Languages

This is a listing of languages, meant primarily as a reference for people adding ranks to their Linguistics skill.

Mechanics of Speech

Most languages are spoken aloud, requiring some variety of air and the ability to hear in order to work. Some of the more exotic languages have extremely difficult sound palettes (the sound of blowing wind, or creaking ice, for example.)

There are other ways of using language. It is possible to have a vision-based language, such as sign language or a language of color changes. It is possible to have a scent-based language, which would allow plants to communicate with smells, for example.

Telepathy

Perhaps the most sophisticated language medium is simply communicating mind-to-mind, via telepathy. Telepathy as a language is a broadcast mechanism, with words appearing in the minds of those around you without the need for line of sight or even line of effect. Most creatures with telepathy also have the ability to 'whisper', and communicate with only one creature or only a few, instead of all around them.

Telepathy is also frequently accompanied by Mindsense, although not always. Since Telepathy does not require line of sight, Mindsense is not required for telepathy to work.

Creatures with Telepathy can only speak in the languages they know. It is not uncommon for more advanced or eerie telepathic creatures to be able to communicate using a mental form of Enuncia (see below), which means they can communicate with any creature with a mind.

Basic Starting Languages

All races may learn any of these languages at character creation if they have a high enough Intelligence score to qualify for bonus languages.

Basic Language	Pronunciation	Language Of:	Description
Common	kah-mun	Most civilized races	A human language, but spoken nearly everywhere due to the overwhelming influence and ubiquity of humans. Nearly everything, civilized or not, knows a few hundred words in Common, allowing basic function.
Dwarven	dwor-vin	Dwarves	A booming language with long vowels, meant to carry through the deep tunnels
Elven	ehl-vin	Elves	A pleasant-sounding language with few labials or stops
Gnomish	noh-mish	Gnomes	A language that excels at discussing complex or intricate ideas
Halfling	haf-leng	Halflings	A rapid-fire language that sounds joyful, even when angry
Orcish	or-kish	Bru-Kin	A guttural, harsh language, with short abrupt words
Tengu	tin-goo	Tengu	A language that is rife with plays on words, ambiguities, and synonyms

Advanced Starting Languages

These languages are more obscure, and races tend to have access to only 1 or 2 of them depending on their exposure to these cultures. See the race listing to determine which, if any, of these languages are available to your race at character creation, if your Int score qualifies you for bonus languages.

Advanced Language	Pronunciation	Language Of:	Description
Aquan	ah-kwan	Undine, Vanx	A language capable of being spoken both underwater and in normal air
Auran	aw-ran	Sylphs, Tengu	A language of high whistles and squawks capable of carrying great distances
Draconic	druh-kon-ik	Dragons	Seemingly simple, monosyllabic language, relies on inflections and tonality to add deeper meanings
Giant	jahy-uhnt	Giants, Ettins, Ogres, Trolls	A genuinely simple, monosyllabic language
Gnoll	nohl	Gnolls	Comprised of barks, cackles, and trilling, but surprisingly diverse and nuanced in the breadth of its descriptiveness
Goblin	gob-lin	Goblins, low fey	A screechy, whiny-sounding language, which conjugates based on the speaker's position in society
Ignan	ig-nan	Ifrits	Sounds like the roaring of a bonfire, the crackling of burning leaves, and the pops of burning sap
Sylvan	sil-van	Woodfolk and fey	Similar-sounding to Elvish, with susurrant consonants, long vowels, and a rapid cadence.
Terran	tair-uhn	Oreads	A slow-paced, contemplative language. Conveys meanings in pauses and silence as much as words.
Undercommon	uhn-der-kom-uhn	Drow, Duergar	A harsh language with few vowels, spoken commonly in the Unterweldt

Encountered Languages

These languages are rarely known by starting characters and can typically only be learned by encountering cultures and races which speak them, and spending some time studying them. A working knowledge of these languages can be achieved by deciphering overheard conversations, translating books or just being around it while it is spoken.

