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The '''Master of Tongues''' (恶魔音箱) was the chief interpreter to the imperial court of [[Daxia]]. The position was first created during the Shang dynasty and persisted through the Chen, Zhong and Qian periods. The Master of Tongues was a very important functionary and was one of the chief aides to the ministers in charge of foreign affairs. In [[Daxia]]n idiosyncrasy the speaking of foreign tongues was considered disgraceful and unbecoming of a proper [[Daxia]]n, therefore the task of acting as interpreters fell to foreigners. These were usually former slaves bought, received as [[Tributary system of Imperial Daxia|tribute]] or captured from enemy territories. Most of the early royal interpreters were of Muslim origin due to the Chen dynasty's frequent interaction with former Oduniyyad polities and a handful of Muslim families monopolized the position for decades. As [[Daxia]] turned its sights to the east, the prominence of Muslim interpreters came to an end, replaced most frequently by [[Sarpedon]]ians and [[Levantia]]ns in the position. The taboo on native Daxians learning other languages gradually faded away and foreigners were employed less frequently during the late imperial period. During the Qian dynasty many of those who rose to the position were also [[Dwarfism in Daxia|dwarfs]] or [[Zorfashazi|Jews]]. | The '''Master of Tongues''' (恶魔音箱) was the chief interpreter to the imperial court of [[Daxia]]. The position was first created during the Shang dynasty and persisted through the Chen, Zhong and Qian periods. The Master of Tongues was a very important functionary and was one of the chief aides to the ministers in charge of foreign affairs. In [[Daxia]]n idiosyncrasy the speaking of foreign tongues was considered disgraceful and unbecoming of a proper [[Daxia]]n, therefore the task of acting as interpreters fell to foreigners. These were usually former slaves bought, received as [[Tributary system of Imperial Daxia|tribute]] or captured from enemy territories. Most of the early royal interpreters were of Muslim origin due to the Chen dynasty's frequent interaction with former Oduniyyad polities and a handful of Muslim families monopolized the position for decades. As [[Daxia]] turned its sights to the east, the prominence of Muslim interpreters came to an end, replaced most frequently by [[Sarpedon]]ians and [[Levantia]]ns in the position. The taboo on native Daxians learning other languages gradually faded away and foreigners were employed less frequently during the late imperial period. During the Qian dynasty many of those who rose to the position were also [[Dwarfism in Daxia|dwarfs]] or [[Zorfashazi|Jews]]. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
The existence of royal interpreters in the courts of [[Daxia]] is documented as far back as the Xie dynasty. The Shang dynasty employed a position called the Grand Speaker whose duties were near identical to the Master of Tongues, the key difference being the Shang did not employ foreigners for the position. The position of Master of Tongues was not only the interpreter of the Emperor and other high officials, he was also an important functionary in the conduct of foreign affairs, being usually the assisting second and scribe to the Grand Secretary during negotiations with foreign powers. The Master of Tongues was also the overseer of all interpreters in imperial service. In time the successive Master of Tongue officeholders managed to transform the position and carve a full career path to it. The navy and the army had their own Master of Tongues and service in those positions for at least ten years was one of the requisites to aspire to the higher posting. The Master of Tongues had to know at least three languages in addition to Daxian, these usually were Arabic, [[Metzi]] and [[Caphiric Latin|Latin]]. During the Qian period greater emphasis was placed on acquiring a working knowledge of [[Coscivian]] and [[Burgoignesc language|Burgoignesc]], the languages of the Qian's closest competitors. [[Julian Ænglish]] was not considered an important language for the job until the early 20th century. | The existence of royal interpreters in the courts of [[Daxia]] is documented as far back as the Xie dynasty. The Shang dynasty employed a position called the Grand Speaker whose duties were near identical to the Master of Tongues, the key difference being the Shang did not employ foreigners for the position. The position of Master of Tongues was not only the interpreter of the Emperor and other high officials, he was also an important functionary in the conduct of foreign affairs, being usually the assisting second and scribe to the Grand Secretary during negotiations with foreign powers. The Master of Tongues was also the overseer of all interpreters in imperial service. In time the successive Master of Tongue officeholders managed to transform the position and carve a full career path to it. The navy and the army had their own Master of Tongues and service in those positions for at least ten years was one of the requisites to aspire to the higher posting. The Master of Tongues had to know at least three languages in addition to Daxian, these usually were Arabic, [[Metzi]] and [[Caphiric Latin|Latin]]. During the Qian period greater emphasis was placed on acquiring a working knowledge of [[Coscivian]] and [[Burgoignesc language|Burgoignesc]], the languages of the Qian's closest competitors. [[Julian Ænglish]] was not considered an important language for the job until the early 20th century. The Master of Tongues did not serve for a fixed amount of years, his permanence in the post was entirely dependent on being of continued use to whoever appointed him. Sometimes the intriguing could end in the execution of the Master of Tongues but the normal destiny was a comfortable retirement, sent overseas as an ambassador or an upgrade to ruler of one of the [[Rusana]]n vassal taifas. | ||
The last emperor of the Shang dynasty, Cai Leng, issued the edict of prohibition on speaking foreign languages by his Daxian courtiers; he reportedly did this out of paranoia and so they wouldn't betray him to foreign powers. Concurrently he created the position of Master of Tongues and appointed a polyglot from [[Rusana]] named Attar al-Badri, al-Badri's foreign background and lack of local ties or contacts made him totally dependent on the Emperor's continued patronage and thus made him a safe choice. Attar al-Badri continued to serve the new Chen dynasty after Cai Leng's ultimate betrayal at the hands of his own guards. During his tenure of fifteen years, Attar al-Badri took the time to groom his eldest son to one day succeed him, starting a long period of dominance of the position by Muslims from al-Badri's and a few other Muslim families. The al-Badri family was only dislodged from their position after some sixty years thanks to hefty bribes and deft intriguing by the Master of Tongues of the navy, the eunuch Rabi el-Saab. | The last emperor of the Shang dynasty, Cai Leng, issued the edict of prohibition on speaking foreign languages by his Daxian courtiers; he reportedly did this out of paranoia and so they wouldn't betray him to foreign powers. Concurrently he created the position of Master of Tongues and appointed a polyglot from [[Rusana]] named Attar al-Badri, al-Badri's foreign background and lack of local ties or contacts made him totally dependent on the Emperor's continued patronage and thus made him a safe choice. Attar al-Badri continued to serve the new Chen dynasty after Cai Leng's ultimate betrayal at the hands of his own guards. During his tenure of fifteen years, Attar al-Badri took the time to groom his eldest son to one day succeed him, starting a long period of dominance of the position by Muslims from al-Badri's and a few other Muslim families. The al-Badri family was only dislodged from their position after some sixty years thanks to hefty bribes and deft intriguing by the Master of Tongues of the navy, the eunuch Rabi el-Saab. | ||