Re: More languages

From: Simon Phipp <soltakss_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 23:32:56 +0100 (BST)


Peter Metcalfe says:
> Keith Nellist:
> >One is Tradetalk, the language of the Middle Sea Empire, which is
> >magically easy to learn and understand.
>
> I don't think so. Written Jrusteli inscriptions are known to exist
> (there's a inscription to be found in the Condor's Crags) and I
> think the God Learners are the last people in glorantha to
> adopt a god's magic as the language of their empire. I don't
> deny Tradetalk's spread due to its usefulness to explorers
> but think the God Learners relied on their own special Malkioni
> language.

Didn't the Jrusteli use standard Western, like all the other Malkioni? Their spoken language may have been different, but the writen language would have been the same.

Tradetalk would have been a useful language for speaking to foreigners, especially those who had knowledge of Tradetalk through Issaries, but they would have spoken their own language among themselves. In the same way as the explorers of the British Empire could speak local languages but spoke English to other Brits.

> >The other is Wyrmish, more a way of thinking than a
> >language but it makes communication easier, if a bit sibilant.
>
> Since humans can't speak Wyrmish greater than 25% unaided,
> it's hardly a language intended for ease of communication. IMO
> beyond its obvious purpose to speak with dragonewts and the
> like, it helps people think draconically. Since dragons are
> capable of thinking their enemies to death, it is a major path
> in the Draconic Wisdom.

Auld Wyrmish was not created to allow people to speak to the dragons, it was how they spoke to each other. Humans can only understand it at a maximum of 25% because they cannot see/smell/feel the other non-visual components of the language. So, they have only a limited understanding of draconic concepts. I believe that Eurmal's splitting of the brain and the tongue allows the speaker to exceed the 25% and begin to understand draconic concepts. I can't believe that the mystics of the EWF could only speak Auld Wyrmish at 25%.

Do the Kralori speak Auld Wyrmish or is their knowledge of the Draconic Wisdom based on a different source?

Simon



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