Lore Post - Languages of Velonia (Patreon)

Here's the promised lore post! This time, I wanted to write a bit about the languages spoken on Velonia, which I've subdivided into the major headings below. I haven't written about Cyridian below, mainly because it's sort of a dead language that still retains some ceremonial uses, whereas this post is about the actively spoken languages. Still, I may add a section on it at some point. For now, the post:

Avalonian

The continent of Velonia is an unusually homogeneous place in terms of language, mostly resulting from the Avalonian Conquests. Given that, at one point, Avalonia ruled the entire continent except for Versalia, it’s not wholly surprising that Avalonian is the main language spoken. Indeed, even Versalia and Sravi, which never had Avalonian imposed upon them by force, have largely adopted the language for everyday use simply as a matter of practicality, as having a shared language for trade is beneficial. Moreover, Avalonian is a relatively easy language to learn, which led to a quicker adoption.

Technically speaking, most parts of the continent speak different vulgar dialects (that is, common regional dialects; vulgar Latin is the term used to describe the local, everyday dialects of Latin that would become French, Spanish, Italian, etc.) of Avalonian, though these have not diverged so much as the various Latin vulgars did in our world. A better approximation would be ancient Greece, where each polis spoke a different dialect, but could mostly understand each other and had the shared trade dialect of koine (which is still legible to a reader of modern Greek today). The common tongue of Velonia is actually derived mainly from Low Avalonian, which was spoken in the lowlands around Avalonia such as Hypernia from which many of Avalonia’s first soldiers were drawn after the initial wave of conquests.

This fact also somewhat contributed to the adoption of Avalonian as the common tongue, as even those who resented the Imperial conquests could separate Low Avalonian from the High Avalonian used in official documents. High Avalonian is roughly as different from Low Avalonian as most of the regional dialects. Low Avalonian is sometimes called Velonian, or simply Common.

Unless otherwise indicated, most text in game is implicitly written and spoken in dialects of Avalonian. Alexander, Ligaea, and Ariadne have somewhat adopted the High Avalonian dialect used at the academy rather than their local dialects, though Alexander and Ariadne are both equally familiar with the dialects of Low Avalonian used in the western part of the continent.

Versalian

Of the original languages spoken on Velonia before Avalonian, Versalian is one of the few not considered a dead language as of the game’s time. Much like Avalonian, Versalian is divided into Old High Versalian and Low Versalian. Low Versalian was the native tongue of the lowland areas around Versalia, especially Calistrae and Ekestria, and has mostly gone extinct given the greater use of Avalonian in these areas. In particular, Avalonian policies drove Ekestrian culture away from Versalian culture as much as possible, using population swaps, which accelerated the shift. In Calistrae, the adoption of Avalonian came primarily through trade. In addition, High and Low Versalian differ more substantially than High and Low Avalonian, meaning that Calistrae’s vassalage to Versalia did not result in pressure to preserve the Low Versalian tongue because Versalia itself used Old High Versalian, the highland tongue.

For the most part, Avalonian has spread to Versalia as well, by trade. However, trade is less of a focus in Versalian than in Calistrae. In addition, many nobles take pride in retaining their ancient language. Consequently, most Versalian nobles are bilingual, using Avalonian for everyday purposes and Old High Versalian for formal functions. Some more insular areas, however, especially in Redstone or the eastern duchies, continue to use Old High Versalian as the primary language of everyday life and do not speak Avalonian at all. Old High Versalian is considered a difficult language to learn, and many nobles require their servants to speak it, setting a particularly high barrier to entry for anyone not already fluent. Alexander, of course, speaks Old High Versalian, as do Veronica, Despoina, Stelianos, Cynthia, and Calysia. King Lysander also had Ariadne learn Old High Versalian. Dialog or text in Old High Versalian has yet to appear, so I haven't settled on a font for it.

Sravi

Because of its voluntary alignment with Avalonia, the Sravi language never faced Avalonian efforts at displacement. Many city-dwelling Sravi peoples have adopted Avalonian for trade purposes or out of necessity while working as mercenaries. However, among those who dwell in the desert proper, Avalonian is rarely if ever spoken, and the traditional Sravi language survives. It is rare for anyone outside of the desert to learn the Sravi tongue, and none of the game’s major characters speak it.

Elven

Elven is the language of the elves, who are native to the continent of Solaia across the sea. No major elven nations exist on Velonia, but elven is the most common non-Velonian tongue spoken on the continent. Though relatively rare, a not-insignificant diaspora of elves exists on Velonia, consisting of those exiled from their homeland and those who simply chose to seek their fate among humans. Elves generally consider Velonia the most civilized of the human-inhabited continents. In addition, the body of literature available in elven vastly exceeds that available in translation. This is because while enchanted quills can copy a manuscript perhaps better than a printing press could, they cannot translate text. 

Hence, literary-minded nobles often chose to learn elven, both for the prestige associated with it and the wealth of literary options it opens to them. The dialect of elven spoken on Velonia is typically High Elven (in this case, used to demean the alternative major dialect of Wild Elven spoken by the wild elves who refuse to accept the Elven Emperor’s rule rather than to indicate geography as with High and Low Versalian or Avalonian). Elven is Sindarion’s native tongue, and spoken fluently by Alexander and Ligaea. Dialog or text in elven is indicated by the use of the font Lucida Handwriting.