| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| varyar |
Posted - 09 Mar 2012 : 19:30:31
As a somewhat random question that might not have an actual answer, do we know which, if any, languages of Faerun use the Thou/You distinction? (Thou being familiar and You formal) I have a character in mind who would speak in that manner, maybe, and I'm wondering if there's any place in the Realms she could call home that would canonically support that type of speech.
More simply, where could someone who spoke in Thees and Thous not as an affectation but as a standard element of their native grammar come from in Faerun? |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 10 Mar 2012 : 05:20:20
Going back to the beginning ...quote:
FR0, Languages of the Realms
... Almost all intelligent creatures you might encounter can understand and speak "common" (the trade-tongue of men, spoken with little variance all across the known Realms), although they may pretend not to. From region to region of the Realms, Common may have different accents and slightly different vocabularies, influenced by other local human and nonhuman tongues. While a native of Thay will be able to communicate with a denizen of Baldur's Gate, each will be aware of the other's ridiculous accent.
"MODERN COMMON"
The written common tongue, which is presented in these writings as English, is a descendent of Thorass, the original trade-language. Literacy in this tongue is rare (and taken as a separate language), as most individuals use runes for conveying information.
THORASS (Auld Common)
Thorass, or the written trade-tongue and universal language of the long-ago Realms (often found in tombs, underground ways and habitations, and even - still in current use - in certain southern areas of the Realms) is the ancestory of the Common Tongue. Troubled times across the North (when the Inner Sea lands were very sparsely settled) caused a period of little literacy among young people, and the use of runes or symbols replaced Thorass for a time.
An inscription in Thorass will translate directly into Common, albeit usually a stilted and archaic form of phrasing and vocabulary.
Of course these sections are AD&D (1E) and still describe the notions of Alignment Tongues, "The High Tongue" of magic-users, and other languages which were largely abandoned in subsequent game editions, while these later editions also greatly expanded the variety and detail of Realms languages and their alphabets.
Still, it seems to me that Auld Common is analogous to outdated forms of English (Old English, Middle English, Modern English), where terms like "Thee" and "Thou" (and my personal favourite, "Doust", which is a short form of "Dost Thou") would be used extensively. Spoken forms were often formalized, and written forms almost always so. Not to mention that grammar, spelling, syntax, and meaning often varied immensely between (surprisingly close) regions and even between scribes who had received different tutelage in their craft. People were more isolated and parochial in those times, especially the majority who were illiterate.
We don't see many people who say "Thee" or "Thou" these days, outside of ceremonial functions such as church worship, royal decrees, and legal practice. But such talk was the way people communicated in historical periods, even as recently as last century. The design of the AD&D (1E) Realms were also influenced in part from Dragonlance material, so there's still a penchant for stuffy paladins and solemn clerics and ancient liches who prefer these archaic forms of address.
Most modern languages are typified as being far more structured than English and have numerous methods of address which indicate more detail about the relationship between speaker and listener; Realms Common could be treated in this manner without difficulty. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 09 Mar 2012 : 21:25:04
-It depends on the author, but seemingly, Common allows 'Thou' and 'You'. In-game, it might be a regional thing, or maybe age.
-In Elven, I have instance in which words translate into 'You', specifically, but nothing that translates into 'Thou'. |
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