The Diverse Languages of Roan

The Diverse Languages of Roan Oct 20, 2021 21:02:02 GMT dak00tz likes this

Post by frosty on Oct 20, 2021 21:02:02 GMT

The Languages of Roan

The people of Roan are a diverse bunch with various backgrounds and different creeds. With many races of individuals, and many different backgrounds for each clan, there is an even more diverse catalogue of languages. Although there are countless tribal tongues, dialects and dying languages, this will not be a complete list. Every language here is either to some importance, or the language has a larger than usual population of speakers. Every language is given their respective language family. The family bring languages related by region together. They are then further split up into language groups, which organize languages based on their relation and similarities.

The Immortal Language Family

- Abrahedienic Language Group

The Abrahedienc language group is one of the most uncommonly spoken languages in the universe. However it still holds great importance to the workings of the world. Included in this language group are two languages. One spoken by the mighty dragons of Roan, the other spoken by the all powerful gods of the realm.

Hasmalic
The dragons of Roan, although a rare species to find, still have a tight nit cultural background. Every dragon speaks their language of Hasmalic along with the common tongue. Due to the unique biology of dragons, no non-dragon species is able to fluently speak the language. The only exception to that rule is the drakons of Roan with their biological connection to the ancient dragon species. Even if every other species cannot speak the language perfectly, with enough study the language can be understood by non-dragons.

The language itself speaks with a harsh snake tongue. One of the major vowels in the language is pronounced with a hiss and is featured in most of the words in Hasmalic. Compared to other languages, Hasmalic is covenant heavy and has an unsavory sound to the untrained ear.

The Immortal Language
High in the heavens to gods commune amongst themselves. Together they speak to themselves in the Immortal Language, as referred by their mortal followers. On the extremely rare occasion that a mortal was to meet one of the various immortal deities of Roan, the Immortal Language would be completely alien to them. No matter what degree of study of the language it is completely impossible for a lesser mind to compromise the words spoken. The only men that study the language are the great religious leaders of the divine’s cults. There are a few written documents from the gods themselves in the immortal’s written language. A complete translation is not complete, however the basics of religion was spurred from these scriptures.

- Nefliem Language Group

Seraphim
Seraphim is a language unique to the Nefliem’s island city of Eahaim. The language is rarely spoken outside of the city’s coasts, only rarely is it spoken in nefliem nomad groups. Even with the language’s close ties to the nefliem race, it is still not regarded as the official language within the city of Eahaim.

Seraphim is believed to be a mutt of the Immortal Language and the mortal languages of Roan. Seraphim borrows major aspects from the language of the elves, however it has some unique sentence structure. For example, Seraphim is the only language in Roan that places a subject after descriptor words. Another one of Seraphim’s unique traits is the harsh H sound that is produced in the back of the throat. The general speech of Seraphim is similar to modern Isreali Hebrew.

The Indo-Aliud Language Family

Indo-Aliud has the most cultural impact across the entire world and beyond. Included in this family is the world language of Tuathan with its origin in the ancient empire. Even despite the multi century-long bond between the humans of Aliud, there still is a large range of minor languages enjoyed by most of the kingships.

- Tuathanic Language Group

Languages within this group have been largely affected by the ancient Tuathanic Empire and its language.

Tuathan
Tuathan is the world language. It is the most commonly spoken language of humans ranging from Aliud to Tao and the deserts of Ferran. With the massive influence of humans and their extreme dominance in population count, most other species are required to learn their language. Tuathan finds its origin in the Tuathanic Empire thatonce dominated the majority of the Aliud continent.

Tuathan takes reference from its real life counterpart of Gaelic. The language has a short list of letters, only having nineteen. Compared to other languages this is uncommon. There are a set of long (O, U, I) and short vowels (A, E.) When a set of consentants are surrounded by long vowels, the sound is pronounced in the back of the mouth. When consentants are surrounded with short vowels, the sound produced in the front of the mouth. Most words are dominated by the short vowels, creating a posh and regal silhouette sound. Each word in the Tuathanic language has an emphasis on the front syllable with the emphasis trailing off at the end. With every language there are of course many accents from across Roan and each has their unique pronunciation of sounds.

Stucian
The small nation of Stucia has its own unique culture, and with that its own unique language. Due to Stucia’s small size and small spread of their culture, their language is on a quick course to irrelevance. In the markets of Stucia Tuathan is spoken. In the homes of Stucia Tuathan is slowly becoming the standard speech. Liberal estimates give the language at least two generations before it is lost for good.

