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| Used as a close reference for High-Elvish speech and writing | | Used as a close reference for High-Elvish speech and writing | ||
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| [[Languages#Drow | | [[Languages#Drow|Drow]] | ||
| A divergent Elvish language, with selected dark-elven and Tolkienian forms used as reference | | A divergent Elvish language, with selected dark-elven and Tolkienian forms used as reference | ||
| Represents the related but distinct languages of the Drow peoples | | Represents the related but distinct languages of the Drow peoples | ||
Revision as of 09:29, 30 July 2026
The languages of WyrdeHaven comprise the numerous indigenous, regional and diasporic languages spoken across Avalon, Dracænaia, Ta'mery, the Wyrmlands, the islands of Tír na nÓg, and the many smaller realms and settlements of the world.
Although Common is understood throughout most settled regions, it has not displaced local languages. Most inhabitants speak Common alongside a regional, ancestral, cultural or ceremonial tongue.
Several Earth languages are used in the WyrdeHaven Chronicles as translation layers. These Earth languages are not necessarily identical to their WyrdeHavian counterparts. They allow the reader to understand the approximate sound, structure, cultural associations and history of languages which would otherwise require complete constructed vocabularies.
In some cases, the Earth language and the WyrdeHavian language descend from an ancient shared source. In others, the Earth language may itself preserve fragments of a language originally brought from WyrdeHaven.
Translation convention
Dialogue in the WyrdeHaven Chronicles is generally presented in English for the reader's benefit.
Unless a scene explicitly involves an English-speaking visitor from Earth, dialogue written in English should normally be understood as translated Common.
Names, titles, prayers, inscriptions and culturally important phrases may retain their indigenous forms. Their spelling in the chronicles represents an approximation for the reader rather than a claim that the speaker is literally using an Earth language.
The translation layer may also preserve cultural associations which would otherwise be lost. A Dracænaian phrase presented through Gaeilge, for example, should be understood as sounding and functioning like Dracænaian rather than as literal Irish.
Translation layers
| WyrdeHavian language | Principal Earth reference | Use in the chronicles |
|---|---|---|
| Common | English, especially English with Germanic and Old English roots | Default translation language for dialogue and narration |
| Dracænaian | Modern Gaeilge | Represents the sound, rhythm and general character of contemporary Dracænaian |
| Old Dracænaian | Old Irish and Middle Irish | Used for ancient royal, magical, legal and religious material |
| Tuatha | Old Irish and archaic Gaeilge | Represents the conservative language of the Tuatha Dé Danann |
| Avalonian | English, Welsh and other Brythonic languages | Represents the language continuum of central and western Avalon |
| Ancient Avalonic | Latin | Used as the principal reference layer for ancient scholarly, administrative and magical Avalonian texts |
| Northern Avalonian | Japanese and historical Japanese | Represents the languages of Takama ga Hara and the lands farther north |
| Nihongo | Japanese | Represents the WyrdeHavian branch of a birealm language |
| Elvish | Tolkienian Elvish languages | Used as a close reference for High-Elvish speech and writing |
| Drow | A divergent Elvish language, with selected dark-elven and Tolkienian forms used as reference | Represents the related but distinct languages of the Drow peoples |
| Dwarvish | Tolkienian Dwarvish, especially Khuzdul | Used as a close reference for Dwarven speech, naming and runes |
| Tigrin | Proto-Egyptian and Ancient Egyptian | Represents the ancestral WyrdeHavian language from which early Egyptian language and culture developed |
These correspondences are translation conventions. They do not mean that WyrdeHavian speakers are literally using modern Earth languages.
Common
Common is the principal lingua franca of WyrdeHaven.
It is widely understood by humans, demi-humans, dragons and many other intelligent peoples, especially in trade centres, ports, courts, military alliances, portal settlements and culturally mixed regions.
Common shares deep linguistic roots with English. The two languages appear to descend from an ancient related source, but developed separately after regular contact between Earth and WyrdeHaven diminished.
English therefore serves as the most practical translation layer for Common.
