Speak other languages (not Dragon Pass)

[Manu]

IN RQG, there is a precise list of languages and relations with other languages in Dragon Pass.

In the GtG, for each culture, they describe the languages spoken. But they are not as precise as in the rule book.

For instance, in Fonrit, Afadjanni and Kareeshtu are described as 'It is related to Afadjanni and Banamban, although the languages are not mutually intelligible.'

Does it mean than if you speak Kareeshtu, you cannot speak a work of the other language? Is it 1/10? 1/5? 1/2?

In the western culture, they say ' Malki: spoken by the Malkioni of Umathela. Closely related to Seshnegi.'. Closely related, is it 1/2, 1/5 or 1/10?
 

[Mirza]

I'm no expert at Pamaltela but I'll give it a shot.

I would say that the only part of Afadjanni, Banamban, and Kareeshtu are intelligible with each other is the ancient parts of Firespeech and Earthtongue that remain in the language, and some Vadeli, and Seshnegi that was borrowed from interactions with the Vadeli, and God Learners, otherwise they cannot natively understand each other.

So I would have Firespeech, Earthtongue, and Vadeli/Seshnegi as your language equivalencies, assigning 1/2, 1/5, 1/10 based upon the history of each region (probably don't use 1/2 for any of this, stick to 1/5, and 1/10). Maybe Afadjanni would have 1/5 with Vadeli, but again I am no expert so feel free to change it.

As for the Malki question, I would lean either 1/2 or 1/5, I could see the language equivalence drifting towards 1/5 but with the advent of Rokarism in Seshnela, there being a push for an older style of Seshnegi, and it being closer to 1/2.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Mirza

[Qizilbashwoman]

The real question is: which areas speak Artmali languages, because they're from the (Blue) Moon! Veldang are Artmali and live in Zamokil, Fonrit and Caridad, but I don't know which groups still speak Artmali. The Blueskin Veldang might not... or they might. There's a lot of Blueskins in Fonrit, far far outnumbering the Agimori there.

[soltakss]

20 hours ago, Manu said:

For instance, in Fonrit, Afadjanni and Kareeshtu are described as 'It is related to Afadjanni and Banamban, although the languages are not mutually intelligible.'

Does it mean than if you speak Kareeshtu, you cannot speak a work of the other language? Is it 1/10? 1/5? 1/2?

I'd say yes, you cannot speak/understand one by knowing the other, so having Afadjanni 100% gives you Banamban 0%. To be honest, it is a clumsy thing to put that they are related but mutually intelligible. 

20 hours ago, Manu said:

In the western culture, they say ' Malki: spoken by the Malkioni of Umathela. Closely related to Seshnegi.'. Closely related, is it 1/2, 1/5 or 1/10?

I'd say Closely Related would be 1/2, so Malki 100% gives you Seshnegi 50%.

[jajagappa]

6 hours ago, soltakss said:

To be honest, it is a clumsy thing to put that they are related but mutually intelligible. 

Much like say German and Latin and Sanskrit are related but not mutually intelligible?

[Qizilbashwoman]

21 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Much like say German and Latin and Sanskrit are related but not mutually intelligible?

better to say "Dutch and English are related but not mutually intelligible", perhaps, although that's going to be confused by fact that I think almost everyone I ever met in the Benelux Dutch-speaking areas spoke nearly flawless English and therefore they might not grok it internally.

Or maybe Frisian and English. They're really, really close but you can't understand a damn thing. It's the closest language to English:

 

[Qizilbashwoman]

In comparison, this woman is speaking in Shetlandic, which is difficult for outsiders, but is clearly intelligible to Standard English speakers: I chose this moment as it moves from English into pure Shetlandic and back again. She's being interviewed in English but after the poem ends she does slide in and out of Shetlandic, sometimes stopping to gloss the words she's said, and talking about how odd it is to be named the Poet Laureate of Edinburgh when she's Shetlandic and is printed as a writer in English, not Scots.

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Qizilbashwoman

[soltakss]

9 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Much like say German and Latin and Sanskrit are related but not mutually intelligible?

Very, very loosely, perhaps. For a game, I would use related as meaning some overlap giving some understanding.

But, yes, your point is very valid.

9 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

better to say "Dutch and English are related but not mutually intelligible", perhaps, although that's going to be confused by fact that I think almost everyone I ever met in the Benelux Dutch-speaking areas spoke nearly flawless English and therefore they might not grok it internally.

Or maybe Frisian and English. They're really, really close but you can't understand a damn thing. It's the closest language to English:

Maybe the closest language to Anglo-Saxon or Old English. Modern English is a very different beast, more of an amalgam of Anglo-Saxon/Danish/French, but I am not a linguist.

I saw a documentary years ago on language. It had a recording of an old man from Kent who was speaking in his native Kentish dialect, then they had a recording of someone saying the same thing in Frisian and it sounded virtually the same.

[Qizilbashwoman]

5 hours ago, soltakss said:

Maybe the closest language to Anglo-Saxon or Old English. Modern English is a very different beast, more of an amalgam of Anglo-Saxon/Danish/French, but I am not a linguist.

i mean, i uh posted that specifically because i am a linguist

[jajagappa]

23 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

better to say "Dutch and English are related but not mutually intelligible"

What I found most odd with Dutch was how close it was to English. On the several occasions I've been there, when sitting in restaurants or at various sites, I'd hear it and hear phrases that were very English, and yet not. 

(Of course the Dutch speak English itself very well - but when speaking Dutch with other locals, you could certainly tell that this was the area from which the English language branched off.)