tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post8941114277668402896..comments2024-03-26T02:31:48.024-05:00Comments on Trollsmyth: What's Common?trollsmythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-32435394559010403542010-05-16T20:08:52.441-05:002010-05-16T20:08:52.441-05:00just another option, but I remember reading somewh...just another option, but I remember reading somewhere(possibly an idea brought up in a forum) that the Common "Trade" tongue in the Dark Sun campaign setting was likely a Slave language that the population at large picked up.2eDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09562222394843621495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-11420593118145235992010-05-16T17:52:52.628-05:002010-05-16T17:52:52.628-05:00@greywolf
The "language neutral" nature...@greywolf<br /><br />The "language neutral" nature of a lot of modern signage would definitely add an interesting dimension to a post-apocalyptic game setting. <br /><br />In that OR a fantasy realm, the other thing that makes a common written tongue an interesting addition is it makes communication between intelligent creatures with vastly different anatomies more believable. <br /><br />Communication with a dragon, or a xorn, or what have you, seems to make more sense if you're using flash cards or pointing to pictograms on a chart.BigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-32577628456281654562010-05-10T19:02:44.953-05:002010-05-10T19:02:44.953-05:00Greywulf- I would say that a good argument can be ...Greywulf- I would say that a good argument can be made for 'English' as the modern common. After all you can go most places and find an English speaker (and it is the language of flight controllers and pilots).<br /><br />But common languages do need a why they exist in a game world. Mine is imposed by the Draconic Imperium.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-13812817713607947792010-05-10T14:39:09.498-05:002010-05-10T14:39:09.498-05:00That would be very cool indeed.
Thinking about it...That would be very cool indeed.<br /><br />Thinking about it, you could say we have exactly that right now - we use pictograms, symbols and signs to a massive degree and they're (generally) universal. We might not be able to "say" the symbol that represents the men's restroom, but we all know what it means :D<br /><br />Transplanting that into a fantasy realm, I could imagine a runic/pictographic alphabet(like a simplified KanjI) which conveys concepts and ideas in a way that anyone can understand.<br /><br />Yeah. I dig that.greywulfhttp://greywulf.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-30184045649463733542010-05-10T14:18:57.070-05:002010-05-10T14:18:57.070-05:00@ greywulf
I seem to recall hearing that in the c...@ greywulf<br /><br />I seem to recall hearing that in the case of Chinese, while different dialects abound the alphabet is shared, so, for example, someone who speaks Cantonese can communicate in written language to a Mandarin speaker, even if they can't speak to one another. <br /><br />A common written tongue might be an interesting idea to pursue. What about a campaign world where the verbal language barrier is present but written information can be understood easily?BigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-78979170914223911782010-05-10T13:53:32.644-05:002010-05-10T13:53:32.644-05:00I'd argue that the closest real language to Co...I'd argue that the closest real language to Common is Mandarin - it's spoken by the most people and is the common trade tongue between a huge number of people who otherwise have widely different languages and dialects. <br /><br />And "American" English is only spoken in one place: America. Add the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population" rel="nofollow">number of English speakers</a> in India, Nigeria, UK and all the rest together, and "American" English is only a small proportion of the total.greywulfhttp://greywulf.netnoreply@blogger.com