Character
Common is based primarily on an old Germanic linguistic foundation comparable to Old English.
It has been shaped over many centuries by contact with:
- Avalonian and Brythonic languages;
- Dracænaian;
- Tuatha speech;
- Nihongo;
- Elvish;
- Drow;
- Dwarvish;
- Tigrin;
- draconic terminology;
- merchant languages;
- portal travellers;
- regional and occupational dialects.
Common should sound familiar to an English-speaking reader without becoming artificial or theatrically medieval.
Its older linguistic ancestry remains especially visible in:
- legal formulas;
- royal proclamations;
- religious blessings;
- oaths;
- proverbs;
- songs;
- place names;
- words relating to kinship;
- hospitality;
- honour;
- protected peace;
- travel;
- roads;
- hearths;
- shelter;
- memory.
English and Common
English is not normally spoken outside regions associated with surviving or recently active portals.
Near such portals, English may be studied by:
- portal attendants;
- priests;
- translators;
- guides;
- scholars;
- reception officials;
- guards;
- healers;
- diplomats.
Elsewhere, English is usually unknown.
English-language dialogue presented in the chronicles is therefore normally translated Common, not literal English.
A person from Earth may initially assume that Common sounds vaguely familiar, especially where old Germanic words have survived, but the languages are not automatically mutually intelligible.
Regional variation
Common has numerous regional and social varieties.
Possible major forms include:
- Avalonian Common;
- Dracænaian Common;
- Hearth Common;
- Northern Avalonian Common;
- Tigrin Common;
- Wyrmlands Common;
- port Common;
- mercantile Common;
- courtly Common;
- military Common;
- scholarly Common.
Regional Common may borrow heavily from local languages while remaining broadly intelligible to speakers from other regions.
Religious blessings
The dominant religion of WyrdeHaven recognises the Divine Couple, Gaia and Cernunnos.
They are also called the Heavenly Couple in some regions.
The distinction between Divine and Heavenly is regional and cultural rather than theological.
Common formal blessings include:
- May the Divine Couple shelter your soul.
This is most often used for:
- the deceased;
- the terminally ill;
- those believed to be near death;
- the gravely wounded;
- solemn funerary situations;
- highly formal ceremonial occasions.
Regional speakers may substitute Heavenly Couple.
- May the Divine Couple brighten your day.
A formal but broadly applicable blessing wishing wellbeing, clarity and good fortune.
- May the Divine Couple brighten your way.
A traditional blessing for travellers, pilgrims, messengers, soldiers, explorers and those embarking upon a difficult undertaking.
- May the Mother smile upon you.
A fertility blessing associated with:
- conception;
- pregnancy;
- childbirth;
- crops;
- growth;
- renewal;
- household prosperity;
- creative endeavours.
- May the Father smile upon you.
A hunter's blessing associated with:
- hunting;
- tracking;
- wilderness travel;
- patience;
- survival;
- protection;
- the taking of life with purpose and restraint.
Everyday farewells
Formal blessings do not replace the need for an ordinary farewell.
The Common equivalent translated as goodbye is believed to descend from an older expression invoking the Divine Couple or the Gods collectively.
A possible Common or translated form is:
- Goodsbye
The word may descend from a phrase comparable to:
- The Gods be with ye.
or:
- May the Divine Couple be with ye.
As with English goodbye, most modern speakers may use the word without consciously considering its religious origin.
The spelling also permits a common merchant's joke:
- Goods, bye.
This is usually said when stolen, misplaced or rapidly sold merchandise disappears.
Sample Common
- Formal Common
- May the Heavenly Couple brighten your way.
- Everyday Common
- Goodsbye.
- Solemn Common
- May the Divine Couple shelter their soul.
- Traveller's exchange
- Bright roads.
- And light behind you.
The exact indigenous historical forms and pronunciations behind these translated phrases remain to be established.
Avalonian languages
The languages of Avalon form a broad and ancient continuum rather than a single uniform language.
Central and western Avalonian languages have strong parallels with English, Welsh and the wider Brythonic language family.
Local names and titles preserve forms comparable to Welsh and other Celtic languages.
