Dramatic Systems: Languages

[Xenia]

Languages

With characters coming from all over the continent in a game set in a time of ancient and dead languages, it's important to present a general baseline of linguistic consistency. All characters will start with Innate Languages for free, and may purchase additional languages found here.

On this post, you'll find a helpful guide for:

• Innate Languages
• Human Languages (with a note on Tribal Languages)
• Ancient Languages

As a note, this list of languages is neither comprehensive nor historically accurate. We gave Celtic and Germanic an alphabet way too early, we focused Slavic too far south, we pulled some Uralic languages that didn't exist, etc. etc. We've made conscious decisions to try and improve playability, not reflect historical accuracy.
Any language not listed on this post should be submitted to staff for approval before being purchased; if it feels like an XP sink (i.e., points spent for something that won't come up), we may direct you to something more universally applicable.


Fluency v. Gifts
There are Gifts out there that grant understanding of any language encountered, either spoken or written. If people want to be able to understand anything they see or hear, staff wants to be very transparent about the fact that there are Gifts for that.
What Gifts do not provide is context. You can read it as if it was your native tongue, but that doesn't mean you know what language it is, or notice any of the nuances or dialects or accents that may grant insight. You may not know the significance of finding this language in this location. For all of these reasons and more, linguists are still prominent in the garou nation.
That said, choosing to forego collecting Languages and sticking with the Gift route is a perfectly valid approach.


Linguistic Comprehension
For a quick system on variations:
Language Families are groups of languages with extensive commonalities and the same basic root.
Accents are differences in pronunciations within the same language, either regionally (British, Texan, etc.) or across languages (Italian, Japanese). These will allow you to recognize the preferred language or region of the speaker.
Dialects are differences in words within the same language (Cajun, Cockney, etc.). Understanding a dialect of a language you speak (Punic for Phoenician, Dorian for Greek, etc.)
Mutual Intelligibility are commonalities between different languages, mechanically represented by language families.

System:

• If someone is speaking a language you do not possess, you may make an Intelligence + Linguistics test (diff set by ST) to try and identify the language. A success will give you the language family, an Exceptional Success will usually give you the specific language. Depending on the language, the ST may rule that it's too obscure to identify, but should give some sense of its origin.
• If someone is speaking a language you possess, without a key dialect (or with the same dialect as you), you automatically understand it.
• If someone is speaking a language you possess and you have a Linguistics of 3 or higher, you may attempt to identify their accent. Succeed in an opposed Wits + Linguistics v. Manipulation + Linguistics to identify the speaker's accent (i.e., native language family). Depending on the language, the ST may rule that it's too obscure to identify, but should give some sense of its origin.
• If someone is speaking a language you possess in an unfamiliar dialect, make a static Intelligence + Linguistics test (difficulty 7). Success means you understand what is being said. Failure means you can't quite grasp it.
• If you've encountered the unfamiliar Dialect more than 3 times, you may submit a Downtime Action to learn that Dialect and understand it without further tests.
• If someone is speaking a language you do not possess within the same Language Family, make a static Intelligence + Linguistics test (difficulty set by ST based on mutual intelligibility) to gain a basic sense of the messages being conveyed. Be sure to note in your roleplay that this is not fluency, but grasping at straws. This comprehension lasts for the scene only.
• If someone is speaking a language you do not possess, and it is not in the same Language Family, you may not make an effort to understand it until you reach Linguistics 6+. At Linguistics 6+, make the same test as above.
• You may add fluency to any language to your sheet by spending XP on Linguistics.

Greek Dialects
Greece is an linguistically diverse area and a number of dialects have sprung up in the area. Characters in one region may have to learn the dialect of their fellows across the border if they wish to communicate. You may choose a preferred dialect and slip into/out of it with ease.

