I'm not saying that 'common tongues' and 'lingua francas' don't exist. I am say that the source indicates that this is not what is happening here.
What it says is that the Westerners have spoken languages that are different though related and just ONE system of writing. And to me that means the written language MUST be an ideographic one whose systems don't relate in the slightest to the spoken system. An alphabetic system must relate to the spoken system or it won't work.
> > How tightly is this bound up with the system of
> > Logic that existed before Time?
>
> Are you hinting at the Runes?
You have a habit of reading my mind.
> > 3) Are all the Malkioni 'Holy Texts' in Western? Or are there some in
> > later languages?
>
> IMG keeping the Holy Texts in Western is sort of an interior benchmark
> for being an acceptable attendee at a Malkioni council. Quite probably
> the great schism between the orthodox (Akemite/Seshnegi) and the Stygian
> Malkioni involved a rendition of the texts into Safelstran Enerali.
That's damn good! And the pressure in my heretical church to translate is to 'take the faith' to the Orlanthi pagans. So when the walls of the Ban go down the 'orthodox' will look on them with suspicion if the 'reformers' have had their way.
> > 5) Presumably all the Malkioni lands outside Loskalm represent the
> > high water mark of Loskalmi Imperialism in the Second Age?
>
> Jonatela at least is a more recent development. While it is quite
> possible that Jonat Bigbear did include remnants of the Loskalmi empire
> in his kingdom, he formed the kingdom which would be the base for the
> Jonating church of Malkionism.
A point I've not seen clearly covered: of what religious traditions was Jonat?
Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie> sarcastically asked:
> > Why? It makka no sense! For a script to be used to communicate by
> > groups using differing spoken languages seems to require an ideographic
> > script. If it is alphabetic the language will mutate as the written
> > language mutates and will soon be mutually incomprehensible.
>
> Just like English you mean, whose spelling has of course mutated
> to _exactly_ match pronunciation?
Compare English, Dutch and German for a more comparable spread of change in languages. Languages tend to get partially frozen when 'the rules' get laid down and spelling standardised (Dr Johnson has a lot to answer for) but have a look at what common prejudice and ignorance are doing to the spelling of 'lite', 'nite' and 'thru'.
> > The analogy with Latin as a common sacred tongue fails because Latin has
> > a spoken and written form of its own.
>
> I think there probably is a common(ish) spoken form, it's just what
> you hear on the streets. A sort of "Church Western", as it were.
This is directly contrary to the sources.
> > I think it must be more like
> > Japanese and Chinese using ideographs to communicate.
>
> That's _definitely_ a flawed analogy, as Japanese and Chinese don't
> have a common written form (just a common set of ideograms).
Now, that (not being a scholar of that part of the world) I didn't appreciate. All right try written Chinese as a communication between the very different dialects of spoken Chinese. Oh, no someone argues with me against that analogy a little further on.....
Why don't people like this? I don't understand why you want to alter the plain sense of the source to change something that will not make all that much difference. Just to preserve the analogy with Western Europe?
About the Yggites I don't have any prejudices but I don't want to invent a whole new pantheon for people who may not even impinge on the campaign much.
Actor And Genius
AKA Theophilus Prince Archbishop Of The Far Isles Medieval Society
Arms Purpure An Open Book Proper: On the Dexter Page an Alpha Or
On the Sinister an Omega Or. Motto Nulla Spes Sit in Resistendo
(Resistance is Useless). Ask me about the Far Isles:
Better Living through Pan-Medieval Anachronisms.
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #131
Powered by hypermail