Common is widely spoken throughout Avalon, but local Avalonian languages remain important markers of identity, history and regional culture.
Avalonian
Avalonian is the principal language continuum of central and western Avalon.
Its English and Welsh translation layers should not imply that Avalonian and Common are identical.
Common is the international lingua franca, while Avalonian is an indigenous family of languages and dialects with its own history.
Avalonian is broadly represented through:
- English-derived structures where readability is required;
- Welsh and Brythonic vocabulary in names and traditional terms;
- older Celtic linguistic patterns;
- regional pronunciation;
- local idioms;
- inherited legal and poetic forms.
Ancient Avalonic
Ancient Avalonic is the old scholarly, administrative, ritual and magical language of Avalon.
Latin serves as its principal translation and reference layer.
Ancient Avalonic may appear in:
- magical treatises;
- inscriptions;
- law codes;
- royal charters;
- early government records;
- monastic archives;
- ritual formulas;
- historical maps;
- astronomical records;
- portal scholarship;
- medical and alchemical texts.
Latin appearing in the chronicles should normally be read as translated Ancient Avalonic.
It does not necessarily indicate that Latin itself was spoken in WyrdeHaven.
Relationship to modern Avalonian
Ancient Avalonic may have existed as:
- a formal court language;
- a scholarly language;
- an administrative language;
- a magical language;
- a prestige language used alongside regional vernaculars.
Modern Avalonian languages likely developed from a combination of older indigenous speech, regional Brythonic forms and the influence of Ancient Avalonic.
The exact historical relationship remains to be defined.
Northern Avalonian
Northern Avalonian is a collective term for the languages and dialects of northern Avalon, especially the regions associated with Takama ga Hara and the lands farther north.
The dominant languages of this region are closely related to Nihongo.
Northern Avalonian may include:
- Takama ga Hara Nihongo;
- Kitsune clan dialects;
- Tanuki dialects;
- mountain languages;
- northern coastal dialects;
- mixed Avalonian-Nihongo border speech;
- the language of Uōrrokumura;
- isolated village dialects.
Some Kitsune and other peoples live outside Takama ga Hara. Their speech may retain older features while incorporating vocabulary from neighbouring languages.
Northern Avalonian is therefore partly a geographical and political term rather than the name of one single language.
Nihongo
Nihongo is a birealm language found both on Earth and in WyrdeHaven.
The two branches share an ancient origin but developed separately.
Modern Earth Japanese is therefore a translation and reference layer rather than a perfect representation of contemporary WyrdeHavian Nihongo.
The difference may be comparable in principle to the relationship between two long-separated related languages, although the period of divergence is considerably greater.
Earth and WyrdeHavian Nihongo
Earth Japanese may be understood imperfectly by educated WyrdeHavian speakers, particularly those living near an active portal.
Differences may include:
- pronunciation;
- archaic vocabulary;
- loanwords;
- writing conventions;
- grammar;
- religious terminology;
- names for plants, animals and magical phenomena;
- titles;
- expressions relating to spirits and other intelligent species.
Earth Japanese is taught around surviving portal regions associated with Takama ga Hara.
It may be used by:
- shrine personnel;
- portal attendants;
- interpreters;
- monks;
- guides;
- local officials;
- scholars.
Writing
WyrdeHavian Nihongo uses kanji and kana or closely related writing systems.
Some characters may retain older meanings or possess WyrdeHavian forms unknown on Earth.
The exact degree of script divergence remains to be established.
Calendar example
The indigenous fifth day of the WyrdeHavian week is Tidesday.
A Nihongo rendering is:
- 潮汐日
- Chōseki-bi
- “Tidesday”
A celebratory greeting may be written:
- 潮汐日おめでとう！
- Chōseki-bi omedetō!
- “Happy Tidesday!”
The longer form 潮汐曜日 (Chōseki-yōbi) is possible, but Chōseki-bi is preferred as an older and more distinctly WyrdeHavian form.
Dracænaian languages
The languages of Dracænaia are represented through modern and historical Gaeilge.
