Notes on pronounciation: X is a velar fricative, pronounced like k but allowing air to flow past, like f or s. Africates start as the stop and then soften into the fricative. A ' between vowels is a glottal stop, a sort of blockage of air in the throat, like in "uh-oh". Overall, it's all pronounced more or less as you'd expect, except for the clicks, which are basically done by having the accompaniment come right after the click. Letters with ` are low tone.
If you're Terpish...
- You have an extreme amount of both freedom and equality, at least by today's standards, but unless you live near the border and see capitalism and government in action, you probably take it for granted that there are no social classes.
- There's a good chance you're atheist as you probably feel organized religion is a tool for oppression. On the other hand, there's a good chance you find the idea that we are just the result of physics, operating at the whim of scientific laws to be quite demoralizing and given that you've heard many stories about ghosts, sfumèk|ià, and honest politicians, it doesn't quite satisfy you so you may practice some religion.
- There are no fast food restarauts. You probably think of them as some sort of capitalist gimmick in conjunction with weightloss products and a media that continues to convince people that ultrathin women are attractive.
- Gk|x'imàkxo, biscuit-like pieces of bread, are the main component of your diet. They can have jelly, butter, honey, and many other things, even gravy, spread on them.
- You almost always have free time. You do work often, though, as the community needs it and laziness will kill any chance of going on a date. Besides, work is often a chance to try to grow the perfect tomato or express yourself.
- Folklore and urban legends are common, though ancient recordings of the adventures of Luk, Xan, and Lea or other characters are popular. If that doesn't interest you, there are plenty of recently written stories that you can watch on a sort of holographic theater. Books are considered a bit oldfashioned, but they certainly exist as well.
- You don't like sports a whole lot. Proffesional sports are non-existant.
- You not only think the world would be a better place if everyone put aside their prejudices and worked together, you live that way on a daily basis.
You can't make me work!
- There are no social classes and few rôles in the community. You do have somethings expected of you, though, such as making a contribution and sharing what you don't need, but both ultimately benefit you, anyway, so it isn't a big deal.
- You find the lack of government natural. You think governments are inherently cruel and condescending and are both amazed and a bit scared by the fact that people outside Terra Pvlchra are so willing to accept government.
- You don't consider insects, dogs, or cats to be food. You probably support animal rights, though not in the Peta sence, meaning that you may feel farm animals to be exploited and that it is actually better and more fair to hunt.
- The community is probably modular and you live in a bubble-like structure that has a door facing toward the center. Your bubble-like home is divided into several rooms. The division of the rooms probably influences your choice of where you live in the community, unless you are willing to tear out the walls and rebuild them, or more daringly, make your own house.
- You get food and the use of phones with real time cameras free. You see it a reward for doing your part to keep the community going.
- You probably have a resident bum (maybe even more than one) who no one likes, but still gets by until the community gets fed up with him. This bum apparently doesn't care that he/she doesn't have any friends or even has much fun, but some people just won't work. You try hard not to end up like him/her.
- Although you don't like having to clean the sewers or other unpleasant work, it's a responsibility distributed more or less evenly throughout the community. Many places use some sort of underground septic tank-like device that requires little maintainance.
- You don't expect to hear capitalism seriously defended. Only people who see themselves as superhuman and want more power than they deserve support any form of it. They sometimes join together and try to take control, but have only succeeded once, in 2467, resulting in the formation of a short lived anarcho-capitalist city. Most of the workers fled, though, and the city had nothing to sustain it. At least you know capitalism works, but you don't think it works well. You take great pride in Terra Pvlchra's egalitarian society.
- You probably didn't go to school. The people who raised you, who include, but aren't limited to your parents, taught you how to read and write, basic mathematics, science, and history. Specific things like constructing buildings, growing crops, designing starships, etc. are learned later in life when you feel when and if you need to learn them. Some communities have schools, but they are voluntary, of course, and are more like libraries than American schools.
- You think a tax rate at all is scandalously high. Excess goods are held in common, but this is voluntary, rather than compulsory. You don't have to share if you are willing to live with the stigma, but you feel that what benefits the community benefits you.
- You can count on good medical care. Charging something for medicine is seen as barbaric and very immoral. The respect gained from saving lives should be enough.
Everyone knows that
- The early Terps were mean fascists who oppressed non-Terps, a fact that you are not proud of.
- There have been major wars over the years, but Terra Pvlchra always tries to stay out of them. You hope that one day, everyone will be free, but you don't think that day is anytime soon.
