Language in the Twelve Colonies

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So, what links lead here?

There are too many to bother wasting our time listing. So here's a list of pages that link here. English, or some language that is universally translated into it (à la Tolkien) is standard. Loanwords from foreign languages ("fascist", "karma", "esprit de corps" etc.) occur with normal frequency, as do chronologically enigmatic borrowings such as the battlestar Columbia. Most religious terms are explicitly shared with ancient greek beliefs (either antecedent to or descendent from them).

Vocabulary

Anachronisms

Battlestar Galactica uses many terms from modern day naval aviation, which appear somewhat anachronistic but also lend the show a flavor of realistic jargon. These include:

• Combat Air Patrol
• Commander Air Group
• Planes

Adama: You keep my planes flying. I need my planes to fly. (Litmus)

Ersatz

In contrast to its predecessor, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica employs relatively little in the way of ersatz vocabulary. It does employ a few terms outside of a normal american english vocabulary, mostly military jargon. These are mixed in haphazardly with the real-life naval aviation terms above.

• Constellation - Charlie (As used in the sense of radio alphabetic code, e.g.: "Alpha, Bravo, Constellation".)
• Dradis - Radar
• Fumarella leaf - Tobacco
• Frak - A bowdlerized version of "Fuck" (c.f. "Frell" (Farscape), "Frag" (Babylon 5), "Smeg" (Red Dwarf))
• G-4 - C-4
• Krypter - Mayday
• Morpha - Morphine
• Serisone - Prednisone
• Wireless - RadioTemplate:Ref

Invented Terminology

As all science fiction shows must, Battlestar Galactica has a set of vocabulary referring to technologies and other items not shared with the real world.

• Ambrosia - a bright green alcoholic beverageTemplate:Ref
• Carom - the angle above or below the XY plane of a vessel, perpendicular to bearing (c.f. "Mark" (Star Trek))
• Chamalla - an entheogen used by priests
• Red Line

Enigmas

Language in Battlestar Galactica have terms whose origins are a curiosity due to chronology or uniqueness to the real-world Earth that likely wouldn't have a parallel of the same name in the Twelve Colonies. See an interpretation of the origin of humanity on Kobol that could support the derivation of these terms.

• Columbia: This battlestar name's origin is strange since its popular Earth derivation comes from Christopher Columbus, a man unlikely to have existed in the Twelve Colonies.

Honorifics

Although civilians use the honorific "Madam" or it's shortened form "ma'am", in the Colonial military all superior officers are referred to as "Sir", regardless of gender. According to RDM's blog on January 20th, 2006, the series follows the system established in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", where the term "sir" has become gender-neutral in military usage. Thus, Laura Roslin is refered to as "Madam President" or "ma'am" in a civilian context, but in her capacity as Commander-in-Chief, she is always addressed as "sir".

Accents

Most characters speak with a Standard American accent, with some exceptions.

English Accent

Two characters speak with the Received Pronunciation, Dr. Gaius Baltar of Caprica and ship's medic Layne Ishay. Other characters from Caprica do not share this accent.

Canadian Accent

Occassionally when Col. Saul Tigh is shouting or barking out orders, he exhibits a faint canadian accent. Michael Hogan is a noted Canadian actor, and on the show his speech is usually indistinguishable from Standard American English, but observant fans can occassionally detect a trace of an accent.

Spanish Accent

Giana, a woman rescued from Caprica by Sharon Valerii, spoke with a Spanish accent, and inquired after the whereabouts of her husband, who she stated was "stationed on Gemenon". Her place of origin is unclear, but no other characters from either Caprica, Gemenon, or anywhere else have shared this accent. The actress, Lymari Nadal, is from Puerto Rico.

Aerelon Accent

In the episode "Flesh and Bone", Baltar noted that Sharon Valerii spoke with a trace of an Aerelon accent. The actress who portrays her, Grace Park, is fluent in both English and Korean, but speaks Standard American English without a foreign accent.

Kiwi Accent

The reporter D'anna Biers speaks with a Kiwi/New Zealand accent (this is actually the accent that actress Lucy Lawless speaks with when off screen, because she is from New Zealand). However, the same episode revealed that D'anna is actually a Cylon agent, and another copy of D'anna on Cylon-occupied Caprica does not speak with this accent, but a Standard American one. This seems to imply that D'anna's entire personality was for show, and that the Cylons seem to use more standardized pronunciation when amongst themselves (Final Cut; this subtle hint made by not using her Kiwi accent is also mentioned in David Eick's video blog). However, in her subsequent appearance in "Downloaded", D'anna/Number Three continues to speak with a Kiwi accent on Caprica (probably because Lawless wanted to keep using her normal Kiwi accent, after her character was turned into a recurring role).

Liturgy

During the funeral service at the end of the Mini-series, Priest Elosha chants a prayer in a foreign language. It is recognizable as a common Sanskrit prayer, found in Part I, Chapter III, Verse 28 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Devanāgarī	Transliteration	Translation
अस्तो मा सद् गमय	ásato ma sád gamaya	Lead me from unreal to Real
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय	támaso ma jyótir gamaya	Lead me from darkness to Light
मृत्योन् मा अमृतं गमय्	mrtyór mamrtam gamaya	Lead me from death to Immortality

Although the lyrics are identifiable, it should be noted that the actress's performance is closer to the chanting of biblical Hebrew, and does not resemble the traditional melody.

Footnotes

1. Template:Note This usage is not entirely unknown in Earth-bound English. As a synonym for radio or radiotelegraphy, it's more common in Britsh usage Merriam-Webster. It's also the source of the prefix 'Wi' in 'WiFi' and other similar wireless data standards now common.
2. Template:Note According to Merriam-Webster, ambrosia derives from the Greek word ambrotos, meaning "immortal"; the English meaning most akin to the Colonial one would be the food and drink of the Olympian gods.