They are not literally Irish, but share deep linguistic and cultural connections with the language families which later appeared on Earth.
Their resemblance may result from ancient migration, portal contact or a shared birealm ancestry.
Dracænaian
Dracænaian is the principal indigenous language of Dracænaia.
Modern Gaeilge serves as its main phonetic, structural and cultural reference layer.
Dracænaian is used in:
- daily life;
- regional government;
- personal names;
- dynastic names;
- royal tradition;
- songs;
- poetry;
- military institutions;
- legal terminology;
- religious rites;
- dragon-human cultural exchange;
- local place names.
Common remains widely used, particularly in Hearth, major towns, trade centres and the royal administration.
Dracænaian dialects
Possible dialect groups include:
- Hearth Dracænaian;
- Royal Dracænaian;
- western Dracænaian;
- coastal Dracænaian;
- rural interior dialects;
- Wyrmlands-influenced Dracænaian;
- ceremonial Dracænaian;
- border dialects influenced by Avalonian or Common.
The final names and boundaries of these dialects remain to be established.
Old Dracænaian
Old Dracænaian is the ancestral form of modern Dracænaian.
Old Irish and Middle Irish provide the most suitable Earth references for its sound, grammar and poetic traditions.
It survives in:
- royal chronicles;
- pre-dynastic inscriptions;
- magical formulas;
- ancestral songs;
- legal oaths;
- place names;
- dragon treaties;
- ceremonial titles;
- religious poetry;
- funerary texts.
Latin may sometimes be used as a secondary presentation layer where Old Dracænaian texts were copied, translated or preserved by Ancient Avalonic scholars.
Latin is not the primary language model for Old Dracænaian.
Relationship to Ancient Avalonic
Old Dracænaian and Ancient Avalonic were historically distinct.
They may have influenced one another through:
- scholarship;
- trade;
- royal marriage;
- religious exchange;
- diplomacy;
- portal research;
- magical study.
Ancient Avalonic scholars may have recorded or translated Dracænaian material into their own language.
Tuatha language
The language of the Tuatha Dé Danann is closely related to Old Dracænaian and to the ancient languages represented on Earth by Old Irish and Gaeilge.
It is generally more conservative than modern Dracænaian.
The Tuatha language may preserve:
- archaic grammatical forms;
- old magical vocabulary;
- ritualised speech;
- poetic compounds;
- ancient kinship terms;
- words lost in mainland Dracænaian;
- terminology associated with portals;
- terminology associated with sídhe dwellings;
- ancient religious formulas;
- titles from pre-Avalonian political structures.
The Tuatha communities of Tír na nÓg belong politically to Avalon but retain their own language, culture and identity.
The wandering or untethered portal near Tara provides an additional historical link between Tuatha speech and Earth Irish.
Relationship to Dracænaian
The most likely provisional model is:
- Old Dracænaian and Old Tuatha belonged to the same ancient language continuum.
- Modern Dracænaian changed through contact with Common, dragons, Avalonians and neighbouring peoples.
- Tuatha speech developed more conservatively because of geographical and magical isolation.
- Modern speakers may recognise related words without achieving complete mutual intelligibility.
- Educated speakers, priests, poets and scholars understand one another more easily than ordinary speakers.
Elvish
Elvish refers to the related languages spoken by the Elven peoples of WyrdeHaven.
High Elvish is represented in translation through languages resembling Tolkien's Quenya and Sindarin.
The resemblance is sufficiently close that some WyrdeHavian scholars suspect J. R. R. Tolkien did not invent his Elvish languages entirely from Earthly sources.
According to this theory, Tolkien somehow received fragments, echoes or memories of genuine WyrdeHavian Elvish.
Possible explanations include:
- inherited cultural memory;
- dreams influenced by WyrdeHaven;
- contact with an unidentified portal traveller;
- surviving manuscripts;
- unconscious magical resonance;
- ancestral memories;
- direct but undocumented contact with WyrdeHavian Elves;
- information passed through another person who had encountered WyrdeHaven.
The theory remains unproven.
