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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 2:03AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Mar 10, 2009
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I think most people familiar with fantasy genres have a good idea that Dwarven sounds gruff and guttural and Elven is almost singing. However what about the other languages? Specifically Primordial, my character in a current campaign speaks it and I've been trying to wrap my head around what it might sound like.
Google hasn't given me very good results so I'm hoping you guys can give me a hand, feel free to discuss what the other languages might sound like as I'm interested in those aswell from a curiosity standpoint.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 2:14AM
#2
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primordial is the father language of abyssal and giant, if that helps.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 2:17AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Apr 14, 2007
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I imagine it as a coughing but, sharp tongue. You spit out the words like you would if you swallowed water, dirt, smoke, etc. I imagine harsh sounding Ks, Ss, Ts, etc.
Deep Speech I imagine as something that is strung together more. It is soft and hard to hear, and doesn't sound proper spoken aloud. It is something you hear softly spoken into your ear.
Abysmal sounds like Primordial but the way of speaking itself is twisted. It takes effort to understand the actual terminology and order of speaking that is used.
Supernal, well no one knows. You simply understand what they are saying. You may afterwards be able to identify the voice of the person speaking but if you are asked to describe how they spoke you cannot, you simply heard it.
With these type of languages too I always imagine more mystical/secondary (non vocal chord) sound to them. Primordial is a grinding, rumbling sound. Deep Speech is a echoing distant choir/chant. Abysmal replaces the grinding with shrieks and pants and animalistic sounds. Supernal has none (that people are aware of).
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 2:29AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Jun 30, 2009
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I agree with Sigil. Definitely sharp sounding, and light with medium tempo. Abysmal is the deeper-sounding version of Primodial to me, heavy with slower tempo.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 8:07AM
#5
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In my setting, Primordial sounds like Farsi. Abyssal sounds like Farsi spoken by someone with a terminal lung disease.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 8:53AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 18, 2007
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Unicron
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 1:50PM
#7
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Date Joined:
May 11, 2009
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Supernal: as heard by other surpernal speaking creatures, I'd say it sounds like a choir of angels speaking in Hebrew. Primordial: A roaring sound, like that of a forest fire, earthquake, thunderstorm, or waterfall is what I think Primordial sounds like. I make the words based on sounds from Nahuatl and Uto-Aztecan languages. Abyssal: The same gutteral roaring sound of Primordial, only formed around the more Roman Latin language. Deep Speech: If you want to hear deep speech, turn an old radio to a channel that gets nothing but steady, hissing static. Whisper short bursts of comprehensible words while a few friends whisper gibberish. That kind of white noise sounds perfectly insane enough to be Deep Speech. Elven: Hindi. It's a beautiful language, both written and spoken. When spoken fluently, the words roll smoothley from one to the next. Common: English, from England. Think medieval nobility, with enough vocabulary to carry on most conversation. Dwarven: Old Norse. Explains itself. Draconic: I chose Arabic because it sounds inteligent, ancient, and powerful, which works perfect for dragons. Giant: Bellowing in a slavic tongue = the best giant language ever. Goblin: Think a kind of growling American english, as spoken by a person with enough of a vocabulary to count to ten and make basic commands of less than 5 words.
Name: Johnathan Allen Characters: Roeth Larelynn, Lhoen Lathanen, Mallorie Blackwolf, Allen Blackwolf, Jacob Ravencrest, Johnathan Quick, Nathan Quick, Garret Quick, Isaac Macgilovicz, Ivan Macgilovicz, Cadence Arthur, and Lady Ashen'vari Grasswhisper. Classes: Ranger, Paladin, Rogue, Bard.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 15, 2009 - 7:56PM
#8
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I run Primordial as sounding like Huttese from the Star Wars films. I run Abyssal as a Latin/Hebrew mashup and Supernal as based loosely on Enochian.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 16, 2009 - 3:44PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Apr 20, 2009
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I like the idea of elves speaking Hawaiian. If you ask me, it's a very elven language: lots of vowels, a healthy dose of apostrophes, and plenty of nature-oriented words. Since there are already examples of Elven words in the books, it wouldn't be appropriate for campaigns in the preexisting settings, but it's a neat little details for any homebrew.
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4 years ago ::
Jul 16, 2009 - 5:02PM
#10
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Primordial to me should sound like Sauron did from The Lord of the Rings movie; guttural yet elegant, raking yet somehow captivating.
Supernal, well, I just go with an "Enya"-esque flowing thingy.
Deep Speech is my favorite because I use some of the sentences spoken in H.P. Lovecraft's books, like "Ftaghn" or "P'nut chtagn fgethas". I try to imagine it like a chain-smoker is deliberately avoiding vowels in their words.
Giant, I have to agree with IndiviDuality, has to sound like a Northern European dialect like Russian or Slavic.
Being a Warhammer fan, I cannot imagine a goblin or orc without a Cockney accent. "Dis' 'ere's da biggest n' best strong'old as' ever 'eld an orc!"
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