Encountered Language	Pronunciation	Language Of:	Description
Abyssal	ah-bi-sul	Demons	A commanding language, excellent for intimidation.
Ackakakl	ak-ah-kak-ul	Greater fire	Similar to Ignan, except the language carries the cadences of pure elemental fire.
Aklo	ah-klo	Ancient Unterwelt	Far removed from the grammatic and linguistic structures of surface languages, very difficult to learn.
Awnsheghlien	ahn-shay-lee	Winter court fey	A graceful language spoken by "evil" fey. Shares linguistic roots with Sylvan and other fey languages.
Breaght	bray-okt	Low goodness	Created by church scholars, used in benedictions and hymns. Brings a sense of peace to the listener and speaker.
Boggard	bah-gerd	Low beast	A highly tonal language, suitable for less-evolved larynxes. Shares linguistic roots with Gnoll.
Celestial	seh-les-ti-ahl	High outsider	A refined language, with intricate grammar rules and subtle inflections.
Cúirteil	kwar-ti-el	Summer court fey	A graceful language spoken by "good" fey. Shares linguistic roots with Sylvan and other fey languages.
D'ziriak	jih-ree-uhk	Low brood	A language of hive minds and rigorous caste rankings. Extremely painful for humanoid vocal chords.
Delimnia	dih-lim-nee-uh	Joy	A peculiarly fluid language, with few rules and little structure. Great for composition of prose and poetry.
Djöfulleg	dyo-vuht-reg	Evil	A harsh-sounding language devised by devils to ease others down a path of darker intentions.
Dolmen	dohl-min	Low stone	Linguistically related to Terran. Single words sometimes take several hours to speak, and conversations last days or weeks.
Erebral	er-eh-brahl	Magic	Nearly impossible for non-casters to learn, but highly useful for technical discussions of magical theory.
Exaction	ecks-ak-shun	Laws	A language with no synonyms, homonyms, and very few ambiguities, typically used in legal proceedings, legal codes, and contracts.
F'thaghu'fhalma	fuh-thahg-hoo-fahl-mah	High aberrant	An awkward language for humanoids to speak, known to cause bad dreams, and even insanity in those who study it.
Fuligin	fyu-lih-jin	Greater darkness	A whispering, lulling language, spoken by those powerful entities whose might is greatest inside the cool embrace of darkness.
Gőbhach	gwo-vahk	Greater aberrant	A creaking, staccato language, with clicks and growls, known only to the most powerful aberrations.
Genzoezis	gen-zoh-ee-zis	Greater life	A language of spiritual wellness and growth, spoken by greater spirits and benevolent gods.
Ghol-Gan	gohl-gahn	High giantish	A highly accented language, with heavy emphasis on most syllables, spoken by Cyclopes, Ettins, Fomaorians, and the most evolved giants.
Gurahn'lloig	gor-ah-hin-loy-eeg	Low aberrant	A garbled language, with too few vowels and uncertain pronunciations, spoken by most aberrations.
Grum	gruhm	Greater stone	A slowly-articulated language, like Dolmen, but capable of expressing themes and ideas which transcend or ignore time.
High Cant	hahy kant	Formal bardic song	A captivating, clever language of epic poetry and grand myths. Easily understood by anyone, but very difficult to learn.
High Draconic	hahy druh-kon-ik	Dragon lore	An esoteric variant of Draconic, in which each word contains historic and genealogical subtext.
Infernal	in-fur-nal	Devils	Sharing roots with Exaction, a precise language, but with subtle ambiguities and misdirections mixed into its grammar.
Issshh	ish	Greater wind	A flowing, heavily-aspirated language, spoken by air spirits, elementals and some avian creatures.
Jakrakt	cha-kruhkt	Breaking	A language principally used by miners and jewelers to discuss their crafts, but also useful in siege warfare.
Jeen	jeen	Greater light	A rare language, known mainly to gods and celestial hosts. Sounds somewhat like tolling bells and flaring trumpets when spoken.
Kern	kern	Language about languages	A constructed language of linguistics, used to collate and describe phonemes and other common meta-constructs within language.
Krieg	kreeg	War	While useful on battlefields for succinctly commanding troops, this language is also helpful for expressing logistics, troop positioning, and strategies. Has several dialects that can be expressed by horns, drums, finger or arm gestures, and even semaphore flags and signal fires.
Lelnian, Ancient	lehl-nee-in, eyn-shuhnt	Human lore	A nearly-forgotten dialect of humankind, only the written form remains; the spoken form is hotly contested and largely speculative.
Litrian	lit-ree-ahn	High human	A dominant language among the highest echelons of human societies, its learning is kept closely guarded.
Myerl	mahy-erl	High beast	A language of beasts, spoken by highly-evolved animals, greater spirits, and lesser gods affiliated with the Nascent Seed.
Nagaji	nah-gah-jee	Nagas and ophidians	A sibilant language, with drawn out consonants and quick vowels.
Necril	neh-kril	Corrupter undead	Spoken by those intelligent undead who seek to corrupt and suborn life, such as vampires, liches, specters, and phages.
Omneos	ahm-nee-ohs	High goodness	A language of the good-aligned (not the notion of goodness itself). Spoken by gods, greater spirits, paladins, and powerful clergy of good domains.
Onundur	oh-nuhn-dyoor	Eater undead	Spoken by those intelligent undead who must consume the living to satiate their immportal hunger — e.g. ghouls, shadows, wights.
Phlethegor	fleh-theh-gor	High devil	Spoken by arch-devils and princes of the nine Hells, a language of dominance, intimidation, and compulsion.
Primal	prahy-muhl	Outer madness	Confusing to all but the most dedicated scholars, this language shifts and changes, almost like a secret language, but is learnable by those willing to risk their own sanity.
Protean	pro-tee-ehn	Doppelganger	Spoken by the secret creches of doppelgangers in their highest circles of power.
Quell	kwel	Order	A language of lawfulness, the alignment (not the secular notion of law-abiding-ness), spoken by gods, greater spirits, paladins, and powerful clergy of lawful domains.
Quintessent	kwin-tes-uhnt	High magic	A precursor to OM (see secret languages), used heavily in arcane theory and philosophical discussions of the fundaments.
Reave	reev	Chaos	A language of the chaotically aligned. No grammatical rules, and highly theoretical affix construction. Spoken by gods, greater spirits, paladins, and powerful clergy of chaotic domains.
Reckomp	ray-komp	Bright language of trade	Designed for two speakers to speak at the same time, used for haggling and negotiating.
R'luh	reh-loo	Low spring court fey	A language of wild growth, unconstrained fertility, and mischievousness. Spoken by lesser fey, especially among the spring court.
Slaugh	sloo-a	Swampland creatures	A wetlands and swamplands language, spoken with a twangy drawl.
Stilth	stilth	Greater death	An abrupt and terse language, which excels at expressing concepts of urgency, the unforeseen, transience, and permanence.
Strix	striks	Low Devil	An almost comically conniving-sounding language, spoken mostly by imps, or those wishing to speak to imps.
Tenebri	teh-nee-bree	Shadow	A sign- and gesture-based language, with no spoken or written components. The signs rely on the seen and unseen to express context.
Thanic	tha-nik	Destroyer undead	Spoken among those intelligent undead whose principle need is to exterminate all life, such as ghosts, mummies and ghasts.
Treant	tree-uhnt	Autumn court fey	A melancholic language of imminent hard times, watchfulness and uncertainty. Widely spoken in the First World.
Umbral	uhm-bruhl	Low winter court fey	A language of trickery, casual cruelty, and subterfuge.
Urbleburblelou	er-bul-ber-bul-oo	Greater water	Easily spoken while underwater (or any other liquid), known to water spirits, elementals, and intelligent piscene creatures.
Vertigion	ver-ti-jee-ahn	Contagious madness	A babbling, gibbering language that conveys ideas in only the barest sense, often through meaningless meanderings and disturbing metaphors.
Womp	womp	A fast language	A rapid-fire language of simple words, which can be used to communicate to creatures experiencing time far more quickly than the speaker.
Xth'tl'ck	sith-til-ick	High brood	A hive-mind language used to communicate with other brood hive minds.
Yastermine	yas-ter-meen	History and lore	A dry, educated language, which borrows notions of time and context from High Draconic, but tailored for humanoid histories.

