From Its Origins to the Present Day
* Please note: The following is a fictional history created for the setting.
A Language Born for Dialogue Between Civilizations
Long before our era,
Egypt and Greece were actively engaged in cultural exchange.
Both civilizations had a deep love for mathematics,
and regularly sent mathematicians and philosophers (who were not strictly distinguished at the time)
to meet and share ideas.
Yet, a persistent barrier stood between them: language.
At first, they tried to alternate languages at each meeting, striving for fairness.
But natural languages are tricky—some expressions exist in one but not the other,
and the meaning could shift depending on the translator’s skill.
So,
the mathematicians and philosophers of both worlds gathered together.
They dreamed of a new language—one that would be precise,
free of misunderstanding, and allow everyone to join the discussion as equals.
Thus was born satu kitav, the world’s oldest constructed language.
The Encounter with India
By the 5th century, India entered the scene, bringing with it the revolutionary concept of zero.
Satu Kitan was revised to include the character v to represent zero,
and adopted Arabic numerals as a new way to express numbers.
With these changes, the language system became almost identical to what we know today.
Some even say that Arabic numerals themselves originated from Satu Kitan.
Establishing Its Status as an Official Language
Satu Kitan was created at a time when the study of language was still young,
so it has only four parts of speech: nouns, verbs, modifiers, and conjunctions.
This simplicity made it easy for anyone—even those unfamiliar with linguistics—to learn,
and its precise vocabulary allowed it to break down language barriers in mathematical debate.
Thus, it earned a special place as a language for scholarly exchange.
Yet, Satu Kitan has always faced a unique challenge: it has no native speakers.
Wars and the dissolution of governing councils have brought it to the brink of extinction many times.
But perhaps this lack of native speakers is a blessing in disguise,
for it means the language changes very little over time.
Even now, with English as the global lingua franca, many mathematical organizations still use Satu Kitan as their official language. Its unchanging nature makes it ideal for precise communication.
Satu Kitan in Everyday Life
The symbols “!” and “?” that we use today to express exclamation and question actually trace their roots back to Satu Kitan’s own marks: ! for assertion and ? for inquiry. In this way, Satu Kitan quietly lives on in our daily lives.
And here’s another curious fact: the world’s third oldest high-level programming language, LISP, was inspired by the syntax of Satu Kitan. The language’s strict vocabulary and structure proved a perfect match for programming, showing that Satu Kitan remains a rigorous language even in the modern age.