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| May 5 2007, 7:24 PM EDT (current) | OctagonandCrown | 629 words added, 1 word deleted, 1 photo added |
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El GhelþGlheþ Enthusiasts To Organise Across Talossan Divide
5 May 2007
By Vitz Açafat
Editor
Talossans in the Regipäts and the Republicá have both been busy over the past few weeks, reviving the dormant organisations of their respective nations that oversee the Talossan language - El Glheþ. Worries have surfaced, however, that this linguistic revival will cause a schism into competing dialects, someday making speech and writing incomprehensible to citizens of a rival Talossa.
Ián Txaglh, having recently been appointed Minister of Culture, began reassembling L'Icastolâ, the linguistic academy of the Republic, on April 6th. After a delay in which the rules for doing this properly were discussed, five Republic citizens expressed interest joining and unanimously nominated Miestrâ Schivâ as their leader. By Republic law, once L'Icastolâ has formally installed its own leader it will become an organisation independent of the government. Txaglh, who still is overseeing the organisation until Schivâ's appointment becomes official, says one of his goals is, "to initiate work on etymological dictionary of talossan and orthography reform, which will deconstruct the diacritics mayhem which makes talossan distinct but difficult to type and look too cheap." He also said he has been, "surprised by rather low level interest" among the citizenry.
In the Kingdom, Quedéir Castiglhâ started the revival just over a week ago when he asked his fellow citizens if he was the sole remaining member of La Comità për l'Útzil del Glhetg. Soon after realising he was, in fact, he appealed to King John to become CUG patron, and enlisted the support of Seneschal Lord Hooligan, and Ladintsch Naziunál C.M. Siervicul. Speaking of the agenda of the Comitá, Siervicul said, "I would expect the discussions going on now to result in an Arestadâ sooner or later."
It has also come to light that Txaglh and Siervicul have begun preliminary discussions to establish a inter-Talossan language group, as described in the agreement between the two nations in 2006. Although details of the agenda of this "federation" are still incomplete, there has been discussion of inviting Sir Tomás Gariçéir to act as a "neutral third party."
Despite the recent signs of co-operation, there are still fears that the two resurgent organisations will adopt conflicting reforms for their respective populations. King John has recently introduced in depth spelling reforms in the CUG forum - reforms that it cannot be assumed will be accepted by L'Icastolâ. This may not upset all Talossan enthusiasts. Lord Hooligan, who has gone on record as favourable to a "dialects" forming, said recently, "The CÙG and the Icastola are separate and so they may, for all I know, choose to go their own way with the language. I doubt that the language as spoken my the members of either will diverge too much, though." This relaxed attitude towards linguistic diversity will worry many, especially in the Republic. Republic Seneshal E.S. Börnatfiglheu condemned the idea, saying, "Divergence and the development of dialects should be inhibited at all costs...If the two Talossan states work on nothing else together, we owe it to the language to keep it whole and the same throughout Talossa."
Another sign of cultural co-operation appeared recently in a statement to the Chamber of Deputies by Seneshal Börnatfiglheu. Outlining the legislative program for his ruling MRP government for the remainder of the legislative sitting, Börnatfiglheu revealed plans to, "look into getting the Talossapedia updated. Talossa (both of them) needs a unified information source, nomenclature, and lexicon. This government will look into collaboration with individuals from the Regipats to help make Talossapedia a wiki for all Talossans." Upon hearing the proposal, Lord Hooligan reacted positively. No doubt, this spirit of co-operation will please citizens all across Greater Talossa. Although both initiatives are in the early stages, progress in inter-Talossan cultural exchange appears to have begun in earnest.
Republican reaction to King John's election Mixed
17 March 2007
Vitz Açafat
Editor
President D.N. Vercáriâ of the Republic offered heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty, King John, of the Regipäts yesterday in an open letter issued from the presidential residence in Chapelle Mère, Cézembre, on the occasion of the King's ascension to his throne. Expressing a goodwill between the two office-holders unimaginable in the days of King Robert I, President Vercáriâ wrote, 'I wish you all the best for your regency. May yours be the luck and the wisdom and the patience that it takes to carry the lifelong, noble burden of a crown. Long may you live.' Emphasising the common heritage of the two Talossan states, he continued, 'In diversity, we're sharing the same passion for an adventure that began in 1979, for a dream that escaped from the realm of mere phantasy [sic]. Let's do our best to keep this dream alive. Long live Talossa!' Perhaps the most significant feature of the short missal, however, was the greeting, in which the staunchly Republican president respectfully addressed King John as, 'Your Majesty.'
