Languages

Most scholars agree that only five of the countless dialects of Eastern Oerik were or are spoken by enough people to be properly called languages.

These are:

Common

Suloise

Flan

Ancient Baklunish

Old Oeridian

Suloise: This ancient and widespread language became all but extinct when the Rain of Colorless Fire destroyed the Suloise Empire. Today it is rarely spoken, even among the few scholars who know the tongue; rather, it exists in its written state for the sake of those who would delve into the surviving arcane tomes of the Suel peoples.

This exists primarily as a written language, read by those who delve into the surviving ancient tomes of the Suel peoples. Within the Scarlet Brotherhood, however, it is the only permitted spoken language for discourse within the heirarchy. A derivative, Fruz (see below), is spoken by the other major Suel group, the barbarians.

Flan: Doubtless the oldest language still spoken to any considerble extent. The Tenha still speak Flan, albeit a time-corrupted version of the language that once was widespread thoughout the Flanaess. A stagnant language, it is difficult to translate modern concepts into Flan.

This is the oldest language still spoken on an everyday basis. The Tenhas speak Flan, albeit a somewhat debased version of the oncewidespread original tongue. It is a stagnant language now, and it is difficult to translate modern or changing concepts into Flan because of the inflexibility of its vocabulary and sytax.

Ancient Baklunish: One of the ancestors of the Common tongue, Baklunish nevertheless bears its offspring little resemblance; this is to be expected after nearly a mille nium of change, however. The Paynim tribes still speak Ancient Baklunish, although some traders and educated men learn Common for dealings with outsiders.

This has importance as one of the roots of modern Common. It is still spoken by the Paynim tribes and among some tribes and clans in surrounding lands (Zeif, Tusmit, etc.), especially in formal addresses and for commercial dealings.

Old Oeridian: A younger language, Oeridian was totally free of outside influences until a few centuries ago. As a result, its linguistic components are unique and translation into any language except Common is all but impossible.

Originally believed to be almost a closed language, Revort Leyhar has exploded this myth. He bases his case on the obvious fact that such a tongue could not remain free of outside influences, as was once claimed, when those who spoke it were the most widely disseminated and intermixed group throughout the Flanaess. Old Oeridian is the major basis of the Common tongue. As a written lanmage, Old Oeridian is used almost exclusively by many everyday scribes (lawyers, clerks, and the like), in part, as a way of maintaining a monopoly on literacy (by excluding mere speakers and writers of the Common), and thus their gainful employment. Exalted sages use yet more obscure scripts for the same reasons. Most major archives and libraries have a wealth of materials written in Old Oeridian.

Common: A combination of Ancient Baklunish and the dialect of Old Oeridian spoken in the Great Kingdom forms the basis of this new, widely used tongue,originally the basis of this traders' tongue. Beginning centuries ago as Middle-Common, the language contained many obviously Oeridian elements, and the contributions of Baklunish grammatical structure and vocabulary are clearly identifiable. Regional variations were also pronounced, but all these ele ments became blended and standardized during the years of Aerdi dominance, resulting in the birth of the Overking's Common Tongue, later simply called Common. Virtually anyone who crosses national boundaries must learn at least a smattering of common or be gready handicapped. It is frequently the case that one language must be translated into Common before it can be translated into another desired language. This is possible because of the universal ity of Common's roots.

Primarily derived from Ancient Baklunish and Old Oeridian, Common evolved primarily from the need for a universal language that could be employed in trade and diplomacy and filtered down to the common folk over the centuries. It is now the primary spoken human tongue in almost all nations of the Flanaess.

In addition to the above five languages, there are several dialects and sub-languages worthy of note. These are:

Ferral

The Cold Tongue (Fruz)

Keolandish

Nyrondese

Velondi

Lendorian

Ferral: Ferral is a now-secret Oeridian tribal language spoken only by officials of the Iron league. Ferral is used only for command and identification purposes, and thus cannot be considered an actual living language. Nyrondese: This is a High Oeridian dialect of Common which is spoken in some areas of Nyrond. It is a primary language particularly for peasants, shopkeepers, and the like. Learned people almost always speak Common as well.

This is a derivative of an Oeridian tribal language, used, until recently, in the diplomacy of the Iron League. Some documents which were saved from its fall (and some still extant in Sunndi and Irongate) are written in this tongue. Ferral was used primarily for command and identification purposes, being a formalized dialect amounting to little more than a set of signals and tags with poor verbal and adjective content. It is not a true living language.

The Cold Tongue: This dialect, also known as Fruz, is primarily Suloise with Flan admixture. It is spoken com monly by the Ice, Snow, and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to Common, and even speakers of Suloise find it hard to understand.

This is the language of the frost, snow, and ice barbarians; it is predominantly Suloise with some Flan influences. It has no relation to Common, and even speakers of Suloise find it hard to comprehend.

Velondi: Velondi is an Old Oeridian tribal language spoken primarily by rural folk near the Furyondy-Veluna border. Those who speak only Common cannot understand it.

This is another Oeridian tribal tongue spoken by rural folk and those in isolated communities in Veluna and its northern borders. It is not comprehensible to those who speak only Common, and is purely a spoken language today.

Keolandish: This is a widespread dialect of Old High Oer idian with local admixtures. It is spoken in areas in and around Keoland.

An offshoot of Old Oeridian with local admixtures, Keolandish has a range of regional sub-dialects throughout Keoland and surrounding lands.

Nyrondese: This is a High Oeridian dialect that mixes Common with some expressions from an Oeridian tribal tongue. It is spoken in rural areas of Nyrond by peasants, shopkeepers, and those who want to make comprehension of their expressions difficult for those they don’t trust.

Lendorian: This is an obscure dialect of Suloise spoken in the Spindrift Isles. It has no relation to the Cold Tongue, and is a secondary language to those who speak Common.

This is an obscure dialect of Suloise once spoken in some of the Spindrift Isles and known to a scattered few in other eastern islands. It is comprehensible to Suloise and Common speakers, but is unrelated to Fruz. Lendorian is used primarily by seamen and sea voyagers, and is a spoken rather than written tongue. Lendorian is especially rich and subtle in its vocabulary as pertains to weather conditions and natural phenomena, as befits its usage. It is not to be confused with Lendorian Elvish (see below).

Druidic: The druids' tongue of the Flanaess shares roots with Flan, but it is specialized and static, focus ing only on the natural world and agriculture.

Lendorian Elven:A peculiar new tongue that only high and aquatic elves of the Lendore Isles know, this might be a divinely inspired language. It is thick with religious and philosophical terms, and it cannot be learned in the normal manner. It seems to appear in the minds of elves who go to the Lendore Isles.

Olman: Olman slaves taken by the Sea Princes or Scarlet Brotherhood speak this strange tongue, as their masters hated it. Its huge, complex "alphabet" is really a vast set of pictographs. It is heard most often in the western Sea Princes' lands and in the Amedio Jungle.

Ordai: This dialect shared by the Wolf and Tiger Nomads bears some resemblance to Ancient Baklun ish, but it is most similar to dialects spoken among the distant Paynims. Its written form is based on Baklunish script.

Rhopan: The language of the Rhennee, Rhopan is also called "Rhennee cant" because it borrows many terms from other languages, including the argot of several thieves' organizations. It is not related to any Oerthly tongue.

Ulagha: The language of the Uli is a debased form of colloquial Baklunish.