#heterogeneous linguistics

[necronatural]

If you like Dungeon Meshi, why not try out Heterogeneous Linguistics?

It follows the student of a monster anthropologist tasked with learning about monster culture himself. In doing so he learns that every monster species has their own communication style and own way of overcoming their language barrier.

Like werewolves:

Slimes:

and Kraken!

Heterogeneous Linguistics covers all kinds of monsters, both humanoid and not.

Not only that, it explores the culture of the monster world, untouched by humans, where communities connected by the travelers between them have their own independent ways of living that he must learn as he travels deeper into the country.

An absolutely fascinating manga that I think takes Dungeon Meshi's "what if monsters were animals" and pushes it all the way to "what if monsters were people, even if they had nothing in common with humans".

All told alongside a little half-human half-werewolf girl, who, on account of being a child, perceives these differences as intuitive and can't explain a damn thing.

[lonk-water]

[elbiotipo]

OKAY Now I'm gonna tell you about the manga I read last night and I'm obsessed with:

It's called Heterogeneous Linguistics. It's about a human linguist who travels a fantasy world to learn about the language and culture of monsters, and they aren't your regular "girls with animal ears" monsters (well, the little girl is half-human, but that is very important for the story later), every single one has a different way of communicating based on their anatomy and mentality, with quirks based on biology, culture and ways of thinking. It has lovingly crafted worldbuilding, exceptionally smart writing, and cute moments. It challenges you constantly as you actually struggle to understand the world and the people who are shown to you with the main character, and it's always a pleasant, intriguing experience. There's also a very interesting backstory that slowly reveals itself between the relationship of "monsters" and humans. And the quirks of a linguistic manga translated from Japanese to other languages brings a whole meta layer to it.

It's so good it has permanently raised my bar on what I expect from worldbuilding from now onwards. Go check it out.

It's available in Mangadex in English, Spanish, and Italian.

If you are not convinced yet, here's a couple panels that had me rolling in the floor last night:

AWOO! IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE ALL SET!

(spoilers: knowing AWOO! is not enough)

[haveyoureadthismanga-poll]

[dancers-7]

Heterogenia Linguistico: Ishuzoku Gengogaku Nyuumon by Salt Seno

[mirimangarecs]

heterogenous linguistics - seno salt

a human linguist is sent to the uncharted realm of monsters on a cultural exchange to document and learn their languages

the cast: really strong, unique monster characters who bounce off the often-scared, initially weak researcher who grows through interacting with them. there are some poignant moments of love and connection

story & setting: with the help of his mentor’s half-werewolf daughter, a young linguist travels the monster world to build cross-cultural relationships. it’s incredibly dense and honestly difficult to understand at times; you feel like you’ve been dropped into that foreign place as well

the art: the monster designs are the stars of the show here. the author is not afraid to get weird with it

(vague spoilers, rambling analysis and my concerns)

idk i get such a sinking feeling because the manga goes to extreme lengths to demonstrate the sapience and personhood of various monsters who have their own extremely unique cultures and languages, but later on explicitly says that they don’t understand stories, the past tense, or any non-literal statements, and so they won’t be able to share critical knowledge and defend themselves against a human invasion. it just felt like such a slap in the face to have all these intelligent monster races being apparently genetically unable to grasp the concept of stories and sharing information, something every culture on earth does, even though we just spent 40 chapters learning their languages and how they communicate 😭 maybe they’re gonna pull a “but they figure it out!” moment but idk. i’m worried about them

[taniushka12]

cutest fucking panel

[eviltext]

i think many-a dungeon meshi fan would benefit from knowing about the existence of the wonderful manga that is heterogenia linguistico

[coralsweep]

ALSO when my wrist & thumb is no longer killing me i WILL collate those panels in heterogeneous linguistics w the mc agonizing abt stories. i must

[virovac]

Thats a weird reason to fear the child you are traveling with eating your corpse

[dzamie]

From the most recent translator notes in Heterogenous Linguistics:

...accurate.

(ID in alt)

[rafaeltheraven]

I love fan translators

[lonk-water]

[elbiotipo]

Arranque a leer el manga sobre idiomas de monstruos (el heterogeneous linguistics) y me llena tanto de felicidad. Es muy bueno yo estudio idiomas y tiene todo lo que le puedo pedir. Es genial por fin ver al lenguaje representado como algo enteramente cultural en una historia (en contraste con dnd que tiene un lenguaje común y listo, algo siempre me molestó). Nada eso creo que vos lo habías recomendado. Gracias

UNO DE LOS MEJORES ASKS QUE RECIBÍ. GRACIAS.

Espero que lo disfrutes! Más adelante toca unas teorías bastante controvertidas del lenguaje que no puedo decir porque spoilers pero da muchísimo para pensar. Pero sí, justamente una de las cosas que me encanta es que no asume un lenguaje común y va más allá, jugando y construyendo sobre como el lenguaje se manifiesta en distintas especies.

TODO EL MUNDO VAYA A LEER HETEROGENEOUS LINGUISTICS AHORA MISMO. ESTÁ EN CASTELLANO TAMBIÉN.

[that-starlit-wanderer]

The author then says

The turn to cultural arguments developed because politics after 1867 became increasingly popular and more democratic in character.

The assertion is that "broad cultural-nationalist arguments" were more effective at mobilizing newly-enfranchised citizens than, for instance, appeals to class interests. The more things change...

[dancers-7]

Heterogenia Linguistico: Ishuzoku Gengogaku Nyuumon by Salt Seno