Talossa

Kingdom of Talossa
Regipäts Talossan
Micronation
Flag
Motto: "Miehen Huone on Hänen Valtakuntansa"  (Finnish)
Man's Room Is His Kingdom
Anthem: Chirluscha àl Glheþ
Stand Tall, Talossans
Status Active
Location Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
CapitalAbbavilla
Official languages Talossan
(official language)
English
Ethnic groups Pending
Demonym Talossan
Organizational structure Constitutional monarchy
 •  King John I
 •  Prime Minister C. Carlüs Xheraltescu
Establishment
 •  Declared 26 December 1979 
Area claimed
 •  Total 13 km2
5 sq mi
Population
 •  estimate 255
Claimed GDP (nominal) estimate
 •  Total $842.15
Purported currency Talossan Louis (1 Louis = 1.50 USD)
Time zone TST (UTC-6)

Talossa, officially the Kingdom of Talossa (Talossan: Regipäts Talossan [ˈred͡ʒipæt͡s tɐɫɔˈsan]), is the name of a micronation founded in 1979 by then 14-year-old Robert Ben Madison of Milwaukee. It is one of the oldest micronations still in existence. It was also one of the first to create a Web presence (in November 1995) and remains one of the most famous.[1][2][3][4][5] Its exposure in the internet and media since the late 1990s contributed to the appearance of many later internet micronations.

The micronation claims several places on Earth as its territory, especially a portion of Milwaukee, calling it the Greater Talossan Area, but neither Talossa nor its claims are officially recognized by the UN or any ordinary nation. The current population of this micronation is 255.[6]

Government

Talossa is a constitutional monarchy. It has a Prime Minister and cabinet, a monarch, and a bicameral legislature called the Ziu (lower house is called the Cosa and the upper house, the Senäts), in many respects organized like an ordinary nation, with laws, government institutions, and so on. Members are considered "citizens" and have historically been admitted through a formal "immigration" process.

Parties

Like most governmental nations, Talossa has parties.[7] They create policy and submit bills for consideration in the Ziu, the legislature. The August 25, 2014 election to the Cosa returned a four-party coalition government including the Moderate Radical Party of Talossa and the Defenders of Talossan Republicanism, while the major opposition party is the conservative-monarchist RUMP.[8] The supreme law, the 1997 Organic Law, is the current basis of all civil rights and governance.

Culture

Talossan culture has been developed over the years by Robert Madison and other members of the micronation. The national language, Talossan, was created by Madison in 1980[9] has a lengthy of vocabulary of 28,000 words, including one meaning love at first sight.[1] War gaming is the national pastime and even has a holiday.

Modern Talossan culture even has an effect on politics: two popular strains of thought in Talossa about the nature of the group - is it a "real" country (derivativism) or is it something new (peculiarism) - are represented by different political parties and compete to promote their views.

The nation has long had an active media, producing newspapers and podcasts. The currently active publications are Beric'ht Talossan ("Talossan News Report") and El Tamlált Talossán ("The Talossan Gazelle", a play on the word Gazette).

History

Talossa was founded as a kingdom on December 26, 1979[10] by Robert Ben Madison, a 14-year-old resident of Milwaukee, shortly after the death of his mother. At that time the kingdom occupied Madison's bedroom, and he adopted the name "Talossa" for it after discovering that the word means "inside the house" in Finnish.

Talossa has a very detailed "official history".[10] However, due to the nature of the institution, most of its details can only be corroborated by testimonials of members and former members, and appear to be disputed.

In 2004, a group of dissident members of the Kingdom of Talossa seceded, and these former citizens created the Republic of Talossa. This group returned to the Kingdom in 2012, uniting once more into a single nation.

