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Translated and transliterated copies of SCP-1220 are permitted for perusal at any time, as the transcribed copies have been found to be safe.
Due to the sensitive nature of the data stored on SCP-1220, it may not be digitized without permission from three (3) personnel ranking level four (4) or higher. If it is to be digitized, the data is to be stored on a computer with no or disabled network capacity, to prevent unauthorized access to SCP-1220.
Something here just doesn't quite add up…
Oh dear.
Since 1220 contains components that don't map to the latin alphabet, a transcribed version is deemed safe enough for general study. A digitized audio copy allows other people to hear the language without access to the tapes, which can become a problem.
Changing the containment protocols to reflect this. Sorry, I was insufficiently clear.
No, I understood that, but the tapes are on lock-down because of the information they hold, but anyone who wants to can just pick up a copy of the tapes and listen to them?
Transliterated, implying written down. Anyway, I fixed the vague wording. It should be clear now the intent.
I got that, but it's still the information that they want to keep secret…
Fair point. Though I'm not sure if I should just cut the translated paragraph
Translated and transliterated copies of SCP-1220 are permitted for perusal by any staff member associated with the project, as incompatibilities with the Latin alphabet prevent readers from reproducing the spoken language through the transcribed copies.
Remove that.
*Thank you, +1*
So I guess this language got cursed and basically killed off everyone in this civilization except one lady? That's what I'm getting out of this.
I was thinking it was a matter of accent, but I like your answer too
A language which is entirely normal if pronounced with exactly the right accent, but which otherwise causes bad and weird stuff to happen? So, if there had been a godlike being who gave a group of sapient aliens a language, and said that not only was the language sacred, but the accent was sacred, and anyone who developed a different accent would be cursed, so the civilization kept the exact same accent for thousands of years. Then, for the lulz, one of these aliens decides to disguise itself as a human and give an example of the language to a human.
Am I even close?
This reminds me of the Dragonspeak from the Earthsea novels. I like it.
+1
Also vaguely reminiscent of (although thankfully not identical to) the Wizard's Speech in Diane Duane's "Young Wizard" novels. That language was designed to describe the universe and everything in it as completely and precisely as possible - to the extent that if you get a word wrong, you change the thing it describes to match (it's vitally important for every wizard to know exactly how his/her/its name is spelled and pronounced in the Speech).
In this case, if you get the sound wrong, it starts to make the word manifest in the world…
It does not appear to belong to any known language family, and though it was encountered and recorded in ████████, it does not appear to have any connection with any nearby language.
The word repetition looks clumsy and there's a smattering of small grammatical errors in there ("an tonal language") etc. You need to proofread this a bit more. No vote yet.
Also, formatting the test log for legibility would be a good thing.
I'm guessing that since the native speaker can say anything she wants in this language (and seemingly not cause any anomalous effects) that the lack of control and the "corruption" of these effects is because non-native speakers can't quite pronounce the words correctly?
Really really neat concept, I dig this.
Test log for Dr. ███████, 4/27/████
Test Subjects: Dr. █████████, D-426/1220
Native Language: English, American derivation
Word Spoken: Morpheme ███ compounded by Morphemes ██ and ███ "Unrelenting Force"
Result: Anomalous zone briefly formed, with a radius of 2m. Everything within the zone was blasted away from subject with an estimated force of ███ N. D-426/1220 experienced a force greater than █.█ kN, rendering him unconscious upon impact with the wall 5m behind him. It should be noted that the anomalous zone was not centered on the subject as in previous tests; rather, it formed 1.1m in front, based on the direction subject is facing.
Oh man. I had been wanting to do an SCP language but couldn't come up with a decent effect for it. Thank you for making this work and work well. :D
I do have to wonder why the woman's story didn't make the flood and so forth happen while she was telling it.
Okay, I really like the concept of this, and the first part, the Rosetta Stone, quite a bit. But I don't like how malicious it becomes. If an SCP is out to get you, there should always be some reason for it. And something specifically designed to be useful, like a language, should probably not kill whoever tries to use it.
Also, how would the anomalous effect be produced for a complete sentence, with more complicated meaning? If I say something philosophical or not relating to reality in this language, how could it kill me?
I wrote this one with the thought that speaking it would be dangerous to someone who doesn't know what they're doing, but it's no more malicious than a lump of plutonium. Just a heck of a lot more dangerous.
And as for how it would kill you…I'm not sure, what would you be saying?
And as for how it would kill you…I'm not sure, what would you be saying?
"How are you doing today?" Pretty hard to spin that into something fatal, except maybe through "today" aging you to death or time-looping you. But that's kind of silly.
but it's no more malicious than a lump of plutonium. Just a heck of a lot more dangerous.
You say "rain". This is not a very easily misinterpretable word. The effect starts out pleasant, in fact. And then, for inexplicable reasons, it turns into pure acid. That's not just "You shouldn't have eaten the plutonium", that's "The plutonium is trying to murder you". If the way it went bad were more related to the word, then it would be okay. But the only possible explanation for this is outright malice.
"How are you doing today?" Pretty hard to spin that into something fatal, except maybe through "today" aging you to death or time-looping you. But that's kind of silly.
Test log for Dr. ███████, 2/31/████
Test Subjects:D-555/1220
Native Language: English, American derivation
Word Spoken: "How are you doing today(inquisitive conjugation)" [See attached list for included morphemes
Result: No anomalous zone produced by vocalization. Subject reported a sensation of 'being watched', that continued for many minutes. As with D-425, subject reported smelling burning tires. Five minutes after initial vocalization, subject experienced an auditory hallucination, perceiving a voice directly to his left. Subject was unable to reproduce the sound, and the anomaly ended shortly thereafter.
You say "rain". This is not a very easily misinterpretable word. The effect starts out pleasant, in fact. And then, for inexplicable reasons, it turns into pure acid. That's not just "You shouldn't have eaten the plutonium", that's "The plutonium is trying to murder you". If the way it went bad were more related to the word, then it would be okay. But the only possible explanation for this is outright malice.
That assumes that the rain that a barely understood, reality bending language of which only five words have ever been uttered in a laboratory setting is anything like the rain that falls on you on a pleasant spring day. The hope was to create a magical language that was 'off'
Okay, sure. So at least you aren't having every vocalization kill you horribly. Just every noun.
The rain starts that way. So does the clay. They both start nice, and then become fatal. I mean, sure, it's possible that this is just that they understand this really, really, really poorly, but that, at least for me, strains suspension of disbelief. It's just too deadly for it to be accidental.