• Aeolian Greek. This version of Ancient Greek was spoken in the rest of Greece, including the northern islands in the Mediterranean, and on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.
• Dorian Greek. This version of the language was spoken by the Dorian people who lived on the Greek mainland (such as Sparta), in Cyprus, and on the island of Crete.
• Attic Greek. This dialect of the language was spoken on some of the smaller Greek islands, on the eastern coast of the mainland (such as in Athens), and on the southwest coast of Asia Minor.

As a note, we will not be detailing any Dialects outside of Greek, but you are welcome to propose one for your own character.

[Xenia]

Innate Languages
Summary: Characters start with Greek for free. All Garou know and can use High Tongue, Wolfspeak, and Howling, may learn to read and write Glyphs. Kinfolk can understand (but not speak) High Tongue and Howling, and may learn to read and write glyphs.

High Tongue
Can Be Spoken In: Glabro, Crinos, Hispo
Also known as 'Garou Tongue', 'Garou Speak', and others, this language was developed as a means of bridging the gap of communication between wolf and man. High Tongue is considered the official language of Challenges and other formal declarations of the garou nation, which some traditionalists insist upon. It leans far more on movement and pheromones than the homid's language, but involves more sounds and distinct phrasing than the language of wolves. The language relies on a combination of a slightly more human mouth structure and the ears and tails of wolves, so it can only be spoken in Glabro, Crinos, or Hispo (or Homid or Lupus if the character successfully invokes a Partial Transformation). The language is not instinctive, and is generally taught to garou before or right after their Rite of Passage.
That said, any kinfolk can understand it as well, provided they've taken the time to learn it. For obvious reasons, Kinfolk cannot speak the High Tongue.

Wolfspeak
Can Be Spoken In: Lupus, Hispo
This is the innate language of wolves. Lupus rarely communicate concepts that use more than a handful of verbs and nouns, relying on the simplicity of a wolf's instinctive nature to convey the message. This language is based on a combination of growls, whines, whuffs, and extensive communication of emotion through the posturing of ears, tail, and other body language. The language is instinctive, known automatically by lupus and ostraka, and known by homid once they fully acclimate to their lupus form.
Unable to relate to the key movements and pheromones involved in lupine communication, kinfolk cannot fully learn Wolfspeak. They can recognize repetition well enough to gain roughly 3 words out of every sentence spoken.

Howls
Can Be Spoken In: Glabro, Crinos, Hispo, Lupus
A werewolf howl is not an inarticulate cry — it can communicate a great deal of information. Many howls incorporate the Garou language, although not all of them are as “high-falutin’” as the High Tongue. Just as every Philodox studies the Litany, any Galliard should be well-versed in all the common howls.
A howl is distinct from Wolfspeak or High Tongue in that it is a continuous cry that conveys complex emotions, often playfully referred to as "Wyldspeak". The key advantage to a howl is the distance it reaches and the theme it conveys. Even if someone can't make out every last word, they know the theme of the howl. Howls will be further expanded on in another post.
Any kinfolk who understands High Tongue can learn to understand Howls, provided they've taken the time to learn it. For biological reasons, Kinfolk cannot howl, though they often cheer or bellow to similar effect.

Glyphs
Can Be Used In: Any form, though preferred with claws
Glyphs are the alphabet of the garou language, used to convey messages easily understood in any form. As this is a simple alphabet, so long as you can make a mark, you can write a glyph. Rather than lines representing specific letters, they instead represent specific concepts, grouped together to convey a larger understanding. Put together 'horse' and 'spirit' and you signify the totem Epona, mother of horses. Put together 'safety' and earth' and you signify a secured location. The phraseology of glyphs will be explained in another post.
Glyphs render much better when claws are used, but any finger or other writing implement can draw them; they just don't look as nice and a lot of lupus will mock them.

Manspeak
Can Be Used In: Homid, Glabro (also Crinos, if a WP is spent)
An ancient tale says the Weaver shattered Manspeak into a thousand different tongues, and the innate universal language of homids has been long since lost. In using Manspeak, a character must choose a specific homid language (detailed below). As this relies on words and not bodily movements, the language is unusable past Glabro, although with great focus the Crinos form can force out roughly 3 intelligible words per sentence.