The language, being in the same language family of Tuathan, has taken much influence from the Tuathan tongue. The written language has more letters than Tuathan with a more diverse range of sounds. Stucian has a higher emphasis on the consonants of words. The second syllable where most of the consonants consist. Even despite the emphasis on consonants, most words begin or end with a slew of soft spoken vowels.

Taranic
Within the borders of the Kingship of Lusamil there is a minority language that spreads its field. Taranic, finding its origins in the long ancient tribes of Tara, has been largely kept alive due to the Kingship’s governance. It is most common to hear Taranic amongst the halls of the royals. In the streets and farm fields of Lusamil, there is a minority of peasantry that still speak Taranic.

Taranic is the most similar to Tuathan compared to other Tuathanic languages. The Taranic language is best described as Irish Gaelic whilst Tuathan is Gaelic. Taranic still values the short and long vowel rule of Tuathan, and it consists of only nineteen letters as well. The greatest difference between Tuathan and Taranic is their words and syllable emphasis. Taranic puts great emphasis on the ultima or the last syllable of the word. This gives the language a lifted and uncommon sound along with their unique spelling and pronunciation of words.

Cyrusan
Cyrusan is widely spoken within the City State of Cyrus. Cyruan has become the second most common language in the world, however it is still greatly dwarfed by the severity of the Tuathan language. Cyrusan is the child of the ancient Itherariac language, however due to an old coalition of the human race, Itherariac found great influence from Tuathan and sprouted Cyrusan.

Cyrusan is an offshoot of the bastardized Itherariac language. For reference Itherariac is similar to Latin, making Cyrusan similar to the Italian language. This gives an ancient sound to the language’s words, making an aura of supremacy and ego to its speakers. The language is vowel heavy, being dominated by the A, O and E sounds. For fluent speakers the words pass through their mouths quickly, almost incomprehensibly to the untrained ear.

- Eptnic Language Group

The Eptnic languages are found in the south western region of the Aliud continent. While they have some similarities and grow some influence from Tuathan, the Eptnic people have preserved some essential parts to create many major differences to Tuanthanic languages.

Berafortish
Before the Berafort unification, there were two languages that dominated the local villages. Ramellen, the ancient language of Ramelle. Vaugic, the ancient language of Vaugengard. Over the process of time after the towns’ unification, the two languages melded together to create a standard Berafortish language.

Native Berafortish speakers move through their language quickly, yet there is always a natural smooth transition between their words. Much similar to French, vowels are spoken softly, and the open O and E sounds create a smoothness. Sentences are typically ended with the É sounds, creating a satisfying end to their words. Emphasis is found on the C and K sounds of their language, creating a pleasant contrast in sound when a word containing that rare covenant is spoken.

Durtheim
The ancient tribal language of the Durts was influenced by both Berafotish and Tuathan to create the mutt language of Durtheim. Durtheim is the dominant language of the inhispostibile marshes of southern Aliud. It is rare to meet a Durt who does not speak Durtheim, however it is even rarer to meet someone who speaks Durtheim that is not a Durt.

Sentence structure was borrowed from the Tuathanic language, whilst twisting the pronunciation of some Berafotish words to better suit their tongue. The Durtheim language often has longer words, like German, it is a habit to add long suffixes at the end of every word. The longest word in the Durtheim language is twenty one syllables long, and the average word has an ungodly four syllables. The language itself consists of many consonants and the few vowels are typically lifted and short spoken. Aggressive is an easy descriptor of the language.

- Oefinanic Language Group

The Oefinanic language can be found in the colder northern regions of the Aliud continent. Unlike the southern languages of the Tuathanic language group, the Oefinanic languages find less influence from the ancient empire’s language. Words are harsher and stronger as the languages become as bitter as the cold.

Drakandic
As the Drakon tribes grew closer to each other, their languages melded and formed into a universal code for their species. It is not uncommon to hear Drakon speak their language. However, it is rare to hear someone outside of their species to converse in their tongue. Drakandic is only spoken in the northern Aliud region, and its complexity and unsavory sounds ward off anyone who wishes to learn the language.

The Drakandic language has a similar sentence structure to Tuathan, however some words with the same meaning have different implementations. There are multiple words for ‘love,’ depending if the speaker wishes for a neutral, empathetic, objective or subjective tone. Many meanings are lost in translation between Drakandic and Tuathan, making communication between the two languages difficult and confusing. The language itself borrows a slavic sound with its words.