- Marriage in 20th century sense doesn't exist. Many people look back on it as too legal and at least somewhat patriarchal. Still, most people prefer that their boyfriends or girlfriends don't have other boyfriends or girlfriends.
- If a man has sex with another man, no one cares. Afterall, if that's what suits you, there is no good reason to do it otherwise.
- The writing system used to write N!à is 750 years out of date and most people think it should be changed. The problem is that no one can really agree on how to fix it.
- Anarcho-communism is the greatest thing ever. People once thought representative democracy was, but they obviously never lived in Terra Pvlchra.
- You should never go outside of Terra Pvlchra. A capitalist will force you into wage slavery within minutes, if you're lucky.
- You probably speak only N!à. Few people learn English as there is no use. It's not a good idea to leave Terra Pvlchra, afterall. N!à is, of course, the hardest language in existence, anyway, like Kûtêlk‡u, only better sounding. Why would you want to learn another language?
- The month goes first, then the day and finally the year. This applies in all cases: 11-19-2045 is November 19, 2045.(You know what happened on that date.)
- If you're a woman, of course you can go topless. In fact, you don't have to wear clothes at all. This is a very libertarian culture, afterall.
- Race isn't an issue. Most people have ancestry of more than one race and many people aren't even aware of the concept.
Atkins is controlling their minds!
- If a politician politician cheats on his girlfriend, you panic. There isn't supposed to be a government.
- The biggest meal of the day is usually dinner, or in some communities, lunch.
- You most likely prefer women with small waists and really big butts, wide hips, and thick thighs. Many people sincerely believe that the American standard of beauty is at least partly influenced by the capitalists to create lucrative weightloss and supermodel industries. On the other hand, you've heard claims from historians that millenia ago, obesity was considered attractive and that doesn't make sense, either.
- You probably don't farm but you may know someone who does. Many places have a field that is farmed, but some communities have very big fields and produce much of the food.
- If someone does something wrong, the community holds a meeting on how to handle the situation. A police force isn't needed.
- You see America as an oppressive, almost fascist country where capitalism and the government compete for people to exploit. If you live on the boarder, you often worry about what would happen if the Americans were to invade.
- You don't need your own vehicle. If there is somewhere to go, you can borrow one from the community, but you need to show them that you know how to use it.
- You measure things in meters and grams. Afterall, even the Americans have gotten the idea after 750 years.
- On rare occasions, someone may risk their lives to help the poor in America and/or teach people about anarchism.
- Despite what many non-Terps might think, you actually enjoy a great deal of individuality. Your place in life is not determined by chance and your job is not usually controlled by economics. If there are no farmers and 50 chefs where you live, then your community simply gives food to other communities in exchange for crops. You feel your culture actually protects individuality rather than hindering it and wonder how it can exist in places where people's lives are regulated by government and economic inequality.
- The police are non-existent, of course. There is quite simply no good reason to commit crime and plenty of good reasons not to, so crime is rather rare.
N||è'soxi the bum and Tfok!o of Ts'àfmig
- Changing your name is simple. You just ask others to call you your new name. There isn't much paperwork involved and indeed, paperwork is relatively rare in Terra Pvlchra.
- You only have a first name that if you're over 15 years old, you chose yourself. The idea of a surname is rather odd to you. If two people share a name, the name of the community or their job is added.
- You can't name any of the leaders of any countries. You think of them all as oppressive dictators and swindlers and that is all you need to know about them. You don't really understand the point of a capital, anyway.
- The holidays celebrated vary widely, but most people celebrate the official end of the Terpish government on May 22 or some day near that.
- Few people celebrate Christmas anymore, of course, and everyone who've heard of Santa Claus thinks of him as some sort of imaginary fascist that could never have been popular, even if America is as bad as they fear.
- Although you want government and capitalism to end, you don't think fighting for the oppressed is a good idea. You feel that you should fight along side them.
- People rarely enter Terra Pvlchra as most people in other countries are afraid to be anarchist, at least openly. Some people worry that they will end up rather inbred.
- You don't really see Terra Pvlchra as a country, so much as an alliance, but are patriotic, anyway.
- You think money is a stupid idea that reduces life to how many pieces of metal you have in your pocket. You can't see why people would continue to seek it when the quest for money is largely how capitalists exploit the lower class.
- You don't consider poor people and the middle class to be separate classes. To you, the world is divided into places with 2 social classes and places, or a place, with none.
