Talossa

Kingdom of Talossa
Regipäts Talossan
Micronation
Flag
Motto: "Miehen huone on hänen valtakuntansa"  (Finnish)
One's room is man's kingdom
Anthem: Chirluscha àl Glheþ
Stand Tall, Talossans
Status Active
Location Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
CapitalAbbavilla
Official languages Talossan
(official language)
English
Demonym Talossan
Organizational structure Constitutional monarchy
   King John I
   Prime Minister C. Carlüs Xheraltescu
Establishment
   Declared 26 December 1979 
Area claimed
   Total 13 km2
5 sq mi
Population
   estimate 255
Claimed GDP (nominal) estimate
   Total $842.15
Purported currency Talossan Louis (1 Louis = 1.50 USD)
Time zone TST (UTC-6)

Talossa, officially the Kingdom of Talossa (Talossan: Regipäts Talossan [ˈred͡ʒipæt͡s tɐɫɔˈsan]), is one of the earliest micronations — founded in 1979 by then 14-year-old Robert Ben Madison of Milwaukee and at first confined to his bedroom; he adopted the name after discovering that the word means "inside the house" in Finnish. Among the first such projects still maintained, it has kept up a web presence since 1995.[1][2] Its internet and media exposure since the late 1990s contributed to the appearance of other subsequent internet micronations.

Talossa claims several places on Earth as its territory, especially a portion of Milwaukee, calling it the "Greater Talossan Area"; no such claim, however, is recognized by the United Nations or by any other nation. As of June 23, 2016, the number of active citizens is said to be 213.[3] Including those who are no longer citizens for various reasons, those who are under the age of 14 and so are not yet citizens, and those from the ESB Affair[4] there are 493 total registered individuals.

Culture

Talossan culture has been developed over the years by Robert Madison and other fans. The Talossan language, also created by Madison in 1980,[5] claims a vocabulary of 35,000 root words and 121,000 derived words[6] — including fieschada, meaning "love at first sight".[7][8]

History and growth

Talossa was supposedly founded as a kingdom on December 26, 1979,[9] by Madison, shortly after the death of his mother. Madison maintained Talossa throughout his adolescence, publishing a handwritten newspaper and designing a flag and emblem. During this time its only other members were about a dozen relatives and acquaintances. This changed in the mid-1990s, when a series of stories in the New York Times[10][11] and Wired,[8] subsequently republished elsewhere, drew his website to popular attention. Several new "citizens" joined Talossa as a result, and Madison began to claim that he was the inventor of the term "micronation".

Madison disestablished the "kingdom" in late 2005, but a number of online groups that have no connection with the original founder have since claimed to represent Talossa.[12]

Madison registered "Talossa"[13] as a service mark in 2005 and created Talossa, Inc., a Wisconsin not-for-profit corporation. By 2013 the service mark had been cancelled and the corporation had been administratively dissolved.[14]

Talossan language

Talossan
Talossan
Pronunciation [tɐɫɔˈsan]
Created by Robert Ben Madison
Date 1980
Setting and usage Talossa
Purpose
Sources a posteriori language (Romance)
Official status
Regulated by Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tzl
Linguist list
tzl
Glottolog talo1253[15]

Madison invented Talossan ([tɐɫɔˈsan] or el glheþ Talossan [ɛɫ ʎeθ tɐɫɔˈsan]) as a constructed language for his so-called micronation. With its relatively large vocabulary, it is said to be one of the most detailed fictional languages ever invented.[8] The Association of Talossan Language Organisations (ATLO) maintains a website describing the language for new learners, providing language information, research and online translation to and from English.[16] The ISO 639 designation is "tzl".[17]

The language is overseen by the Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ ("Committee for the Use of the Language," CÚG), a group formed by Madison which periodically issues both Arestadas (decrees) to describe and document changes in language usage of the language and Pienamaintschen (supplements), to update the vocabulary list. The CÚG maintains a multi-lingual website providing access to the recent recommendations of the Committee.[18]

See also

References

  1. "Castles in the air." The Economist, 20 December 2005.
  2. "Shortcuts: Starting your own country" CNN.com, 27 September 2006.
  3. "Talossan Database".
  4. "Talossa Entry".
  5. talossan.com. History. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. "The CÚG and Its Mission," El Glheþ Talossan, 2012. Accessed 2 June 2016.
  7. "L'Översteir " (Translator), El Glheþ Talossan, 2012. Accessed 2 June 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Alex Blumberg, "It's good to be king". Wired, March 2000, 8.03.
  9. R. Ben Madison (2008), Ár Päts: Classic History of the Kingdom of Talossa Partial online edition accessed on 2010-01-01.
  10. Stephen Mimh (2000) Utopian rulers and spoofs stake out territory online. New York Times, May 25, 2000
  11. Roberta Smith, "Art in Review: We could have invited everybody". New York Times July 15, 2005.
  12. Ryan, John; Dunford, George; Sellars, Simon (September 2006). Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations. Lonely Planet. p. 101. ISBN 1-74104-730-7.
  13. Talossa entry, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Accessed June 2, 2016
  14. Talossa entry in Wisconsin Financial Institutions register. Accessed on 2010-01-01.
  15. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Talossan". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  16. El Glheþ Talossan | Information and Resources for the Student and User of the Talossan Language
  17. Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: tzl, 2013-01-23. Accessed 2 June 2016.
  18. Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ, CÚG
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