Orcish
The grand culture of the orcs is kept together by their vulgar language. The original orcish language is spoken by most if not all orcs of the Aliud and Tao continent. There are few non-orc speakers of language due to the close knit culture of the brutish orcs. The sounds of the language are cultivated by harsh consonant sounds. There is general emphasis on the last syllable in the language, usually ending in a yell to intimidate the orc’s opponents. A great reference for Orcish is a buff green Russian man screaming vulgars at you in Russian.

Oxan
The orc’s underlings converse in their own language. Like the gobin’s culture, their Oxan language is widely influenced by the orcs. There are small differences between Oxan and Orcish. While Orcish is compared to Russian, Oxan can be compared to Ukrainian. Word structure and sentence structure is widely borrowed from the Orcish language. Yet the greatest difference between the two is Oxan’s unique pitch variety. Depending on the pitch of a sentence the meaning can be different. A low pitch means that the goblin’s words are true and serious. While a higher pitched sentence can be a jest or mockery.

The Taoino Language Family

The roots of the Taoino language stretches back to even before Shenzhen united the continent following their war of extermination against their prior oppressors, the Drakkheim. The original human inhabitants of Tao were famously denied the right to both learn to read and write, as to make them a more subservient slave pool for their Draconic hybrid overlords. Whenever the first tribes of Tao united to fight against, and subsequently purge the Drakkheim, creating a written language was of the utmost priority, as a common language creates unity, and in those dark times before the true emergence of collective civilization -- the ideal of unity provided a bulwark against the chaos of Roan. It is said that the first language of Tao, Taoese, was taught to these early humans by Avalon Solas himself, and the prevalent theme of Tao is that, regardless of what nation or ethnicity they refer to themselves as, they consider their language and culture the paragon of perfection.

While most of the inhabitants of Tao are human, there are ethnic differences from humans originating from both Ailud and Ferran. The humans from Tao are thus generally referred to as Taosian with various ethnic differences therein. The Taoino lexicon, as it is called, and language family is an intricate and stylish vernacular that is as much an art form, as is a method of calligraphy and spoken word. Ornate scripts and vibrant expressions of emotion comprise this location's vocabulary, and many dialects and minor languages sprouted from the original Shenzhen based script as the years went on and the individual cultures became more defined. However in recent years with the domination of a single Tao empire (namely Sunquan, despite Daizan and the development of the rebellion in the Fancheng region) most other minor languages have faded away, leaving four main written and spoken languages of Taoino prevalent upon the continent. While the alphabet of these minor languages is similar to the parent language as referenced previously -- the spoken word is very different.

- Taoese Language Group

Taoese
Holding the pride of being the direct descendents of the first organized Empire of Tao, Sunquan self-righteously refers to their language as Taoese and claim that their language is the true language of Tao. Thus it is both the written language used in all official government documents and also the only legal spoken language of the nation. It is often considered an offense to Sunquan nobility to address them in anything -but- Taoese, and so by way of their ideals around the language and the necessity of learning it -- hearing the language spoken by non-natives around Ailud, and perhaps more rarely Ferran is not unheard of.

It has a similar sentence structure to Mandarin and sounds very similar as well, with inflections in the voice for emphasis and a very pointed and direct tone. It further gives great reverence to Shenzhen when referencing Sunquan in the past tense and oftentimes historical monologues written in the language devolve into tangents. Nevertheless it is, by far, the most common language upon Tao.

Daizanese
The first (and for the longest time only, up until the Fancheng Rebellion) state to rebel from Shenzhen had made it a point to establish itself as a distinct culture, and to the thirteen tribes that formed the Empire of Daizan, language was perhaps the most important catalyst for this distinction beyond their honorable Samurai. Through this, a more characterized and artistic interpretation of an already ornate Taoese language was born. True to form the language was referred to as Daizanese, which literally translates to “Honorable Speak” in their written and spoken lexicon. It is very rare to find speakers of Daizan outside of Tao. With its perpetual wars with Sunquan, beyond diplomatic trips by the nobility, and more famously the honor quests conducted by the heir apartments -- the language truly is foreign to Ailud and Ferran with very few, if any foreign speakers. This has given the language an air of mystique which plays into almost a latent fascination with Daizani culture.

The written language is very stylized, with single letters being able to tell the emotion of the writer. The spoken language is very similar, with an emphasis on the emotion and ideals of the speaker being at the forefront of understanding. It is comparable to a Japanese script and sound for a baseline.

