Humans vs. "Humans"

[Cobwebs]

Hello! I'm working on a webcomic that involves a planet similar to Earth that has two intelligent species on it: Humans and my original species, Ishi. However, I've run into the idea that the humans would not necessarily be called humans, due to the fact that this is not Earth and the psychology that the name generates when reading in a fantasy situation.

After some thought I came to realize that the implications of calling the species that is like us "Human" means that the "Humans" here are, well. Us. They're human. They're an intelligent species, you can relate. On the downside, it implies the Ishi are of either lesser or alien space- when in the lore the two species have been on this planet and developed at the same rate as each other. Both are bipedal and intelligent, with developed civilization and cultures that (mostly) match each other step for step in the way of growth- if you minus the political shifts, that is. By referring to one as human and the other as Ishi, it effectively alienates the Ishi and sets up the idea to the reader that they're "different."

A lot of fantasy writings, comics, or shows neglect the full development of a world and end up with your same basic human race in some alternate Earth. My planet here (for now, the placeholder name is Atlas) is sort of the same size and climate, but has 3 moons and a different time frame. Different continents- it is a different world! Wouldn't make sense for there to be Earth humans on this planet, etc etc.

My question here is how do you go about navigating a fantasy world while leaving all Earthly, familiar aspects behind without alienating the audience in the process? I plan on renaming the "human" race into something that isn't immediately recognizable, perhaps make a couple of minor differences here and there to solidify them in the world.

Kind of a general discussion about this as well, I'm curious to see how people feel about the psychological effects about using humans vs. "humans" in other settings.

 

[CupofJoe]

In this world, more than a few cultures call members of their own grouping "Human" or "Human Being", while knowing and interacting with people just like them [but from a slightly different grouping] that are "not Human Beings". They understand the categorical difference and the similarity all at once. It is just a word/phrase to create group identity. An identity can be created; right now Islamic State, wants to be thought of/see itself as Islamic and a nation state, but the rest of the world isn't so certain so IS, ISIL or Daesh and a few others are used. Their name is not our name.
I think the the names for peoples and grouping that last are organic in origin. They take a long time to form.
What someone else call you is up to them. It may be descriptive of a difference [farmer/hunter], mythical, ironic or derogatory depending on the relationships between the groups through history.
I think just about any culture anywhere [fantasy or reality] will have a word synonymous with "Human" that means "People like me and my family". I'm also fairly sure that most planets will be called something like "Earth" if the inhabitant have ever though of giving it a name.

 

[Cobwebs]

[...]What someone else call you is up to them. It may be descriptive of a difference [farmer/hunter], mythical, ironic or derogatory depending on the relationships between the groups through history.
I think just about any culture anywhere [fantasy or reality] will have a word synonymous with "Human" that means "People like me and my family". I'm also fairly sure that most planets will be called something like "Earth" if the inhabitant have ever though of giving it a name.

I think you misunderstood my post a tad, here.

Of course Atlas (just a placeholder name, not the canon name) has words that are synonymous with "human being" and "Earth." But that's the main point of the initial post- those are our words. We, as homo sapiens on planet Earth, use those words for descriptors of our kind and our planet.

What I'm saying is- should we still refer to sapient creatures like us depicted in other settings that are not on an Earth like ours still be called that. Especially when there are two intelligent species sharing the same planet. Human-like, yes. Earth-like, yes. But that's not what they are. Calling the inhabitants or planet names that we're familiar with in our day-to-day lives breeds a basis of familiarity with the subjects and also sets up the reader to view the second intelligent species as something foreign. That creates a bias between reader and the seemingly foreign species- something I want to avoid. I want the viewer to feel as if they don't really know either side rather than attach to the more familiar one.

My question is (to reiterate) how do you go about making humans in a place that isn't just a bare bones alternate Earth? I've covered a similar subject before on a different site discussing what makes something an alien, a monster, or a creature to an average viewer.

 

[CupofJoe]

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean.
If someone is human-like then they are not human, just somewhat similar to us. Given them a name or use the one they have for themselves.
If they are human, then they are human. [I think renaming something just to give it a new name but which doesn't change its meaning will confuse more than it clarifies.]
You may want to hyphenate their definition [Martian-Human, Earth-Human] to make it clearer that they may not only come from Earth.
Without getting too [meta]physical... Humans as we know them are suited to Earth. It is our Goldilocks planet; just right for us. You change an alternative Earth too much and the humans of that world would not be humans as we know them. They would have to have evolved to match their own goldilocks conditions.
They would neither less nor more than "our" type of human.
As for how the reader interprets alternate Earth humans and non-humans...
Write characters that the reader will care about, motive those characters believably, test and reward them and the reader will care for your characters.

