#ghhhhhh

Much like on earth, regional language barriers still exist, only now it’s both within one species and between the different sophonts (you may know the Prectikar equivalent to English, but do you know their Greek? Etc) they all brought a lot of different languages and cultures with them before the crash and they’re still clashing and mixing to this day.

because of the physical difficulties in speaking each others languages the way they’re meant to be spoken (some don’t have lips) there are a few bridge languages purposefully designed to be easy to speak between sophonts. Most of them are sign (which still has its own problems because not everyone has the same number of fingers that can be moved in the same ways), but there’s also vocal bridges that are made of a mishmash of compatible sounds (the most common of which is called prime, taught in DRSS schools alongside whatever the dominant language in that state is.) Many people don’t learn other languages beyond what is necessary because of time and effort, and also the low likelihood of meeting a xeno who doesn’t already speak a bridge of some kind/ the expectation that a xeno you meet will *have* to know prime or something (kind of like Americans with English )

There’s also cybernetic translators/voice makers that can help, but based on price they can be rudimentary and usually limited to one or two languages because of the time it takes to sample and synthesize a whole alien language. These are most common among humans and Cerest !

Here’s some more individualized info based on the image:

Humans are by far the most likely to trip on a xenos cultural nuances because we literally just met these guys whereas they have been aware of each other/each other’s culture norms for much longer. Fortunately, humans are also a global superpower and so anyone in the DRSS and beyond kind of has to get with the program and act a bit more human if they want to be in our good graces. So for every human out there who’ll take the time to learn another xenos language and norms and try to meet in the middle, there’s three more who’ll just walk up, smiling, and put a phone in your face with a text-to-speech app open and a butchered version of a language you don’t even speak coming out the speaker. We also have the problem of treating all of them as if they’re the same when it comes to different xeno cultures

, since most info on them we know comes from sometimes not even the majority of their population but whatever group the Cerest interacted with first/the most.

Despite having the technological might, Rossetians put their culture and values in learning first. Thus, reliance on ai translators and the like is frowned upon (if they’re going to be communicating in a xeno language raw, then it’s going to be with sign, a manual noise maker or keyboard rather than an implant or phone). Thanks to their public politeness and avoidance of making a scene, they aren’t likely to vocally rebuke any slights in public, but may still show disdain and you *will* be added to a list of undesirables later. Most of their cultures follow their westerners lead in terms of clothing and social norms, so meeting a Rossetian who’s more aligned to say the East and treating them like a westerner can cause problems (ex. The west is fine with the human handshake, which is an analog for their own on version of a hand/tongue touch as greeting. The East doesn’t do this, and bringing your appendage that close to the hand of someone you just met is like proposing to a stranger since they associate hands/arms with marriage bonds. Just go with the tail touch oh wait you don’t have a tail). They’re also likely to see you as an alien first, person second, and are thus prone to weird probing questions and pushing of boundaries.

Kixeli can be overwhelming if you aren’t ready. They have the stereotype of being air-headed, super nice/friendly, positive and upbeat, and almost childlike, something that’s not helped by their high voices, permanent ‘smile’ on their face, or the way their cues just aren’t easy to read to the other xenos/the way they exaggerate their tone or movement to be more readable (most of their natural facial expressions are with the fin and tongue, something most other species have no precedent for how to interpret), Culturally they have a focus on community and the strong bonds within it, and though they are quick to anthropomorphize and see others as Kixeli ‘comrade’ , making a deeper connection with them takes more than most people realize. They can still be insular in their own way, and even if they’re being “overly” talkative, touchy, and friendly to a stranger in our eyes, they can definitely still see you as a stranger.

Thanks to historic exploitation and dehumanization (deprectikarization?) by other xenos, Prectikar have developed a culture around avoiding other cultures to protect their own. Tribe politics is an unknown landscape to most xenos, and often places will accidentally hire people from groups that hate each other and not even know until they start brawling outside the building. This can even be true between other Prectikar who, conversely, don’t have that strong of ties to a tribe/thier own culture because of xeno influence and therefore have difficulty interacting with their own kind (this is present in all xenos but most prevalent and obvious with them) Physically, they can have some trouble pronouncing words thanks to having no teeth or tongue in their main vocal cavity (the sounds produced by their throat’s air sac are usually inaudible and very limited) which feeds into the idea that they’re the big dumb guys, while their universally deep voices, minimal/ easy to misinterpret facial expressions, and size/strength make it easy for other xenos to see them as older than their years, unfeeling, and “perfectly fit” for prolonged hard labor. Humans tend to see them as the big scary ones and avoid them in turn, and usually associate them with heavy laborers or military if they think about them at all. Cerest and Rossetians have a history of dismissing or bastardizing their culture because they’re a ‘lower’ species alongside the Kixeli. Kixeli view them as hard to reach but not impossible to befriend, something that Prectikar also mirror towards them, thanks to their shared position as the lowest class of xeno in the old and new Empire (but they can still hold those stereotypes about each other)

Cerest, unsurprisingly, are the hardest to socialize with. Humans have a lot of poor associations with them thanks to the war and also a lot of misinformation is spread about them and taken as fact (example, a lot of humans actually think that Cerest can speak almost telepathically and have a hive mind, because bugs, where they actually just communicate in non-vocal ways most of the time and have a pseudo eusocial structure. Fun fact, the ‘telepathic speech’ ability actually belongs to muttreazik, who use their worm brain to emit high frequency waves and beam them directly into each others head as ‘words’. ) Everything we know for sure about them that is uncomfortable to us is blown out of proportion, such as their child rearing standards. Yeah they have less taboo around culling their eggs and higher infant aggression than any other species, but this doesn’t mean that separating Cerest children from their unit isn’t traumatic and it doesn’t mean that they hate their own (like the government would like you to believe so that their internment camp-I mean enclave practices don’t look as bad). The only reason Cerest can make noises is a side effect of them developing lungs. It helped them communicate longer distances and emit distress calls, but is largely hard to control for them and not used that much in any of their languages. Without extensive voice training or a translator, they sound like they’re buzzing at you, which can make talking to them difficult if you only know a vocal bridge. Cerest are such a minority in the DRSS, with most units living in designated and monitored Enclaves, that no one really has the best idea of how to interact with them. When they do, you’re usually hit over the head with how cold, disdainful, and lofty they can be thanks to their cultural conditioning to see other xenos as non-people. You’re pushing them away simply by being another species. But, even if the Cerest you’re speaking to doesn’t share those ideas, literally everyone characterizes them as unfeeling robotic hateful and callous , pretty much dehumanizing them right back (deceresting???????) and pushing them away from your side. It’s a lose lose situation all the time for everyone involved.

Just now realizing that I didn’t include muttreazik. Uhhhh. Based on their resemblance to their host they either follow these rules/have the same problems or get extra problems from looking so different.