Language in RPG continued
Well this isn't the tomorrow I was talking about, but here it goes.
If we would like to fix languages we have to decide if we want to mimic real life or not. If we don't want to mimic real life then do whatever you would like.
If you would like to have something approaching real life then understand that real language is messy. I grew up in the South and spoke English of course. Once I was exposed to Louisiana creole, I realized that even though we both spoke "English" we really weren't speaking the same language. Therefore, you need to tailor language to the area where you live. Perhaps everyone in a geographical area speaks dwarf (we'll say it is roughly the same as Quechua). The dwarves may have left 700 years ago but everyone still speaks it - humans, goblins, etc.
Therefore the language skills become important for negotiation, etc.
The idea of a "common language" can either be the language of the dominant military or economic power such as Latin (Ancient Rome) or English (British Empire and/or the US).
The other option is to treat the "common language" as a trade language where everyone can understand but is a poor way to communicate complex ideas. It works to haggle over a rug but can't be used to write a treaty.
Well, that's it for now.
If we would like to fix languages we have to decide if we want to mimic real life or not. If we don't want to mimic real life then do whatever you would like.
If you would like to have something approaching real life then understand that real language is messy. I grew up in the South and spoke English of course. Once I was exposed to Louisiana creole, I realized that even though we both spoke "English" we really weren't speaking the same language. Therefore, you need to tailor language to the area where you live. Perhaps everyone in a geographical area speaks dwarf (we'll say it is roughly the same as Quechua). The dwarves may have left 700 years ago but everyone still speaks it - humans, goblins, etc.
Therefore the language skills become important for negotiation, etc.
The idea of a "common language" can either be the language of the dominant military or economic power such as Latin (Ancient Rome) or English (British Empire and/or the US).
The other option is to treat the "common language" as a trade language where everyone can understand but is a poor way to communicate complex ideas. It works to haggle over a rug but can't be used to write a treaty.
Well, that's it for now.
posted by ludomastro | 22:04
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