Alternate names for forms of government

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Deleted member 97083

What would be some alternate words for existing government types if the English language developed differently?

For example there is the -ocracy suffix of democracy, plutocracy, autocracy. What if there was a Presidentocracy, would that imply a more executive type of republic than usual?

The -ate suffix of emirate, sultanate, consulate, despotate. Maybe there could be a Ministrate or a Monarchate? A Ducate (duchy)?

Confederation and federation, what if there was a Subjugation? Like a Mongolian horde turned into a modern government.

Duchy, County, and Presidency. Why not call an Empire a Caesary, or call a Republic a Populary?
 
Well, if the PoD is a differently-emerging English, a lot of Old English could still remain. A kingendom or koningdom instead of kingdom, and maybe a tingdom or tyng instead of republic?
 

Deleted member 97083

Well, if the PoD is a differently-emerging English, a lot of Old English could still remain. A kingendom or koningdom instead of kingdom, and maybe a tingdom or tyng instead of republic?
I was thinking more of a Shakespeare era POD, so the roots of modern English are there, but due to the butterfly effect vocabulary may develop differently. However Old English or Middle English works too.
 

Skallagrim

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I've played around with a scenario where the suffix indicates whether it's a 'good' or a 'bad' form. Essentially, '-archy' was the good one, while '-cracy' the bad one. So 'demarchy' is a healthy system of popular influence, while 'democracy' is mob rule or unmodulated tyranny of the majority. In the same way, 'aristarchy' would be something very much like meritocracy or 'rule of honour', while 'aristocracy' is the degenerate form where 'aristocrats' govern based on their bloodline and not based on their virtue. It's a bit simplistic, but I thought it was clever at the time.
 
Maybe coining regimes names on latin roots rather than greek? After all, it's more or less the case with republic and democracy being largely interchangable.

An oligarchy could be named a conciliary, a regalian state instead of a monarchic state, Deism instead of Theocracy, and so on.
 

Deleted member 97083

I've played around with a scenario where the suffix indicates whether it's a 'good' or a 'bad' form. Essentially, '-archy' was the good one, while '-cracy' the bad one. So 'demarchy' is a healthy system of popular influence, while 'democracy' is mob rule or unmodulated tyranny of the majority. In the same way, 'aristarchy' would be something very much like meritocracy or 'rule of honour', while 'aristocracy' is the degenerate form where 'aristocrats' govern based on their bloodline and not based on their virtue. It's a bit simplistic, but I thought it was clever at the time.
I like the idea.

Poliarchy: Righteous protection by a city state
Policracy: Colonial rule by a city state

Proximarchy: a march
Proxicracy: a tributary state

Saprocracy: a decrepit and decaying state

Scriptarchy: Rule by a benevolent literati class
Scribocracy: Rule by corrupt bureaucrats

Civarchy: Meritocratic rule by citizen-soldiers
Civocracy: Decadent state where citizens rule over oppressed non-citizens

Cordarchy: An empire ruled by a powerful central region that strengthens the empire
Cordocracy: A capital region oppressing its peripheries

Napoleon-Bonaparchy: Rule by the glorious leader

Maybe coining regimes names on latin roots rather than greek? After all, it's more or less the case with republic and democracy being largely interchangable.

An oligarchy could be named a conciliary, a regalian state instead of a monarchic state, Deism instead of Theocracy, and so on.
That sounds good. Or even if we go Mixed Greek-Latin there are alternative possibilities, for example, Regarchy could be a kingdom too.

Deism instead of Theocracy, and so on.
Demi-demo-demi-deism: rule by a "half-god, half-man", such as a Pharaoh, a Sapa Inca, a Japanese Emperor, etc.
 
Duchy, County, and Presidency. Why not call an Empire a Caesary, or call a Republic a Populary?

To be fair, Old, Middle, and Early Modern English had Casare (Old) and Caiser (the others) as the native English word for 'Emperor' till 'Emperor' took over by Shakespeare's time. Caiserdom would be the equivalent of Empire in this case and slide English in line with the other Germanic languages re: word for Emperor.

Well, if the PoD is a differently-emerging English, a lot of Old English could still remain. A kingendom or koningdom instead of kingdom, and maybe a tingdom or tyng instead of republic?

I feel like King/dom is the absolutely logical endpoint for that word - it's 'kining' in Old English, already shortening, and the hard k sound is hard to soften into something else.
 
I feel like King/dom is the absolutely logical endpoint for that word - it's 'kining' in Old English, already shortening, and the hard k sound is hard to soften into something else.
Perhaps you're right, I just love the idea of an alternate development of Old English without as much French influence. But yeah, "kingdom" would probably be an inevitable end result of "kining."
 
Perhaps you're right, I just love the idea of an alternate development of Old English without as much French influence. But yeah, "kingdom" would probably be an inevitable end result of "kining."

Oh, friend, I'm a big fan of a more native English too - it's one of my favorite what-ifs. That said - 'king' is one of the words that never got any French in it. Studying Old English even a bit gets you to where you can see how English words that did stay became how they are, and if they have a bit of quirky spelling or pronunciation in them it's probably from French influence. German Heinrich is far more cognate to modern English 'Hendrick' versus the far, far more common 'Henry' that formed from French 'Henri' (even back then) say.

It's one of those things that's stupidly hard to explain out loud but once you know what patterns and examples to look for, you can instantly glean how it would've been or stayed.
 
Oh, friend, I'm a big fan of a more native English too - it's one of my favorite what-ifs. That said - 'king' is one of the words that never got any French in it. Studying Old English even a bit gets you to where you can see how English words that did stay became how they are, and if they have a bit of quirky spelling or pronunciation in them it's probably from French influence. German Heinrich is far more cognate to modern English 'Hendrick' versus the far, far more common 'Henry' that formed from French 'Henri' (even back then) say.

It's one of those things that's stupidly hard to explain out loud but once you know what patterns and examples to look for, you can instantly glean how it would've been or stayed.
Thanks for the explanation! I'm still very green in linguistics, though it is fascinating to me. And I think I get wha your saying with the cognates and whatnot. Those damn Normans, messing up a perfectly good language! :biggrin:

But, to keep the thread from derailing too much, the OP's desire could easily be accomplished with more influence from either Romance languages or non-English Germanic languages, with different words like "Caiser" and "Emperor" used interchangeably. This same phenomenon could probably be applied to other forms of governance, as well.
 
I've always thought that "Commonwealth", the English calque of "Republic", could be the main word for a republican form of government. Even something like Polish, where the English government is called a Commonwealth and all others Republics is possible.
 
In retrospect, considering the OTL Commonwealth, I'm surprised it isn't. I wonder if America gunning for Romanesque terminology so much in referring to the Union as "republic" just in the nick of time for La Republique Francaise to come into being cemented that one.
 

Deleted member 97083

What would be some funny-sounding but plausible ones?

Imagine if a Khanate was, in the vein of Duchy or County, called a "Khany". So much for fearsome Mongol armies.

Or what about "Demy" for Democracy.
 
I've always thought that "Commonwealth", the English calque of "Republic", could be the main word for a republican form of government. Even something like Polish, where the English government is called a Commonwealth and all others Republics is possible.

Commonwealth as a word for a democratic-socialist state.
 
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