Secret Languages

Finally, there are secret languages. These are languages which cannot be learned by anyone except those specifically invited to learn them. In many cases, these languages are deliberately deceptive, with fluctuating grammar or syntax changes based on the calendar, lunar cycle or some other variable. They are, effectively, constantly evolving codes. While it may be possible to decipher short passages of these languages given enough time and the proper cypher keys, the languages themselves will always remain a mystery, as the keys change and the lexicon evolves to deny knowledge to outsiders.

Secret Language	Pronunciation	Language Of:	Description
Coept	koh-ept	Creation	Calls fundaments and forces into existence simply by speaking it
Corhiwar	kor-shih-var	Drow battle language	A sign language using hand gestures, capable of coercing lesser Drow into action
Druidic	droo-id-ik	Druids	When spoken in an untamed environment, can be heard by other Druids across great distances
Enuncia	ee-nun-see-uh	Communication	Enuncia can be understood by anyone who can read or hear it, appearing or sounding like a language they already speak.
Graxt	grakst	Destruction	The very sounds of this language dissolves the bonds between life, matter, and fundaments
OM	owhm	Power	Coalesces the will of the speaker into expression
Sphinx	sfeenks	Riddles	Speakers of this language can deduce and infer answers to riddles and mysteries with astounding ease
Therien	theh-ree-in	Lies	Speakers can easily construct multiple versions of a "truth" without contradicting themselves
Thieves' Cant	theevs kant	Thieves	A slang-heavy, rhythmic cadence, used for clandestine coordination and black market trade