Language and Variation

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Language and Variation

Post by Ace Trainer » Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:58 am

Language and Variation Across the world, a wide variety of languages are spoken; this page gives a brief overview for the evolution of language through this continent, and how it varies and is accessed across the different countries and cultures. Of note, there is a single lingua franca, a language understood by the vast majority of speakers across the continent. Many of the languages used natively in individual countries are variations of this lingua franca, meaning that even if speakers do not know the lingua franca itself, they are mutually intelligible and can be communicated with. This page focuses primarily on the lingua franca and it’s variants, but will also touch on some of the more distant languages. Of note, there exists only one Language Academy across the entire continent; found in Pebble Country. Scholars from around the world will come to the Language Academy in order to learn the most formal version of the common tongue, and how to create scholarly works. It was one of the few locations that was spared throughout the conflicts in Pebble Country between Earth and Wind Country, and is widely respected as one of the intellectual hubs of the world.


The Common Tongue
The Common Tongue is the lingua franca used across the continent. It is considered one of the oldest languages in the continent, able to be traced back in archival literature as far back as prior to the genma. Any city, village or township with large populations utilizes the common tongue as its primary language, and any of them that conduct international business will use the common tongue to conduct said business. Due to this, many people in larger more populous regions speak only the common tongue, and the less worldly of them may not even realize other languages are spoken elsewhere. As you get farther from any major population centers, use of the common tongue may give way to local dialects or languages, but if they are in proximity, it can be expected that these people will know both the common tongue and their own local language, dialect, or variation.

Regional accents of the common tongue exist, and many have their own stigma attached to them. The western region of Wind Country and the countries further west than it have an accent that is often considered to be lowly, and people will joke how people who talk this way aren’t as intelligent. This is especially true in contrast to the eastern accent that is considered to be ‘high class’ or in the words of outsiders as ‘snobbish’. The eastern accent is used in the center of the continent, wind, pebble, many of the smaller countries in the center of the continent, and places like Fire Country, The Lightning Empire, and the countries in between. The Northern accent, which is used by most of the countries north of wind country (and does have some presence across the northern rim into Lightning Country but not as much), is said to be “working class” but garners a level of respect, those who study the language across the country consider this to be the most “neutral” of accents. Virtually any coastal town or region, or any island, have a unique accent that gathers quite a bit of stigma due to its presence in Water Country, making it often considered to be sleazy, tricky, or untrustworthy. In comparison to the western accent, which is audibly slower and more rough, the northern and eastern accents are more neutral, where-as the coastal accents are faster paced and “smoother”.

There is quite a bit of lexical variation across the countries within the common tongue as well, as a rather large continent has regionally specific needs that may not arise elsewhere. As it is, it is not uncommon when travelling large distances for the new region to feel “exotic” even if they are speaking the same language.
Region Specific Dialects and Languages While the Common Tongue is present throughout the continent, there are numerous regionally and culturally specific dialects and languages. Communities that are more closed off often have more tightly woven cultures that hold more closely to their language, and take in less interference from the surrounding language.

The most well-known and distinct regional language is the language used in the subcontinental island ‘Ebi Taishuu’, or Shrimp Continent. While tonally and phonetically similar to the Common Tongue, the language used in Ebi Taishuu known simply as Yȗ is a distinct language that shares only a few common words and isn’t mutually intelligible with the common tongue. Yȗ is used by every nation on Shrimp Continent, and most people across the continent speak both Yȗ and the Common Tongue.

The Land of Runes and the Land of Stars both are known to have their own ritual languages that they use. Their languages, while once more widespread and used by their normal people, are now often reserved for their high class members, and those who practice their unique magic and rituals. Iron Country, as one of the longest standing samurai strongholds has its own language as well. The samurai are well-known for utilizing this language in the heat of battle to communicate amongst each other while not revealing their tactics to their opponents. Small villages throughout the continent may have their own local languages.
Writing and Orthographies Writing developed some time during the era of the Genma; there exists only a few artifacts from that era that have archives of what occurred. During the time immediately after the fall of the Genma, the ability to write was highly regarded and often reserved only to the rich and noble. As developed societies came to be and stabilize, writing became more widespread. In the present day, most anyone who lives in a major region or area knows how to read and write. As areas become more rural and out of touch, the ability to write becomes less common, alongside the use of the common tongue. The Language Academy in Pebble does have a formalized writing standard that is used as a guide for teaching in the populous areas. However, in the more urban areas as language skill degrades, writing standard is taught by families and is simply phonetic spelling and written as it is spoken without much use of grammar standards.

Almost all the languages across the continent share a common alphabet, as they are phonetically sourced from the same historical language. The only exception is the Land of Runes that has a ideographic language which uses pictograms rather than graphemes.
Mistaki ShioShiimu KozanGekko IndraShoshiki HeiyaHizashi Ikinari
Kirigakure No Sato
Kemurigakure no Sato

Taishou of Iron Country
Kirigakure No Sato
Genin
Experiment 81 v2
Sunagakure No Sato
Genin
The Soul Host
Iwagakure No Sato
Special Jounin
The Tungsten Princess
Sunagakure No Sato
Jounin
The Revolutionary
Past CharactersShow
[Kenketi Tenteki :: Kumogakure No Sato – Special Jounin]
[Setsuya Inka :: Sunagakure No Sato – The Soul Host – Special Jounin]
[Kaikyo Kohon :: Kirigakure No Sato – Jounin]
[Shinwa Basuta no Suihouheki Yasahii :: Kirigakure No Sato – Mizukage :: Spirit of Capricorn, Topenga]
[Futokutei Hitoare :: Konohagakure No Sato – Pestilence (Four Horsemen) – Jounin]
[Aisu Koiji :: Kirigakure No Sato – Jounin]
[Shitagane Sakki :: Kumogakure No Sato – Genin]
[Batsu Betsuni :: Iwagakure No SatoJounin A Rank Missing Ninja]
[Futokutei Yasunari :: Konohagakure No Sato – Genin]
ChatangoShow
HonchkrOnu
ArticOnu
RichardUnknown
RichardGreen
RichardRed
RichardBlack
RichardGold
AlienHostRichardGold
ValidusWrecks
ValidusWreckingBall
NotOnu
ReallyisOnu
NotCdf
SunaOOCOnu
HolyCowMrSmith
GlobalModOnu
AdminOnu
CboxModOnu
SlaptasitcOnu

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