Corinnguard
Hero
They're regional, aren't they?
D&D General Languages suck in D&D.
- Thread starter Steampunkette
- Start date
They are!
Which is why North American English is more like 12 languages, going by your chart.
Though, -really- these are all just very broadly defined Dialects of English, just like Scots English. Where the vast majority of words contain the same intentions, meanings, and definitions, but there's some significant drift in which words are more commonly used, local phrases, pronunciation leading to accents, and unique terminologies.
Like "Bubbler" instead of "Water Fountain". Or the regional agreement on Soda, Pop, or Coke.
This is because:
1) North America is massive
2) Different languages influenced different areas based on specific cultural diaspora
3) Mass media and public education slow the drift significantly
Without newspapers, television, and movies there'd be a -ton- more lingual drift in North America after 500 years of settlement.
Crimson Longinus
Legend
Calling all fizzy drinks "coke" is bonkers though.
"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"A coke."
"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"A coke."
Corinnguard
Hero
More like one language and dozens of regional dialects TBH.
So, what do you want the rest of us to do when it comes to language use in D&D?
Corinnguard
Hero
Especially when Coke usually refers to a specific brand of soft drink. I am a Dew fan. Dew as in Mountain Dew. How dew ya?Calling all fizzy drinks "coke" is bonkers though.
"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"A coke."
Kobold Avenger
Legend
Jamaican Patois might be considered another language, but it's recognizable as English when spoken. And I think there's a few languages like that.
In parts of the South, Pepsi and other brands basically didn't exist even after they were founded. Everything was a Coca-Cola product whether you were buying it off store shelves or ordering it in a restaurant. "Coke" became a stand in for "Soda" in the same way "Xerox" was used to mean "Copy".Calling all fizzy drinks "coke" is bonkers though.
"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"A coke."
Coca-Cola started in Georgia in the 1880s, and while Pepsi was a thing in the early 1900s in North Carolina it also went bankrupt by 1923, so it's distribution network collapsed. It would be 1936 and their "Nickel Nickel" campaign where they doubled Coca-Cola's volume for a nickel during the Great Depression that they'd get popular, again. By that point, Coca-Cola had 50 years of steamrolling the market.
You know how a lot of people describe TTRPGs as "Like D&D" to get people to understand? That was Coke in Georgia in the 1930s.
It makes sense when you consider the cultural context.
I did note that these were dialects, and specifically only if you REALLY stretch the definition of a dialect. But your chart was, also, just dialects.More like one language and dozens of regional dialects TBH.
So, what do you want the rest of us to do when it comes to language use in D&D?
And basically nothing, really? This isn't a call to arms of me saying "You're doing it wrong at your table" this is mostly me ranting about how trash it is as a system implemented by WotC and carried forward by other publishers attempting to be 5e compatible. For Narrative purposes, specifically.
The linguistic equivalent of 5e saying "The Weave is the source of all magic and without it, no one can do magic, and this is specifically how magic works across the universe in every setting forever."
Sure, it screws over Dark Sun's whole design, but who cares?
Languages do the same thing on a cultural level, as currently implemented. Papering over a rich narrative option that can increase the depth of a given setting with "You speak Elf."
User51
Explorer
I've been following along and I think an idea is starting to form about how I could introduce more meaningful language into my games without totally disrupting play.
Most of the time, most characters understand most NPCs. I'll assume this is Common/Westron or whatever the lingua franca of the setting is. Most clues, maps, books, etc. are also in this language, unless it is specific to the adventure I'm running that it be different. (Why would Bunfundians write in Common to other Bunfundians? We will never know.)
When a player meets an NPC and they speak the same language, there will be bonuses (+1, +2, advantage) to reaction rolls, investigation rolls, intuition rolls (how I hate that skill), or however socials are resolved. This simulates the positive reaction that people often get when someone unexpectedly understands their language, whether when they encounter each other in a foreign land or when someone clearly foreign knows some of the language.
Players and NPCs who share a language can speak in that language to conceal what they are saying from others.
PCs that overhear people speaking in a language they think the PC can't understand get to know what the NPCs are saying, basically no roll required unless there are impediments.
I could go for two levels of fluency that would determine the extent of the bonus, as well as penalties for xenophobic types if we want to add that. (Oh, you know a little Bunfundian? Awesome! Wait - you know a lot of Bunfundian? That's worrisome....)
"Other languages" becomes a potential plot hook. Go find someone who can translate King BunnyFunny's diary.
Still considering whether to give additional bonuses based on the language itself. That's a level of magic that would be typical in 5e, but not my jam. Usually.
Most of the time, most characters understand most NPCs. I'll assume this is Common/Westron or whatever the lingua franca of the setting is. Most clues, maps, books, etc. are also in this language, unless it is specific to the adventure I'm running that it be different. (Why would Bunfundians write in Common to other Bunfundians? We will never know.)
When a player meets an NPC and they speak the same language, there will be bonuses (+1, +2, advantage) to reaction rolls, investigation rolls, intuition rolls (how I hate that skill), or however socials are resolved. This simulates the positive reaction that people often get when someone unexpectedly understands their language, whether when they encounter each other in a foreign land or when someone clearly foreign knows some of the language.
Players and NPCs who share a language can speak in that language to conceal what they are saying from others.
PCs that overhear people speaking in a language they think the PC can't understand get to know what the NPCs are saying, basically no roll required unless there are impediments.
I could go for two levels of fluency that would determine the extent of the bonus, as well as penalties for xenophobic types if we want to add that. (Oh, you know a little Bunfundian? Awesome! Wait - you know a lot of Bunfundian? That's worrisome....)
"Other languages" becomes a potential plot hook. Go find someone who can translate King BunnyFunny's diary.
Still considering whether to give additional bonuses based on the language itself. That's a level of magic that would be typical in 5e, but not my jam. Usually.
Azzy
ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ (He/Him)
It's not really any different that other brands and trademarks that have become genericized—like Xerox, Jacuzzi, Bubble Wrap, Cellophane, etc.Calling all fizzy drinks "coke" is bonkers though.
"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"A coke."
CreamCloud0
Hero
except all those products you mention, it doesn't really matter what brand you get it's still functionally the same type of product, bubble wrap is bubble wrap, but coke is not pepsi is not fanta is not sprite is not 7up so referring to them all as 'coke' is just confusing.