As an Innate Language, all PCs gain Greek for free.

[Xenia]

Human Languages
A number of languages and linguistic trees aren't listed here due to no expectation of them coming up in game (Mongolian, Macro-Jê, etc.). It doesn't mean they don't exist, just that we don't feel the need to detail things that rare.
We've gathered all the major local (or tribal) linguistic families and outlined up to 4 key languages each to provide a toolkit for Linguists and Academics. Please remember, you have no obligation to take any of these languages. They're just there if you want them.

Language Table

Linguistic Family	Languages	Script
Canaanite	Aramaic Hebrew Phoenician	Ugaritic
Celtic	Brythonic Gaelic Galatian Gaulish	Ogham
Germanic	East Germanic North Germanic Thule West Germanic	Futhark
Hellenic	Greek Macedonian Messapic Phrygian	Attic
Himalayan	Chinese Tibetic Zhang-Zhung	Hanzi
Indic	Dravidian Sanskrit Vedic	Brahmi
Iranian	Avestan Persian Scythian Sarmatian	Cuneiform
Italic	Etruscan Latin Umbrian Venetic	Italic
Libyan	Egyptian Numidian Siwi	Demotic
Slavic	Dacian Getae Illyrian Thracian	Glagolitic
Uralic	Baltic Magyar Sámi Ugrian	Cyrillic
Unassociated	Sign Language	None

Please note that italicized languages are options you can take for flavor, but as of game start we have no intention of making any particular use out of them. You may choose a language outside of this list, but you'll need to let us know if it falls into one of these (or any other) language families, and understand that it may not come up in game or be selected by others.

Expanded Languages
Canaanite
These languages originated in the Levant and Mesopotamia, though some (like Phoenician) have traveled far along the coast. This is a sister language tree to Libyan.

• Aramaic: Although Canaanite, Darius I chose Aramaic as the official language for the Persian empire. As such, it's very common in Anatolia, as well as across the former Achmaenid Empire. Remains the official language of the Sept of the Sacred Vine.
• Hebrew: The language of the Israelites, and the holy language of the Jewish faith.
• Phoenician: This language spread with Phoenician trade across the Mediterranean, and is the language of Carthage (though they have a distinct dialect, Punic, that has a heavy Siwi influence). This is also the closest thing the Bone Gnawers have to a shared language.

Celtic
The most widespread language of the era, the Celts have left the British Isles and expanded from Iberia (Spain) to Anatolia (Turkey), on the way leaving their linguistic marker. There are dozens of variations on this language, but we're focusing on the ones most likely to come up in game. While Brythonic and Gaelic are predominantly written in Ogham, continental tongues largely adapt to nearby alphabets to pen down their language.

• Brythonic: Used primarily in Caledonia (Scotland) and Briton (England). The official language of the White Howlers.
• Gaelic: Used primarily in Hibernia (Ireland). The official language of the children of the Horned One, as it's technically their homeland, but the Night claws have adapted with their wandering.
• Galatian: Spoken in Galatia (Turkey) where the Celts settled and mingled with Persians.
• Gaulish: Spoken in Gaul, which is to say... Europe. Though there are thousands of dialects, we're using Gaul as the catch-all for the continental Celtic tongue. As such, this is the official language of the Night Claws and the Sept of the Bloodied Grin.

Germanic
One of the least developed languages of the era, these northern tribes focused far more on surviving the cold than standardizing language. Still, with how much the tribes have wandered, linguistic differences are certainly notable. While most members of Germanic tribes favor pictographs to convey thoughts, mystics have begun using futhark as a script.

• East Germanic: By far the largest, East Germanic has been spreading across the continent with the tribes from up north. This is the standard language of the Get of the Winter Wolf.
• North Germanic: Used in Scandinavia and the northern regions of the north itself.
• Thule: A variant of North Germanic that showed up a few hundred years ago, but with linguistic shifts that make no sense with anything encountered. This is a restricted language, as very few share it, and especially not with anyone that would come as far south as Greece.
• West Germanic: The western spread of this tongue, which has mingled extensively with Celtic languages.

