Discussion & Proposal: Regional Languages

Systole · Jun 13, 2012

jkason said:
I think someone else wanted Irthos to have a distinct language. I find it interesting that Landadel is brimming with derivatives while the three nations on the Inner Sea all share a language, too, but I'm not really opposed to such developments.

Languages tend to diverge where they're isolated -- often by mountains or other impassible terrain. Impassible terrain also tends to favor smaller states and countries, because you can't exactly sweep an army through a continent full of mountainous terrain and then maintain an empire that standardizes the language over the course of a century or two. I was making the leap that the multiple baronies in Landadel probably meant mountains or other impassible terrain, which meant lots of language divergence. With the Inner Sea keeping most of the surrounding lands in easy contact via sailing, and also having larger government units, the languages would tend to diverge less.

Realistically, a place like Landadel should have about 30 languages instead of four, and the Inner Sea should have a half-dozen, rather than one. But I think that's an Acceptable Break from Reality.

jkason said:
Uzka Mor for Inner Sea.
Bergnsprak for Stonetongue
Ogof'iaith for Cavetongue
Norey Jan for Northern Ilse

I'm generally a little wary of not having a clear link between the name of the language and its origin, because it gets hard to remember what maps to what, especially as the world grows.

GlassEye · Jun 13, 2012

I kinda like the names jkason posted but I definitely see the point about ease of remembering the names by making them close to the region they come from, e.g. Ilseyan or Ilessian for Illi Esse.

Pech are a good candidate for the Undercommon but their native language seems to be Terran. I don't have a problem with that; I think it actually works nicely.

Another thing to think about, Horselords of the Pell is fully approved now and the Pell are a combination of refugees from Rhat'matanis and the Landadel Baronies (but way back in E'n's dark ages). This would realistically make their language a mix of High Landellian, Rhat'mani and the Inner Sea language antecedents.

Since the Seithr Mountains seems to be the default homeland of the dwarves I don't think it would be unreasonable to have Dwarven be the regional language. Ha'Gruut would then be one of probably several unrelated tribal surface languages. Considering the background of Irthos it could be totally unrelated to anything else (like Basque). This would maintain that independence of language from Rorn and Rhat'matanis that Mowgli wanted for the nation.

Satin Knights · Jun 13, 2012

I liked Stonetongue and Cavetongue. Please no to the Uzak etc. I am another one that would never remember the names and their place associations.

Systole · Jun 14, 2012

I thought about Seithr being Dwarven, but I don't think it's a good idea for two reasons. First, while it does make some sense, it starts to blur the line between regional and racial languages. The second reason is that I think it would take something interesting away from the Seithr region. For example, we could also say that Jira'sahe is the same as Elven, but I think that having a Jiragan language adds a fun paragraph to the region's writeup.

I really like Irthian being the equivalent of Basque.

Has [MENTION=6667193]sunshadow21[/MENTION] weighed in on whether Tritower should speak the same language as Venza?

sunshadow21 · Jun 14, 2012

I would say that Tritower would have a good mixture of Venzan and Landadel, being quasi independent, but strongly allied with Venza. Local affairs and courts would be handled independently, but military and larger regional affairs would be handled in cooperation with Venza. Basically I see Tritower as a place of importance in and of itself, separate from Venza, but with enough business, political, and military ties to place it firmly in the Venzan zone of influence. For the most part they work together, but Venzan officials can never assume that Tritower officials will automatically agree to everything.

Systole · Jun 14, 2012

That sounds like Tritower is close enough to share a language. Here's my revised list:

Common is otherwise known as Venzan or Low Landellian, and is spoken in Venza and the surrounding areas, including Tritower. As Venza is the world’s most developed trade center, the Venzan language serves as the default common tongue throughout the known world.
Middle Landellian, Old Landellian, and High Landellian are spoken in the Landadel Baronies. Old Landellian tends to be spoken in the more far-flung reaches. Tal Hallow uses High Landellian.
Deltan in the Ouhm River valley.
Irthian in Irthos.
Ha’Gruut by barbarian tribes in Seithr mountains northwest of Irthos.
Seithran in most of the Seithr mountain ranges.
Pech is the common tongue of deep dwarves and other dwellers underground, having been adopted from the racial tongue of the pech themselves.
Inner Sea including the areas of the Harran, Heth, and Rorn.
Rhat’mani in the Rhat'Matanis region.
Jira'shae in the lands of Jirago on the western continent.
Illessian for the areas near Illi Esse.

jkason · Jun 14, 2012

Systole said:
Common is otherwise known as Venzan or Low Landellian, and is spoken in Venza and the surrounding areas, including Tritower. As Venza is the world’s most developed trade center, the Venzan language serves as the default common tongue throughout the known world.

Middle Landellian, Old Landellian, and High Landellian are spoken in the Landadel Baronies. Old Landellian tends to be spoken in the more far-flung reaches. Tal Hallow uses High Landellian.

Deltan in the Ouhm River valley.

Irthian in Irthos.

Ha’Gruut by barbarian tribes in Seithr mountains northwest of Irthos.

Seithran in most of the Seithr mountain ranges.

Pech is the common tongue of deep dwarves and other dwellers underground, having been adopted from the racial tongue of the pech themselves.

Inner Sea including the areas of the Harran, Heth, and Rorn.

Rhat’mani in the Rhat'Matanis region.

Jira'shae in the lands of Jirago on the western continent.

Illessian for the areas near Illi Esse.