Request: Help us develop language lore

[Inali]

All -

Cassian, Aeodan, and myself are working on a small development project where we suggest some changes to the languages. One of the changes we're most excited to take part in is tying small snippets of lore surrounding each language to the language list. Right not, unless another PC has written about a language, you're forced to PM people or make up your own details regarding the origin of this language.

So, if you have a language (or multiple languages) you added to the language list, please feel free to write a snippet of lore about the language and post in this thread. Here are some ideas to get you started - where did the language originate from? We have regions, but perhaps a certain language came from a desert tribe near the early city of xyz? How old is this language? What purpose did this language serve? Why did it develop instead of the speakers utilizing Common?

Please feel free to add any other interesting details you can think of. Link us to lore snippets you've already written IC! Lastly, thank you. We hope this project will provide a more immersive experience for all.

P.S. Feel free to work on lore for other languages as well, even if you didn't add them to the list. We anticipate a section of 'orphan languages' that will need lore write-ups. If you're interested in a language, write about it!

[Yndira]

I'd be up for helping with this!

[Inali]

I'd be up for helping with this!

Yay! Please post away or pm Aeo, Cassian, or myself with any questions. We look forward to your contribution.

[Edalene]

Duh doy. I'll be writing for this, as fellow linguist nerd. I'll post away with some backstories for each language as I go. I'll also update this post with languages I'm working on atm.

Nerds unite!

[Basilisk]

Quick bit for the Atvian language that will, eventually, wind up in the Imperial Codex.

Atvian, while not the "official" language of the Eternal Empire, is the oldest spoken language in the Empire. This is due to Atvian having been the language the Raskithecal spoke before Raskalarn recruited them to her cause, where they learned to speak common more easily in order to better interact with the other servants of the Immortal of Conquest.

Owing to its age, Atvian is a very formal, precise, and controlled language when spoken, though the sound of the language itself is surprisingly harsh and guttural. That being said, while the language itself isn't as common as...well, common, the Atvian accent is very commonly associated with the central region of the Eternal Empire, especially Korlasir. Despite the actual languages harsher tones and formal nature, the Atvian accent, when applied to common, is a soft, relaxed sounding affectation of speech.

(Atvian is meant to be based off Scottish Gaelic, with the Atvian accent being a soft Scottish accent. If you're looking for an example, most of Kura's threads show her accent, which is an Atvian one.)

[Cassian Gawyne]

Just to give this a little bit of structure, this is my list of information available on the various languages and/or who might have information on it or have had some ideas.

--Orphaned refers to a language that has no information and not seen any use in game at all from what I can tell. Languages that were at least associated with a location or people were not considered orphaned.

-S means spoken only,
-W written only and
-G denotes a language using gestures.

EASY

Athivelienic --Orphaned

Atvian (Korlasir)

Atvian, while not the "official" language of the Eternal Empire, is the oldest spoken language in the Empire. This is due to Atvian having been the language the Raskithecal spoke before Raskalarn recruited them to her cause, where they learned to speak common more easily in order to better interact with the other servants of the Immortal of Conquest.

Owing to its age, Atvian is a very formal, precise, and controlled language when spoken, though the sound of the language itself is surprisingly harsh and guttural. That being said, while the language itself isn't as common as...well, common, the Atvian accent is very commonly associated with the central region of the Eternal Empire, especially Korlasir. Despite the actual languages harsher tones and formal nature, the Atvian accent, when applied to common, is a soft, relaxed sounding affectation of speech.

(Atvian is meant to be based off Scottish Gaelic, with the Atvian accent being a soft Scottish accent. If you're looking for an example, most of Kura's threads show her accent, which is an Atvian one.)

Banumi -S

Cerke -W

Common -S

Common Sign -G

Cursive -W

Grovokian (Naerikk)

Grovokian is the common language spoken between Naer in Augiery.

Hussian (Hiladrith)

Hussian is a tongue that is spoken with words as much as gestures and expressions. Hussian was originally developed as the trade tongue used among the Brochu after they settled Hiladrith. Centuries passing has seen it worm its way into the population. Hussian is a tongue that is guarded secret in Hiladrith. It is the tongue of insults, of wry observations. While no longer a language central for communication, Hussian is used primarily by those of the upper class to snidely talk ‘around’ outsiders.

Irarian --Orphaned

Ith'ession (Etzos)

Jourkadri Cuts -W

Leni (Ellune/Treidhart) --@Teriyani

Murnasian -S --1 mention by @Patrick --Effectively Orphaned

Nysin --Orphaned

Rakahi (Biqaj/Ne'haer/Rynmere) -S

Rakahi is a language passed down through the many generations of Biqaj. Learning this language defines their heritage as most pure blooded Biqaj can understand one another through Rakahi. This is another way they can weed out the mixed bloods and impostors. Though it is very subtle, the language has specific accents and undertones when certain words or syllables are uttered that gives a clue to other where you were raised. Most Biqaj's are raised in Ne'haer, thus, they have a very soft, yet husky accent and their syllables are often slurred together yet crispy sounding. Rakahi can be a difficult language to learn, however, it is not impossible. With a lot of work and fine tuning, anyone can speak like a true Biqaj

Pailtic (Rhakros)

Xanevic (Rhakros)



MEDIUM

Anume --Orphaned

Arathnaka Runes -W --Orphaned

Avrielian Script (Avriel/Athart) -W

Basa

Devakian (Iulure Isles) -S

Euthic Sign (Naerikk/Augiery) -G

Another common form of language used between Naerikk is Euthic Sign. Subtle facial expressions and hand positions mean the most among Naerikk. The words spoken in a conversation between Naer cannot be taken as fact, because the words coming out of their mouths and the meaning explained in their gestures can be completely different. Naerikk are masters of saying one thing and meaning another.

