Step one of becoming a merperson: Speak their language

Did you know that a lot of mermaid authors create their own languages?

Maybe the entire book isn’t in their native merfolk tongue but they’ll definitely implement some of those fun words you’ve never seen in the English language! I’m not exempt from this and today I’m going to break down some of the words you’ll see in my Galathea stories.

 

Galathea Glossary

 

Pooling  — When a merperson conjures a whirlpool magically and uses it for transportation it is called pooling. It isn’t teleportation but imagine traveling by way of a fast tornado on land! It’s similar to that.

Uplander —  This is what the individuals from the sea call the humans because they live up where they walk, up where they talk… 😉

Pearls— Pearls are not just a fashion statement under the sea, but they also have a purpose. In my stories, the pearls hold memories and can store them, too. When a pearl is crushed it releases a memory.

Woad— Woad was used by the celts to dye their clothing and paint their bodies with interesting patterns. I knew in the story I wanted magic that was crafted by their hands to be a thing everyone could see—like drizzling oil based paint onto water. So like the woad of old, it’s a blue design or tattoo on the water that as the spells increase the woads end up swirling like a giant, writhing tattoo!

Fry— Not a made up term but one that people ask me quite frequently about is fry…It’s a real term and it’s what seahorses babies are called! Even if my sea-horses aren’t the tiny little cute creatures the name still applies.

Hippocampus— If you didn’t know this by now I’m a huge nerd and to me a kingdom under the sea wouldn’t be complete without a mythological creature. Not everyone knows what they are and when you google it the results are confusing, too! Hippocampus in Greek is literally “Sea Monster Horse” and in English Sea Horse. 😉 And then you have the medical term relating to the part of the brain.

My Hippocampus are similar to what you might have seen in Percy Jackson, they are big, horse-like creatures, and they are ‘sea monsters’. Colorful, different personalities, and are the noble creatures of Selith. Quite a few individuals breed them.

 

I hope you had fun diving into a portion of the Galathea world, it was definitely fun to create. If you’d like to read about all kinds of mermaids you might be interested in OF THE DEEP: Mermaid Anthology. For more information >>>CLICK HERE<<< 

 

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

 

-Elle

Advertisement