Playing in BOGR and DMing my own campaign here has got me thinking about expressions, quirks, and idoms in other languages besides planar trade. I reckon it would be neat to come up with a list of these. It would make language descriptions a Hell of a lot more interesting if nothing else. I'll contribute, but I'm too tired to be clever right now and I'd love to see other people's ideas first.
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Mon, 2007-08-27 20:33
#1
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Tue, 2007-08-28 06:07
#3
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Infernal:
Infernal is an intentionaly dificult language both to use and to understand. The language is designed specifically to root out fools. The Ministry of communication (Linguistics Subomitte) makes speaking 'propper' Infernal as complicated as they can without making it too dificult for themselves. A new revised Infernal dictionary is published every 666 (Infernal) days, or about every five prime years (an infernal 'day' is 66 hours of course). The most recent dictionary weighs more than 300 pounds and requires a magnifying lens is a massive book by the standards of a pit fiend. Infernal has many very similarly spelled and similarly sounding words to make contracts with less intelligent or educated mortqals more profitable. For example, the infernal words for "Will" and "won't" have only one letter to tell the two appart--and the two letters look very similar. It is possible to tell what caste a devil belongs to by thier mastery of Infernal.
Tue, 2007-08-28 15:19
#4
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
I believe it's Faces of Evil that has a fairly large section on Yugoloth. Apparantly almost every word in the language has several completely different meanings.
Tue, 2007-08-28 18:53
#5
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Abyssal:
Abyssal doesn't have dictionaries. Abyssal hardly even has words at all. In fact, the only time Tanar'ri choose to speak at all is when they can't get their meaning across by clicks, grunts, and various offensive hand gestures. The other reason Abyssal doesn't have dictionaries is that it's basically slang without a language. The words change so quickly that by the time they've been written down, they'll have totally different meanings. It's like talking to a really impressionable teenager with a speech impediment, only worse.
Tue, 2007-08-28 20:21
#6
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Modron:
Modron as a language is a striking contrast of complexity and simplicity. The average sentence only contains 4 or 5 syllables, but they are incredibly information dense. A conversation between 2 Modrons taking no more than ten seconds might be the equivalent of a fifteen minute indepth discussion in a less streamlined language. Of course, a pair of non-Modrons having the same discussion in Modron would still take at least 20 minutes due to the time they would need to spend carefully calculating the correct pitch, harmonics, and length of each pronounced letter, not to mention translating the other speaker's words. Contrary to popular belief, Modrons can and do display humor, but it is only apparant when they speak their native tongue. Most of this humor is based on subtle permutations of pronunciation and re-occuring prime numbers. If you ever want to see a Modron do what passes for chuckling, ask it about spherical non-planar geometries and the effects of third harmonics on a string of imaginary prime squares.
Tue, 2007-08-28 20:56
#7
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Abyssal:
Abyssal doesn't have dictionaries. Abyssal hardly even has words at all. In fact, the only time Tanar'ri choose to speak at all is when they can't get their meaning across by clicks, grunts, and various offensive hand gestures. The other reason Abyssal doesn't have dictionaries is that it's basically slang without a language. The words change so quickly that by the time they've been written down, they'll have totally different meanings. It's like talking to a really impressionable teenager with a speech impediment, only worse.
Abyssal does have lots of words, as it has many dialects. It's just that the wordiest forms of the Abyssal language are ones spoken by the more erudite of the Tanar'ri...
Abyssal's original form was the Obyrith dialect which has mostly been forgotten over the eons. In the Obyrith dialect words had many meanings which changed based on the situational circumstances.
It's said that the earliest words in the Abyssal language was derived from what some sages call Dark Speech. In fact many can find links in the Infernal language and the fragments of ancient Dark Speech. Many have speculated that Dark Speech was actually a language spoken by the Baernaloths.
But where Infernal has a rigid structure, filled with intricacies based on the speakers station. Abyssal has multiple intricacies based on the speaker's mood and intentions. To those who can't get into the mind of a speaker of Abyssal, it's hard to understand, but to any native speaker it's completely natural to understand these intricacies.
The Tanar'ri dialects of Abyssal is divided into at least five major dialects. The five dialects as classified by a linguist in Grazz't's court is Least, Lesser, Greater, Guardian and True. They are generalized by the form of Tanar'ri who generally speak those dialects. And there are multiple variations of the five main dialects based on the influence of an Abyssal Lord. What is spoken in Aggrazat is often quite different from what is spoken in Thanatos. Still despite the vast differences in dialects speakers of Abyssal don't have much of a problem understanding each other.
Among some of the high echelons of Tanar'ri society it's often considered to be sophisticated if one speaks Abyssal in the Obyrith dialect, despite the distaste the Tanar'ri have for their ancient masters.