Oniise
The Oni of Tao often claim that they were the original inhabitants of the continent. Due to them being the ethnic minority of the region their interpretation of history is often ignored by the powers that be. Nevertheless, Oniise is the third most common language within Tao and is spoken heavily, if only by the Oni inhabitants. They, like the human Sunquan and Daizani majority of Tao, take great pride in their language. The difference between Oniise and the human tongues of Tao is that Oniise cannot be truly spoken by those without Oni blood. While it is possible to learn simple phrases and gestures, Oniise is a very spiritual language that holds mysterious, if not pseudo-magical origins upon the continent. Strangely, it is not uncommon for the more divine and demonic oriented races (defined as Nefleim, Tiefling, and Oni) to communicate with each other in a basic manner across their own lexicons, despite not being capable in most cases of physically conversing in each others tongues. Further, the language can potentially convey an air of subliminal understanding to those who cannot speak it, and, while they themselves cannot respond in the same manner, they can surely understand it, should the speaker so will it. A byproduct of the languages more spiritual and contextual undertones.

When heard, the language sounds very harsh, while not quite to the level of outright guttural. It is a very grim and serious language either way, and this trait carries over to the written word, in which a few phrases and metaphors can often convey the information of entire tomes through almost pseudo-magical and contextual means.

Yudanese
Spoken within the the bustling fishing and trading village of Qing Dao Port, the eastern Daizan village of Rinjou, and perhaps more famously within the Fancheng Camp, the language of Yudaneese is the closest thing to a common language the different races and ethnic groups of Tao have. It was originally considered to be the language of diplomacy. A bastardization of the Daizani and Sunquan dialects that were spoken in villages and regions that the two opposing nations would conduct negotiations and trade with the outside world whenever they were not busy fighting each other. The language stuck and became the prominent language spoken permanently by the inhabitants of Qing Dao, Rinjou, and the Fancheng region before it rebelled from Sunquan, as all three of these regions were the focal points of large trading endeavors by Sunquan and Daizan.

Conversely, the language of Yudaneese is perhaps the easiest for non-native Taosians to learn, as the vocabulary and sentence structures are far more romanticized and less rigid than its close neighbor languages. While Taoese is the most common language spoken both in Tao and abroad -- Yudaneese is a close second when compared to usage outside of Tao.

The Ferran Language Family

The continent of Ferran has many diverse languages. Each region and species has their own languages, all unique to themselves. From the harsh tongue of giants and dwarves in the northern mountains. To the proper speech of the elves in the deserts and forests. All the way down to the water ports of the gar.

- Elvish Language Group

Irinid
Irinid was first recorded on clay tablets that are believed to be centuries old. The language is well preserved. Besides a few ornamental changes and changes caused by time, the ancient calligraphy is similar to modern Irinid in both grammar and how the letters are written.

The language has a rigid desert sound. Most consonants have a soft pronunciation. J is pronounced similar to 'Asia' and 'usually'. In the middle of a word, the syllable usually lands on a consonant to have a weak connection between two vowels. Also, when an R sound follows an H at the end of the word, the R is usually softly trilled in the back of the throat. For better reference, most pronunciation of Irinid words is similar to Arabic.

Lutranish
Elves within the Lutranish forests have been separated from the Irinid elven clan long enough to develop their own linguistic style. Although there are major similarities to Irinid, there are enough differences that had formed over centuries to create a unique dialect for the Lutranish elves. If Irinid was Arabic, then Lutranish is similar to Aramaic.

Koseesh
The grey elves, being a separate race within the elvish species, have historically been in close connection with each other. Although there are no historical documents that can pinpoint the age of the language, Koseesh has been well preserved by the grey elf generations. In recent years the grey elf language has been dying. Due to the low concentration of the grey elf population there simply has been no one to speak to in the language. It is almost unheard of for a non-grey elf person to speak the language besides the seduced brides of grey elf bachelors.

The sounds of the language are very similar to the standard elf language of Irinid. However there are some base differences such as the pronunciation of words, their different meanings and Kosheesh’s own unique words. Koseesh is phonetically similar to the Samaritan language.

Urus
The beastkin language used to be its own very unique form of speech. However, unlike Irinid, it has seen countless changes in a relatively short amount of time due to the influence of the elves. Thanks to the accepting nature of elves in Irinid, the beastkin have molded their language around the speaking conventions of the larger elf population.

The only remnants of the tribal Urus language are the unique consonants and vowels of the beastkin. There are a special set of vowels and consonants in the Urus language that are pronounced in the back of a speaker’s throat, making it hard to learn and understand as a foreign listener.

