Languages (Greyhawk)

The following languages are spoken by different human cultures of The World of Greyhawk:

Common

The trade tongue of the Flaness and the standard language of World of Greyhawk campaigns. Spoken in the central and south-west Flaness, it is the universal second language of the Flaness and spoken by most people to one degree or another. Common is a mix of Oerdian, Suel, and Flan, with Baklunish loan words and grammatical influences. As you travel, the common tongue you encounter will have more influences from the languages spoken in that area in earlier times. Your common will adapt to this, meaning that you after years of travel can speak to creatures you would have found entirely alien before.

Oerdian

The language of the recently dominant human people, now spoken mostly in the feudal areas of the central and eastern Flaness.

• Aerdi: The original dialect of the Aerdy, the main tribe who settled the Great Kingdom, especially the southern and central parts. Aerdi is sometimes refereed to as "High Oerdian" and was the court language of the Great Kingdom.
• Ferral: An old Oeridian tribal language spoken only by officials of the Iron League. Ferral is used for military command and identification purposes and is not a living language. Many fear that infiltration by agents of the Scarlet Brotherhood has compromised this code-tongue. The main interest in ferral today is that it is the basis of military signaling.
• Keolandish: One of the most direct forerunners of the Common tongue, this widespread dialect of Old High Oeridian has local admixtures. It is spoken in and around Keoland, but is generally an obsolete language today.
• Nyrondese: This High Oeridian dialect of Common is spoken in rural areas of Nyrond. It is the primary language of peasants, shopkeepers, and other common folk who distrust outsiders. Learned folk speak Common as well.
• Velondi: A dialect of Oerdian, originally spoken by the Vollar tribe of Oerdians, it is still spoken in Veluna and western Furyondy.

Suel

The language of the ancient Suel civilization and their few surviving modern descendants. An important historical and magical language. The main concentration of modern speakers is in the Tilvan penisula in the north-east and the Drawmidj Ocean region.

• Amedi: Only Suel of the Amedio Jungle speak this corrupt form of Ancient Suloise. Its few written symbols are Suloise alphabet characters.
• Cold Tongue: A dialect of Suel spoken by the Suel barbarians of the north-east. It is usually written using Dwarven runes.
• Lendorian: This obscure dialect of Suloise (influenced by Common and full of nautical terms) was spoken in the Lendore Isles by humans before they were deported by elves in 583 CY. Only human refugees know it now. It has no relation to the Cold Tongue and is not written.
• Qudran: Spoken in the desert lands on the far side of the mountains of the Nippon Territories.
• Zakriti: The holy language of Zinria, spoken by the priest caste and some of the warrior caste. This is a remnant of the Suel spoken by the nobility established by the Suel invasions thousands of years ago.

Flan

The language of the original natives of the Flanaess, spoken as a secret language by peasants and tribesmen everywhere. Only a few remote lands, mostly in central northern Flanaess, still have Flan as a first language.

• Druidic: The druids' tongue of the Flanaess shares roots with Flan, but it is specialized and static, focusing on the natural world.
• Ur-Flan: A dialect of flan with influences from Necril. The Ur-Flan was a civilization with Flan roots characterized by necromantic magic and small castle-cities. They were destroyed by the Aerdy and no known living people speak this dialect, but it can be found in ancient writing and spoken by ancient undead.

Baklunish

Spoken by the civilized successor states of the Baklunish Empire in the north-west of the Flanaess. Written Baklunish is very uniform. The spoken tongue has minor dialectical differences, mainly in the pronunciation of vowels, making it quite easy to place a speaker by his accent. But most speakers can understand each other.

Paynim

A second language family of the western plains, Paynim spoken over a very wide area.

• Ordai: This dialect shared by the Wolf and Tiger Nomads bears some resemblance to Ancient Baklunish, but it is most similar to dialects spoken among the distant Paynims. Its written form is based on Baklunish script.
• Ulagha: The language of the Uli is a debased form of Paynim. If written, it is usually in Abyssal characters.

Rhopan

Unrelated to any other human language, Rhenne speak Rhopan, as does some natives of the Shadowfell.

Chakji

Spoken by arctic peoples.

Nipponese

Spoken in Nippon, a land of anthropomorphic animals to the west of the Pearl Sea.

• Wrang, spoken by the natives in the Nippon Territories. It originated as Nipponese, but has absorbed Celestial, Qudran and, Zindran influences. Despite suppression by the Nipponese, this has become the trade tounge of the Nippon Sea area.

Olman

Olman slaves of the Sea Princes or Scarlet Brotherhood speak this strange tongue, their masters hated it. Its huge, complex "alphabet" is really a vast set of pictographs. It is heard most often in the western Sea Princes' lands and in the Amedio Jungle.

Osirian

The language of ancient Erypt, a land dominated by the dead and by the ruins of a glorious past. This is actually several different languages of the early, mid, late, and current Osirian cultures.

Tuov

The trade tongue of Hepmonaland and the tribal language of the Tuov peoples.

• Polygot: A mix of Tuov, different tribal languages, Amedi, and Common. A trade tongue in nothern and western Hepmonaland. Sort of the "Common" of that area, but less a separate language than the Common tongue of the Flanaess.
• Ralat: is a simple trade language derived from Touv, Olman, and Rasol. It is all but useless outside of the trading sphere.

Zindran

Spoken in Zindria, the civilized jungle nations south and west of the Amedio jungle.

• Zakriti: Not related to Zindran, Zakriti is actually a Suel language, but spoken by the elite in Zindria since the Suel invasions thousands of years ago. It is a hly language not taught to outsiders. It has imported a few Zindran terms, mainly for phenomena of the jungle environment.