Languages

The extensive variety of cultures and species in Ygdren makes language a complex subject. This complexity is evident in no small part on the continent of Maíandir, where the bulk of cultures coexist. Although an amalgamation of vocabulary, phrases, and grammar from the major languages is spoken almost everywhere on the continent in the form of Common, many cultures still maintain frequent use of their own traditional languages, which even then have evolved greatly and split into various dialects and variations over time.

## Modern Languages

### Common

Common remains by far the predominant language used through the entirety of Ygdren, spreading across the sea to the newly founded colonies on Almeras and Anterra. It is primarily defined by its ever-evolving nature, and is created as a necessity due to the complexity caused by the sheer amount of different species on the planet. Following a wave of patriotism in favour of speciesism, and with the increasing ease of travel across borders, language shifted to geographical dialects becoming the basis of speech rather than any association with a single species. The necessity of trade and communication allowed common to maintain its dominance as an ever-evolving solution to inter-territorial communication. Since it is defined by necessity rather than traditional education, there are numerous different variants of the speech and vocabulary across the different regions of the planet.

### Old World Languages

#### Daelic Roots

Following the collapse of the Elven Empire, several previously imperial territories remained isolated from each other for some time, leading to the rise of branching dialects of Elvish. In particular, this accentuated the already existing dialects of the tongue, progressively evolving them into their own distinct languages. The list below details the languages in this part of the world that see their roots in the old daelic tongues (Elvish, Sylvan, Aarakocran).

* **Elvedel**: Official language in the territories of Atheldael, Lydmark, and Aldendael. Very similar to Elvish, derived from the dialect previously spoken by elves of Elvedel descent.
* **Arlan**: Official language in the territories of Arlia, and Lydmark. Secondary tongue in Atheldael, spoken mostly in the northern region of Luinfeld. Very similar to Elvish, derived from the dialect previously spoken by elves of Arlan descent.
* **Sylvan**: Not an official language in any state, but spoken by some more traditional communities, primarily by firbolgs in the Everglades. Often considered an older variant of Elvish, derived more closely to ancient Beläri.
* **Kuetzan**: Official language in the territory of Kuetzicol. A strong departure from ancient Aarakocran that foregoes many of its Daelic roots in favour of short-hand body language that is an integral part of Auran culture.
* **Sceídan**: Official language in the territory of Ravnmark. Nearly identical to the dialect of Elvish previously only spoken in Scedon, with newer influences from overseas trade.
* **Samarkhesian**: Official language in the territories of Samarkhet and Angolia. Though technically a daelic language, has a great many differences from original Elvish, due to the separation of Samarkhet from the Elven Empire centuries prior. Heavy viric and kantic influences have marked effects on the language.
* **Lothran:** Not an official language in any state, but the main spoken tongue in the underdark.

#### Runic Roots

Though many runic languages remained untouched by the collapse of the Elven Empire, increasing amounts of immigrants led to many languages evolving from belonging to a single race to belonging to people living in the territorial borders of that country. Despite increasing mobility between countries, runic languages remained divergent of each other, and if anything accentuated previously existing differences. The list below details the languages in this part of the world that see their roots in the old (extinct) runic tongues .

The defining characteristic of Runic language is the runic alphabet, a complicated set of markings indicating various phonetic sounds and grammatical devices. The official set of runes as defined by dwarven scholars is called the Skaldrhun. It is believed that the jagged, linear, and angular nature of the runes is developed by virtue of its origin as a mine marking system, where it was far easier to chisel lines than curves into hard rock.

The grammatical structure of Runic languages can be very difficult for outsiders to glean. The languages usually place the subject before the verb in a sentence, however the way a word is pronounced or stressed can often determine where it should be thought of in relation to its place in a sentence. Some words are deemed so important that they are placed at the beginning of a sentence, and then again later on, regardless of formal structure. There are few individual words relating to abstract concepts, and most abstract concepts are described in relation to something physical, often using the same word as what they relate to. Most words are formed from a short root word onto which suffixes and prefixes are added.

* **Zandarian**: Official language in the territory of Zandaran. Has remained largely unchanged over the years, and is sometimes simply referred to as *Gnomish*, though the modern version of the language has borrowed a plethora of words directly from Elvedel, Arlan, and Varesian, albeit written in different forms.
* **Dwarven**: Official language in the territories of Dûrandur, Baradôr, and Ravnmark. One of the few languages that remains associated with race more than geography, due in no small part to the isolatory nature and deeply traditional stubbornness of dwarves
* **Kavah**: Official language in the territory of Kavavhik. Derived from old Giant-Tongue, with Urski, Elvedel, and Dwarven influences due to increased trade between the neighbouring regions.
* **Skraelic**: Official language in the territory of Oskarok. Secondary tongue in Ravnmark and Kavavhik. Derived from ancient Orcish, which was underdeveloped and limited. Though orcs remain very guarded towards other races, necessity and trade have allowed influences from Ravnmark to affect their speech.
* **Aldspiel**: Official language in the territories of the Aldwyran Empire. Secondary tongue in Arkadem.

#### Viric Roots

The secession of territories from the Vigil Protectorate opened the way for cultural roots to cement themselves in local dialects. The newly formed territories developed their own patterns of speech, built on previously existing tongues that had seen little use during the harsh and overtly centralised rule of the Church. The list below details the languages in this part of the world that see their roots in the old viric tongues (those spoken by the original Axios tribes that settled the Marble Vale).

