Setting-fluff terminology? Simple or Unique?

[S'mon]

Look at the first Star Wars film. The names for all of the fantasy elements are very basic: Force, star destroyer...

Although star 'destroyers' are actually heavy cruisers (and are referred to as cruisers by Han Solo in SW) which can be confusing to those familiar with RW naval terminology where a destroyer is a small, expendable ship, not a huge cruiser or battleship. Galactica's "Battlestar" was a lot more intuitive.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Put me down for a "less is more" as well. Do use the terminology. But use it sparingly, only for the first time a subject comes up. And translate it. Then stick with the English.

Maybe have a (frinstance) Eladrin character use some Eladrin terms then, in character, wait for the PCs blank looks before he translates snootily. Maybe with a heavy sigh too. It can add some roleplaying fun for you by letting you use your (nicely thought out) words and you can raise a couple of (good natured) fingers to the players. Assuming you and your players get on well enough that razzing on one another is all part of the fun. Otherwise maybe less of the raised fingers.

 

[arscott]

See, the thing about english is that it's really really big. And, as in the case of Samurai, it's borrowing more words from other languages every day.

For all your obscure Gaelic words, chances are you could find distinctive english words, or more recognizable foreign words for which no glossary is needed.

• Dragon age is mentioned above as an example of a setting with few made-up words. And yet consider "The Chantry", used to describe the setting's religion. A real english word, it's evocative, memorable, and unique.
• In an example above, Vartan mentions "'Aulfdar,' a politically loaded title that is comparable to the word 'fuhrer' in German." But why not just use Führer? It's instantly recognizable, and it matches the gruff germanic feel that's characteristic of most fantasy dwarven languages.
• In his Against the Giants series, Gygax called the leader of the frost giants a 'Jarl'. This scandinavian word matches the cultural connotations of the giants, and because it's so close to the english 'Earl', it gives us no pause whatsoever.

As for your specific terms:

Eladrin/Elf[Sblock]Gaelic and Welsh words are neither recognizable, nor particularly easy to spell and pronounce. I'd recommend using them sparingly, and when you do use them, don't be afraid to liberally anglicize--Shee instead of Sidhe, Berrin instead of Bairrfhionn, etc.

Ard Ordu: The Eladrin ruling council
What about using the word 'table' for council? It's unique, but easy to grasp (after all, we have bureaus and cabinets in our government today). I'd personally go with "Table of Lords".

Gol Uirthi: Eladrin earrings that denote caste
I'd just call these "Eladrin Caste Earrings" and be done with it. The concept is unique enough that you don't need a fancy name for it.

Péarla Foirfe: The term for the whole of Eladrin Society
I'm not sure why you need a word for this.

Scáth Amharc Ar: The Eladrin secret police
I'd keep this, or a shortened form of it. It sounds cool, and this sort of organization works fine with a unique name.

Angau Helfa: The elven death hunt
Why not just "The Wild Hunt"? It's a classic.

Rhythid: Elven concept of freedom and destiny
Presumably, elves' conception of freedom and destiny are different enough from humans' that this deserves its own word, in which case Rhythid is just fine. (Though I might tweak the spelling to achieve the desired pronunciation).

Therwyth: Elven druid
I'd probably just stick with "druid" here.[/Sblock]Dwarf[Sblock]German has two advantages when it comes to creating dwarven terms. First, many distinctive german words are recognizable to english speakers. Second, the german and english share a common origin. So look for recognizable german words, and german words that sound similar to their english counterparts (for example, Ghost = Geist, Crown = Krone, etc.)

Atmenschreiben: Ritualistic rune reading
As in divination? I'd just stick with "Dwarven Rune Caster", or somesuch.

Kunstmadchen: Dwarven entertainer-girls
Fraulein is more recognizable than madchen, and judging by the comments, is also more age appropriate. How about "Kunstfraulein", or even "Kulturfraulein"?

Todessuchen: Dwarven rite of passage of wandering the land
What about "Wandernzeit" (wander-time)?[/sblock]Halfling[Sblock]If you're using a language as exotic as Taino for your halflings, I'm guessing that a gap in cultural understanding might very well be the point. I'd use these words, but sparingly, with the expectation that neither the players (and for that matter, their characters) won't actually memorize them.

Cacike: Halfling family leader
Guani: Extended family or clan
Bija: A red dye halfling warriors paint themselves in[/Sblock]

 

[Squizzle]

I was thinking about the first Star Wars film when I first read the original post yesterday. The film gives a few sentences briefly setting the stage in the opening crawl, and then drops the viewer right into the universe, with little explanation. Within the first hour of the film, the viewer easily picks up that in this fictional universe, they call robots "droids" and Luke's car is called a "speeder." Mos Eisley is a "spaceport" and the farmers on Tatooine use "moisture vaporators." Those are not the conventional terms that we use in English, but they are (or are derived from) English words and their meanings are similar.

Even better examples of using the players' native language to create mystique than I had been able to provide. Thanks for elaborating where I failed.

