The Asterian dialect, known as Aseteli, is the primary recognized and utilized language on the Asterian Republic, alongside Kauyic and English. It emerged during the early days of the Rainbow Stars, born out of necessity when humans from diverse backgrounds needed to communicate aboard spaceships. Aseteli began as a constructed language (conlang) with a heavy focus on naval terminology, that ensured the possible communication of ship statuses and commands universally amongst the crew. Its phonemic structure was designed to be compatible with most Terran languages, making it relatively easy for speakers of various linguistic backgrounds to learn. In its early itineration however, Aseteli was pragmatic and stripped-down, prioritizing clarity and brevity for operational safety.
But as Aseteli gained traction among the crew, organically evolving and expanding beyond its original scope. The language grew more complex, to the point it incorporated two distinct systems by demand:
The first system, which shares similarities with minimalistic constructed languages like Toki Pona and Toki Ma (also known as Kokanu), is known as "Onboard Speech" (sometimes called "Monkey Speech" by Terran linguists). It was the first system to be crafted with its founding principle being to enable rapid, simple and comprehensive communication, allowing personnel to convey the state of the ship and crew in just a few minutes by emphasizing simple, near-universal concepts that maximize expression from a limited set of words influenced by naval terminologies. But as life aboard spaceships transitioned to the more settled existence of the Republic, it evolved to incorporate various forms of civilian utterances while retaining its directness, simplicity and rapid pace. Which ended up allowing Asterians to communicate a wide range of emotions and abstract ideas with remarkable speed. However, its blunt and casual nature can come across as overly rude or even imprecise since it lacks the specificity and etiquette required for more definitive or official situations.
In contrast, 'Command Speech' was created to ensure unambiguous, precise communication, emphasizing clarity, logic and formality. The system was designed for giving detailed orders, drafting formal declarations, or addressing situations requiring careful and formal articulations. Its written form adopted a script similar to that of Ithkuil, using intricate diacritics and a minimalist approach to convey dense information in as few characters as possible, making it well-suited for conveying complex details while also reflecting social hierarchy and rank disparity.
it is important to clarify that Aseteli arose during a period when no single dominant language existed back on Terra. It was the late 20th century after all, and English hadn't yet cemented it self as the most important language, neither was widely spoken as it would become during the Information Age. Additionally, it presented phonemic challenges that made it seemed less practical for the diverse population of the Rainbow Stars' that also included humans from off-world, such as those plucked from slavers or born into factions like the Vagyr clans. While auxiliary languages like Esperanto existed, they lacked the diversity and situational flexibility that Aseteli would try to eventually achieve.
Thus Aseteli was created out of necessity, beginning as a practical barebones tool for essential communication. That evolved to become a cultural touchstone, representing unity and diversity amongst the Asterians. If all of this had happened in the present day, English would have been chosen instead of developing a new over complicated language.
There is also the topic of Ashley Virtanen's apparent mastery over languages. They are the only human that holds the title of being an universal polyglot who could speak and understand every language in existence among humankind. Ashley's linguistic capabilities were so profound that it extended to lesser-known languages, such as Quechua. Although cybernetically implanted universal translators existed, not many of them came programmed to translate modern Terran languages, especially for lesser-known or archaic languages.
