D&D 5E How do outsiders understand Barovian writing and speech?

[Jackdaw]

Most Barovians have spent 400+ years in enforced isolation in a valley that may not be native to the PCs' homeworld. Some sub-groups are allowed free passage through the mists but none of them would be central to the language evolution of the core Barovian villager. Their speech would be alien or at least very archaic.

Outside of hand waving the whole thing as 'The Land Wills It', how would the PCs understand Barovian speech and writing? Any cool ideas from fellow DMs?

 

[Mercule]

The mists translate it imperfectly. To Americans, it would sound like everyone had cheesy, faux-Eastern European accents. (Come on, you knew it was coming).

In seriousness, the mists are the only explanation that makes any sense. Use it as an opportunity to apply whatever level of ham-fisted accent or the like you're comfortable with. Myself, I'll probably give the Vistani a slight accept and treat the Barovians normally, if a bit naive on many concepts.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, translating the Barovian into Common via magic is the best choice, IMO, because otherwise, the game changes into "what did he say? What did SHE say? OK, now what did HE say?" which might be fun for a one-off evening adventure, but which would be tiresome if you're in Barovia long (which you will be, unless you die fast).

 

[Ancalagon]

Blame Stradh. He grew tired of taunting visitors and them not understanding his cruel wit and dreadful puns, so he engineered a grand ritual of translation over the land.

As a result, when he dies the ritual end. Making it worse, people who were born and grown in Barovia have never learned to speak properly (they never had to!), and now make gibberish sounds and cannot understand each other. Sometimes it's better with the devil you know

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I think you might be overestimating the rate of language evolution among literate peoples. The text of the Mayflower Compact (below) was written in 1620, just under 400 years ago. How hard is it, really, for you to understand?

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November [New Style, November 21], in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

Or consider the King James Version of the Bible. Aside from the stuff in the Pentateuch about how many knops go on a vessel in the temple, how hard is it for you to pick up a copy of the KJV and understand what it's saying? There's a few minor changes that you pick up pretty easily (e.g. altered meaning of "wit"), and you could certainly incorporate those kinds of quirks into Barovian if you had a mind to do so and a linguist's tongue... but if you want to say linguistic drift is minimal, there's plenty of precedent to back it up.

However, if you want to say that Barovia is from another world entirely, then you have two choices: either provide some kind of virtual Babelfish for the PCs, or simply note the fact out loud to the players that the speech of Barovians is amazingly similar to Common even though Barovians have never heard of any country on your world, and then let abduction (in the intellectual sense: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/abduction/#AbdGenIde) go to work. Maybe the players will decide that this is a parallel universe. If you want to make a point of the fact that Barovian is not quite common, perhaps come up with a handful of specific differences that you can use to make their lives difficult, such as an extra tense in Barovian which doesn't exist in Common.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

They all speak Latin. Dead languages never evolve.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

There's an old concept in D&D, about how languages are innate to those who speak them. By this theory, a Draconic language (for example) does not develop independently on each world that has dragons; rather, dragons can all speak the same Draconic because it's part of the universal identity of what it means to be a dragon.

By that same token, Common could actually be common, regardless of the world you're on. If every world has Elves and Orcs and Pixies, then there's obviously something guiding them in this direction - quite possibly actual gods - so there's no reason why everyone can't speak the same languages everywhere you go.

 

[Ganymede81]

The Vistani are allowed to come and go from Barovia to other lands as often as they want. In fact, they often visit other lands in order to help Strahd lure others into the realm.

Between the constant influx of common-speaking adventures and the Vistani not having an opportunity to have their language "go archaic" due to constant exposure to the outside worlds, it makes a fair amount of sense that Barovians would speak normal Common.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Most Barovians have spent 400+ years in enforced isolation in a valley that may not be native to the PCs' homeworld. Some sub-groups are allowed free passage through the mists but none of them would be central to the language evolution of the core Barovian villager. Their speech would be alien or at least very archaic.

Outside of hand waving the whole thing as 'The Land Wills It', how would the PCs understand Barovian speech and writing? Any cool ideas from fellow DMs?

There's some linguistic drift. Everyone sounds like they have badly performed vaguely Eastern European accents.

THIS ISN'T BAD PERFORMANCE, IT'S VERISIMILITUDE, JERKS!

 

[Queer Venger]

The Vistani are allowed to come and go from Barovia to other lands as often as they want. In fact, they often visit other lands in order to help Strahd lure others into the realm.

Between the constant influx of common-speaking adventures and the Vistani not having an opportunity to have their language "go archaic" due to constant exposure to the outside worlds, it makes a fair amount of sense that Barovians would speak normal Common.

This.