Parra in its social contexts
Crimeans do not speak Parra all the time. Some, like many Sebastopolitans and people in smaller, monolingual villages out on the steppe, do not use it at all. For others, it is just one of several languages used in certain spheres of daily life. Here is a summary of when and where to speak Parra.
Overview
Parra is a creole language spoken in a wildly multilingual environment. As such, it is neither a home nor a school language, but an informal language of interaction outside the home. The closest comparison to a real-life society would be Hawaii in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the role played by Hawaiian Pidgin (which is actually also a creole, despite its name). A typical Hawaiian might grow up speaking one home language with their family, whether Hawaiian, Tagalog, Korean, or something else. They would speak Pidgin with outsiders - other kids on the playground, other adults on the street or when shopping, working, and so forth. Then in school, a third language, English, was used. Similarly, in Ill Bethisad's Crimea, most people grow up speaking a home language with their family, Parra with others, and a world language in school - most often Russian, but possibly one of a few others. This special position of Parra sometimes makes it hard for outsiders to classify.
Trade and Business
Shopping
Negotiating and transacting remain the primary use for Parra and the main reason it has survived this long. Visiting the enormous open-air markets of Aqmescit or Baçisaraj will present the ear with every one of Crimea's languages, variously spoken and shouted; but Parra is the main one used between vendors and customers. In shops, restaurants, bars and cafés all around the country, Parra is the most common way to greet a customer whom one doesn't know, or whose appearance doesn't give any obvious clues as to their mother tongue.
The workplace
The use of Parra is indispensable in places where workers come from widely varying backgrounds. Generally, the more informal the business, the more likely you'll hear Parra or Parra mixed with other languages. Offices that do business internationally likely have policies of conducting business in an international language, most often Russian. But very often, the employees' informal conversation is mainly in Parra, even if the company's official working language is something else.
Negotiating and transacting remain the primary use for Parra and the main reason it has survived this long. Visiting the enormous open-air markets of Aqmescit or Baçisaraj will present the ear with every one of Crimea's languages, variously spoken and shouted; but Parra is the main one used between vendors and customers. In shops, restaurants, bars and cafés all around the country, Parra is the most common way to greet a customer whom one doesn't know, or whose appearance doesn't give any obvious clues as to their mother tongue.
The workplace
The use of Parra is indispensable in places where workers come from widely varying backgrounds. Generally, the more informal the business, the more likely you'll hear Parra or Parra mixed with other languages. Offices that do business internationally likely have policies of conducting business in an international language, most often Russian. But very often, the employees' informal conversation is mainly in Parra, even if the company's official working language is something else.
Signs and Labels
Cyrillic remains the most common script for written Parra, but Latin is surprisingly common. The SNORist education system emphasized the sciences and taught Scientific Latin to all pupils. The teaching quality was not good, and very few Crimeans today have a working knowledge of Latin, but most people at least know the alphabet and can consequently read a sign in Latin print without difficulty.
Public signage
Written signs and notices in Parra have always been common in Crimean public places, though this was not allowed under SNORism. Today, most signage (from government or businesses) in multilingual neighborhoods is printed in several languages, with Parra thrown in to the mix. In shops, Parra signs are common for price listings, menus, and the like.
Product labels
Consumer culture and local manufacture of consumer goods have expanded a lot since the fall of SNOR, leading, for the first time, to a rapid expansion of products labeled in Parra. This has been seen as a natural extension of Parra's traditional marketplace role. Neither foreign nor domestic companies are not required to print labels in Parra, but it is good business to do so. A few firms that export from Russia and Ukraine have started translating labels into Parra for the common market.
Road signs
Under SNOR, all road signs were in Russian or Tatar, and it made little sense to do otherwise, since so few people drove. Economic expansion since then produced a demand for multilingual road signs to reduce confusion. Putting eighteen languages on a sign was impractical, so Parra was drafted to fit the bill. Today, road signs are required to be in two languages: Parra and a "predominant language" of the area. In many towns there is no clear "predominant language," so this choice is fairly arbitrary; but the Parra directions are understood by nearly drivers. As for script, if Parra is paired with a Cyrillic-using language on a sign, it is to be in Latin; if it is paired with a non-Cyrillic language, it is to be in Cyrillic.
