Draconic

Draconic was the language of dragons. Dragons called their language Glav (meaning "speech/converse"), and it used its own distinct alphabet, called Iokharic. Other native speakers included members of draconic-related races, such as kobolds and dragonborn, and members of reptilian races such as lizardfolk and troglodytes. The language was also used as a primary means of arcane notation throughout Toril

History

Draconic was one of the earliest languages, influencing or creating the language of kobolds and other races. According to dragons, their language was the oldest mortal tongue and all other mortal languages descended from it. Scholars from Candlekeep theorized Draconic was created by the ignidracos, one of the ancestor species of true dragons.

Draconic was a monolithic language, and it remained almost unchanged since its creation.[6] The only known Draconic language variant was Aragrakh, an ancient draconic language

Dialects

Slight variations in the dialect of Draconic were used among the different kinds of chromatic dragons and were considered equivalent to regional accents. Metallic dragons, on the other hand, all had similar accents.

The dragons of Abeir (including those living in Laerakond) also had their own dialect, which they called Aklave. The Aklave dialect was so similar to the Torilian dialect, that someone who understood one could fluently understand the other, although the pronunciation of some words was different. Some sounded softer than normal Draconic, a little more nasal and with words that had elongated syllables.

Dragonborn and kobolds had their own unique draconic dialects, the Tymantheran and the Yipyak, respectively

Writing System

Iokharic was the name of a script used by the Draconic language, as well as by the Auran, Ignan, and some human languages. It consisted of runic characters equivalent to letters and numbers in human scripts.

To give emphasis to important concepts, Iokharic employed a special character consisting of five lines radiating outwards, similar to a star or an asterisk (*), or the five heads of Tiamat. When this character was written, the word was spoken with both the first and last syllables stressed.

Morphology

Draconic words were emphasized on the first syllable, and speakers of Draconic expressed important ideas by stressing the beginnings and the ends of words. Dragons often used this when referring to themselves, or when they wanted to command, warn, threaten, or otherwise make their point clear.

Syntax

Words that modified other words were placed before or after the word they modified, with the most important modifier always placed before. Draconic speakers often placed it a second time directly after the word for additional emphasis. Draconic had no specific word for “my” or “mine,” instead using several prefixes that depended on the exact meaning.

Phonetics

Draconic was a language of hard consonants and sibilants that usually sounded like hissing when spoken, like sj, ss, and sv. It also included a sound similar to a creature clearing its throat, ach.