Social classes (was Re: Aussie pronounciation WAS: The King of Glottal Stops ReignsSupreme!)

John-Emmanuel wrote:
> ObConlang:  How do ppl actually deal with class distinctions in the
> conlangs?  Does anybody have a really difficult caste-type, like in some
> parts of India?  Or do you go for the dinky-dye Aussie philosophy that 99%
> of ppl are middle-class?
In pre-Classical Uatakassi society, social class was pretty simple.
Most of the population was made up of the Houses, with rank determined
largely by age.  About 5% of those were the leaders.  Then there were a
very small number, generally no more than 4 or 5 per village, of
Houseless people.  Houseless does not mean "homeless", they had dwelling
places, they just didn't belong to any of the village's Houses.  They
were immigrants from outside, and were often adopted into a House.  They
were not permitted offspring.  There were also a fairly large number of
slaves, perhaps 10% of the population.  Slaves were subdivided into
several classes.  There were life-slaves, who were the closest
equivalent to the common idea of slave in our culture.  These were
generally sterilized by removal of the pouch (the speakers are
marsupial).  Then there were time-slaves, who were sentenced to a period
of slavery for a specific period as punishment for a crime.  After the
time was up, they became Houseless.  Finally there were debt-slaves, who
were enslaved to pay off a debt.  When the debt was paid, they returned
to their Houses.

During the Imperial period, the population was divided into 6 classes:

Slaves - same divisions as before, except that the forced sterilization
   of Life-slaves was banned
Outsiders - immigrants into the Empire.  Very limited rights.  Not
   permitted offspring
Foreigners - non-citizens.  Limited rights
Houseless Kassi - by this time, "Kassi" had ceased to be an ethnic term,
   and meant, in essence, "citizen".  In the Imperial period, all were
   permitted offspring (except Outsiders), altho Kassi were permitted
   more than non-Kassi.  The Houseless had become a majority of Kassi.
Housed Kassi - land-owning Kassi
High Houses - powerful Houses, all of the leaders came from these
   Houses.  Most of them are descended from the Houses of great
   military leaders during the Holy Wars, but some were lesser
   Houses who grew in power and wealth in the Imperial period.  Some
   High Houses also lost power, becoming lesser Houses.

"Houses" referred, originally, to large groupings of theoretically
related individuals.  During the pre-Classical period, this remained
mostly true, with only a small minority of individuals adopted into, or
descended from those adopted into, Houses.  During the Imperial period,
the familial relationship completely broke down.  Also, originally the
whole House lived in one large collective dwelling, but in the early
Classical period, smaller dwellings became fashionable, and Houses
ceased to be subdivisions of villages.

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