- Lartani Language Group

The exotic races of southern Ferran have not experienced much linguistic influence from the desert elves to their north. All of their languages reflect the oddities and uniqueness of their species.

Garish
Within the fish markets and port of the Gar people, they converse in their one language of Garish. The language has been tailored over the course of centuries to be best spoken in the murky depths of the water. This has been especially useful in the port jobs that the Gar tend to work. There is also a unique use of the upper and lower gills on their body during speech. This makes it almost impossible for someone that is not Gar to speak Garish.

Garish is almost the opposite of Durtheim with most words consisting of one or two syllables. Some short spoken words have entire sentence meanings, which again helps with communication underwater. Garish has a unique vowel that consists of a reverbous E sound. The reverb sound is achieved with the fluctuation of the Gar’s gills, making it impossible for other species to pronounce words properly.

Iasabi
High in the trees and skies of Ferran, the nomadic Avians have crafted their own specialty language. Much akin to the Gar, the Avians have tuned their speech over the course of centuries to suit communication in the air. Their words are short and concise; with some words bearing the meaning of whole sentences.

Within the Isabi language, there is a separate dialect that includes squawks and chirps typically found in regular birds of Roan. The dialect is officialy named Isabi Chirping. This speech is often used whilst flying through the air within the clan. The leader of a clan can be louder and more short spoken with his commands whilst squawking mid air. It is impossible for an Avian to have a conversation with a bird using the Isabi Chirping dialect. However, tamed birds can take commands easier from their masters through Isabi Chirping.

G’fan’ik’
Although there are many public records describing the G’fan’ik’ language by explorers, there are absolutely no documents written in G’fan’ik’ available to the general public. The lizardkin themselves are not keen on teaching outsiders the specifics of their language. Written testimonials of the language described by many explorers credit the language to a regal and vicious sound. As described there are many trilled S sounds in the language produced by the thin tongues of the lizardkin. It is theorized this trilled sound is a threat, as most explorers have been met with hostility when encountering the lizardkin.

- Oefinanic-Ferran Language Group

Ferran-Oricsh
The orc population has spread greatly from their homeland. Orc guilds are typically close knit together and it is not uncommon for them to develop their unique dialects or accents. However, the orc population of Ferran have been separated from all other Aliud clans for a considerable amount of time. Due to that, they have created their own language. Ferran-Orcish has mainly been influenced by the elve’s Irinid, creating a one of a kind mix of Aliud and Ferran tongues.

Ferran-Oxan
The unfortunate creators of the orcs have been dragged around the continents of Roan. The ones that have been dragged to Ferran have also developed their own separate language. Ferran-Oxan has taken aspects from Irinid and incorporated it into their words. However the unique tone range of their language has been preserved, as it is a staple of their speech.

The Dwaro-Ferran Language Family

- Olkan Language Group

Daghormic
The mighty forges, mines and fortresses of the Dwarves have been crafted with the assistance of their mighty language, Daghormic. Thanks to great records kept by the Dwarven people, the earliest recorded notes of Daghormic were during ancient tribal times over a millennia old. Studying these earlier texts, it has been determined that the language has been influenced greatly by the elder Giants. Thanks to trading pacts and the greater reliance on the giants for the dwarves, Merchants brought back phonetic archetypes from the Giant’s lands.

Despite the smaller size of the Dwarves, their language has a very broad and booming sound. It has been described by outsiders that there is a demanding masculine sound within their speech. Within the language there is an emphasis on the CH sound. This sound is usually found within the one-worded commanding sentences that are designed to effectively communicate short commands to miners within cavern depths. The language itself is phonetically similar to Old Norse scriptures.

Gigantic
Gigantic has been spoken within the northern Ferran mountains far before the Dwarven people lit their first iron forge. All ancient records of Gigantic by the dwarves show that the language has seen little to no change over the course of centuries. This is due to the dominance Gigantic has over the Northern Ferran region. It is not uncommon for the dwarven merchants to learn Gigantic as a second language, as many aspects of the dwarven economy are reliant on the giant trade market.

When spoken by a giant, Gigantic can seem slow and mellow to other species. Most native speakers of the language speak slowly and concisely, which makes it easier for foreigners to learn the language. However, the language is hardly spoken outside of giant clans and dwarven trading companies. The language phonetically sounds similar to modern Danish.

The Diverse Languages of Roan

Post by frosty on Oct 20, 2021 21:02:02 GMT

Post by frosty on Oct 21, 2021 13:31:37 GMT