Haltunga (Lotharro/Uthaldria)

Because of their intentional seclusion, the Lothar have developed a very distinct language, Haltunga. Mainly composed of short-syllabled words and quick, guttural bursts, Haltunga is rather difficult for an outsider to learn, and may cause problems for all but the most experienced linguists.

When written, Haltunga comes in many different forms. Though they share a common structure, the different variations are a sort of short hand that each Lothar learns from their Path. Each has its use, but is mostly used for coded messages that make it increasingly difficult for outsiders to decipher, even if they learn the basics of the language.

Ku'aric --Orphaned

Lorien (Avriel/Athart) -S

Nidtaic --Orphaned

Ominowa --Orphaned

Perwarshian --Orphaned

Pij'thak --Orphaned

Rifaish --Orphaned

Sulnysian --Orphaned

Umaya (Qi'ora/Nashaki)

Umaya is the language of the Qi'ora, a tongue spoken with long, fluid vowels followed with short, curt consonants. When reading Umaya, one reads vertically from left to right. Characters resemble etchings, drawn in three strokes of a brush. The Qi'ora tongue generally favors shorter words spoken slowly, with each word emphasized carefully. Subtle emphasis can change the entire meaning of a word or phrase.

Umhini --Orphaned

Vahanic (Quacia)

Vauni (Aukari/Sirothelle) -S

The Aukari speak a unique language that can be difficult for an outsider to pick up without a proper teacher. There are two forms of languages they use and they sometimes intertwine both languages as a way to fool anyone listening to them or reading their messages. Their language, on parchment, appears runic with dashes and crisp, sharp edges. Almost always will their words connect to one another, the way that humans use cursive to write their sentences.

Their spoken languages are Vauni and Sau'ei. Pronouns, pronunciation, and other forms of grammar will be edited and expanded upon as the roleplay progresses.

Vorkelien --Orphaned

Xanthea (Sev'ryn/Desnind)

The language that all Sev'ryn knows is Xanthea and can speak it quite fluently. In fact, it is the dominate language in Desnind, but some will attempt to learn other languages as well. Languages that others who have gone out into the world have gained. Most of these other languages will be broken unless the elder that has been teaching the language, has spent enough time within the other culture in order to speak it proficiently. Their handwriting is curved and slanted. Some may take pride in their writing and add an extra curve, while others will simply rush while writing, often making it hard to read for those that do not know the language.

HARD

Ancient Language (Eidisi/Immortals/Viden) -S

Dehasin (Human Slaves/Athart) -S

Draketh (Knights/Valaris/Rynmere) --@Olivia Warrick @Malcolm

Dregneen --Orphaned

Dydahi Etch (Spoken Component???) --Orphaned

G'ni --Orphaned? Forum search couldn't handle the word.

Gihysian (Hiladrith) -W

Naratrien -S --Orphaned

Omyeric --Orphaned

Qa (Yludih/Uleuda) -W

An optional language spoken is Qa in which is a coded language used in the various languages throughout Idalos.

Sau'ei (Aukari/Sirothelle) -W

Tree Talk (Tunawa/Magani) -Mimicking

Ulehi (Yludih/Uleuda) -S

Yludih language is mostly spoken in Uleuda. This is required to receive an education.

Vucostic Signs (The Cauldron) -G

Xototi -S --Orphaned

Yjik

Yjik is hardly spoken at all, but when it is, it is found in Cathirus religious texts. It was once a prominent language used through much of Cathirus, but with its joining into the Ivorian Empire, the language has slowly become forgotten, with its only uses found in translating old scriptures and writing new texts.

Zekarian Runes (Iulure Isles) -W

[Cassian Gawyne]

An afterthought that's been bugging me ever since we started this thing:

Spoken vs. Written vs. Written/Spoken languages.

Does every Written/Spoken language use a different alphabet? Cause historically that would be insane. Ignoring a few short-lived scripts such as runes (the entire idea of which was lifted from the Roman alphabet to begin with) and throwing together Greek and Cyrillic you've had two systems of writing dominating all of Europe for over 2000 years on earth. At the other end of the world it's almost the same with Chinese characters. Not necessarily just because of the Roman conquest or the absence of written forms to begin with but also because of convenience.

That's why virtually everyone the world over uses Hindu-Arabic numerals these days. The decimal expression is convenient for a species with ten fingers. I find it hard to believe that all these languages have their completely original written forms. I'd rather believe that those languages without written forms have simply never been transcribed or escape easy transcription because of complexity of expression or specific requirements such as gestures or tonal cues. Or maybe it's just a case of how English and German use the same basic alphabets but German has some extra 'special letters' such as ä, ö, ü and ß.

But that would beg the question why the Ancient Language has no transcription cause surely, all those scholarly Eidisi want to write down their findings. So the suggestion here really goes towards they all having autonomous forms of written language.

Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

[Edalene]

A NOTE: Linguistically there would be few written languages that did not have a spoken correspondence. These would fall more under scripts or cryptography, as for someone to make sense of them they’d have to correspond to phonology. It would either be their own language (so a written/spoken combo) or it would be a script which corresponds to an alphabet that represents the phonology of a language family. Example: The Tengwar script in LOTR corresponds to both Sindarin and Quenya spoken languages as they have the same phonology but different morphology.

[Niv]

Can it be established that Xanthea have odd drawn out turns of phrases that involve animals? seems like they would for some reason. I can see the Biqaj language also having similar strange sayings.

[Patrick]

Got something of a project here; Orimaran Runes! Bit of an unknown quantity but its derived from the use of the Zekarian Runic language, more to come on this down the line.