Fitshpïndshü (fɪtˈʃpindˈʃu)

Fitshpïndshü (Thünard: all-dance) is the language of the universe. It is a visual and kinesthetic language that is expressed by both the arrangement of the cosmos’ elemental forces (water, fire, air, and earth) and the movement of living things through space and time.

Fluency in Fitshpïndshü enabled the dwarves to develop amazing technologies and the elves to conjure world-altering magics, but knowledge of the language—whether one thinks of it as a language, or not—is also at the heart of more mundane (but no less important) endeavors, including agriculture, child-rearing, and dance.

The fungifolk use Fitshpïndshü to communicate across vast distances, the voiceless golems use it to speak with their bodies and their faces, and the sea creatures of the world teach it to every new merfolk—provided they ask nicely.

Farmers use it to plant crops and raise livestock, parents use it to determine the needs of their children, and performing artists across the universe use it to tell stories and make sense of the sometimes senseless nature of reality.

Phonology

Each component in Fitshpïndshü is composed of numerous readable parameters, though these vary from component to component. For example:

• The parameters for air include temperature, odor, and speed of movement;
• A rock’s parameters include size, shape, and texture; and,
• Liquid’s parameters include viscosity, buoyancy, and surface tension,

Grammar

Though each component in Fitshpïndshü can theoretically operate as any of the parts of speech, they most commonly appear as follows:

• earth-based components, such as rocks, soil, and mountains, generally operate as nouns;
• air- and fire-based components, such as temperature, scents, and the wind, typically operate as modifiers (adjectives and adverbs
• water-based components, being a bit more fluid, are read as modifiers just about as often as they’re read as nouns; and,
• living things, including both fauna and flora, act as verbs.