Growth of Talossa

Madison maintained Talossa throughout his adolescence, which included publishing a handwritten newspaper and designing the nation's flag and emblem (which displays the Finnish motto Miehen Huone on Hänen Valtakuntansa, "A Man's Room Is His Kingdom"). During this time its only other members were about a dozen relatives and acquaintances. This changed in the mid 1990s, when Talossa's web page came to the attention of hundreds of thousands of readers via a series of stories published in such publications as the New York Times[4] and Wired,[1] which were subsequently republished by newspapers in many other countries. Several dozen new "citizens" joined Talossa as a result. Around this time, Madison began to claim that he was the inventor of the term "micronation".

Madison registered the trademark "Talossa" [11] and created Talossa, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered in the State of Wisconsin (but as of March 2013 has been administratively dissolved).[12]

Location of Pengöpäts (Talossa's Antarctic claim)

In the ensuing years the Kingdom of Talossa continued to function as an enduring politico-cultural role-playing game, complete with parties, elections, laws and government institutions, and several online newspapers. For some time, yearly get-togethers ("Talossafests") were held in Milwaukee. During that period Ben Madison and other Talossa members wrote a detailed history of the kingdom,[10] including a mythological pre-history that traces its purported origins to the Berbers of North Africa; invented a Talossan language for which a grammar and a 28,000-word dictionary have been written;[13] and composed a musical anthem Chirluscha àl Glheþ ("Stand Tall, Talossans"). According to the official history, over the years Talossa's territorial claims expanded from Madison's childhood bedroom to encompass most of Milwaukee's East Side, as well as the French island of Cézembre and a large chunk of Antarctica (called Pengöpäts, Talossan for "Penguin-land").

Schisms and "Reunision"

After a long and bitter political dispute, which culminated in King Robert attempting to expel the leader of a major party from the Kingdom, a significant number of active members of the Kingdom created a separate Republic of Talossa on 1 June 2004.[14][15] As of 2011, the secessionist micronation claimed about 16 members.[14] The population of the republic was 18 when it voted to rejoin the kingdom.

Ben Madison remained on the throne of the Kingdom of Talossa until August 2005, when, after a dispute about immigration procedures,[16] he abdicated in favour of his wife's eight-year-old grandson, who assumed the throne as King Louis I.[15]

King Louis I abdicated his position in November 2006, and was succeeded by John W. Woolley, elected (per the procedures of Talossa's constitution, the 1997 Organic Law) as King John on 14 March 2007 and still monarch (as of 2012).[15] While Talossa still and will always claim to be based in Milwaukee, its website states that "today most of our active citizens live in other parts of the United States and Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa".[17]

Intermittently from 2007 until 2011, Madison disputed the claim of historical continuity made by the Kingdom of Talossa, and reorganized a separate Kingdom with a new Constitution. According to its website, it was ruled by King Louis, with Ben Madison acting as Prime Minister.[18][19] The group officially disbanded in 2011.

In December 2011, representatives of the Republic and the Kingdom agreed that the two groups would reunite under the Kingdom banner in 2012, once again becoming a single micronation. A referendum was sent out in the republic on March 29, 2012 concerning the "Reunision" (as the reunion is known). The results were published on April 5, 2012. Thirteen out of the republic's eighteen citizens voted: ten in favor, three in abstention, and zero against. The republic formally dissolved on April 19, 2012, and its citizens who wished were made citizens of the Kingdom. The readmission of the republic resulted in the creation of an eighth province, Fiôvâ, from a western portion of Maritiimi-Maxhestic Province, and a southern portion of Maricopa Province.

Since the closure of the Madison group and unification with the Republic, there has been a single and undisputed Talossa.

