Ancient & Current Languages

ost scholars agree that only five of the countless dialects of Eastern Oerik were or are spoken by enough people to be properly called languages. These are:

Common	Ancient Baklunish
Suloise	Old Oeridian
Flan

Suloise: This ancient and widespread language became all but extinct when the Rain of Colorless Fire destroyed the Suloise Empire. Today it is rarely spoken, even among the few scholars who know the tongue; rather, it exists in its written state for the sake of those who would delve into the survivindg arcane tomes of the Suel peoples.

Flan: Doubtless the oldest language still spoken to any considerable extent. the Tenha still speak Flan, albeit a time-corrupted version of the language that once was widespread throughout the Flanaess. A stagnant language, it is difficult to translate modern concepts into Flan.

Ancient Baklunish: One of the ancestors of the Common tongue, Baklunish nevertheless bears its offspring little resemblance; this is to be expected after nearly a millenium of change, however. The Paynim tribes still speak Ancient Baklunish, although some traders and educated men learn Common for dealings with outsiders.

Old Oeridian: A younger language, Oeridian was totally free of outside influences until a few centuries ago. As a result, its linguistic components are unique and translation into any language except Common is all but impossible.

Common: A combination of Ancient Baklunish and the dialect of Old Oeridian spoken in the Great Kingdom forms the basis of this new, widely used tongue. Virtually anyone who crosses national boundaries must learn at least a smattering of common or be greatly handicapped. It is frequently the case that one language must be translated into Common before it can be translated into another desired language. This is possible because of the universality of Common's roots.

In addition to the above five languages, there are several dialects and sub-languages worthy of note. These are:

Ferrel	The Cold Tongue	Keolandish
Nyrondese	Velondi	Lendorian

Ferral: Ferral is a now-secret Oeridian tribal language spoken only by officials of the Iron League. Ferral is used only for command and identification purposes, and thus cannot be considered an actual living language.

Nyrondese: This is a High Oeridian dialect of Common which is spoken in some areas of Nyrond. It is primary language particularly for peasants, shopkeepers, and the like. Learned people almost always speak common as well.

The Cold Tongue: This dialect, also known as Fruz, is primarily Suloise with Flan admixture. It is spoken commonly by the Ice, Snow, and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to Common, and even speakers of Suloise find it hard to understand.

Velondi: Velondi is an Old Oeridian tribal language spoken primarily by rural folk near the Furyondy-Veluna border. Those who speak only Common cannot understand it.

Keolandish: This is a widespread dialect of Old High Oeridian with local admixtures. It is spoken in areas in and around Keoland.

Lendorian: This is an obscure dialect of Suloise spoken in the Spindrift Isles. It has no relation to the Cold Tongue, and is a secondary language to those who speak Common.