Vocabulary from an alternate universe
Speaking of TTU - I'd love a few minutes of help from all you wordsmiths out there. Especially if you're interested in magic, or in gender issues.
(1)
I've been massaging together a system of magical schools for the Tomorrowlands Universe: dividing up mages by their fundamental approaches to powering and controlling spells. I think it's a solid system: intuitive and well-balanced. However, I'm less satisfied with the school names -- they seem unwieldy, and not really evocative. Any suggestions?
The one advantage of the current names is that they are thematically coherent. I don't know if that's enough to redeem it. Even after a few weeks I struggle to sort the groups out in my head, and I don't want school sorting to require a cheat sheet.
(n.b. I am totally a Volitionist.)
(2)
Every so often, I'll go through the TTU glossary and add words to the alternate-universe lexicon. It occured to me a few days ago that a world with shapeshifting would introduce a whole new level of complication to physical gender issues.
I need a word -- well, actually, we all need a word, for when the posthuman revolution arrives -- for:
(adj) Possessing multiple, distinct gender identities. (e.g., in TTU, a therianthrope whose human and theri forms are different sexes.)
There are a few nomenclature factors here. The ideal word would be (in no particular order): inclusive; accurate; clear; catchy; obviously distinct from words describing hermaphrodism or androgyny; nondescriptive of sexual preference; and nonjudgmental. Bonus points if it does not start with either L, G, B or T, so that it can be inserted into that (increasingly unwieldy) acronym unambiguously.
Also, what would some of the casual terms and/or pejoratives for such a word be? (e.g., the equivalent of "gay"/"faggot" for "homosexual")
In order to not prejudice your word-making centers, I've put my own brainstorm list in comments.
(1)
I've been massaging together a system of magical schools for the Tomorrowlands Universe: dividing up mages by their fundamental approaches to powering and controlling spells. I think it's a solid system: intuitive and well-balanced. However, I'm less satisfied with the school names -- they seem unwieldy, and not really evocative. Any suggestions?
The one advantage of the current names is that they are thematically coherent. I don't know if that's enough to redeem it. Even after a few weeks I struggle to sort the groups out in my head, and I don't want school sorting to require a cheat sheet.
(n.b. I am totally a Volitionist.)
(2)
Every so often, I'll go through the TTU glossary and add words to the alternate-universe lexicon. It occured to me a few days ago that a world with shapeshifting would introduce a whole new level of complication to physical gender issues.
I need a word -- well, actually, we all need a word, for when the posthuman revolution arrives -- for:
(adj) Possessing multiple, distinct gender identities. (e.g., in TTU, a therianthrope whose human and theri forms are different sexes.)
There are a few nomenclature factors here. The ideal word would be (in no particular order): inclusive; accurate; clear; catchy; obviously distinct from words describing hermaphrodism or androgyny; nondescriptive of sexual preference; and nonjudgmental. Bonus points if it does not start with either L, G, B or T, so that it can be inserted into that (increasingly unwieldy) acronym unambiguously.
Also, what would some of the casual terms and/or pejoratives for such a word be? (e.g., the equivalent of "gay"/"faggot" for "homosexual")
In order to not prejudice your word-making centers, I've put my own brainstorm list in comments.