Tue, 2007-08-28 22:21
#8
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Is there like a translator for the infernal or abyssal languages. I have a few curses I'd like to throw around and Drow, while a badass language, isn't quite the angle of badass I'm going for.
Tue, 2007-08-28 22:56
#9
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
I generally use Latin and ancient Hebrew for when I need something fiendish (or celestial), so that might be a good place to start. Particularly Hebrew, as players are less likely to recognize it, while it has a very nice sound.
Wed, 2007-08-29 07:00
#10
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
Here are some ideas for Elemental Languages: Firstly I think it would be debvided into high and low elemental languages. High (like High Ignan)are spoken by more sophisticated denizens of elemental planes like dijin nobles.
While Low Elemental Languages are spoken by basic elementals or dijin servants or slaves.
While both languagaes are understandble by both language speekers, high languages are more poetic and usualy have word equivalents for non elemental words, while low languages are most rudimentary and basic form of comunications, wich uses simple symbols and words for multiple meaning (for example in Ingnan word water means also word death).
Exeptions: quasi-elemental and paraelemental languages are dialects created from elmets from two diferent tounges (Ooze dialect is composed from Teran and Aquan elements), such tounges are rare outside thir native planes but they are understandable by denizens of neighboring planes (Ooze dialect will be understandable by speakers of Teran and Aquan for example).
Universal Jann or Elemental Common: Is intended to be universal elemental language created by Janni (much like our Esperanto), wich is created by elements of all 4 elemental languages, but becaouse janni are considered lesser kind of djinn, it never gained much popularity in elemental planes and it is even less comon outside elemental planes.
Wed, 2007-08-29 07:26
#11
Idioms and expressions in other languages than planar trade?
In addition to the material in Faces of Evil concerning the yugoloth language, here's my take on it:
It's virtually impossible to make a totally unambiguously clear statement in yugoloth. Even direct commands. (The most utterly basic level of the language, the kind used by newly spawned mezzoloths, comes closest.) This becomes worse as one deals with more advanced and older yugoloths. Even if they want to, they can't be completely plain-spoken in their own language, as it goes against yugoloth mentality and philosophy (truth is subjective, questionable, illusionary). The downside of this is that it can give leeway for 'creative misinterpretation' of commands -- though the 'misinterpreting' loth might just get dead-booked if he annoys his superior too greatly.
For this reason, yugoloths who have mortal minions have a tendency to issue orders to them in a more unambiguous language, even if the minion has some knowledge of yugoloth.
The yugoloth language also becomes increasingly contextual and referential at higher levels of fluency. The longer two loths have known each other, or the more they know about each other, the more levels of meaning become possible. (A second or third meaning in a conversation may refer to an event both of them remember from the past. As a simple example, if one loth knows that another was cowardly and fled from a particular battle, he may refer to the site of that battle as a hidden reference to cowardice.)
The yugoloth language is particularly incomprehensible at the arcanaloth level and above, in part, because all arcanaloths have an extraordinary quantity of shared experiences in the form of the collective memories they receive from their connection to the tower in Chamada. Subtle references to the experiences and memories of their long-dead predecessors won't be recognized by pretty much anyone else.
Hmm, good idea. I'll try to keep this brief and quirky. I may add more later.
Dwarven:
The Dwarven language is simple to learn, but difficult to master; not because it's complicated, but because each Dwarven community goes to considerable effort to cultivate it's own form of impenetrable slang. That way, the every paranoid Dwarves always know where a visitor comes from. Dwarves have 46 different words for "stone," and 22 words for various types of axes, but no word for "weather." They call clouds "Skygoats" and rain "skywater." They have no word for "rainbow," as it is considered bad luck to be outside during a storm.
Elven:
Elves have one of the most complicated languages in the Multiverse and try to make it more complicated every chance they get. They have four hundred different verb tenses (yes really), and just as many different kinds of nouns. A sentence of less than twenty words is considered a fragment. A sentence of more than twenty-five words is considered a run-on. The average elven word is seven syllables long and has at least that many apostrophes. Perhaps the oddest feature of the elven language, however, is their tendency to give full proper names (and titles!) to every tree in their home forest. Where a speaker of Planar Trade would say "the oak," an elf will say "The Honorable Lord Thickbark Greenleaves III."
Draconic:
Dragons have long lives and sharp memories and are always eager to make them selves seem knowledgeable. Every time a dragon hears a new or interesting word, he or she will add it to his or her own personal vocabulary and pass on to its offspring. After countless generations of this activity, the language has swelled to the point where it is officially recognized as having the largest vocabulary of any language on the planes (yes including Elven). Draconic's voluminous vocabulary allows it to express more subtle shades of meaning than virtually any other language. This, naturally, makes it the perfect language for magic, but also means that only true scholars have the time to learn to speak it properly. Put the two together, and you get the perfect language for wizards.