These rules are not perfectly implemented. Many old Russian and Tatar signs remain, especially in residential parts of Sebastopol and in the Tatar towns on the steppe. Within urban areas, many signs are somewhat out of place and the non-Parra lines can change block to block. Crimeans make do; living in a richly multilingual environment is simply a part of daily life.
Public signage
Written signs and notices in Parra have always been common in Crimean public places, though this was not allowed under SNORism. Today, most signage (from government or businesses) in multilingual neighborhoods is printed in several languages, with Parra thrown in to the mix. In shops, Parra signs are common for price listings, menus, and the like.
Product labels
Consumer culture and local manufacture of consumer goods have expanded a lot since the fall of SNOR, leading, for the first time, to a rapid expansion of products labeled in Parra. This has been seen as a natural extension of Parra's traditional marketplace role. Neither foreign nor domestic companies are not required to print labels in Parra, but it is good business to do so. A few firms that export from Russia and Ukraine have started translating labels into Parra for the common market.
Road signs
Under SNOR, all road signs were in Russian or Tatar, and it made little sense to do otherwise, since so few people drove. Economic expansion since then produced a demand for multilingual road signs to reduce confusion. Putting eighteen languages on a sign was impractical, so Parra was drafted to fit the bill. Today, road signs are required to be in two languages: Parra and a "predominant language" of the area. In many towns there is no clear "predominant language," so this choice is fairly arbitrary; but the Parra directions are understood by nearly drivers. As for script, if Parra is paired with a Cyrillic-using language on a sign, it is to be in Latin; if it is paired with a non-Cyrillic language, it is to be in Cyrillic.
These rules are not perfectly implemented. Many old Russian and Tatar signs remain, especially in residential parts of Sebastopol and in the Tatar towns on the steppe. Within urban areas, many signs are somewhat out of place and the non-Parra lines can change block to block. Crimeans make do; living in a richly multilingual environment is simply a part of daily life.
Literature
Parra has little literature to speak of. Historically, there are some short poems and songs, many of them bawdy or satirical. This tradition continues today; a drinking song in Parra allows everyone to join in.
For writers, Parra does not offer the advantages of either a mother tongue or an international language. Crimeans also perceive it as a slightly uncouth idiom unsuitable for literature. Some guide books will tell you that modern poets might choose Parra as a way to express "Crimean-ness," but the example they cite is always the national anthem, and to be honest there are few others. A few pop artists have experimented with Parra songs, but in general stick to their mother tongues.
Somewhat more common is for snatches of Parra dialogue to be used for a little verisimilitude in books, plays, and films set in Crimea. Foreign writers do this as much as Crimean ones. For a Romance-speaking audience, Parra comes off as exotic but approachable.
For writers, Parra does not offer the advantages of either a mother tongue or an international language. Crimeans also perceive it as a slightly uncouth idiom unsuitable for literature. Some guide books will tell you that modern poets might choose Parra as a way to express "Crimean-ness," but the example they cite is always the national anthem, and to be honest there are few others. A few pop artists have experimented with Parra songs, but in general stick to their mother tongues.
Somewhat more common is for snatches of Parra dialogue to be used for a little verisimilitude in books, plays, and films set in Crimea. Foreign writers do this as much as Crimean ones. For a Romance-speaking audience, Parra comes off as exotic but approachable.
Government and Politics
In court
The SNORists' divide-and-rule strategy was largely destructive, but it did leave behind a court system where most people had strong support in their own first language. Therefore, there's little need for Parra in court. Judges and lawyers, furthermore, still are somewhat biased against it, usually asking people to translate into a mother tounge for the official record if Parra is resorted to for some reason.
In government
Parra is likewise deemed inappropriate for official speeches in the legislature (the Rada). Geneally, these are given in one of the higher-prestige home languages like Russian, Tatar, Greek, Gothic, or Armenian. However, centuries of haggling has led to the perception that Parra is eminently good for expressing disagreement, and it is frequently used for impromptu debates and arguments.