Elvish language groups
Elvish may include:
- High Elvish;
- Woodland Elvish;
- regional Elven languages;
- court Elvish;
- ancient ceremonial Elvish;
- mixed Elven-Common dialects;
- isolated forest dialects;
- languages ancestral to modern Drow speech.
High Elvish may function as a ceremonial, literary or prestige language even among Elves who use another language in everyday life.
Translation convention
Tolkienian forms may be used as a close translation and aesthetic reference layer, particularly for:
- names;
- titles;
- songs;
- short ceremonial phrases;
- inscriptions;
- magical language;
- poetry.
WyrdeHavian Elvish does not need to conform exactly to Tolkien's published grammar or vocabulary.
The resemblance exists within the setting, but the languages remain WyrdeHavian.
Drow
Drow refers both to the Drow peoples and to the related languages spoken by their communities.
Drow languages are part of the wider Elvish language family, but have developed separately over a long period.
They should not be treated merely as corrupted High Elvish.
Drow languages possess their own:
- grammar;
- vocabulary;
- sound changes;
- oral traditions;
- ritual language;
- titles;
- kinship terms;
- magical terminology;
- social registers;
- writing systems.
Their relationship to Elvish is comparable to that of long-separated sister languages or a branch which diverged from an older common ancestor.
Historical development
Drow languages likely descend from older Elvish forms carried by populations which became culturally and geographically separated from other Elven peoples.
Their development may have been influenced by:
- subterranean environments;
- isolated settlements;
- distinct magical traditions;
- contact with Dwarves;
- contact with underground species;
- religious divergence;
- political separation;
- long periods without contact with surface Elves;
- deliberate preservation of archaic forms;
- deliberate rejection of High-Elven vocabulary.
The exact point at which Drow speech became a separate language family remains uncertain.
Translation layer
There is no single perfect Earth translation layer for Drow.
Drow speech may be represented using:
- altered or archaic Elvish forms;
- harsher consonant structures;
- distinct compounds;
- selected conventions associated with dark-elven fantasy languages;
- Tolkienian roots where a genuine Elvish relationship should remain visible.
The translation layer should preserve the sense that Drow is related to Elvish without making it merely Elvish with different spelling.
Drow and High Elvish
Educated Drow may study High Elvish for:
- diplomacy;
- scholarship;
- ancient texts;
- magical research;
- religious study;
- communication with surface Elves.
Likewise, Elven scholars may study Drow languages.
Mutual intelligibility varies according to dialect, education and the age of the material.
Old inscriptions may contain forms recognisable to both language groups.
Drow writing
Drow writing systems may include:
- a descended form of an older Elvish script;
- angular or compact subterranean variants;
- magical sigils;
- clan scripts;
- sacred scripts;
- practical carved forms suited to stone;
- scripts designed for low-light environments;
- raised, tactile or magically visible markings.
The final relationship between Drow script and High-Elven script remains to be established.
Dwarvish
Dwarvish comprises the languages of the Dwarven peoples, particularly those associated with the Principality and other mountain regions.
Its sound, structure and naming conventions resemble Tolkien's Dwarvish languages, especially Khuzdul.
As with Elvish, some WyrdeHavian scholars suspect Tolkien acquired echoes or fragments of genuine Dwarvish knowledge.
Dwarvish language use
Dwarvish may distinguish between:
- an internal language used among Dwarves;
- public names used when dealing with outsiders;
- private clan names;
- ceremonial names;
- technical language;
- trade dialects;
- ancient liturgical forms;
- runic inscriptions.
Technical Dwarvish contains extensive vocabulary relating to:
- mining;
- geology;
- metallurgy;
- stonework;
- engineering;
- architecture;
- underground navigation;
- clan law;
- inheritance;
- craft traditions.
Names
Dwarves may use different names in different contexts.
These may include:
- a private name;
- a clan name;
- a public name;
- a Common translation;
- a title earned through craft or deed.
The extent to which private Dwarven names are concealed remains to be established.
Writing
Dwarvish may use a runic script resembling Cirth as a translation or visual reference layer.
