I've found that it isn't quite detailed in the Glitch Racial Lore thread what prefixes really are for Glitch, or how they perceive them. In fact, I'm fairly certain prefixes aren't mentioned at all throughout the entirety of the thread, or any of its sub-threads.* As a solution to this, I've moved to fill this missing gap with what has been confirmed by @Haplap** as an acceptable add-on to the current available Glitch lore. *(Since this post was written, a small single-lined detail was added to address prefixes. Nothing more.) **(This was during the time Haplap was a member of our staff.) Arguably, the most iconic aspect of the Glitch (other than being sentient constructs) are their unique speech patterns. Glitch, both Hivemind and Outcast communicate using certain "prefixes" before speaking a sentence in order to compensate for an otherwise emotionless and monotone expression. An example would be, "Elated. I would simply love to accompany you." To anyone other than a Glitch, this sentence would be heard and perceived as blank, expressionless and monotone; the only hint of emotion is given through the prefix. A fellow Glitch, however, could perceive the sentence as something along the lines of, "I would simply love to accompany you~!" On their own, Glitch are entirely unaware of the existence of prefixes in their speech. When speaking to each other, the prefix itself isn't perceived as a word, but is rather interpreted as an expression of emotion, or the equivalent of intonation. Prefixes generally either describe the nature of the expression, or an emotional response. A common misconception is that Glitch always use a prefix at the beginning of every sentence, when in fact a Glitch can speak multiple sentences during a train of thought before using a new one. New prefixes are only used when the speaker's tone changes. For reasons unknown, however, Glitch do not make use of prefixes when writing, and instead record information in the same way other species do. Here are more examples of plausible Glitch speech; "Instinctive. Back away- now." "Repulsed. I've never seen something so horrible in my entire life." "Resignation. I've just remembered that I'm supposed to be anywhere but here. If you'll excuse me," "Standoffish. I don't need any help from you." Glitch do not perceive their own prefixes as audible words; this means one could theoretically go their entire life without knowing they use prefixes at all. However, it is possible for a Glitch to be made aware of their usage of prefixes if the concept is introduced to them by an outside force, typically a non-Glitch. Hivemind Glitch specifically simply can't comprehend the concept of their own prefixes, as attempting to give them awareness of the concept is always met with disbelief, disregard, and comments of blasphemy. Attempting to introduce the concept to an Outcast Glitch is possible however, if varying in success on a case-by-case basis. The most effective way to give Glitch awareness of their prefixes is to record their speech using voice-to-text software that will display the prefix they used in readable text. Another typically successful method is to find subtitled videos where Glitch speak to one another, which would also visibly display the use of a prefix in conversation. What exactly the knowledge of the usage of prefixes in one's speech does for a Glitch is unclear as it's difficult to determine which circumstances this information is useful in, other than potentially in interaction with non-Glitch. Attempting to make a Glitch aware of their usage of prefixes can, in certain instances, actually be harmful to the individual's mental health; it has the potential to make a Glitch feel upset, distrustful, or even unstable. Some people feel it's only right to "enlighten" Glitch about the existence of prefixes, while others find it best to simply leave the topic alone. With that piece out of the way, I'd also like to pose a question for those interested in the hopes of potentially expanding this topic a bit. Glitch are known to speak in monotone voices, since the prefixes take the place of intonation and emotion, but I'd assume that this is probably due to whatever their native language is (perhaps a form of binary) being an entirely expressionless one. With the knowledge that Glitch would likely speak Common, or other languages, would they be able to emulate/replicate intonation by picking up on social cues from other species? This would be similar to how people pick up on the intonation of other cultures, or adopt new accents. Please leave your thoughts below.
I remember a similar conversation a long, long time ago about the Floran hiss-- whether it was a learned behavior, or a function of their anatomy. I'm inclined to believe the same sides could be argued for Glitch tonality (or lack thereof). I'm mostly on the side of it being an anatomical thing. It's entirely possible that, as advanced as they otherwise are, their vocal hardware isn't up to the task of producing the wide range of tones found in organic speech and prefixes developed to fill in the gap (I could make a couple comparisons to vocal fry, upspeak, or motherese here, but I'd probably be writing all morning). While Glitch society has evolved to get on just fine without tone, subconscious code-switching takes its place when talking to other races. That's just the headcanon that makes the most sense to me, though. Personally, I dig robots with 50s-sci-fi-style electronic voices, I like the flavor Glitch prefixes add to dialogue, and I'm not all that wild about things that would cause them to lose that. ... This raises another question for me, though. Is it possible for an organic to exist around Glitch for long enough that the Glitch they're familiar with would end up dropping prefixes when talking to them?
It's been explained to me that whether or not a Glitch is aware of their prefixes, they are incapable of stopping the prefixes or perceiving them as words.
