The State of the Art

It is mid afternoon summer air of Prance is arid. The next slot on schedule is a short talk on race issues, to warm up the audiences to bigger issues. The introducer is a charismatic pegasus with sleek hair and a smooth voice.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, our next speaker is Darling Clementine, professor of Linguistics from Canterlot University. She is here to talk about tribalism and language.”

A dark orange mare walks onto the stage. Her cutiemark is a quill held to the tongue. “Thank you.”

Her voice is amplified by the acoustic horn that is the back of the stage. She takes the lectern and consults her speaking notes.

“Good afternoon. I am honoured to have a speaking slot at a conference in Broncselles, it is a pleasure to be here. I would like to talk to you all about some issues present in most of the worlds languages.

“Tribalism is the practice of discriminating against pony individuals on the basis of tribe. It is something which most states --- including Equestria --- has explicit laws against. It is also considered bad form in many cultures.

“Tribalistic views has been prominent throughout history, there has been eras of separation --- especially pegasi, who have the ability to reside far away from the other tribes --- where sections of the pony populace formed tribal groups, fighting and demonizing other tribes.

“Notably the winter of windigos in the middle of the thirteenth century. I trust those of you tangentially familiar with equestrian history to know what tragedy that was.

“The issue I have in mind today is how Liguia Franca has several built in terms of phrase which influence our way of thinking.

“According to the Sapphire-Wolf theory, language is a platform for thought. An expression of culture. To learn a language is not to acquire a new way of communicating, it is acquiring a whole new worldview.

“And what the language contains affects the worldview of the learner. At its core we find… Earth Ponies.

“Pegasi and Unicorns are terms of the Celestine Empire, of antiquity. When the Diarchs ruled an empire spanning much of Equuropa. They are noble and inspiring names that taste of ancient language and culture.

“Earth pony is a term that has it’s ethymology in the philosophical works of the Darkened ages. In the old theories of alchemy around the twelfth century. A dull and incorrect early attempt at explaining the nature of magic, which nonetheless grew very popular with the Nobles.

“This particular work of alchemy assigned the three shaping elements: earth, fire and wind, to each of the pony tribes: earth ponies, fire ponies and wind ponies. It made prejudiced and nonsensical assumptions about the demeanors of each tribe and was especially popular with unicorns, to a lesser degree pegasi.

Clementine takes a draught of water from a glass on the lectern.

“This trend of prejudice became prevalent up through the twelfth century, and was unfortunately brought along in the migration fever.

“In the twelfth century, the economic situation was dire in Equuropa. There were plagues, the Diarchs had not only left Equuropa but rumours were circulating of them turning on one another. The new world had lost a city, and the noble families got richer as the common ponyfolk grew poorer.

“A migration wave took place, funded by lower standing noble families that faced persecution for various political reasons. And somehow, in the tribal segregation that followed, ‘Earth Pony’ became the accepted term while ‘Pegasus’ and ‘Unicorn’ remained.

“Then under the rule of Celestia, Equestria grew to be a powerful economy and today international relations of any kind is presumed to require that one speaks Linguia Franca.

“So we are stuck with a widespread term, which is mildly discriminating towards one of the tribes. And there even exists a perfectly good term: Equis for plural, Equus for singular. Medical professionals use it alongside Pegasus and Unicorn. It exists in our language but we have forgotten to use it.

“Just the other week I read a publication on the abilities of Equis. There is magic inherent in every pony tribe, unicorns have the arcane arts, pegasi have the wonders of the skies to show, but it turns out that Equis are just plain in synch with nature.

“The reason why Equis make so wonderful farmers, is simply a fact of their magic. A magic aligned with life. This is bleeding edge research in magical theory, but there is evidence that Equis do indeed have a quite powerful --- if subtle --- magic.

“This is but one of the problems of tribalism present in our language. I have given this talk many times, but I have yet to hear someone use the word ‘equis’ or ‘equus’  in speech.

“I hope that I will one day be spoken of as such. Thank you for your time.

The charismatic pegasus trots back onto stage as Clementine leaves the lectern. “A big thanks to Ms. Clementine of Canterlot University.”

The applause is modest but the feeling in the audience positive, as Clementine leaves the stage.

She is met by her husband backstage. They exchange a kiss and leave for an early dinner out in the city. There will be interesting talks all night and they do not intend to miss them.