Hellenic
The local languages! While the only one you need to worry about is Greek, there are a few neighboring languages with the same origin that are of note.

• Greek: Every character starts with Greek for free. While the region demonstrates plenty of different dialects, this language represents the concentrated population around the Aegean Sea. This is the official language of the Black Furies and all Greek septs without a different disclosed language.
• Macedonian: A rapidly dying language; within the past few decades, Macedonian aristocracy have begun using Greek almost exclusively. Prior to this, this was the primary language of Macedonia. The Sept of the Shadowed Veil speaks Greek as its primary language, but tends to use Macedonian for secrecy purposes.
• Messapic: This language represents the spread of Greek influence into the west, and is most prominent around the southern tip of Italy. This is the official language of the Valley of Temples.
• Phrygian: This language represents the spread of Greek influence into the west, and is most prominent around coastal Anatolia. This is the official language of the Sept of Luna's Grace.

Himalayan
Far out to the east, these are the languages of the Jade Courts and the Stargazers.

• Chinese: One of the oldest languages, this is the most prominent tongue in East Asia, and the official language of the Beast Courts.
• Tibetic: The dominant language of the Himalayas. The official tongue of teh Stargazers.
• Zhang-Zhung: A language used in the western Himalayas, with a lot of overlap with Indic languages.

Indic
Settled between Iranian and Himalayan territories, Indic is used to describe languages prominent in and around India.

• Dravidian: A language commonly practiced among Dravidian people (southern India).
• Sanskrit: Or 'Classical Sanskrit'. This is the standard conversational tongue of the people of this region.
• Vedic: Or 'Vedic Sanskrit'. This is the language of the sacred texts of Hinduism, and is generally considered a holy tongue. It's closely related to Avestan (see below).

Iranian
This is the dominant language family of our game's direct ease, spanning across Persia and up north into Scythia (though incidentally, Persia designated Aramaic as their language of official business).

• Avestan: Much like Vedic (see above), Avestan is a sacred language for Zoroastrian scripture.
• Persian: The original language of the Persian empire. Many wrinkled their nose at the adoption of Aramaic in 539 and have continued to hold out their native tongue.
• Scythian: The native language of the Scythian tribes that exist north of the former Achmaenid Empire. This is a very broad language with a fair bit of Slavic and Magyar overlap.
• Sarmatian: A prominent subset of the Scythians along the Black Sea's north coasts. A lot of linguistic overlap with Dacian and Magyar. This is the official language of the Sept of the Golden Fleece.

Italic
These languages are spoken along the Apennine Peninsula (modern day Italy). Celtic dominates north of the peninsula, and Canaanite (specifically Phoenician) down south, while Greek itself is so influential its language has covered the southern portions of the peninsula.

• Etruscan: Easily the most dominant language of the peninsula, the Etruscan language is spoken in the northern regions of the Apennine Peninsula.
• Latin: A blossoming new language; Latin really hasn't caught on yet, and is barely known outside of Rome.
• Umbrian: Spoken extensively to the southeast of Rome.
• Venetic: Spoken at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, Venetic demonstrates a lot of influence from its Illyrian neighbor.

Libyan
Libyan languages constitute the indigenous languages south of the Mediterranean, spanning North Africa and a number of territories further south. A sister language tree to Canaanite, which took the same basic Semitic language and went east.

• Egyptian: The language commonly used in the Egyptian empire. The official language of the Silent Striders.
• Numidian: Spanning the bulk of North Africa, most individual tribes and city-states speak some dialect of Numidian.
• Siwi: While Phoenician has risen as the dominant language in Carthage, Siwi is the native language of its indigenous population, and contributed heavily to the Punic dialect.

