Languages

This page serves as a source of information about in-character languages as they are applicable to World 42 roleplaying. Everyone is invited to add to this information.

Language in Roleplay
Across the expansive lands of Gielenor there are numerous cultures and races. Some of these races and cultures came from entirely separate realms of existance and others were isolated from the rest of civilization for hundreds or thousands of years. Naturally, this has resulted in a number of different languages being spoken across the map. Some are simply the result of separate cultures and others are absolutely unique to certain races or types of characters.

In active roleplaying, there is typically a language that every character present in a certain group is expected to know. For example, any elf in Lletya will probably be able to speak elven. However, there may be times when your characters speak a language that others might not know. When this happens, this is the common syntax: Language name: [Dialogue]

Commonspeak
This is the language that nearly every character is going to know. It is the universal language of inter-race communication and can be used just about anywhere in the world. In the case of many humans on the main land, it could very well be the only language a character has ever learned. Its real-world equivalent is english, and its typical abbreviation is CS.

Kharidian
This is the language of the desert peoples. A character who spent any significant length of time in Al Kharid, Pollnivneach, Uzer, Nardah, Sophanem, Menaphos, the Bebadin camp, or the Bandit camp would be able to speak this language with some level of fluency. Its real-world equivalent is Arabic, and its typical abbreviation is KH.

Fremennik
This is the language of the Fremennik peoples. A character who spent any significant length of time in Rellekka, the Mountain Camp, the Fremennik Isles, Waterbirth Island, or the Lunar Isle would be able to speak this language with some level of fluency. Its real-world equivalent is Norse, and its typical abbreviation is Frem.

Ancient Tongue
This is the ancient language of Zaros. It was spoken widely in the Second Age, the Golden Age of Zaros, but has since become effectively a dead language. It is very uncommon for any typical character to have even heard of this language and it is often reserved exclusively for Zarosian ritual, very devout followers of Zaros, and mahjarrat. It has no definite real-world equivalent, but may be similar to ancient Egyptian or Latin. Its typical abbreviation is AN.


 * Theory: Some players suspect that the Zarosian empire in history is similar to the Roman Empire in that it gave roots to many contemporary cultures. For this reason, such players speculate that the ancient tongue is roughly the equivalent of Latin, and that it shares most of its vocabulary and syntax with the contemporary Latin used in Burthorpe.

Karamjan
This is the language of Karamjan tribespeople. A character who spent any significant length of time in tribal areas of the island like Tai Bwo Wannai, Shilo Village, or the Kharazi jungle might be able to speak this language with some level of fluency. Its real-world equivalent is any tribal african language and its typical abbreviation is KJ.

Latin
This is the language of the Burthorpe military. A character who spent any significant length of time with the Imperial Guard in Burthorpe or protecting the city from trolls would be able to speak this language with some level of fluency. Its real-world equivalent is Latin and its typical abbreviation is LN.

Elven
This is the language of the Elves. It is spoken widely throughout most of Tirranwn including Priffdinas, the elf camp, Isafdar, and Lletya. Any character who spent any significant length of time in these areas would probably be able to understand Elven with some level of fluency, but the language itself requires certain acrobatics of the tongue that make it difficult if not impossible for any other race to speak it fluently. Other races may, however, be able to communicate in broken elven. Its real-world equivalent is Welsh and its typical abbreviation is EL or EN.

Canic
This is the language of the werewolves. It is spoken in the city of Canifis in Morytania and is used fairly exclusively for citizens of that small settlement, though it may also translate somehow into the animalistic werewolf tongue. Its real-world equivalent is Russian and its typical abbreviation is CN.

Werewolf
There have been canon accounts of the use of a growling-type language exclusive to werewolves, which can be spoken both in human and canine forms. It is unclear if this is meant to be Canic or a separate race-exclusive language. For now, interpretation of this is up to the roleplayer.

TzHaar
This is the language of the Tzhaar peoples. It is spoken almost exclusively in the Tzhaar City in the Karamja volcano and likely is difficult for carbon-based lifeforms to pronounce in the intended way. Any character who spent any significant length of time around the TzHaar people would pick up on the language with some level of fluency. This language uses an entirely separate alphabet and makes heavy use of hyphenation. It has no known real-world equivalent and its typical abbreviation is Tz.

Old Gnomish
This is the ancient language of the Gnomes. It is spoken by elder members of Gnomish society and is a dying language. Only scholars and ancient members of the gnomish community would have a chance at being fluent in this language. Its real-world equivalent would be an ancient celtic language and its typical abbreviation is OG.

Dwarven
This is the language of the dwarves. Characters who have spent a significant length of time in Keldagrim, Ice and White wolf mountain undergrounds, or any dwarven outposts would be able to speak this language with some level of fluency. Its real-world equivalent is most likely Germanic and its typical abbreviation is DW.

Gorajo
This is the language of the Gorajo peoples. It is spoken by any and all beings summoned from the Gorajo plane. Any character who spent any significant length of time interacting with these Gorajo might pick up on their language and any powerful summoner would be able to understand it. Its real-world equivalent is a mish-mash of Native American languages and its typical abbreviation is GJ.

Uncommon/Unofficial Languages
This category includes a list of languages that are occasionally brought up but are not common enough to individually recognize or are not accepted as languages by all users.
 * Ancient Armadyllian
 * French
 * Ogre
 * Goblin
 * Ancient Goblin
 * Dwarven
 * Monkey-Speak
 * Camel-Speak
 * Skavid
 * Demonic
 * Acheronian (Island of Acheron)
 * Western Iceynic
 * Eastern Iceynic
 * Yuyán (Central and East of Eastern Lands)
 * Gengo (Southwest of Eastern Lands)
 * Eon-Eo (Northwest of Eastern Lands)
 * Northern (Refers to any language spoken from theoretical tribes in what is now the Wilderness)

Common Mistakes
This section addresses common errors that newer players often make regarding their characters use and knowledge of languages in roleplay.
 * A normal character, especially a young one, who has not committed his/her life to language would probably only know 1-3 languages, perhaps 5 for an older character who is very well-travelled. It is considered poor form to have a 30-year-old who has heard of nearly every language on the map.
 * Not all Zarosians will have heard of the Ancient Tongue.
 * Human tongues are not agile enough to speak fluent Elven.
 * A multi-lingual character does not necessarily have to be perfectly fluent in every language s/he knows.

Other Info
None yet.