>In any case, the separation in question lasted only a couple of
>centuries, correct? That's enough time for linguistic drift to cause
>north and south to separate somewhat linguistically, but not enough
>likely to make them very far from each other. Consider that despite
>four centuries (OK, two centruries since we were colonies, and only
>one without modern communications), the Atlantic ocean, and pentambic
>iambeter that I can make out Shakespeare. To say nothing of the ease
>with which I can understand the English of modern British people.
>
>A lot depends, therefore, on how different the tribes' languages were
>before they became separated to the north and south.
Linguistic drift isn't the only factor in how different languages become. There's also the extent to which they borrow words from other languages. This happens a lot quicker than linguistic drift so the century or so of Lunar dominiation of Tarsh will have introduced quite a number. The Sartarite tribes will probably claim their's is the pure form of the language but I expect they have adopted words from other Kethaelan languages.
In the case of English and US English one of the reasons it is mutually understandable is that modern communications allow us to adopt words easily so in the last century the differences have reduced with words which were once used on one side of the atlantic now recognised as alternatives on the other.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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