Different clans may maintain their own:
- rune forms;
- abbreviations;
- craft marks;
- ownership signs;
- magical inscriptions;
- funerary scripts.
Tigrin
Tigrin is the ancient language family of Ta'mery and the Tigrin people.
Tigrin is not derived from Ancient Egyptian.
Rather, it is a far older WyrdeHavian language from which proto-Egyptian and the earliest known Egyptian languages developed after Tigrin contact with Earth.
Ancient Egyptian therefore serves as a retrospective reference and translation layer for Tigrin.
The direction of inheritance runs from WyrdeHaven to Earth.
Proto-Egyptian origin
The earliest Egyptian culture did not independently create all of the language, titles and sacred concepts later associated with ancient Egypt.
A significant portion entered Earth through the Tigrin presence established by Bastet.
Tigrin is therefore best regarded as proto-Egyptian from the Earth perspective.
This does not mean modern Tigrin is identical to any surviving Egyptian language.
Both branches changed over time:
- Tigrin continued developing in Ta'mery;
- proto-Egyptian developed independently on Earth;
- later Egyptian languages preserved only part of the original Tigrin inheritance;
- Earth religion and mythology distorted historical Tigrin persons and events;
- Egyptian titles and place names often preserve altered Tigrin words.
Bastet
Bastet was the first and only ruler of her line.
She was simultaneously:
- Matriarch of Ta'mery;
- Pharaoh of Ta'mery;
- Matriarch of the Tigrin presence on Earth;
- Pharaoh of the Tigrin realm established on Earth.
Her authority joined the WyrdeHavian and Earthly domains under one ruler.
Later Egyptian memory reduced, transformed or mythologised her historical role, preserving her primarily as a divine or feline figure.
The Earth traditions surrounding Bastet are therefore distorted memories of a real Tigrin Matriarch and Pharaoh.
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is originally a Tigrin word.
It was brought from Ta'mery to Earth through Bastet's rule and subsequently entered proto-Egyptian and later Egyptian languages.
The word did not originate independently in Egypt and was not borrowed into Tigrin from Earth.
In its original Tigrin context, the title was associated with the supreme ruler of Ta'mery.
Bastet was the first holder of the title whose authority extended across both WyrdeHaven and Earth.
Later Egyptian usage changed the pronunciation, meaning and political associations of the word.
Ta'mery and the blessed land
The name Ta'mery is ancestral to the Egyptian concept and name translated as:
- the Blessed Land;
- the Beloved Land;
- the Cherished Land.
Ancient Egypt inherited this concept from the WyrdeHavian realm of Ta'mery.
The Egyptian name for its own land therefore reflects a transferred Tigrin name or title originally associated with Ta'mery.
This was not simply a descriptive coincidence.
It was a cultural and linguistic inheritance from the Tigrin civilisation brought to Earth.
The Earthly form later became associated specifically with Egypt, while the original name continued to refer to Ta'mery in WyrdeHaven.
Historical Tigrin
Historical Tigrin may be represented through:
- reconstructed proto-Egyptian forms;
- Old Egyptian;
- Middle Egyptian;
- sacred hieroglyphic conventions;
- hieratic forms;
- royal titulary;
- temple language;
- funerary formulas.
These are approximate Earth-facing references.
The original Tigrin language may preserve sounds, grammatical structures and meanings which never survived on Earth.
Modern Tigrin
Modern Tigrin has continued evolving in Ta'mery.
It should differ significantly from the ancient forms which influenced Earth.
Modern Tigrin may preserve:
- dynastic titles;
- matriarchal political terms;
- old religious formulas;
- words relating to scent;
- family;
- territory;
- social bonds;
- fertility;
- lineage;
- royal duty;
- hunting;
- protection;
- hospitality;
- sacred land;
- celestial observation.
Some ancient words may survive only in:
- royal ceremonies;
- temples;
- law;
- poetry;
- historical records;
- names;
- titles;
- funerary texts.
