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=What languages do people speak?= | =What languages do people speak?= | ||
− | In | + | In the starting region, there is a widely-spoken common tongue, alongside some cultural languages and some primarily racial languages. (Decision: [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?761590-D-amp-D-5e-Let-s-build-a-setting!&p=19301424#post19301424]) |
− | Eight languages feature prominently in the starting region; the names they have at present are | + | Eight languages feature prominently in the starting region; the names they have at present are temporary. A sample paragraph in English is provided, which has been translated into each language: |
:''"The king and queen ordered the warriors to defend the town. The good warrior shoots the fierce dragon with his bow and arrows. The bountiful queen will reward the great warrior."'' | :''"The king and queen ordered the warriors to defend the town. The good warrior shoots the fierce dragon with his bow and arrows. The bountiful queen will reward the great warrior."'' | ||
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==Common (Gnomish)== | ==Common (Gnomish)== | ||
− | This is the language of the gnomes, who are most populous across the whole | + | This is the language of the gnomes, who are most populous across the whole starting region, as well as humans and some others. It forms an effective ''lingua franca'' for the area. It wasn't always so; Old Imperial used to be more widespread. Common is written using a short curvilinear alphabet; it used to be written boustrophedonically (ie back-and-forth) but is now written left-to-right and punctuated. |
This language is pronounced with main stress on the penultimate syllable. The Gs are all hard, and double vowels are generally diphthongs - 'ai' as the vowel in the English word ''high'', and 'ua' as the vowel in the French word ''roi''. All vowels are pronounced; ''e'' is the vowel in the English ''dress'' if unstressed, and the one in the English ''face'' if stressed. | This language is pronounced with main stress on the penultimate syllable. The Gs are all hard, and double vowels are generally diphthongs - 'ai' as the vowel in the English word ''high'', and 'ua' as the vowel in the French word ''roi''. All vowels are pronounced; ''e'' is the vowel in the English ''dress'' if unstressed, and the one in the English ''face'' if stressed. | ||
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==Elvish== | ==Elvish== | ||
− | This is the language of the nation | + | This is the language of the nation which hugs the shores of the inland sea to the north of the starting area. It is part of a larger family of elvish tongues; the dark elves speak a different dialect to the northerners. |
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This language is pronounced with main stress on the antepenultimate syllable, moving forward in words with fewer than three syllables. All double consonants are geminated - that is, they are given a longer pronunciation than single instances of the same consonant. ''E'' is the vowel in the English ''dress''; ''ë'' is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa schwa]; and ''é'' is the vowel in the English ''face''. | This language is pronounced with main stress on the antepenultimate syllable, moving forward in words with fewer than three syllables. All double consonants are geminated - that is, they are given a longer pronunciation than single instances of the same consonant. ''E'' is the vowel in the English ''dress''; ''ë'' is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa schwa]; and ''é'' is the vowel in the English ''face''. | ||
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==Wáyéhì (Bardic)== | ==Wáyéhì (Bardic)== | ||
− | This language is the native language of a far-off land where the great bard colleges are based. In | + | This language is the native language of a far-off land where the great bard colleges are based. In the starting region, it is spoken almost exclusively by bards and others who specialise in the arts. The language is written using a wide range of ideographs; the clusters of words that represent entire actions or entities are written in cartouches (shown as hyphenated sets in the transcription below). |
This language is tonal. Vowels with acute accents are pronounced with a rising tone, those with grave accents with a falling tone, and unmarked vowels with a level tone. This language has no inherent distinctions of syllable stress, as most words are very short. | This language is tonal. Vowels with acute accents are pronounced with a rising tone, those with grave accents with a falling tone, and unmarked vowels with a level tone. This language has no inherent distinctions of syllable stress, as most words are very short. | ||
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This language was developed by half-orcs from a human language which was brought to the area at the last flip. It is structurally distinct from Orcish, but has taken on some of the sound and content of that tongue. | This language was developed by half-orcs from a human language which was brought to the area at the last flip. It is structurally distinct from Orcish, but has taken on some of the sound and content of that tongue. | ||
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This language is stressed on its antepenultimate syllables. As in Dwarvish, the vowel ''ö'' has the same value as in Swedish. | This language is stressed on its antepenultimate syllables. As in Dwarvish, the vowel ''ö'' has the same value as in Swedish. | ||
− | ::''Bazelum ek denengum aniv yugita viktunn dönelk garti. Skilto viktum tuniv | + | ::''Bazelum ek denengum aniv yugita viktunn dönelk garti. Skilto viktum tuniv vöstir bruga vumum dem etz pör ek irraz. Vytentzo denengum velliv böni vöra viktum.'' |
==Orcish== | ==Orcish== | ||
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This is the speech of the mountain orcs, who have spoken it in some form since before the world last flipped. It has co-existed with Old Imperial for many generations, and although they are structurally different, they have come to have similar pronunciation and overlapping vocabulary. | This is the speech of the mountain orcs, who have spoken it in some form since before the world last flipped. It has co-existed with Old Imperial for many generations, and although they are structurally different, they have come to have similar pronunciation and overlapping vocabulary. | ||
− | Names in this language are always "won". An orc (or human, halfling, or elf, if they're members of an orcish-speaking culture) isn't referred to by a personal name at all for the first few years, just something that translates to "boy" (''wa' | + | Names in this language are always "won". An orc (or human, halfling, or elf, if they're members of an orcish-speaking culture) isn't referred to by a personal name at all for the first few years, just something that translates to "boy" (''wa'aprog'') or "girl" (''zhiprog''). Maybe an adjective ("young", "tall", "spotty", "dirty" - ''vetz, kög, volgvlöd, volflig'') if someone needs to distinguish them. At around age 10, they get their first true name as a coming-of-age ceremony. These are still pretty generic - a child chooses the profession they want to go into, perform a basic challenge in it, and if they succeed (as judged by the tribe's elders), they get the name referring to the job. A girl might declare she wants to be called Hunter (''Prazad''), and if she can bring down a few animals with only a bow and one arrow, she gets the name. |
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− | + | Getting a distinguishing name comes around age 20, when the individual declares the name they want to claim, and the elders establish a suitable challenge for it. Claiming a really impressive name requires completing an equally impressive challenge. This process can go on for someone's whole life, if they want it to, with each new name requiring a new challenge. Getting more names equals more prestige, since it shows you've completed more and more impressive challenges. And when you're being formal, you have to use all of someone's names, or risk insulting them and them challenging you. The elders, of course, can also use it as a brake on an overly-ambitious individual, since they get to set the challenges - get too big for yourself, and you might find that challenging for the name "the Tallest" (''Vurörrkög'') might require touching the sky, or "Swims-Like-An-Otter" (''Ikva-Vairellim'') means you have to cross a river right at the rapids, in the middle of spring flood. (Original pitch: [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?761590-D-amp-D-5e-Let-s-build-a-setting!&p=19316812#post19316812]; decision: [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?761590-D-amp-D-5e-Let-s-build-a-setting!&p=19342866#post19342866]) | |
As in Draconic, an apostrophe here represents a glottal stop. ''Aw'' is pronounced to rhyme with English ''how''. As in Dwarvish, the vowel ö has the same value as in Swedish. The stress is on the antepenultimate syllable. | As in Draconic, an apostrophe here represents a glottal stop. ''Aw'' is pronounced to rhyme with English ''how''. As in Dwarvish, the vowel ö has the same value as in Swedish. The stress is on the antepenultimate syllable. |