that have other, smaller lines passing through them or sticking out of different sides and angles. This has caused the language to also have the letters I, V (the line is at a steep angle. Actually 2 letters depending on which is verticle), L, T, F, P (but 2 straight lines that meet), E, backwards E, L, P and F, upside down T, F, L, V and P. This was largely because of the lines being scratched onto rocks by Claws and Toppers during the first LIR-Goner War as a means of saving on ink and paper, which were made far less as the chemicals used in them could be better used in explosives.

Geographical Distribution

Everywhere the LIR itself actually controls rather than is just controlled by one of its puppets.

Dictionary

4 Words.

Common Phrases

FLOT WASCHFER SCHA

Common Unisex Names

Names aren't used with this language, although descriptive/comparative nicknames are common. Usually, the nickname will be extremely insulting if the individual is a member of a species that isn't very good at fighting, or will be neutral if they're utterly terrifying. Alternatively, some make others just call them by the meaning of their name in their language, so Bulls get bullied even more over being called "floppy ears" and "little cutie".

Examples include: relatively harmless Tartles being nicknamed "dessert" and "target practice" while Sagwalli are able to threaten everyone into calling them things like "Never Misses" and "Scary One".

Fun fact: most in the LIR are racist against every race that isn't their race.