Out-of-game source:

Early Access Vodyani's Vision

1 Name of "species"

It's Vodyani for all intents and purposes 

but

 is it: 

1 a self-given title (akin to, let's say "Chosen")

2 a name of official organisation ("Church of the Virtual Saints ") 

3 a name of pre-transformation species ("Humans")

4 a name of post-transformation species (let's say "Vampires")

or something else?

I think that I've read somewhere in-game that it was a 1 or 2, as they had taken this name *after* for some purpose.

2 Language

Is it in their original language or is it a Virtual Endless dialect that was taken as a prestige language that then was made official? I suspect the vodyani hasn't changed their language, as Virtuals probably switched later in their enhanced evolution for X-linary, digital language. 

More on vodyani lexicon - below.  

2a Naming practice - Personal Names

Right now it's a mix: 

Name (of a "pilot") + Name of Host/Saint - a Virtual Endless inhabiting this "Cloth" before.

We get names like Varb St Zouieina 

but then we have  Isyara St Shaiad and her brother - the heretic Isyander St Shaiad.  

Given those naming practices, the question here stands -  have Shalad "split" and is/was inhabiting both Clothess? It seems to be the only answer but then, WHY? There are no other characters showing this practice.

This could also clear some matters like a reemergence of  [classified] in Isyander and his infamous Heresy. 

This source asserts Isyander has changed his name into Isyander Shumèd. Shumed, shumed...is that *HIS* name or a self-given descriptor? 

3 General linguistics - Lexicon

I propose:

3a Name of their homeworld: 

Tchinomy Isn't it a scribe's error? - shouldn't it be Tchino-ym? Why? I hereby explain below:

Ships

Ark proper names: Help needed. Couldn't catalogue due to Dust Storms.

Leecher - Class Nayium - a "leecher"                  Nayi-um 

Explorer - Class Goaym - a "wheel"                      Goa-ym

Attacker - Class Sluaym - a "gouge"                       Slua-ym 

Protector - Class Toisam - a "rack"                         Tois-am

Coordinator - Class Letum - a "shield"                    Let-um

Hunter - Class Jaium - a "brand"                               Jai-um

Carrier - Class Ortaam - a "crusader"                    Orta-am

We have -ym -am -um most likely serve as an internal article denoting a grammatical gender. 

We don't have other examples of -my that is visible in Tchinomy. 

Given the nature of those brute Sheredyn Fleet Explorators it's no wonder it was catalogued errnoeously. It even sounds too "raian". Vodyani are abraian and alien in everything but a raianoid structure of their scavenged Endless Clothes. More like Cloths, given this context. Ha. 

Hereby I propose officialy to have the name of Tchinomy altered in all documentation to Tchinoym.

4 The question also stands - what about Non-Vodyani TchinoYMlings. Tchinoymi? Yes. What about them? Pics related

Pre-Cloth Era Vodyani had space habitats and probably also developed at least local space travel capabilities. Pic related

It's known there's STILL a shortage of Clothes for all to share, even now, after all this time of crusading and raiding Vurtual Ruins - so what happened shortly after the first discovery? There must have been an upheaval of sorts as it's certain no race that isn't singular in mind would not gently shed their bodies or be annihilated to power their brethren's Clothes, as Clothes were in even smaller numbers back then. Certainly, some specimens perished in this struggle, but some or even a substantial number of society could have splintered off and hid somewhere beyond the watchful gaze of ever-crusading Church. 

This theory is viable. They might be somewhere to be undiscovered.

rabureta wrote:

It should be noted that Letum is the name of the research station, and Ortaam the lead researcher, of the Endless at Bigeli that first discovered the process of virtualization. The Vodyani have therefore adopted at least some of the Vodyani language. This complicates the Tchinomy/Tchinoym question: the Vodyani, considering planets unclean or whatever the lore on the Ark mouseover says that I can't be bothered to check right now, may never have given their ruined homeworld the honor of an Endless-born name, leaving it instead in the old native tongue.

This makes matters complicated but opens possibility to use Torian language more, at least for some proper names. Also there's a matter of typeface:

Right now everything that is "ciphered" using the Endless script is plain English underneath or just a random string of characters. 

UPDATE 

I think localization contains some errors like Ark is in files it's Halaym-class Role: Ark A holy name, and the first Vodyani whose Cloth permitted cohabitation with a Virtual. that is cohabitant (but not dominant) with classical "nameless" description and name. I guess it was overlooked. In my free time I will scour the files and make do with all proper names I can find.

I think there's a pattern where Virtual lexicon is discernible from Vodyani. This is quite a work and I think might be a moot point if team (IF) is making it all on the go. I was part of a deciphering team in Skyrim - but there were also Out of Game materials and an idea that was larger-than-game.

Still, the name, Vodyani, its meaning, its language even, elludes me and entices still.