Vermendanyiiri adjectives

The Vermendanyan Empire has very strong cultural overtones attached to the various adjectives used for its people. Using the wrong one could be quite hazardous to a person's health.

Vermen is an adjective used to refer to the qualities of the hypothetical perfect man, a main goal of the imperial cult. For example, you might say "He has vermen eyes" to compliment someone more evolutionarily advanced than the majority of the population. As a noun, Vermen is the official language of the empire.

Vermendanyiiri refers to the people of the empire in general, or more often to the cultural or ethnic group. For example "Kamen Joyce is a Vermendanyiiri silk merchant" could mean either that Joyce is a citizen of an imperial world, that he is a member of the Vermendanyiiri ethnic subspecies, or that he adheres to the cult's rituals and traditions. However, it is considered blasphemy to use this term of a person who is not close to the genetic pattern, so those who adopt the cult's traditions and move to live within the empire must often wait 4 or 5 generations before they can safely call themselves Vermendanyiiri.

Imperial or Verdanic refer to people who are legal citizens of the empire, whether or not they are ethnically or culturally Vermendanyiiri. Verdanic is the term normally used on legal documents to distinguish between citizens of the empire and tourists or traders from outside. In cases where both genetics and legal status are relevant, the compound term Imperial Vermendanyiiri is recognised.

Vermendanyanish indicates a 3rd-generation (or more) resident of the planet Vermendanyan itself. It is considered extremely rude to refer to such a person by any of the other terms above. Most Vermendanyanish citizens have their upper lip pierced, and wear a small stud bearing the heraldic colours of their home city in order to demonstrate their privileged status. Wearing any similar item within the Empire is a criminal offense punishable by 15 years hard labor.