Leaders

Monarchs

#NameReign
1 Robert Ben Madison –August 2005
2 Louis I August 2005–November 2006
3 John I November 2006–

Prime Ministers (Seneschals)

# Tenure Cosa Seneschal Party Party Name Took Office
1 1 1 Ián von Metáiriâ TNP Talossan Nationalist Party 3 May 1985
2 2 Florence Yarney PC Progressive Conservatives 5 June 1985
3 3 2 Frédéric Maugey FUN Front Uni Pour la Nation 26 December 1985
3
4 4 4 Weston Erni MN La Mhà Nheagrâ 26 September 1986
5 5 5 Danihel Lauriéir PUNK People United for No King 28 March 1987
6 6 6 Sandee Prachel PC Progressive Conservatives 15 August 1987
7 7 7 Robert Murphy BFT Bob Fights Ticket 7 February 1988
8 8 8 Thomas Bufone PC Progressive Conservatives 21 September 1988
9
9 9 10 Jack Schneider PV Päts Vräts 22 July 1989
10 11 Thomas Buffone 30 December 1989
11 Danihel Lauréir PW Peculiar Way 9 March 1990
10 12 J. Harrison Wozniak 16 March 1990
13 12 Weston Erni PC Progressive Conservatives 27 September 1990
14 13 Ián von Metáiriâ 20 April 1991
14
15 15 Thomas Buffone UNP Un-Named Party 24 July 1992
16 16 Ián von Metáiriâ PC Progressive Conservatives 16 January 1993
17
11 17 Gary Schwichtenberg 26 March 1994
18
12 18 19 John McGarry 27 March 1995
13 19 20 Geoffrey Toumayan 15 September 1995
21
22
14 20 Albrec'ht Mananséir 6 March 1997
15 21 Dale Morris 22 April 1997
23
16 22 Dan Wardlow 19 January 1998
17 23 24 Tamorán dal Navâ 29 March 1998
25
18 24 Michael Pope 18 May 1999
26
27
28
29
30
19 25 Gödafrïeu Válcadác'h 25 June 2002
31
20 26 32 Mximo Carbonel MN La Mhà Nheagrâ 11 November 2003
21 27 Gary Cone ZPT Els Zefençadéirs del Päts Talossán 28 November 2003
28 Gödafrïeu Válcadác'h PC Progressive Conservatives 2 December 2003
22 29 Quedeir Castiglha MN La Mhà Nheagrâ 1 January 2004
30 33 Gary Cone ZPT Els Zefençadéirs del Päts Talossán 17 June 2004
23 31 34 Marcus Cantaloûr MN La Mhà Nheagrâ 15 February 2005
24 32 35 Fritz von Buchholtz CLP Conservative Loyalist Party 20 August 2005
25 33 36 Samuhel Tecladeir 15 July 2006
26 34 37 Ma la Mha RUMP Restore and Uphold the Monarchy Party 18 April 2007
38 Revitalisation Under the Monarch Party
27 35 39 Ieremiac'h Ventrutx Remove Useless Ministers Party 23 October 2008
28 36 40 Iustì Canun Really Unpopular Majority Party 20 July 2009
29 37 41 Alexandreu Davinescu Raßemblamaintsch Unusual dels Misfätsilor Pareßeis 21 April 2010
30 38 42 Litz Cjantscheir Restent Uçind ár Mocts Previösen 18 January 2011
43 Restent Utramaßind els Muiteux Progreßíus
39 44 Ma la Mha Rexhalistaes Unificheschti per el Monarc'h es els Popuis 19 July 2012
31 40 Çesli da Chilseu 12 December 2012
32 41 45 Txec Róibeard dal Nordselva Rexhalistaes Unenuxhinds pr'iensa Monarc'hà Panincestind 19 April 2013
33 42 46 Glüc da Dhi MRPT Moderate Radical Party of Talossa 24 January 2014
34 43 47 Lüc da Schir 19 September 2014
35 44 48 C. Carlüs Xheraltescu FreeDem Free Democratic Alliance 24 June 2015

Talossan language

Talossan
Talossan
Pronunciation [tɐɫɔˈsan]
Created by Robert Ben Madison
Date 1980
Setting and usage Talossa
Purpose
Sources a posteriori language (Romance)
Official status
Regulated by La Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tzl
Linguist list
 tzl
Glottolog talo1253[20]

Talossan (Talossan [tɐɫɔˈsan] or el glheþ Talossan [ɛɫ ʎeθ tɐɫɔˈsan] or [ɛw ʎeθ tɐɫɔˈsan]) is a constructed language created by Robert Ben Madison in 1980 for the micronation he founded, the Kingdom of Talossa.