Slavic
These languages are spoken immediately north of Greece, at an intersection of a number of other languages. The Balkan Slavic languages are much more developed than the Slavic tongue further north and east, so while you may take Common Slavic for the generic tongue spoken abroad, these are the specific languages that have evolved from Balkan influence. In the future, Slavic and Uralic will meet to form Russian.

• Common Slavic: Used for less established Slavic tongues outside of South Slavic regions.
  Dacian: Spoken in the Carpathian Mountains, and the native tongue of Shadow Lords. Official language of the Sept of Nightfall.
• Illyrian: Spoken in Illyria, along the east coast of the Adriatic sea. Very common among Night Claws, who have integrated with the Illyrians for years.
• Thracian: Common in northern Greece; often overlaps with Dacian. Official language of the Sept of Ice Peak.

Uralic
Similar to Germanic, the Uralic languages are severely underdeveloped at this point in history, but represent the northern lands east of the Germanic tribes. In the future, Slavic and Uralic languages will meet to form Russian.

• Baltic: Currently dealing with extensive North Germanic linguistic bleed, this language is popular in modern Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• Magyar: Some Uralic people settled amidst the Scythians and Sarmatians, and became known as the Magyars. Their language sounds much more like Uralic than other Iranian languages.
• Sámi: A language spoken in the far north, often contested with Germanic tribes.
• Ugrian: Spoken west of the Ural Mountains; known as the preferred language of the Silver Fangs.

Unassociated

• Sign Language: While we hardly have anything as established as ASL, Sign Language represents your ability to sufficiently express your meaning with body language. This is not a formalized or structured language, but if you and another character both have Sign Language, you can express yourself physically and be understood. The restriction on this, however, is that no single sentence can exceed 5 words.

Tribal Languages
Given every tribe's upbringing, there's a specific language most members of the tribe flock to. While all PCs start with Greek as their Innate Language, and it is the key language spoken in this game, other tribes gravitate towards these languages in order to communicate with ease at their tribal origin.
There is no obligation to learn any of these languages, but understand that tribal NPCs may default to this tongue either in the interest of discretion or if they don't know Greek.

Tribe	Language
Black Furies	Greek
Bone Gnawers	Phoenician
Children of Gaia	Aramaic
Get of Winter Wolf	East Germanic
Night Claws	Gaulish
Red Talons	Sign Language
Shadow Lords	Dacian
Silent Striders	Egyptian
Silver Fangs	Ugrian
Stargazers	Tibetic
Warders of Man	Aramaic
White Howlers	Brythonic

[Xenia]

Ancient/Dead Languages
Most players in modern games gravitate towards "Latin and Greek" to show their scholarly propensity for academia. For obvious reasons, that's much less impressive/feasible in this game. There are, however, some ancient/dead languages of ancient texts that our scholars may take interest in. Please note that we will list languages that are still learnable as 'Available', meaning you may begin game with them. Other languages you may be aware of with a Linguistics of 3 or higher, but you have not encountered the written or spoken word.
Please note: Some of these languages are sheer superstition, and may or may not actually exist in the setting. Still, fun things for linguists to discuss!

Language	Family	Script	Extinct Since	Available at Start
Adamic	Divine Language	Unknown	Unknown	No (unproven)
Akkadian	Semitic*	Akkadian Cuneiform	~500 BCE**	Yes
Atlantian	Hellenic?	Unknown	Unknown	No (unproven)
Manspeak	N/A	N/A	Unknown	No (unproven)
Minoan	Hellenic	Cretan (Linear A)	1459 BCE	No
Mycenean	Hellenic	Achaean (Linear B)	1050 BCE	No
Hittite	Semitic*	Hittite Cuneiform	1100 BCE	No
Sumerian	N/A	Akkadian Cuneiform	2000 BCE**	Yes

* - Semitic is the precursor to Canaanite and Libyan.
** - While the language stopped being used/spoken commonly, it has been used for liturgical and classical writing consistently. Think of learning this like learning Latin in modern day.