D&D 3.x Question about languages in d&d 1e through 3.5

[Son of the Serpent]

Im trying to locate a complete and accurate (or as close as i can come for both of those qualifiers) tree of languages in d&d for these editions.

Clarifying edit: a tree that details how the languages dervie from older ones from the most ancient one or couple in the multiverse carrying forward. Sorry i was unclear.

 

[Turgenev]

I can't speak for 3.0 or 3.5 (it has been ages since I've looked at my 3.0 books and I never did 3.5), but in old school D&D languages usually could be broken down as the following:

Common (and Undercommon for those that dwell in the Underdark -- which appeared in late 1E AD&D and was carried over to 2E IIRC)
Alignment languages
Special/secret class based languages (Thieves' Cant and Druid - at least in 1E AD&D)
Each race (including monsters) had their own language. For example, Hill Giants spoke Hill Giant while Frost Giants spoke Frost Giant.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Son of the Serpent]

I can't speak for 3.0 or 3.5 (it has been ages since I've looked at my 3.0 books and I never did 3.5), but in old school D&D languages usually could be broken down as the following:

Common (and Undercommon for those that dwell in the Underdark -- which appeared in late 1E AD&D and was carried over to 2E IIRC)
Alignment languages
Special/secret class based languages (Thieves' Cant and Druid - at least in 1E AD&D)
Each race (including monsters) had their own language. For example, Hill Giants spoke Hill Giant while Frost Giants spoke Frost Giant.

Cheers,
Tim

Thanks. I was a little unclear but this is still helpful.

 

[aco175]

Try some of the FR sites. I recall seeing some stuff on language and writing. Some of the stuff like dwarf writing uses the same as draconic writing meaning it may have been tied together in the past.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

What does FR stand for? Thanks btw.

 

[Turgenev]

Here is some World of Greyhawk language specifics (mainly from a 1E AD&D perspective). There are several regional/cultural languages for Greyhawk.

• Common (combination of Ancient Baklunish and Old Oeridian)
• Suloise (dead language almost extinct, only known to a few scholars)
• Flan (the oldest, yet stagnant, language still spoken)
• Ancient Baklunish (while it is one of the ancestors of the Common tongue, it is significantly different from modern common; still spoken in the Paynim tribes)
• Old Oeridian (it is a 'younger' language with the exception of Common)

There are also several dialects/sub-languages:

• Feral (secret language spoken by officials of the Iron League)
• Nyrondese (High Oeridian dialect of Common)
• The Cold Tongue (dialect, also known as Fruz, is spoken commonly by the Ice, Snow, and Frost Barbarians)
• Velondi (rural dialect of Common along the Furyondy-Veluna border)
• Keolandish (local dialect of Old High Oeridian used in and arounds Keoland)
• Lendorian (obscure dialect spoken in the Spendrift Isles)

And Gnomish is also known as Neblin in the World of Greyhawk. It is commonly used by scholars/sages for taxonomy purposes.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Turgenev]

What does FR stand for? Thanks btw.

I believe FR is Forgotten Realms

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Usus]

Long and complex language trees has been written by fans for the Mystara setting.
You can find an overview here: Ethnography and Languages

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Thx guys.

 

[digitalelf]

Greyhawk Player's Guide (2e) goes into more detail about each of the languages Turgenev cites above.

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book (3e) lists in addition to the various core 3e language, several human regional tongues and their relationships between the other languages.