Languages

Across the history of Tareal there are hundreds of known languages both written and spoke. This lists is ever expanding as more are discovered.

## Popular Languages

### Common

The common tongue is a hybrid of multiple languages, and has become the most popular language spoken in the world due to it being a staple of trade. While sharing many similarities to Aranian, it stands apart as a separate language at this point as it has incorporated more terms and phrases from all over Tareal.

> *"Besh'edeh farun" (I wish you a day of greatness) Common saying with roots in several languages.*
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### Aranian

Aranian comes from the kingdom and empire of Arania, and is the biggest influence on the common language, so much so that many consider Aranian to be the common language of most of the world. By elves, it is described as a lazy elvish, and by dwarves an overly complex version of dwarven.

### Elvish

Elvish is a broad term that encompasses many different dialects of the elven cultures across Tareal. It is believed to be an offshoot of elden, and has some ties to dracarian. While elves are the primary speakers, other races have adopted or been influenced by elven. Gnomes, humans, and dengen have elvish influence in their languages. Elvish is regarded as a beautiful language, with plenty of flowing vowels and sounds with minimal consonants or hard syllables.

### Dracarian

The language of dragons, dracarian is an old language still used today for its potency when casting spells. Dracarians primarily speak it, though it has some influence on elven and dwarven. Dracarian is a harsh sounding language, spoken using the tongue and throat. It is difficult for most to speak as it refrains from the use of lip movement in speech, and thus feels awkward.

### Dwarven

Dwarven is popular among dwarvenkin and some humans, and has influenced the common tongue greatly due to dwarven industry. It is an ancient language, rooted in the runic languages of ancient dwarvenkin. While the original ancient form of drawven is unused, different dialects have spawned from it and have developed differently for dwarves, halflings, and gnomes. Deeplings are some of the only races that still use a form of ancient dwarven.

### Elden

The Elden language, though dead, has become popular due to the critical nature of identifying elden relics. Elden is unlike any other known language, and may be related in some way to dracarian, elven, and dwarven. Some believe that the elden created these languages initially. It is unknown what it is supposed to sound like, and the only form of Elden that exists currently is written.

### Orkish

Orkish is a language spoken primarily by orks. It has its roots in evlish and dwarven, and was a parent to the language of goblinoids. It is a harsh language, using the back of the throat, clicks, and occasionally hand gestures for emotional emphasis.

## Other Languages

These are languages that are not commonly spoken, or are currently dead. They are listed as they still hold great influence in niche areas of culture, or have significant influence over current languages.

### Celestial

Celestial is a general term for a long dead language only spoken by a rare few. It is said to be the language of the heavens by some, and has strong associations with magic. Celestial is a difficult language to speak and write. Spoken celestial sounds like music, with long drawn out notes or sounds like chimes. Some words are impossible to speak without magical assistance or for certain races to comprehend as they require to speak or hear frequencies in extreme ranges. Celestial is not a physically written language in a sense, as it is based around light. The color, brightness, and pattern of light combine to form messages in celestial.

### Primordial

Primordial is a general term used to describe the fragmented languages of pre-elden history. It is largely a theoretical language, though some have claimed to encounter beings older than time itself that spoke in a language more exotic and indescribable than even celestial. Not much is known of this language.

### Black Tongue

Black tongue, black speech, dark speech, abyssal, and voidspeak are all names for a language said to be the language of demons and devils. This an extremely rare language in Tareal. It can be found in some of the more sinister spells and rituals of the world, and is difficult for most creatures to use. While the language shares a common script, a seemingly twisted and vile distortion of elvish or dwarven, the spoken language has a few distinct variations. All sound harsh to the ear and involve phonemes that are intended to cause pain or discomfort in the voice, with some requiring the speaker to damage their vocal chords. This has led some to hold the superstition that those who are mute or those who have temporarily lost their voice are speakers of the black tongue. In a more enlightened society, this has simply led to a phrase similar to "They have been speaking dark words."

### High Speech

High speech is the ancient form of elvish, though to be the bridge between modern elvish and celestial languages. High speech is a crude yet still immensely beautiful language, nearly song-like. Pitch and intonation can completely change the meaning of words, phrases, or full messages when spoken. There is no official known written form of high speech, though many have developed their own way to write and record the language in order to help preserve it. Purists of the language reject the writing, believing it to damage the magical nature of the language. Instead these individuals, High Speakers, pass down the language orally.

### Giant

Giants have their own language, which may sound similar to dwarven when one first hears it. The language is traditionally spoken to use the least amount of words, though spoken slowly. Giants can derive much meaning from a simple message such as "Flow", depending on tthe context and nature of the conversation, as well as who is speaking it and exactly how they are saying it. Giant is written in carved runes, fourteen simple symbols that are used to convey thousands of words when combined and grouped together. Runes are etched vertically, horizontally, and diagonally from a root rune to convey a message. Typically these messages are short, rarely using more than three or four runes.

### The Deep Speech

Deep speech, or elder tongue, is a group of fragmented languages that are used to commune with ancient creatures older than dragons or giants. It seems to have a fundamental connection to nature and the world of Tareal. Speakers today hardly understand the languages until they begin speaking, making this the most mysterious and unique area of linguistic study. Written forms only are discovered by chance, and all have varied greatly. One theory is that it is not fragments of languages, but a single language that may be constantly evolving. Another theory suggests that speakers are simply declaring their intent, and that the words and text does not matter. They suggest the intention and message are what come through. If either of these are true, it would make Deep Speech the most difficult language to formalize.