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Originally Posted by Shayuri

A bonus language is known in addition to any languages gained any other way (by race, skill, class or intelligence).

For example, Druidic is a bonus language for druids. They get it no matter what.

Originally Posted by Ambrus

Makes sense. If Varisians don't know their own native language then who does?

The term "bonus language" was used in 3.X to refer to the selection of languages from which a character could pick the extra languages granted to him by virtue of a high Intelligence score. But, looking over the the Beta playtest rules, Pathfinder seems to have done away with it as a game term; probably because the word "bonus" was misleading.

Looking at the elf racial section in the beta ruleset, I note the following with regard to racial bonus languages:

Languages: Elves begin play speaking Common and
Elven. Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose any
of the following: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc,
and Sylvan.

Looking at the cleric section in the beta ruleset, I note the following with regard to class bonus languages:

Originally Posted by PF Beta

Bonus Languages: A cleric’s bonus language options
include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of
good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively).
These choices are in addition to the bonus languages
available to the character because of her race.

As far as class-related bonus languages go, you're still selecting out of a list of possibilities according to your character's Int bonus. And it looks to me like it's the same as the 3.5 PHB for racial languages--each race is provided a list of bonus language options, from which a player may select one or more depending upon his character's Int bonus. I wouldn't infer, from looking at the beta ruleset, that bonus languages are automatically granted. Think of it this way--a character of Varisian blood may or may not have grown up knowing his roots, his culture, or his family's background. There's little basis for an automatic assumption that he knows Varisian simply because he was born of Varisian blood.

That said, it's dumb not to get what in this very specific case is a very specific subset of a language that makes a great deal of sense for a PC to possess. So, yes, if you're Chelish, Varisian, or Shoanti, you get the bonus language of your race/sub-race for free. If you so chose. I can certainly see cases where someone would decline a language. That decision, however, will remain yours as a player. Is this an across the board thing that will apply to all bonus languages for all classes and races? No way. I don't think the beta rules support that idea.

If you want to press me on this a bit more, shoot an e-mail my way. As always, you'll find me malleable if you make a good argument that I can buy into. wlburford@hotmail.com