* **Edraxan**: Official language in the territory of Edraxis. The main tongue in the region for several centuries, it provides many influences to newly developing languages in the area. It is derived from and still closely related to the original tongue spoken by Axios setttlers.
* **Varesian**: Official language in the territory of Varais. Originating from the old city state of Elvirea, with heavy Edraxian influences but a distinct flair. Due to the multitude of Varesian colonies in Almeras, it has also spread to the New World at a faster rate than most.
* **Thyrian**: Official language in the territory of Thyr. Originating from the old city state of Thyrceaster, with some Edraxian influences that have been slow to take due to the deep-rooted patriotism of Thyrian folk.
* **Corlant**: Official language in the territory of Corlantis. Originally the same language as Edraxian, it has evolved into a seperate branch with Tridens influence following the triton conquest of the area.

#### Kantic Roots

* **Kyoshin**: Official language in the territories of Kyoshai, Khitar, Azhurai, and Calish.
* **Angolian**: Official language in the territory of Angolia.

#### Yuantic Roots

* **Salassian**: Official language in the territory of Salassar.
* **Kharosian**: Official language in the territories of Kharos and Calish.
* **Domaran**: Official language in the territories of Domar and Sumara.

### New World Languages

#### Ithic Roots

* **Qualith**: Official language in the territory of Ry'lith. Originating from the same region, it is considered the prime Ithic language and is characterised by its purely psionic transmission. The language is conveyed as psionic waves with subtle variations to indicate meaning. When written, it takes the form of small indentations written in spiralling circles in the chosen material that can only be read by bouncing psionic waves off the grooves and interpreting the result.
* **Gith**: Official language in the territory of Zorathki. A simpler form of Qualith that developed as a means for gith to communicate during their enslavement. Unlike its root language it has a written form that consists of actual lettering, though it is still written in a spiralling format and is notoriously difficult to read for the unpractised.

#### Almeric Roots

* **Luttra**: Not an official language in any state, but is the traditional language spoken by Luterra from the jungles of Almeras.
* **Ngwaali**: Not an official language in any state, but is the traditional language spoken by the native people of central Almeras.
* **Radenian**: Official language in the territory of Radenstadt. Has runic influences from nearby Aldwyr.

#### Anterran Roots

* **Corelean**: Official language in the territory of Coreleao.
* **Arkadian**: Official language in the territory of Arkadem.

### Other

* **Urski**: Official language in the territory of Urskaya.
* **Marukai**: Official language in the territory of Maruk.
* **Tridens**: Not an official language in any state, but is the traditional language spoken by tritons from beneath the Vastenean Ocean.
* **Cuatl**: Official lanuage in the territories of Itzica and Tzinoc. Secondary tongue in Kharos, spoken mostly in the southern jungle regions.
* **Entish**: Not an official language in any state, but spoken by treefolk (dryads, treants, and spriggans) in Almeras.

### Exotic

* **Primordial**: The language spoken by those entities who originated before life began, and who existed far beyond recorded history from the very dawning of Ygdren, such as elementals within the Elemental Planes, or the Sea Matrons.
* **Kraz**: The language spoken by lesser creatures of the outer realms that cannot speak Planar. Most notably, it is the language of choice in Oblivion and the Obsidian City, and is a strange, alien language of guttural sounds and motions. It is known about due to the occasional incursion of devils from the outer realms.
* **Planar**: Not a language by normal definitions, but a means of communication between powerful extra-planar entities that works through subtle manipulations in arcana to convey meaning in the target's mind where they are interpreted as language or thought. Due to the nature of this language, it is impossible to tell an intentional lie when speaking it.

## Archaic Languages

### Beläri

Beläri *(also known as: Precursor, Ancient)* is an extinct language once believed to have been spoken by the Precursors. Traces of the language still linger in the form of inscriptions and artefacts found scattered through the northern half of Maíandir, primarily in the Argent Basin. Although the language itself is not in modern use, certain grammatical structure and semantics are strikingly similar to modern Daelic languages, leading scholars to believe that languages such as Daelic evolved using Beläri as a basic template.

### Daelish

Daelish *(also known as: Old Elvish)* uses an identical alphabet to Beläri and is the archaic ancestor of all modern Daelic languages. It is believed to be largely derived from Beläri, using the same alphabet and sentence structure, as well as sharing a great deal of the same vocabulary (albeit writen in different forms). It was primarily spoken by elves in the Argent Basin and the Tarnished Wastes, and had three primary dialects, stemming from the three original clusters of tribes that formed elven culture for centuries. These dialects would eventually diverge into the modern variants of the langauges: Elvedel, Arlan, Sceída.

### Viric

Viric uses a similar alphabet to Beläri and is the archaic ancestor of all modern Viric Languages. It is believed to have developed as an offshoot of Daelish, following the Axios invasion of the Marble Vale in ancient history. It previously to this used a different alphabet, but quickly changed to the same approach of their nearest neighbours, largely due to necessity as a result of trade and communication.

### Jötrhun

Jötrhun *(also known as: Giant-Tongue)* is an ancient runic language from which many modern runic languages are derived. It was used by the ancient Jötnar that once held dominion over Wyldcrown, and is still spoken by those few that remain, in various dialects.

### Draken

The ancient tongue of dragons, lost to everything but fable and song. It is said that it is a melodic and very slow language, given the nature of dragons. There are none who can speak it in common knowledge, and it's actual existence is only theorised, as true dragons are thought to be extinct.