Languages of Occida and its Environs
Characters and Languages
In Legend of the Archons, characters can speak their native tongue plus one per rank of academics above mediocre (0), and unless characters have at least average (1) academics then they are assumed to be illiterate as well. Characters can attempt to understand someone that speaks another dialect of the same language, but suffers a penalty of 1 from any relevant rolls. This penalty is raised to two for closely related yet distinct languages.
Language Groups
The below are groups of closely-related langauges, not necessarily language families as understood by academic linguists. More than half of the languages below would fit within one true language family much like most of Europe's languages are part of the Indo-European language family.
Alannic
The Alannic languages are spoken as a first language by alanir across the continent and function as a lingua franca for international diplomacy, among elites and educated peoples as well as the official language of the Church. In this respect it functions much as Latin did in our own world.
Alannic
this tongue is not only current among the alanir (specifically the alannàsir), but is used as the language of diplomacy in international relations across much of Occida.
Old Alannic
This can be safely considered a dead language in that it has no native speakers anymore, and is now used strictly by scholars, governments and the Church. Note however, that these groups often make a very great deal of use of this language. Dead it may be, but buried it most certainly is not: most official documents across Occida and most extant copies of the Codex are written in Old Alannic.
Eshic
This is the insular and somewhat obscure tongue of the almost exclusively alannic population of Alanesh. In the isolation, of the eshàsir, their branch of the Alannic language has diverged considerably from Old Alannic but can still be understood with some effort by other Alanir.
Gannic
The Gannic languages are peculiar to the durgans.
Gannish
Gannish is generally considered the dominant Durgan language, or at least the most widely spoken. It is used across most of Occida other than in the far western and southern portions of the continent, and continues into the Ubayyad empire in the east. There are two prominent dialects of this language: Dergenda and Ydenno.
Dergenda Dialect
This dialect is distinct from but mutually intelligible with Gannish, and is used by the durgans in northern central Occida where they have been influenced linguistically by the Suidothic peoples.
Ydenno Dialect
The Ydenno dialect is spoken primarily by the durgans of the Yberran peninsular region. It borrows a considerable amount of vocabulary from the regional Lataic languages. It diverges much farther from main Gannish than does Dergenda.
Kemmari
The Kemmari language is spoken by Durgans living beyond Occida to the south, attested most notably in the Ptolentine empire's dominions. Kemmari is built from a Gannic base but has been influenced by Kimic and, to a lesser extent, Hekupt and Punic to the point that it is an entirely distinct language rather than a dialect.
Goedic
Other than Fomorach, the Goedic languages are found primarily on the tidal island of Albannia. They used to be much more widespread but have greatly declined over the past thousand years due to pressure from other population groups.
Badhban
The most widely spoken of the true Goedic languages (thus excepting Fomorach) both in terms of population and geographic spread. This is the official and dominant tongue of Badhb and is also spoken in parts of western Alba as well.
Cymrian
The least widespread of the Goedic languages, Cymrian is spoken almost exclusively in the region near the border between Badhb and Alba, though it is attested on both sides of that border. Cymrian is noted for its especially convoluted and baffling pronunciation.
Scadach
This language is common in northern Alba, the Jotlaw and a number of small islands surrounding this same region. This is a Goedic language that began as a merger of Badhban and Cymrian, but now has a large number of borrowings from the Nhoraidic peoples as well.
Fomorach
Fomorach is in fact a creole language, formed originally from a merger of Badhban and the tongue of the Unseelie Sí/Sith and accordingly Fomorach and Badhban treat each other as members of the same language family. See the Sithee Language group below for more details on the Fomorach language.
Hellesic
The Hellesic languages are common in the eastern regions bordering the Greater Sea, from the coastal portions of Szekezy and Bolga around to the Ptolentine empire. They were once the predominant languages of the entire region due to the power of the old Hellesic Empire, but have lost considerable ground in recent centuries.
Hellesian
Hekupt Dialect
Old Hellesic Dialect
This was the official language of the old empire, and is still used alongside Old Alannic in certain Church and governmental records, particularly along the lands bordering the Greater Sea.
Hayelezow
Idumeic
The Idumeic languages are prominent in the southern half of the Ubayyad domain, across the southern coast of the Great Sea and into Corsada.
Amhaddic
Yeshivic
Punic
Melitan Dialect
Kimic
This ancient language group was once dominant along the southern coasts of the Great Sea, and is still commonly spoken in the region.