Politics
Of course, Parra is frequently heard at political rallies and protests that bring together people from many different groups.
The SNORists' divide-and-rule strategy was largely destructive, but it did leave behind a court system where most people had strong support in their own first language. Therefore, there's little need for Parra in court. Judges and lawyers, furthermore, still are somewhat biased against it, usually asking people to translate into a mother tounge for the official record if Parra is resorted to for some reason.
In government
Parra is likewise deemed inappropriate for official speeches in the legislature (the Rada). Geneally, these are given in one of the higher-prestige home languages like Russian, Tatar, Greek, Gothic, or Armenian. However, centuries of haggling has led to the perception that Parra is eminently good for expressing disagreement, and it is frequently used for impromptu debates and arguments.
Politics
Of course, Parra is frequently heard at political rallies and protests that bring together people from many different groups.
Education
There has been little call for Parra in the schools. The general consensus is that you pick up what you need of the language as a child. Children who don't get any Parra in the marketplace (or the playground) won't learn any in school, beyond the words to the national anthem.
Bigger cities offer crash courses for adults who move in and need to pick it up quickly. Some universities offer courses that study Parra from a linguistic perspective.
Bigger cities offer crash courses for adults who move in and need to pick it up quickly. Some universities offer courses that study Parra from a linguistic perspective.
Religion
Religion is one of the few areas of Crimean life that is largely segregated by language. There are a few multiethnic communities, however, and these might well employ Parra. Many major Christian, Jewish, and Sunni hymns and prayers have been translated. As yet, there is no complete Bible, but several preople have translated parts. As an aside, street proselytizing is most often in Parra.
Personal Relationships
Romance
The nature of Crimea is that mixed marriages are quite common. This means that courtship is very likely to begin in Parra. Eventually, though, lovers generally expect one another to learn the other's language. Continuing a long-term relationship in Parra smacks of a lack of intimacy and feels just a little seedy. Long-term and married "mixed" couples still use Parra to compensate for gaps in mutual knowledge and, of course, for arguing.
Friendship
Close friends, too, make an effort to learn pieces of each others' mother tongues, though probably a smaller effort than lovers.
Children naturally get to flout these rules. They freely make best friends and fall in love without thinking about switching from Parra.
The nature of Crimea is that mixed marriages are quite common. This means that courtship is very likely to begin in Parra. Eventually, though, lovers generally expect one another to learn the other's language. Continuing a long-term relationship in Parra smacks of a lack of intimacy and feels just a little seedy. Long-term and married "mixed" couples still use Parra to compensate for gaps in mutual knowledge and, of course, for arguing.
Friendship
Close friends, too, make an effort to learn pieces of each others' mother tongues, though probably a smaller effort than lovers.
Children naturally get to flout these rules. They freely make best friends and fall in love without thinking about switching from Parra.
Visiting Crimea
A frequent question tourists ask is whether they should learn Parra. It depends. If you stay in the capital, you'll find brushing up on your Russian much more useful. The coastal resort towns of the "Crimean Riviera" are extremely diverse, the locals speaking Parra to one another; but they have a long history of working with tourists from many places. Russian, Turkish, Greek, German, and, in fact, French will serve you well here - a legacy of the highly Francophilic Russian upper class in the czarist period, and of SNORists courting wealthy Noble Emigree types to summer there.
You will definitely need Parra if you venture into what all guidebooks call the "real Crimea" - the bazaars and points of interest away from the southern coast. The language remains the sort of thing a newcomer can blunder through without tremendous difficulty, so vendors in Aqmescit and Bakhchysaray will expect you to make an effort, or expose yourself to the usual sorts of troubles that befall bewildered tourists.
You will definitely need Parra if you venture into what all guidebooks call the "real Crimea" - the bazaars and points of interest away from the southern coast. The language remains the sort of thing a newcomer can blunder through without tremendous difficulty, so vendors in Aqmescit and Bakhchysaray will expect you to make an effort, or expose yourself to the usual sorts of troubles that befall bewildered tourists.