Even the made-up words are simple and easy to pronounce. The little desert scavengers that capture R2-D2 are called "jawas." Luke's father and Ben Kenobi were both "Jedi knights" -- and despite the word being used perhaps half a dozen times in the film, kids were pretending to be "Jedi" after seeing the movie a single time. Han Solo's tall, furry companion is a "wookiee." The "sand people" ride "banthas." There's just enough to make the universe depicted in the film feel exotic, but not so much that the viewers' are left trying to remember a long list of terms.

"Jedi" is notable as being the only pure fantasy term in the movie, lacking any clear English derivation, that is plot-important. You don't ever need to truly get what a bantha is, or risk being lost from the narrative. When you hear "jawas", the context makes it explicitly clear what they--and once they're gone, you don't need to care if you somehow managed to miss what they were, as long as you understand that tiny squeak-hobos grabbed and sold the droids. "Wookiee" might be an species, a job description, or an affectionate nickname, so far as it matters to the film; it only ever refers to Chewbacca, so it's no big loss that you don't know a general definition, provided you know its specific referent withing the context of the movie. Even "Jedi", the single term that is both plot-important and unrelated to English, is used in conjunction with "knight", almost(?) every time: it is clear that the Jedi are a special order of fighting-men, who--it is made unambiguous--favored the use of the lightsaber and various abilities granted through the psychic Force.

As you noted, the character names are generally very simple as well. Even the alien characters named in the film have unusual-sounding but simple names: Greedo, Jabba the Hutt, Chewbacca.

And most of those alien names are for characters we're not supposed to sympathise with: Jabba is a throw-away reference to establish things about Han; Greedo is only a little more meaningful than that. Chewbacca, within the context of the first movie, doesn't matter as a character. He's Han's monster sidekick whose presence serves to make Han seem that much more interesting and exciting. You don't need to care about him as a person, so his name being consonant vomit is a non-issue. The most exotic name on a character we're meant to care about (aside the droids) is "Leia", but that doesn't sound implausible as a human name--and anyway, princesses are supposed to be a little distant and exotic.

Yes, the droids R2D2 and C-3PO have silly, unrelatable names, but that's for specific narrative effect. 3PO, at least, is a perspective character, reacting with the fret and confusion that the audience might express if they were thrust into similar circumstances; it's intentional irony that he, one of the most "authentically human" characters, is a robot with goofy arms and a serial number instead of a name.

 

[Wik]

[*]In an example above, Vartan mentions "'Aulfdar,' a politically loaded title that is comparable to the word 'fuhrer' in German." But why not just use Führer? It's instantly recognizable, and it matches the gruff germanic feel that's characteristic of most fantasy dwarven language

Having never played Dragon Age, I know nothing about the context, but...

...possibly because you hear "Fuhrer", you think "hitler"? I know most people would, even if it's just subconsciously. And using a word like that in a game (especially if the character isn't the main villain) is a good way to draw negative press. There are a lot of people in the united states and europe that are the descendants of holocaust survivors... they don't want to see such a germanic term being used in a game if the game isn't explicitly about sticking it to hitler.

 

[Dausuul]

The most exotic name on a character we're meant to care about (aside the droids) is "Leia", but that doesn't sound implausible as a human name--and anyway, princesses are supposed to be a little distant and exotic.

Leia is a human name, from the Biblical Leah. I have a friend whose name is Leia, though hers is pronounced "LEE-yuh" rather than "LAY-yuh."

 

[arscott]

Having never played Dragon Age, I know nothing about the context, but...

...possibly because you hear "Fuhrer", you think "hitler"? I know most people would, even if it's just subconsciously. And using a word like that in a game (especially if the character isn't the main villain) is a good way to draw negative press. There are a lot of people in the united states and europe that are the descendants of holocaust survivors... they don't want to see such a germanic term being used in a game if the game isn't explicitly about sticking it to hitler.

Oh, that's not from Dragon Age (AFAIK, I haven't played the game either). It's just an example Vartan gave in this post. I assume that Fascist connotations were part and parcel of the "equivalent to fuhrer" bit. The term (literally "Leader" or "Guide") was not used as a title outside of a fascist context. If that's wasn't the desired effect, any number of other english or german terms might be used instead.

I've been catching up on my Fullmetal Alchemist, which uses Fuhrer to describe Bradley, the king and military leader of the country that the series is set in. The term is well used.

 

[Sparky]

I like to make words and sprinkle them in anyway - and then get a kick out of when my players rename stuff (Toad suckers) because THAT is organic language development in action. And a good laugh for the table.

---

My real purpose for writing was to talk about Watership Down. I read it as a kid and LOVED the sprinkling of words. Through the course of the book, they eventually become second nature and deal with daily rabbit activities or experiences. From memory...

hraka = make pellets, go #2
embleer = stink (skunk)
silflay = graze, browse, eat
-rah = suffix denoting high standing

The rabbits silflay above ground on various things. Clover is silflay-rah. Rabbits love the clover. The also make hraka above ground as well.

So, the novel goes along, the words become transparent, natural feeling and then there's this big showdown and one of the protagonists says to an antagonist, "Silflay hraka, embleer-rah!"

I loved it. I read that book freaking 25 years ago. And that has stuck with me all this time.

All that to say - Chaoszero, you're not alone in your language dorkiness and the game is for you AND the players... but, um, they outnumber you.