14 réponses à ce sujet

[Jazzpha]

So, here's the thing. We know the Elves and Qunari have their own languages distinct from... the "Common Tongue", let's call it. And we know Antivans (or at least Zevran) occasionally drop Spanish into their "Common" speech.

 

But do Ferelden's citizenry and the Orlesians have their own cultural language? I know Celene dropped some French during TME-- it was only about two phrases in the whole book, but still. I'm just curious because it didn't seem like Teagan needed a translator or anything when he showed up at the party he was at in TME. IO assume that's because Celene and the other Orlesians were speaking in the Common language so Teagan could understand it, but I was also kind of surprised that there wasn't a scene of Gaspard and someone else speaking pure Orlesian just to slip something past Teagan's notice.

 

Then again, I'm also a total language geek, so maybe that's just me.

 

TL;DR do we think every culturally-distinct nation in Thedas also has its own language like the Qunari and the Antivans, or do so many people speak a Common language that at this point the world is essentially monolingual for the purposes of global communication and trade and whatnot?

 

Thanks!

[Maria Caliban]

But do Ferelden's citizenry and the Orlesians have their own cultural language?

Yes.

[Jazzpha]

Okay, so the Fereldens probably use something close to Scots/Celtic/Gaelic, considering "Mac Tir", "Cailan" and "Maric".

 

Just kind of a bummer we don't see more instances of that diversity. Multiple languages can put some really interesting spins on conversations, and even moreso when politics forms part of the undercurrent.

 

Thanks for the reply!

[Maria Caliban]

They hired a linguist to develop the various languages prior to Origins coming out but subsequently lost most of the information - this was before the biowiki - I believe the only 'developed' language at this point is Qunlat.

[Jazzpha]

They hired a linguist to develop the various languages prior to Origins coming out but subsequently lost most of the information - this was before the biowiki - I believe the only 'developed' language at this point is Qunlat.

 

That makes me sad. But as someone who studied Latin and Greek a lot a few years ago, I'm somewhat used to a tragic lack of source material.

[KC_Prototype]

I'm guessing the common tongue is English but I know Orlesians do speak French, Antivan's Italian/Spanish, Rivain I guess English and Anderfells German. 

[Han Shot First]

Okay, so the Fereldens probably use something close to Scots/Celtic/Gaelic, considering "Mac Tir", "Cailan" and "Maric".

 

 

Actually the people of Ferelden have lost their native Alamarri tongue and just speak the common trade language used throughout Thedas, which was based on a Dwarven dialect. (English) The Orlesians still retained their native language however in addition to that common trade tongue, and presumably the Antivans as well..since Antivan characters sometimes use Spanish words.

[Milan92]

Actually the people of Ferelden have lost their native Alamarri tongue and just speak the common trade language used throughout Thedas, which was based on a Dwarven dialect. (English) The Orlesians still retained their native language however in addition to that common trade tongue, and presumably the Antivans as well..since Antivan characters sometimes use Spanish words.

 

Which makes no sense at all if Antiva was supposed to be loosely based on Italy

[Jazzpha]

Which makes no sense at all if Antiva was supposed to be loosely based on Italy

 

Here we go again.

[LobselVith8]

TL;DR do we think every culturally-distinct nation in Thedas also has its own language like the Qunari and the Antivans, or do so many people speak a Common language that at this point the world is essentially monolingual for the purposes of global communication and trade and whatnot?

 

Thanks!

 

Well, the dwarves invented the common tongue, or the King's Tongue as it's also known, centuries ago in order to help facilitate trade with other people. According to the Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), it's the most common language of Thedas. Tevene is spoken in Tevinter (not to be confused with ancient Tevene), the Dalish speak elvish, and Anders speak Ander. The others already mentioned Antivan being spoke in Antiva, and Rivaini being spoken in Rivain.

[Das Tentakel]

Which makes no sense at all if Antiva was supposed to be loosely based on Italy

 

They took two placenames and that's effectively it. The country itself shares the same name as a brand of office equipment - though I strongly suspect the country's name is simply an anagram of Avanti.

 

It was originally supposed to be called Calabria I believe, which in the real world is a region in southern Italy with has its own very distinctive dialect and is home to the world's supposedly most powerful criminal organisation, the 'Ndrangheta (the Calabrian term 'ndranghitiari means 'to engage in a defiant and valiant attitude'). I think it would have been cool if Antivans had spoken in dialetto Calabrese, rather than Spanish .

 

Or, alternatively, in Germanía, the argot of Spanish criminals in the late medieval and early modern era. Interestingly enough, the 'Ndrangheta are sometimes linked to the Garduña, supposedly a powerful criminal organisation in late medieval and early modern Spain (southern Italy was long under Spanish domination). However, the Garduña may have been a 19th century invention. Great stuff for conspiracy nuts, though, and nice inspirational material for a fantasy setting.

 

The Crows, unfortunately, seem to be your basic generic fantasy standard thieves / assassin's guild, including the name. As a self-respecting criminal, would you want to be known as a member of the Garduña or the 'Ndrangheta, or bear the name of a flappy bird? .

 

As for Alamarri being close to Scots/Gaelic, it's a bit of a mystery. Most of the Ferelden names are Germanic, either Anglo-Saxon or occasionally medieval German, but there's also quite a bit of  vaguely Scots/Irish/Welsh stuff. That doesn't make much sense if the Fereldens are descended from a single ethnic group.

 

Not that there is a real mystery when it comes to why Ferelden combines Anglo-Germanic and Scots/Irish/Welsh-Celtic elements, as it's 'inspiration' is Britain, but it's one of many inconsistencies that got into the setting.

[Jazzpha]

Personally I see the Crows as having more in common with the Camorra than the 'Ndrangheta, but that's mostly because Zevran mentions that the Crows also hold extensive political power/influence in Antiva in their own right in addition to being assassins par excellence.

 

But yeah, excellent post! Thanks for the insight, always nice to read that kind of speculation.

[Super Drone]

I don't think you can accuse the writers of being inconsistent when they preface every statement about inspiration with the word loosely.

 

But I guess Anthropology Geeks need something to complain about too.

[Das Tentakel]

It's not Spanish. The words Zervran uses are reminiscent of a Spanish/Italian hybrid. But it's definitely not Spanish. 

 

That would be rather BioWare-ish. In the case of Nevarra, they combined Dutch van with the English place/familyname Markham into 'Tylus van Markham*'.

If you can mix English and Dutch, why not Spanish and Italian?