World Languages

The languages of Aketi are ever-shifting, evolving alongside the people who speak them as cultures grow and change. Some are more common than others, shared between friendly cultures or spread down a trade route as people come and go and speak and share.  

Meta: While still a WIP, the goal is to eventually have distinct languages for every culture in Aketi as opposed to every race (species-tied language is a standard among TTRPG games and settings) as languages grow and develop with the people who speak it not the species overall. To this end, the traditional allotment of languages including Aquan, Auran, Goblin, Orc, Elvish, etc are used mostly as a general stand-in while other aspects of the world are being fleshed out. Where possible, distinct cultural tongues and language roots and quirks are noted. Expect to see a lot more from this section in future!

  Infernal - The main language spoken by Flame Tieflings, developed from a more chaotic tongue spoken by some of their fiery ancestors.   Zamrazeni - A tongue mostly known to the peoples of the frozen north, and the main tongue of Frost Tieflings.   Svetlo - The speech known to those along the top of the Perique Mon mountain range, it is especially favored by the nomadic travelers who make the hazardous passes their home.   Ittongia - a dead language from an ancient civilization that grew to cover much of the north then fell apart at some point in the distant past. Eruuj adopted the language as an academic convenience some time ago, and a lot of the words for science and magic come from Ittongia (rather like we use Latin for that purpose today). It is known to scholars across the continent, but rarely besides that.   Ceaxtri Sign A sign language mostly known and carried on by the merchant classes and groups, although the deaf use it as their primary means of communication. You stand a good chance of running into people who know it in a large city or trading town, but in more distanced or rural areas it’s rather rare.   Kamawo - A spoken language which grew out of Gnoll culture and is rarely known outside of the Rolling Sands and immediately bordering regions.   Hayciniami - The language used originally by treefolk, which has evolved into a lingua franca for most creatures who live in the deep forests such as the fae, wood elves, Tylidai, and other inherently magical beings.   Ma’kar - A variant on an early draconic language which was adapted for smaller humanoid speech. It's the main language of the Tilketa, although they also speak common for trade. Ma'kar has a script influenced by the claws of dragons; there are many dots and slashes, although it's more curvaceous and beautiful than many would guess is possible with dragon talons.   Myakisla - The main language of Kobolds, Myakisla is a soft, rhythmic language that can express a wide range of emotion. While kobolds and their language typically aren't paid much attention by the big folk, there is little as touching as a heartfelt Myakisla ballad.   Siarcarrg - Wistful sounding with melodic rhythms and sometimes confusing blends and contradictions of sounds, the everyday language of Conomelian dwarves sounds at once hopeful and longing. One of their most popular folk songs encapsulates this effect, with the main line repeating "we're still here".   Geirau Llyfne - Similar to Siacarrg but with a more crisp, clipped sound, Geirae Llyfne used to be a widespread dialect used across dwarvish civilization. These days however, it is relegated to a few lonely texts tucked in old collections.   Medetta - The main tongue of the Deshurashan lizardfolk.