Overview

The Association of Talossan Language Organisations (ATLO) maintains talossan.com, a website describing the language for new learners, providing language information, research, and online translation to and from English.[21]

Talossan is perhaps one of the best-known examples of the micronational language genre of conlang. The language is spoken and used in the Kingdom of Talossa (regipäts Talossan), a "constitutional monarchy" with its own parliament and a bicameral legislature, founded by Madison on December 26, 1979.

Talossan is also one of the best-known artistic languages on the Internet. It garners perennial interest and respect from online conlangers and conlang aficionados. Of particular interest to them is its large vocabulary—with over 28,000 words in its official dictionary, it is one of the most detailed fictional languages ever invented.[1]

The language is overseen by the Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ (CÚG; the Committee for the Use of the Language), a group formed in the Kingdom of Talossa by Madison in the 1980s. This group periodically issues Arestadas (Decrees) which describe and document changes in the usage of the language, and Pienamaintschen (Supplements), which list updates to the vocabulary. The CÚG maintains a multi-lingual website providing access to the recent recommendations of the Committee.[22]

The language, and its corresponding micronation, are mentioned in the book Conquering Consumerspace: Marketing Strategies for a Branded World by Michael R. Solomon, and the language is documented in two self-published grammars.[13]

The most significant recent development in the language was the issuance of the Arestada sür Speliçaziun (Decree on Orthography) of December 12, 2007. This Arestada instituted a rule for stress that allowed many extraneous stressmarks to be omitted, simplified the vowel set by recognizing certain letters as allophones of other vowels, and respelled a few strange consonant graphemes. This Arestada is widely accepted, although some Talossan writers choose to retain pre-Arestada conventions.

Linguistic properties

Classification

Talossan is a constructed Gallo-Romance language, inspired by French and Occitan, and very naturalistic (with quite a few irregularities). In an effort to create a kind of "national mythology" for his micronation, Madison discovered in 1985 that one of the Berber sub-tribes of Morocco was called the Talesinnt, and decided that Talossans were "inexplicably and inextricably connected somehow to Berbers." This resulted in the Talossan language being inspired by Berber languages. More recently however, words are derived from Romance roots and given a French/Provençal feeling to them (some see a Romanian influence as well), but there is no one set of rules for derivation through which every word can be predicted. The word "Talossa" itself is not Romance, but Finnic in origin: it comes from the Finnish word for "inside the house" (Talossa began in Madison's bedroom).

Phonetics and phonology

The pronunciation of Talossan has been described in a variety of sources.[23][24] The tables here are based on the descriptions in those sources.

Consonants
  bilabial labio-
dental		 dental alveolar post-
alveolar		 palatal labio-velar velar glottal
plosive p  b     t  d       k  ɡ  
nasal m     n   ɲ   ŋ  
fricative   f  v θ  ð s  z ʃ  ʒ     x  ɣ h
affricate         tʃ  dʒ        
approximant       ɾ   j w    
lateral approximant       ɬ  l   ʎ      
Vowels
  Front Near- front Central Near- back Back
Close
i · y
u
ɪ  
 
 
e · ø
 
o
ɛ · œ
 
 
 
a
  Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel.
Speakers who prefer a later pronunciation merge the rounded vowels with the unrounded one.

Writing system

The Talossan language uses the Latin alphabet, but contains some letters not (or no longer) found in English—including the Germanic sharp s (ß) [known as "eseta" in Talossan], and the Old English letters thorn (þ) and eth (ð), and the cedilla-c (ç). The eseta can be replaced by the equivalent digraph ss, and the thorn by the digraph tg. Prior to the 2007 Arestada, the eth was often seen written using the digraph th; the 2007 Arestada recognized the eth as replaceable in modern Talossan by the letter d.

