Xaîni Psychology and xathmel
Xathmel is a non-human language. Alien races may communicate in ways profoundly different to any used by, or even comprehensible to, humans; it is at least arguable that if a non-human species had a deep grammar that differed from the human, as one would expect, their means of communication might not be perceivable by us as language, or might not be capable of translation into human terms. On the other hand, the laws of physics are, as far as we know, constant throughout space, and an alien whose apparatus of perception was not radically different from the human ought therefore to be capable of making a statement about physical reality that could be translated into human terms, even if matters of psychology or emotion posed insuperable problems.
In the case of xathmel, this more conservative hypothesis appears to be valid. The structures of the language itself are not wildly dissimilar to those of human languages, and statements about external objects can be translated simply and unambiguously. However, there are radical differences of psychology between Xaîni and humans which are to some extent masked by the apparent similarities, and as soon as one comes to matters of motive, interpretation, or feeling, they begin to cause real difficulties.
Xaîni are not, in essence, social animals. They are formidably intelligent, and realise that the construction and maintenance of a civilisation requires co-operation and close proximity to others, but they find this difficult. To minimise the problems of social interaction, the society is elaborately structured, and the language contains constant reminders of this structure, and of the roles that may be adopted within it. Note that the vocatives, and in tixathmel, the personal pronouns and verbs, contain constant reminders of which caste is speaking to which. Xaîni castes are not fixed or hereditary; rather they represent a set of aptitudes and psychological attitudes which best fit a given individual. If one knows the caste of another, one has a general idea of their behaviour in a given situation. It is probably no accident that the language conjugates its verbs by distance: Xaîni like a lot of space, and like to know just who is near enough to be a potential threat. Furthermore the use of ritual courtesies is very highly developed, in an attempt to make social interaction as smooth as possible.
The social unit in Xaîni society is the 'azeran. This is a group of between two and about seventy individuals or bonded pairs and offspring. The 'azeran is held together by a sort of empathy called waabo which may be at least partly pheromonal. Persons seeking to join or create 'azeranna always have close psychological matches and similar interests or aptitudes. Once fully grown, the offspring customarily go wandering to see the world (the farrond, or journey of experience) after which they may ask to be re-admitted to the parental 'azeran, or may choose to seek another. Again, notice that the language distinguishes between 'azeran members and others: presumably one would allow someone in waabo much closer than someone who was not.
A much stronger empathic bond ('ajmat) exists between bonded pairs. Xaîni are not sexual for much of the year; the female undergoes an oestrus cycle, and during her fertility produces pheromones which cause the male to enter the sexual state. A relative unconcern about gender in the language probably reflects this. Mating can only take place, however, between a pair in 'ajmat. Once formed this bond is for life, and so potent is it that it is not rare for one member of a bonded pair to die following the death of a mate. Xaîni claim that once in 'ajmat they have a subtle and continual awareness of their mate's emotional state, even when separated by considerable distances. This closeness is reflected by the fact that members of a bond pair may use the central verb forms to describe one anothers' actions - the other has become truly 'I'. The nature of Xaîni relationships thus precludes casual sex, adultery, homosexuality, or divorce.
The desire to defend the offspring is another psychological fundamental. It is always dangerous for a stranger to be in the presence of another's immature offspring, because the slightest perceived threat would cause the entire 'azeran to attack in a state of berserker rage (xrrukh, the so-called 'anger-madness'). In their turn, children have to learn the enormous complexities of a very ancient culture, in order to know how to do what is expected of them and safely play their role in society. For these reasons, children are essentially segregated from the wider world until maturity. Both sexes nurture and defend the children, but the females are perhaps fiercer. In Xaîni culture, female attributes include protectiveness, ferocity, and valour, while males are more traditionally seen as thoughtful, curious, and pragmatic. However, there is no difference in body size or strength between the sexes, nor in most cultures has there ever been any tradition of particular roles being only appropriate for one or other sex.