Human languages
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Humans have a plethora of languages that they use to communicate with one another. As a space-faring race, humanity spread many of their native Earth languages as they settled on numerous colonies. By the 26th century, the English language served as the primary language of the Unified Earth Government and, by extension, the United Nations Space Command. Although English is spoken widely across Human-controlled space, several other human languages are still used, mostly with secondary roles in society, as English is often found in conjuncture with them. During the Human-Covenant War, some members of the Covenant studied and learned one or more human languages in order to interpret human communications.[1] The Royal VISR for MJOLNIR [GEN2] features a translation system and local database of hundreds of human languages, many of which are now thought extinct after the Covenant War.[2]
Languages[edit]
English[edit]
English is a West Germanic language originating in England and the first language for most people in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America—together, commonly known as the Anglosphere. This language has grown to prominence as the dominant language of the Unified Earth Government and the human species, and is the primary language of every known human colony and organization.
Covenant translation software intercepted human COM transmissions after the First Battle of Harvest, and thus the Covenant learned English quickly.[3] Following first contact at Harvest, the High Prophet of Tolerance had five hundred teams of well-educated Sangheili and Unggoy formed to study and translate English. These teams could only speak English among themselves and were later required to teach it to all Covenant military units.[4] From 2525 to 2552, the Covenant used this knowledge mainly to broadcast florid curses at human colonies and ships before destroying them, and never actually held conversation with humans. Several other species had the ability to speak English, including the San'Shyuum[5] and Unggoy, a fact the latter take great pride in.[6] Kig-Yar could speak English in a rasped manner,[7] though most are unable to form a proper "f" sound in speech.[8] Most Sangheili could speak English, although they had difficulty pronouncing words containing the letter "v" or ending with "p".[9] The translation disk was a translation device used by many in the Covenant and its remnants who lacked the ability to speak English.[10][11][12]
Several prominent Covenant figures learned English before and after the war. Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee, though he considered humans to be weak and cowardly,[13] educated himself to learn English and a handful of other human languages, and he had ordered the Vicars of the Fleet to do the same.[14] Arbiter Thel 'Vadam learned to speak English fluently so that he could communicate with his human allies more naturally rather than relying on a translation disk.[15] In the post-war years, Rtas 'Vadum went so far as to learn how to speak with remarkable clarity in human languages rather than relying on technology such as a translation disk for communication. This was a skill that 'Vadum had evidently learned during joint operations between the two species.[16]
UNSC translation software has been able to decrypt a number of Covenant languages, most notably those of the Unggoy, Kig-Yar,[17] Sangheili, Jiralhanae, and San'Shyuum. By the time of the Battle of Earth, this software could automatically interpret anything that most of the races said, and has apparently been installed in the equipment of all UNSC military personnel, as all personnel appear to have the ability to understand what members of these races are saying.[18] However, by 2552, the Yanme'e language was still largely untranslated.[17]
Spanish[edit]
Spanish is a secondary language of the UEG and, by extension, the United Nations Space Command. Having its roots in Latin, Spanish bears many similarities to English and is used in various places throughout the UNSC, but has seen diminishing use due to the UEG-wide adoption of English as its primary language.
Spanish is spoken mostly in areas where it saw prominence in earlier eras, such as Latin America and Cuba.[19] Most of the population of Madrigal was of Hispanic ancestry and thus spoke Spanish fluently. After the planet was glassed by the Covenant, the survivors established the Rubble, a self-sufficient community in the asteroids surrounding the nearby gas giant Hesiod; most on the habitats of the Rubble had Hispanic names. Spanish was also spoken on the colony planet Verge, as evidenced by the name name of the city Ciudad de Arias and by signs in the city's subway tunnels.[17]
Many members of the UNSC Marine Corps speak Spanish, including Corporal Perez[20] and the deceased Private Manuel Mendoza.