For reference: "a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct. Constructed in Iran, Iraq and numerous other societies, this is an ancient system of water supply which allows water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation." -Wikipedia this makes sense for my fantasy setting as its inspired by rocky mountainous terrains surrounded by deserts (i have a folder of pictures from the Great Basin, the Sahara, and the Gobi). Qanats were also used in Arabia and Saharan societies, too. Because its fantasy, the characters don't have "nationalities" or "ethnicities" so to speak. Would it be strange to use an Arabic word like "qanat" rather than just describing the system itself? I want to stay away from explicitly stating what peoples why characters were based on, but I also don't want to use a vague description, either. right now, I have one of my MC's explaining it to another character: “There are networks of underground channels and connecting shafts that run down the mountain. They are ancient and how the Retryu thrive on the dry plains of the west.” From then on, i say "channels." but the thing about qanats is that they are primarily underground. Channels put me in mind of Venice and Roman aqueducts. Basically, a lot of visible water. Should I use "qanat" or stick to using "channels"? (wells that lead down shafts to tap into underground channels of water)
From a straw-poll of e-dictionaries, 'qanat' seems to have completed the process of being loaned into English for some of them but not others. It's come via several other languages; it's possibly a doublet (treblet?) with 'canal' and 'channel'; the pronunciation has shifted; and in English usage it loses its secondary resonance of a lance or reed... so in theory it shouldn't be any more indicative of Middle Eastern cultures now than the fact of there being a desert. But in practice it probably is. There is an alternative spelling 'kanat' which might be received more neutrally if readers associate initial hard q- with Arabic words. And then again, 'water conduit' (and perhaps once that's established just 'conduit') might be easier to read as well as more neutral. I'd suggest a conduit is more likely to be hidden or invisible, and it has fewer secondary meanings than 'channel' so might be easier to fix to its being used in one specialist sense. This book debates the etymology in it somewhere, but I couldn't find the right page due to vagaries of Google. There is a set of cross-sectional diagrams on this page https://archive.org/details/blindwhitefishin027090mbp/page/n87/mode/2up
I know the word qanat and would not find it out of place in a fantasy setting in the desert. But I would also second using "water tunnel" of, as d4ve said, "water conduit" if you want to be on the "safe side".
I think the word "qanat" can safely be used. We do not, after all, assume that anyone who uses aqueducts is Roman.
Qanat was properly used in Dune, one of my favorite books. It does conjure an image of something "ethnic", "nomadic", or "desert-y" though.