 

[Mythopoet]

Are there any significant physiological differences between humans and your "humans"? Or are they basically the same as humans? If they are different in any significant way, then by all means give them a different species name. If they are really just like humans, then you will probably cause more confusion if you go out of your way to distinguish them.

 

[Oomatu]

I am writing a novel that faces a similar dilemma. However in mine, the "humans" are called kua... or the Kua. There are a number of kua races that all have slight anatomical differences (skin tone, ears, eye color, hair color, nose ridges, skin marks, etc). I would say that writing the novel in a way that forces the see characters as equals, physiologically and physically. In another novel I wrote, Eon, humans were called the Jaika, and were regarded as worthless scum. It's not till the end of Eon that you realize it though.

 

[Cobwebs]

I am writing a novel that faces a similar dilemma. However in mine, the "humans" are called kua... or the Kua. There are a number of kua races that all have slight anatomical differences (skin tone, ears, eye color, hair color, nose ridges, skin marks, etc). I would say that writing the novel in a way that forces the see characters as equals, physiologically and physically. In another novel I wrote, Eon, humans were called the Jaika, and were regarded as worthless scum. It's not till the end of Eon that you realize it though.

Ah thank you, someone seeming to understand what I'm getting at here.

I do plan on making the more humanoid species have some characteristics that see different from humans like you and I. I was mainly trying to see if people realized the psychological tendencies they fall into when dealing with familiar words- perhaps I'm not being clear enough in what I'm trying to convey here.

 

[Oomatu]

yeah, I find it's pretty tricky to write. When I want to say person, man, or woman... I have to catch myself and rephrase it.

For example:
Man/Woman-kua
Pertaining to a kua- kua (possessive)
The kua as a singular race -Kua
Man from Jungle tribe- Ju'kua
Pertaining to kua from the Jungle tribe- Ju'kuan (possessive)
Man from ______ tribe- ____'kua
Etc.

Really though, they are all just people... and I don't think race title will effect the way you view a character, so long as you don't lead the reader to believe they are any different from us humans. Just make sure to have a noun reference... and stick to it!

 

[Queshire]

I've always been a fan of the classics; humans, dwarves, elves, etc and so on. Since the readers already have expectations for these races I don't need to do the work of establishing what they are. The time I save there can be then spent on other things.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

Perhaps look at the situation from the other perspective- from the perspective of the Ishi. Describe the human-like beings from their point of view and create a name that the Ishi have for the other species, which may or may not be the same name the human-like beings have for themselves. You can have each group give a generalized view of he other group. Remember humans have more than one name for ourselves- Terrans, Earthlings, plus all the different languages we can say "human" in.

 

[Cobwebs]

I've always been a fan of the classics; humans, dwarves, elves, etc and so on. Since the readers already have expectations for these races I don't need to do the work of establishing what they are. The time I save there can be then spent on other things.

The classics are good if you're sticking to the classics- which I am not. I am building a new world entirely, and thusly need to spend some time working on the main races within it.

Perhaps look at the situation from the other perspective- from the perspective of the Ishi. Describe the human-like beings from their point of view and create a name that the Ishi have for the other species, which may or may not be the same name the human-like beings have for themselves. You can have each group give a generalized view of he other group. Remember humans have more than one name for ourselves- Terrans, Earthlings, plus all the different languages we can say "human" in.

The Ishi and Humans have grown up and evolved together, they've always been the two dominant species on earth. Their languages may vary, but for the most part very basic words are alike in both languages. I have thought about doing something like Ishi were folks of the daylight hours and humans were folks of the night hours, and playing a human name based off that but I'd have to think about it more considering it'd probably change the human history a bit too.

And of course we have other names for ourselves as Earth humans- that's a bit how the Ishi are already set up. Ishi, Ishikin both names for the race as a whole. Shivali and Anishi break it down into the two main groups. Etc etc.

My main problem is mainly getting around the psychology of having two races, one of which is directly named "human." It wouldn't be an issue if I was doing what Queshire mentioned and sticking with classics- readers are as familiar with "dwarf" and "elf" as they are with human, thus the mental divide between two species isn't something that could create an issue of bias.

I hope this makes sense, I don't feel like I'm being clear enough maybe?