Earth mythology
Earth traditions concerning Bastet and other Egyptian figures may preserve distorted memories of:
- Tigrin rulers;
- priests;
- warriors;
- scholars;
- visitors;
- political institutions;
- dynastic conflicts;
- WyrdeHavian species;
- magical events.
Figures remembered as gods on Earth may originally have been powerful, long-lived or magically gifted WyrdeHavian individuals.
The exact historical identity of every Egyptian deity is not necessarily known.
Writing system
Tigrin writing predates Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Egyptian hieroglyphs may descend from or have been inspired by an older Tigrin sacred script.
Possible Tigrin writing traditions include:
- monumental sacred signs;
- royal script;
- priestly script;
- cursive administrative writing;
- household writing;
- magical sigils;
- astronomical notation;
- scent or clan markers incorporated into text.
Modern Tigrin may use a simplified descendant of its ancient script for daily life while preserving older signs in religious and royal contexts.
The exact structure of the modern writing system remains to be established.
Elven, Drow and Dwarven influence on Earth
The resemblance between Earth fantasy languages and WyrdeHavian Elvish, Drow and Dwarvish is treated differently from the direct historical relationship between Tigrin and Egyptian.
Tigrin is an ancestral source language which directly influenced Earth.
Nihongo, Dracænaian-related languages and Tuatha speech appear to belong to birealm language traditions shaped by ancient contact or common ancestry.
The resemblance of Tolkien's Elvish and Dwarvish to WyrdeHavian languages is instead suspected to result from indirect knowledge.
Possible causes include:
- dreams;
- magical resonance;
- forgotten contact;
- inherited memory;
- portal travellers;
- copied fragments;
- unrecognised manuscripts;
- mythic memory.
This distinction is important:
- Tolkienian languages are useful reference layers.
- They are not necessarily direct ancestors or descendants.
- The Tolkien theory remains unproven.
- WyrdeHavian Elvish, Drow and Dwarvish contain forms unknown in Tolkien's works.
- Drow is a genuine WyrdeHavian branch of Elvish, not a Tolkienian invention.
Portal languages
The surviving portals have a major influence on language education in their immediate regions.
Portal personnel may learn:
- Common;
- the local WyrdeHavian language;
- English;
- Japanese;
- Gaeilge;
- another relevant Earth language;
- ritual terminology;
- magical terminology;
- portal-operational vocabulary.
Known or historically significant portal regions include:
- Hearth in Dracænaia;
- Takama ga Hara;
- Takamahiko;
- the Tuatha portal associated with Tara.
Away from portal reception zones, knowledge of modern Earth languages becomes increasingly uncommon.
Writing systems
WyrdeHaven employs numerous writing traditions.
| Language | Likely script or reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common | Alphabetic | Exact indigenous alphabet remains to be established |
| Avalonian | Alphabetic, with Brythonic regional forms | May vary strongly by region |
| Ancient Avalonic | Latin alphabet and inscriptional capitals as visual references | Latin is the translation layer |
| Dracænaian | Gaelic-style alphabet | May preserve letters and diacritics absent from Common |
| Old Dracænaian | Early Gaelic and ogham-like forms | Exact relationship to Earth ogham remains open |
| Tuatha | Archaic Gaelic and magical scripts | May preserve pre-mainland forms |
| Nihongo | Kanji and kana | Local forms may differ from modern Earth standards |
| Elvish | Tengwar-like scripts | Reference layer rather than exact identity |
| Drow | Divergent Elvish scripts, carved forms and magical signs | May include subterranean, tactile or clan-specific forms |
| Dwarvish | Cirth-like runes | May include secret clan variants |
| Tigrin | Ancestral sacred and cursive scripts | Earth hieroglyphs descend from or were inspired by Tigrin writing |
Naming conventions
Personal and place names are usually retained in their indigenous form even when surrounding dialogue is translated into English.
A person's name may therefore be:
- written according to the conventions of their own language;
- romanised for the reader;
- pronounced differently in Common;
- shortened by speakers of another region;
- translated in part;
- accompanied by a translated title.
Names should be pronounced according to their indigenous or regional Common forms rather than automatically according to modern English spelling.
Earth names may enter WyrdeHaven through portal migration.