Despite the warm words issuing from the presidential residence, further reaction across the Republic was muted. This perhaps reflected the certainty of King John's election since the ratification vote was announced several weeks ago. The lack of opposition, or secret ballots produced a poll that was a forgone conclusion from the outset.
The Octagon & Crown has managed to solicit reactions from two Republic notables, however. Speaking in her private capacity as editor of Qator Itrìns, Miestrâ Schivâ summed up the mood of many in the Republic when she said, 'I heartily congratulate the esteemed s:reu John Woolley on being installed, democratically and constitutionally, as Head of State of the Kingdom of Talossa. I hope to hear soon on what the new Royal Government will do to reach out to those of us who yearn for Talossan unity, but who still shudder to bend the knee before a crowned head.' More ambivalently, the straight-talking founding parent of the Republican Revolution, Chirisch dal Navâ, was quoted saying, 'I'm sure the Kingdom is quite happy with their choice of monarch, but I see no value in a monarchy at all. I leave it to the citizens of the Kingdom to find whatever worth there is to be had. Personally, I believe the Kingdom cannot thrive under that system of government for very long. I wish them well.'
Laissez-faire king not worried about new Republican Declaration
11 March 2007
Echoing the famous 'if you exist, you exist' foreign policy of former Penguinean Protector, Evan Gallagher, upcoming Regipäts monarch, Sir John Woolley, was unconcerned by reports that the ZRT plan to issue a second Declaration of Independence of the Republic. The 'unashamedly nationalist' ZRT has made renewing the Declaration a central part of its campaign manifesto. This will, according to the manifesto, situate the Republic, 'once and for all as a beacon of freedom, equality and solidarity in micronationalism, rejecting all assertions, tacit or otherwise, that we are an illegitimate expression of Talossanity.' The manifesto continues, saying that this declaration would be aimed at not just the Kingdom, but also the United States of America and the French Republic.
Rather than interpreting this as a belligerent stance, however, Sir John was unconcerned. In one of his last political statements before he ascends the throne of the Kingdom, Sir John said, 'Of course the Republic is independent and separate from the Kingdom. Who doubts it? But if someone feels like redeclaring it, I guess that's fine with me.' While on the surface this attitude bodes well for future peace among the Talossan peoples, it also casts doubts on future progress on closer inter-Talossan relations.
Further developments, though, may test the new king's patience with his Republican cousins. Some candidates for the upcoming 5th Chamber of Deputies in the Republic, have mentioned laying claim to all of historic Talossa, not just the four southern provinces that broke away to found the Republic. Would this act provoke an angry response from the Royalist camp? Only time will tell.
Talossan states issue conflicting maps
10 March 2007
Despite the increasingly cordial relationship between the governments of the Talossan Republic and Kingdom, the issue of competing territorial claims has yet to be addressed. This was underscored recently when each state independently issued national maps that contradict each other in important ways.
The University of Taloassa (Regipäts, not to be confused with the dormant University of Talossa in the Repúlicá) issued an impressive looking colour map showing the traditional boundaries of the Kingdom in mainland Talossa on 26 January. No mention of the Republic is in this map, however, as the secession of the four provinces of Florenciâ, Maritiimi, Maricopa, and Pórt Maxhestic in 2004 has never been recognised by the Regipäts government. These four provinces have now been 'rebuilt' within the Kingdom, so despite the thaw in relations between the two Talossas the Kingdom still claims historical Talossa in its entirety.
A few weeks later on 18 February, Miestrâ Shivâ posted a satellite map of the greater Talossa area with the four provinces of the Republic superimposed. This lead to a discussion about the exact land claims in the Constitution of the Republic, and in the process it emerged that the Republic's territorial claims had not been previously understood by the wider citizenry. While the Republic makes no claim on the norther provinces it believes to have abandoned after the Revolution of 2004, it 'annexed' much of the surrounding area during the initial stages of the Republic. In effect, the map of the Republic resembles a doughnut with the northern provinces still held by the Kingdom making up a small enclave within Republican territory. It is expected that this anomaly will be addressed early in the upcoming 5th Chamber of Deputies.
Further muddying the waters, the ZRT has announced plans during the current campaign to issue a new Declaration of Independence, with hints that the Republic will soon include all of historical Talossa and the additional claims made in 2004. This would mean that both Talossa's claim all of the traditional boundaries of Talossa, with the Republic claiming four or five times the original area as well.
So far there has been no discussion about resolving the conflicting land claims on the Royal Wittenburg, however, it is hard to imagine the two Talossas will ever establish a lasting peace until this issue is resolved.
Links to the maps discussed above:
University of Talossa (Reg) map of Talossa
Miestrâ Schiva's 18 Feb post
Current Repuplican territory
