Language: Difference between revisions

These languages are presumed to descend from Prime, although the mechanics and alphabets of Dwarven, Human and Elven show almost no similarities.  

*Sidhe - The language of the [[Elves]], and the primary language written and spoken in [[Sidhe-Praxen]]. A flowing melodic language that reflects the elven perception of the natural world. Indeed, ancient folklore and sordid tales speak of Sidhe's almost spell-like ability to evoke the emotions of listeners (usually fair ladies or handsome gentlemen put under the unfortunate thrall of a seductress). Written in Elven Script.

All human languages of the Mainland are presumed to have originated with Prime, although the subfamilies diverge enormously, and in some cases the similarities are disputed. The Human language tree,  as one might imagine from such a short-lived and prolific race, is much more diverse. All use one of two alphabets. Since the Human written tradition appears during the [[Ubrekti Empire]], all of the human languages of the civilized mainland use the [[Ubrekti Alphabet]]. Written language was only introduced to [[Ulan]] in the first century FI, by [[Mikos Lygit]] in exile, who taught the [[Zupan Alphabet]], a system of his own creation.  

*Odessan - The language of the [[Odessa|Odessan]] people, by virtue of its highly traditional societal mores and relatively stable long-term government, is fairly unique among the Prime branch of languages in that it has been relatively unchanged for the past couple of millennia. Even records from the very beginning, in the time of the [[Ubrekti Empire|Ubrekti Empire's]] dominance, are readable to any person literate in Odessan, even if they can be difficult to understand. Odessan is also still the most commonly spoken language in the northern coastal lands which once made up [[Alexia]] though Ubrekti is more popular in the eastern parts closer to the [[Temporal Authority]].

*Ubrekti - The language of [[Ubrekt]] and the [[Temporal Authority]]. It has widespread usage for a variety of reasons, most notably its original codification and spreading by the [[Ubrekti Empire]] and later adoption by the [[Alexandrian Church]] as the language of Church Affairs, which in turn lead to its adoption as the ''de facto'' language of the universities and scholars across the Mainland.

*Celesti - The language of [[Celestia]].

*Hakni - The language spoken by the humans of the [[Hakan (Human Kingdom)|Kingdom of Hakan]], it is rarely still spoken and only in a few parts of Ubrekt where the descendants of that kingdom were resettled.

*Giantish - The Giants have their own, very ancient, tongue, but many Giants, living solely or in small family groups among larger groups of other Servitors, speak it very rarely, instead opting for the more common Goblin or Orcish tongues. The Giantish tongue is a mystery, not because it is little known, but because it has survived for so long - [[Giant-kin]] tend to be spread out, and mingle with other races, yet Giants, when alone, will communicate with each other in Giantish. Anecdotes have reported that the vocabulary is even consistent among widely separated Giant groups, but due to the lack of interest among the Goodly Races in the language, as well as the sheer rarity of Giant kind, such stories are an unreliable source at best.  

*Goblin - The Goblin language is of uncertain origin--all that is really known about its history is that it is quite old, and several regional dialects exist, some of which are barely comprehensible to the others. It serves as a sort of '''lengu Ubrekti''' for subterranean Servitor races. It has a fairly large, albeit fairly unstandardized, vocabulary, and its main utility stems from its relative ability to convey difficult or abstract concepts, when compared to certain other Servitor languages (notably Kobold).

*Kobold - Kobold is less a language, and more of a pidgin of several regionally related languages (notably Gildenhome Goblin and Dwarvish). Its structure is not suitable for extremely abstract discussion, but its simplicity makes it a common language between Servitor groups when not enough time exists to form a proper linguistic connection (which is most of the time, since Servitors are hardly known for being particularly cooperative). Different regions have wildly different variations, but the language's sheer simplicity allows highly disparate Kobold cultures to communicate in broad strokes, which is usually more than enough to support the majority of Kobold diplomacy (as it is mainly composed of the actions "Fight" and "Do Not Fight"). The simple structure and vocabulary of Kobold make it particularly suited for battlefield use, especially in a group of varying linguistic background.  

*Orcish - Orcs have developed their own tongue, thought to be distantly related to Sidhe, but muddling from surrounding Human and Dwarvish groups (and a lack of living speakers of Sidhe on the Mainland) have kept any such speculations from being verified. Contrary to the rough nature of Orcish appearance, the tongue is melodic, and Orcish chants might be considered some of the more beautiful in the world, if they didn't regularly precede the destruction of the town that heard them.

*Druidic - The magical and mysterious language shared by all [[Druids]] regardless of background. Sometimes confused with being related to Sidhe or the strange Slyvan languages common to Fey creatures due to some mingling of vocabulary, it is a separate language with unique characteristics. The Druids themselves are not known to have made any comment on the matter, but the language seems to have some magical component as it is indecipherable and can not be learned by mundane means. Outside of short-lived magical spells such as ''comprehend languages'' or ''tongues'' only people who have trained as a druid can speak, read, or understand it.

The linguistic history of the [[Unknown Lands]] is largely unknown and unstudied. There is no regular or reliable contact or relations between the two lands and what few stories of contact do exist describe languages and writing systems with few similarities to Mainland languages.

Creatures from outside [[The Veil]] typically speak their own languages, but outside of especially scholarly clerics and wizards few would even know of the existence of these.

*Ssel'it - The language of the [[Lizardfolk]] is unique among the languages of the Mainland, largely due to their unique physiology. Much like cursive writing, all its sounds are combined into one sibilant chain of phonemes that is almost impossible for the untrained to distinguish into lexical units.

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