WyrdeHavian names may likewise survive on Earth in altered, translated or mythologised forms.
Mutual intelligibility
Common is understood widely, but local languages are not automatically mutually intelligible.
| Languages | Relationship | Probable intelligibility |
|---|---|---|
| Common and English | Shared ancient roots followed by long separation | Limited without education, though deceptively familiar |
| Dracænaian and Tuatha | Closely related descendants of an older continuum | Partial, especially for educated speakers |
| Dracænaian and Earth Gaeilge | Birealm relatives or languages shaped by ancient contact | Partial and inconsistent |
| Takama ga Hara Nihongo and Earth Japanese | Birealm descendants of a shared ancestral language | Significant but imperfect |
| Tigrin and Ancient Egyptian | Tigrin is ancestral to proto-Egyptian and later Egyptian languages | Primarily scholarly; modern speech has diverged greatly |
| Avalonian and Common | Long contact and substantial borrowing | Separate languages despite many shared features |
| Ancient Avalonic and modern Avalonian | Historical, scholarly and cultural relationship | Mostly limited to educated speakers |
| High Elvish and Drow | Divergent branches of an older Elvish language family | Variable, depending on dialect and education |
| Drow and Dwarvish | Unrelated, but shaped by long regional contact | Not mutually intelligible |
Linguistic history
Era of open crossings
During the age when portals and other crossings between Earth and WyrdeHaven were more common, peoples, myths, titles and languages moved between the worlds.
This produced several different linguistic relationships:
- direct transfer from WyrdeHaven to Earth;
- shared birealm ancestry;
- migration followed by separation;
- mythologised cultural memory;
- indirect literary or magical influence.
Tigrin influence on proto-Egyptian is one of the clearest examples of direct transfer from WyrdeHaven to Earth.
Tigrin Earth period
Bastet established or ruled a Tigrin realm on Earth while remaining Matriarch and Pharaoh of Ta'mery.
During this period, Tigrin language, titles, religion, political concepts and writing influenced the cultures which later became ancient Egypt.
The title Pharaoh and the concept of Egypt as a blessed or beloved land both descend from Tigrin originals associated with Ta'mery.
Separation
As Earth lost much of its accessible mana and most portals became inactive, Earth and WyrdeHaven became increasingly isolated.
Related languages continued developing independently.
Earth cultures preserved fragments of WyrdeHavian history as:
- mythology;
- religion;
- folklore;
- heroic legend;
- royal symbolism;
- fantasy;
- unexplained linguistic survivals.
Modern portal period
The remaining crossings created small multilingual reception regions in which Earth languages are still studied.
Outside those regions, Common and indigenous WyrdeHavian languages dominate.
Open canon questions
The following points remain to be formally established:
- Whether Old Dracænaian and Old Tuatha descend from one language or from closely related sister languages.
- Whether Ancient Avalonic was originally a vernacular, an administrative language, a scholarly language or all three at different periods.
- Whether Latin represents only Ancient Avalonic or may also translate a learned Dracænaian register.
- The precise relationship between Avalonian, regional Brythonic languages and Common.
- Whether Northern Avalonian is primarily a language family, a political label or both.
- The degree of mutual intelligibility between Earth Japanese and Takama ga Hara Nihongo.
- The indigenous historical form behind the Common farewell translated as Goodsbye.
- The names and boundaries of the principal Common dialects.
- The native writing system of Common.
- The modern everyday writing system of Tigrin.
- The exact original meaning and pronunciation of the Tigrin word which became Pharaoh.
- The original Tigrin form from which the Egyptian name for the blessed or beloved land developed.
- The date and historical circumstances of Bastet's arrival on Earth.
- The degree to which Earth Egyptian religion preserves actual Tigrin individuals.
- The precise historical relationship between High Elvish and Drow.
- Whether Drow is one language, a family of languages or a broad Common label.
- The exact writing systems used by the major Drow cultures.
- Whether Tolkien's apparent knowledge of WyrdeHavian Elvish and Dwarvish arose through contact, memory, dreams or coincidence.