Kimic
Ancient Kimic
Gurguric
Lataic
The Lataic languages are spoken in much of western Occida, originating in Latium and spread through settlers that expanded along with the rise of the Hellesian Empire, being the defining peoples of the western portions of the Empire.
Latian
Spoken in Latium.
Transaltan dialect
Spoken in the mountainous north of Latium and points north and east.
Laturian dialect
Spoken in coastal Szekezy.
Corsadan
Spoken on the isle of Corsada.
Hispaian
Hispaia is a peninsula to the southwest of Occida, a heavily divided land dominated by conflict between the Kingdom of Yberra and Bosca against the Olmayyads.
Boscan Dialect
Bosca is the northeast region of the Hispaian peninsula, the border region with Fuera, and this dialect is quite divergent from the main language, barely mutually intelligible at all.
Puertian dialect
This is spoken on the western coast of Hispaia.
Fuerish
Gestian dialect
Hasson dialect
Bourgian
Othic
The Othic languages dominate central and northern Occida, and are broken into two distinct groups.
Suidothic subgroup:
The Suidothic subgroup is dominant in most of central and northern continental Occida, particularly in the territories of the late Heiligen Empire and has a strong foothold in Albannia as well.
Hoch-Othic
Hoch-Othic, or "High Othic", is the most commonly spoken of the Suidothic languages, and is the principal language of the former Heiligen Empire. Its speakers are diverse, divided into many dialects which are often mutually intelligible.
Zachsisch dialect
Spoken in Zachsen, the official dialect of that kingdom, though not its majority dialect.
Osternisch dialect
Spoken in eastern Zachsen dominions and the borders with the Szekezo-holtic speaking peoples.
Nordothic dialect
Spoken between the northern Dachs and the Othic Sea.
Vaudisch dialect
Spoken in the mountainous region between Bourge and Latium, principally the Confederacy of Cantons.
Zuidisch
The Zuidisch peoples live along the northern coast of Occida between the Holtic Sea and the Albannian Sea, ranging from the Dachs and the Buijteatic League over to Othmark and northern Geste.
Alban
Spoken in the eastern portion of the island of Albannia, but quite divergent from other Suidothic languages.
Bresian dialect
The Bresian people dwell in a land at the intersection of Othmark, Geste and the Dachs. Their dialect is the nearest bridge between Alban and the other Suidothic languages.
Nhoraidic subgroup:
The Nhoraidic subgroup dominates the regions north of the Holtic Sea as well as significant portions of the Othic Sea coast and portions of the island of Albannia.
Swendish
The language of Swendia.
Dansk
Predominant in Othmark, The Dans have also crossed Daggerland to conquer southeastern Albannia, a region now called Danland.
Jotsk
The Jots originate in Jotland, the northern and western part of what is now Swendia, and conquest by the latter has driven many of them to settle in northern Albannia, in turn conquering the area now called the Jotlaw.
Sithee
This language group's origins do not lie in the material world at all, but in the realms of the fey, who term themselves either the Sí (pronounced "shee") or the Sith. The only mortal group that today relies on a language related to the Sithee languages is the fomorians, though Fomorach is heavily bastardized by contact with the Goedic languages and shares much vocabulary with them so it is listed above with that langauge group.
(Fomorach, Badhba Fomorach dialect, Occitan Fomorach dialect, languages of the Fey)
Fomorach
Fomorach is in fact a creole language, formed originally from a merger of Badhban and the tongue of the Unseelie Sí and accordingly Fomorach and Badhban (A Goedic language) treat each other as members of the same language family. See the Goedic language group above for more information on the other related tongues.
Badhba Fomorach
The fomori of Albannia and the isles north and west of Occida speak this dialect.
Occidan Fomorach
The fomori of Occida proper have adopted more vocabulary and grammatical hints from the Othic languages than have their Badhban and Albannian kin, though their dialect is for the most part mutually intelligible with the Badhba.
Szekezo-Holtic
The Szekezo-holtic languages predominate in eastern Occida from Meskovy down to the coast of the Greater Sea.
Byeloholtic
Domovoy dialect
Meskovian
Kevic dialect
Ukharic dialect
Bolgaric
Schiavic
Szekezic
Magric dialect
Kantic dialect
Yekhisic
The Yekhisic-speaking peoples have, over the past thousand years or so, made steady advances into the region to the southeast of Occida and more recently have claimed hegemony over the eastern coasts of the Great Sea, the Ubayyad Yekhurs having claimed these lands from the crumbling Hellesic empire. There are many more Yekhisic languages than are listed here, but their provinces are well outside of the scope of this particular work.
Yekhur
Ashkazen
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