Okay, this one is for my actual story...yeah, the one that has a 10,000 word count. I've never finished a story, but I plan to try and finish this one (and then the other one from last year) no matter how long it takes me. Wish me luck!
Okay, I have several plants and animals that I named with fake words for my 50 year old colony on an extrasolar planet. Since the colony is only 50 years old, the naming system is kind of deliberate. Everything is named and classified using the Latin system, and then the Latin scientific name is deliberately shortened with the first syllable from the genus and species to give the item it's everyday name. The only problem is I don't know any Latin, so I'm asking for some help in that department from anyone who does know Latin. I don't have very many animals and plants yet, but I want to get an start on this as the mother of my protagonist is an geologist and biologist, and has a biologist co-worker around. The planet my protag is on has an odd ecosystem (if this ecosystem is impossible, please tell me now so I can tweak it to an more possible model!). The planet has a short year (200 or so days) and a long day, (30 hours, I think). It also has only two seasons, an summer day, and a winter night, each lasting 15 hours. So there are two separate, yet overlapping ecosystems, that still works together somehow while one sleeps and the other is awake, and that doesn't count what happens when the sun is rising and setting, and the rapid temperature changes. Forgive me if I seem a bit iffy about everything...none of this is really set in stone, so... Well, if anyone is willing to help me solidfy this, that would be great!
Okay, here's the list of animals and plants I have so far:
Cetan Beetle- An animal that resembles a Terran bug very strongly. Is it actually classed as a bug? I have no idea...but it has ten legs.
Cetan Silk- Not sure where the "silk" comes from, just that it feels like silk enough that people call it that. Could be a plant-based fiber or animal-based fiber.
Dulon Tree-A tree that is a strong red color with blue veins running through it, with small, edible red nuts.
Dinki Mold Stalk-Basically what it sounds like, a mold-like stalk that grows quickly and is about a foot long.
Flitter-An animal that is a cross between a bird and a bug. I'm still not sure what it looks like. it loves heat and light, and lives near the volcano. Active during the summer day, but will try to get into people's homes at night if they are away from the volcano heat source. I have one that is sub-classed as the blue curly-crested flitter-bird. Apparently they fertilize the plants they eat (see below), and their dung isn't too bad, except when it is red. The red dung stinks to high heaven!
Hapa Squash-Apparently this is something that resembles Terran squash. My protag ate it as an salad dressing, and it is something she hates.
Leopard Mushroom Blossom- Umm...it's an mushroom that is really an flower with an leopard skin pattern? i just know that the flitters love to eat it and fertilize them with their dung (see above), which somehow isn't so terrible when the dung is not red, since people have the leopard mushroom blossoms in their gardens.
Schmoo Fruit- From...a plant of some sort. Maybe a tree. I just know it is blue, sweet, smooth and very delicious. It is usually made into a pie the consistency of cheesecake and topped with dulon nuts.
The list isn't very long, but I will probably be adding to it over time. Thanks for the help!
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51,986 / 50,000
Dec 4, 2008 - 20 01
for Latin, you could try this: latin translator
ecosystems can be wierd.
----------Saipanwriter
http://saipanwriter.blogspot.com
281 / 50,000
Dec 5, 2008 - 04 20
Another thing you might try is seeing if there is a Catholic church in your area. The priests do have to learn latin or so I understand.
50,106 / 50,000
Dec 5, 2008 - 08 43
You could just make stuff up. It's already quite a common practice to just take a word/name you like and make it sound Latinish, then use it in the name. Schmoo Fruit, for example, could be "Creamius breyers".
O'course, that's going to get a lot of funny looks from people who read your story... you might want to make it a little more subtle. Francescus armatea, for example -- a cross between a name deviant and a made-up word. It sounds Latin enough to work, without all the effort of actually learning the language first.
Mind you, the only reason I suggest this is because, as I said, scientists already do it quite frequently.
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