Even without perceiving them as words (probably similarly to how people with vocal fry are often both unaware that they do it, and wouldn't know how to stop even if they were), it seems like there's something making the subconscious distinction between Glitch and non-Glitch speech patterns if they can be made aware of it and regard it as something bizarre. My main point of curiosity was whether an organic individual could assimilate deeply enough into a Glitch (not hivemind, obvs) society to circumvent that. It's a point that'd require server lore anyhow, since Chucklebutts isn't exactly clear on the subject. Not that it's more than a thought exercise to begin with, though. Like I said, I'm far more strongly in favor of whatever preserves their unique dialogue flavor (which, in my headcanon, is 1950s bad sci-fi clanky robot noises).
I would assume that the Glitches perceive the prefixes as instructions rather than words. They wouldn't interpret it as Happy. Let's go to the store, they would interpret it as Let's go to the store with a happy tone. It's a literal set of instructions for them. I don't know the lore and I haven't read the passages, but that's my assumption. They read their dialogue just as they would a set of parameters or lines of code, and without having that literal input or output, they don't generate an emotion. They weren't told to.
That's an interesting thought! I don't know if I would apply it to Glitch society at large, though. It depends on how much credence you want to give The Prefix Problem (if any) and how much of a role the Hivemind supposedly plays in modulating interactions between individuals. I've always found the idea that prefixes were used for the benefit of organic races to be more interesting, but that's my opinion. CF hasn't been known for their lore consistency basically at all, which is why it's fun to spitball stuff. (I also like nerding about invented languages.) Prefixes do seem to fulfill the role of stage directions for organic races. Assuming an organic race is responsible for creating the Glitch, seems like either someone chose to program them with a weirdly inefficient way of communicating (you can carry a lot more information with tone than with words alone), or using prefixes is a strange sort of pidgin Glitch managed to develop completely without ever becoming cognizant of it. It still makes the most sense as the byproduct of a physical limitation to me, though. It seems like if Glitch could replicate and contextualize tone properly, they would've just done that instead of the relatively ungainly system they use now. I kind of wonder why CF made prefixes a thing in the first place, though. You'd think that one of the benefits of a Hivemind would be a lack of misunderstanding. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'd assume it would have originated due to however their "programming" functioned or was originally written. After all, computers are very literal, and it would be easier to program an emotion system rather than a tonal one (I mean, even humans struggle to interpret tone at time). I suppose a combination of a relatively short period of time and the lack of the need to evolve past it (if they even can evolve) are some reasons it still persists. Now, one question is whether or not they can take tonal clues from others. If so, that's a bit of a discrepancy, as surely that type of tech could apply the other way. Edit: Oh, and I'm guessing maybe prefixes came about for external communication? Either that or to have more specific communication with other members (depending on if the Hivemind isn't just output). Again, if this theory is correct, then they're not relaying prefixes to each other, but instead giving more instructions on how to interpret the message.
Right? It would make sense that they're able to interpret languages that rely on inflection. I know people get all "B-b-b-but no Chucklefish lore!" but Glitch don't seem to have any trouble understanding non-Glitch speech, and even took it poorly when a non-Glitch tried to speak to them using prefixes. For me, that's enough evidence to paint their lack of speech inflection squarely as a vocal hardware issue. Buuut, like I said, Chucklefish has a bit of a funny relationship with sense and consistency.
Who knows? Inconsistent is really the right word to use. Waters only got muddier after the 1.0 storyline, but the sense of direction is nice, at least. Though now we have the Elder Scrolls Online problem of, "You're the only one who can save us!" as you're in a room with a million other "chosen ones."
Everything that I wrote in my initial post up to the last paragraph in which I asked a question is considered canonical in the current lore for Antares. I was more just writing it in order to get it solidified... somehow, and not really posing a theory. The only part of the lore that isn't clear at the moment is a Glitch's ability to speak in multiple tones. That simply isn't addressed. I know that people have been cleared to modify their Glitches in order to give them certain musical tones, however I'm not sure if a baseline Glitch is capable of the feat on their own. As for whether or not Glitch are capable of understanding the inflection of other species' languages, the answer is yes. Just as you can learn other languages, so can a Glitch. Prefixes from one Glitch to another serve the same purpose as intonation in most languages. On the topic of the purpose of the prefix, as it stands now the purpose is for Glitch primarily, as it is what allows them to perceive emotion and intonation when speaking with each other, but is also incredibly helpful to non-Glitch attempting to converse with them due to their characteristically monotone voices.
Huh, well then. Like I said, I haven't touched on Glitch lore much, and even then CF is inconsistent.
Yes and no. As I've said before, it could be entirely possible that the Glitch's natural/native language is something similar to binary, or something more code-like. In that case, it would make more sense for the Glitch to speak in a monotone fashion and use code-specific trigger phrases (prefixes) to denote emotion. I find that it would be likely that they are capable of producing different tones, which would allow for each specific Glitch to speak at a "unique" base tone, or to have simulated vocal ranges. I would say that different tones are something they could be aware of, or make use of, but not something that aids them or is used in their native speech. It would be what would allow them to sing, if they're capable of doing so.