The letters of the modern Talossan alphabet are:

a, ä, b, c, ç, d, ð, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, q, r, s, ß, t, u, ü, v, w, x, z, þ

In alphabetical ordering, c and ç are not distinguished from one another, nor are s and ß, nor any vowel from its marked counterpart.

Through the Arestada of 2007, the vowel system was simplified by the adoption of a default stress rule, which made explicit stress marking necessary only in words that are stressed irregularly. The Arestada further standardized the stress marking system so that the vowels a, e, i, o, and u are stressmarked using acute or grave accents (as in á or à), and the vowels ä, ö, and ü are stressmarked using circumflexes (as in ô and û).

In pre-Arestada Talossan (known as "Classic Orthography"), a number of other vowel forms are retained (such as ê, ë, å, and î), and no stress rule exists. In Classic Orthography, words are often marked with multiple diacritics, which often have different meanings, sometimes indicating stress, sometimes a difference in pronunciation, sometimes both, and sometimes the same mark indicates neither. The consonant ñ was also removed by the 2007 Arestada.

In speech, Talossan exhibits a system of consonant mutation (lenition and eclipsis) very similar to that found in Irish Gaelic. This system is indicated in orthography only rarely, typically only in prepositional phrases, and even then typically only with pronouns. For example, the pronoun tu (meaning "you") experiences lenition after a vowel to become pronounced "hu" (this mutation is indicated orthographically by spelling the word as thu), and experiences eclipsis after a consonant to be pronounced "du" (indicated orthographically as dtu). Thus à thu (meaning "to you") and per dtu (meaning "for you").

In addition to this system of consonant mutation, Talossan exhibits some other unusual consonant combinations, including c'h, gn (which in Classic Orthography is written gñh), glh, rh (pronounced as English "sh"), tx, and xh.

Unusual features

In general, Talossan is a straightforward Romance language, true to its mythical heritage as a Latin derivative. However, it also has a number of unique features not typically found in Romance or other languages, including:

Sample comparison to similar languages

John 3:16 in Talossan and other Romance Languages, with English (a Germanic language) and Interlingua (an artificial language based on Romance languages) for reference:
Latin Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis, qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.
Talossan (Modern Orthography) Cair Díeu sa ameva el mundeu, qe O zoneva sieu Figlheu viensplet, qe qissensevol créa in Lo non pieriçarha, mas tischa la vida eternal.
Talossan (Classic Orthography) Cair Dïeu så ameva el mundeu, që O zoneva sieu Figlheu viensplet, që qissensevol créa în Lo non pieriçarha, más tischa la vidâ eternál.
French Car Dieu a tellement aimé le monde, qu'il a donné son Fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point, mais qu'il ait la vie eternelle.
Provençal Car Déu a tant amá lo monde qu'i a doná son Filh solet, per que tot ome que crèi en elh non perigue, mai ague la vida eternala.
Catalan Car talment ha estimat Déu el món, que donà son Fill unigènit, a fi que tot el qui creu en ell no es perdi, ans tingui vida eterna.
Spanish Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que dio a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que cree en él no perezca, mas tenga vida eterna.
Portuguese Porque assim amou Deus ao mundo, que lhe deu seu Filho unigénito, para que todo o que crê nêle não pereça, mas tenha a vida eterna.
Italian Infatti Dio ha talmente amato il mondo da dare il suo Figliuolo unigenito, affinchè chiunque crede in Lui non perisca, ma abbia la vita eterna.
Romanian Fiindcă atât de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea, că a dat pe singurul Lui Fiu, pentru ca oricine crede în El să nu piară, ci să aibă viața veșnică.
Rhaeto-Romance Perche cha Deis ha tant amâ il muond, ch'el ha dat seis unigenit figl, acio cha scodün chi craja in el non giaja a perder, ma haja la vita eterna.
English For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Interlingua Proque tanto Deo amava le mundo que ille dava su Filio unigenite a que quicunque crede in ille non va perir ma va haber vita eterne.

