> > Godtongue
> - -..
> Does that still exist, or was it Gregged?
Not officially, I believe.But there are only a handful of references to it, and, frankly, Godtongue is a strange concept. It does have some mythical and philosophical validity, but there are just as many reasons which militate against such a thing existing.
The existence of Godtongue hinges on the precise understanding of the nature of the gods in Glorantha, if you will. A thread I have *NO* interest in contributing to, personally.
> I thought theists had no trouble communicating with their deities during
> religious ceremonies.
This is because, during religious ceremonies, the participants themselves become incarnations of the gods, who can then speak with mortals in plain day-to-day language - -..
> Similarly (worship ceremony=hero quest), hero questers
> have (AFAIK) no problems talking to the entities they meet. Yet neither
> initiates nor (apparently) hero questers need learn new languages.
See above.
A Godtongue would be the communications of gods between themselves, apart from the agency of a mortal intervention (a very unusual occurrence during the ages of the Compromise). It's a theoretical necessity, although production of Godtongue by gods might in fact almost never occur.
The particularity of Godtongue is that it vehicles Knowledge of Reality, rather than mere concepts. Mortals are incapable of understanding it.
> Assuming what I've just stated is true, I have a question for the list.
> During a worship ceremony/hero quest, how DO participants communicate?
In their mother tongue, usually.
However :
> I guess there are two possibilities: telephathy or solipsism. By solipsism I
> mean each participant perceives the entities as speaking the participant's
> own language (with suitable accents, I suppose). Although I suppose some
> Issaries hero quests might be different, when the whole point is to acquire
> a communication ability.
This is too rules-lawyery IMO.But there IS a shared psychic experience in HeroQuesting which is close to what you suggest.
Remember, though, that the mythic figure of the Foreigner cannot always be spoken
with.------------------------------
A.R.Wilson:
> > Intelligent animals communicate with ... transference of concepts... This
> > is a magical language,
>
> IMO this isn't a language at all. A language is highly-developed form of
> communication with specific sounds (or letters/signs) that have specific
> meanings.
Well, it has most of the functions of language, including for instance "vocabularies" of local/cultural concepts.A highly developed form of communication using signs is correct, but it is blatant humanocentrism to assume that all such signs must have the form of sounds, or writing. Timinits have a sophisticated language based on smell for instance. Similarly Spirits have a sophisticated form of communication based on some form of psychic signalling.
> If the animal can communicate with a language however, it could be more
> specific and send a *message* rather than a *concept*.
What's the difference?
> Frex: "I smell Broo
> hiding above". With the ability to transfer only *concepts* via mindspeech,
> the master may receive a communication of the impression "enemy" or "danger"
> and receive no other clue.
Luckily, concepts can be complex. Otherwise, we'd still be running around, rubbing our bottoms against big black monoliths ...
> > This kind of mental contact is known by many as "Spirit Speech".
> > Sorcerors call it telepathy.
>
> Hmmm.. my view of Spirit Speech is slightly different from yours, it seems. I
> agree that this is a magical language, but a much more sophisticated form of
> communication than you describe. IMG all inhabitants of the Spirit Plane have
> a common language, which may be learned by the visiting shaman.
Well, sort of.But how, exactly, is this more sophisticated than my own model?
> I don't think
> Spirit Speech is a form of mental communication.
But that's precisely what "Spirit Speech" means, surely!
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