Lexicon

The full dictionary of Talossan has over 28,000 words. Talossan requires only a single word (fieschada) to say "love at first sight".[1]

Criticism

Criticism of Talossan includes:

State of the language

The most extensive study of Talossan is given by the English language edition of the book A Complete Guide to the Talossan Language (Ün Guizua Compläts àl Glheþ Talossan), first published in 2008 and in a revised second edition in 2011.[13] An earlier grammar (La Scúrzniâ Gramáticâ del Glhetg Talossán), last revised in 1996, has been put offline by its author.

Extensive learning material is also available online.[25]

Example of the language

The following are the first two tercines of the first stanzas of Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ode to the West Wind translated into el glheþ Talossan:

Post-Arestada:

Oh traversa salvatx, tu and d'Otognheu s'eßençù,
Tu da qissen presençù unvidada els listopätsilor
Sint driveschti com'els spiritzen d'iens encanteir escapind,
Vermel, es negreu, es brançéu, es roxh gripesc,
Pestidonça-cünsütats plenitüds! Oh tu,
Qi apoartás à lor auscür þivereu lict.

Pre-Arestada:

Ô traversâ salvátx, tú ånd d'Otogñheu s'eßençù,
Tú da qissen presençù ûnvidescu els listopätsilor
Sînt driveschti, com'els spiritzen d'iens encantéir escapînd,
Vermél, és negreu, és brançéu, és roxh gripesc,
Pestidonça-cünsütats plenitüds! Ô tú,
Qi apoartás à lor auscür þivereu lict.

English:

O WILD West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes! O thou
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Alex Blumberg, "It's Good to Be King". Wired, March 2000, 8.03.
  2. ↑ "Castles in the air." The Economist, 20 December 2005.
  3. ↑ "Shortcuts: Starting your own country" CNN.com, 27 September 2006.
  4. 1 2 Stephen Mimh (2000) Utopian Rulers, and Spoofs, Stake Out Territory Online. New York Times, May 25, 2000
  5. ↑ Roberta Smith, "Art in Review: We Could Have Invited Everybody". New York Times July 15, 2005.
  6. ↑ "Talossan Database".
  7. ↑ "List of Talossan Parties".
  8. ↑ http://wiki.talossa.com/47th_Cosa
  9. ↑ talossan.com. History. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 R. Ben Madison (2008), Ár Päts: The Classic History of the Kingdom of Talossa Partial online edition accessed on 2010-01-01.
  11. ↑ Talossa entry in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Accessed on 2010-01-01.
  12. ↑ Talossa entry in the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions register. Accessed on 2010-01-01.
  13. 1 2 3 La Mha, M.; A Complete Guide to the Talossan Language, Second English Edition (2008). ISBN 978-1-4537-7729-9.
  14. 1 2 Republic of Talossa website. Accessed on 2011-01-20.
  15. 1 2 3 King John page from the Kingdom of Talossa website. Accessed on 2011-01-20.
  16. ↑ Courtroom: Erni v. Talossa
  17. ↑ The Kingdom of Talossa home page. Accessed on 2011-01-20.
  18. ↑ The Claimant Kingdom of Talossa home page (2007-2011), now defunct.
  19. ↑ Kingdom of Talossa Facebook page.
  20. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Talossan". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  21. ↑ El Glheþ Talossan | Information and Resources for the Student and User of the Talossan Language
  22. ↑ Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ (Committee for the Use of the Talossan Language)
  23. ↑ Válcadác'h, Gödafrïeu. 2006. "Talossan Pronunciation and Spelling with IPA". November 2006.
  24. ↑ Donatüs, R. Ben, Tomás Gariçéir, Vál Taloçáit, T. Cartéir Adrár, Marcüs Pitz. 1997. El Treisoûr del Glheþ Talossán
  25. ↑ Introduction to Talossan (Series of instructive lectures/lessons on the Talossan language)

External links

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