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Researching printing technology for an illustration series today and this collection proved immensely helpful. Thank you @mirkemenagerie for all you have done for our community!

Hello! Do you have any information to hand on the different in-universe languages in XIV, both in Eorzea and more broadly on Hydaelyn? Thank you!

THE LANGUAGES OF HYDAELYN

The Eorzean Common Tongue

Encyclopedia Eorzea II - The Common Tongue: “Being home to myriad races and cultures, it is not surprising that Hydaelyn is also home to many and more unique tongues. On the Three Great Continents alone, scholars have identified ten score unique languages, and believe yet others may exist in the land’s less-traveled corners. The most widely used is Eorzean by far, but how, exactly, did this phenomenon come to pass?”

Encyclopedia Eorzea II - The Life and Death of a Language: “Most languages spoken today, including Eorzean, can be traced back to an Allagan dialect that dominated the Third Astral Era - a dialect believed by Allagan scholars to have originated with the ancient Hyuran tribes of Aldenard. Both the empire’s size and longevity saw the imperial tongue spread wide from Aldenard to Othard, and even to the western continent, over time rendering most other languages in the occupied territories obsolete. However, the coming of the Fourth Umbral Era severed the bonds that held the empire together, forcing large populations into relative isolation. With no simple means of communication over great distances, the Allagan dialect shattered, each shard experiencing an independent evolution which, over hundreds of generations saw the rise of countless new languages.

By the Fifth Astral Era and the resurgence of civilization, there existed so many unique languages that the abundance gave rise to a new social class of translators and interpreters. Difficulty of communication between cities and nations often resulted in heightened political tensions, and it fell to translators to facilitate communication between the parties. It goes without saying that this skill eventually saw the members of the class wielding dangerously significant monetary and political clout.”

Encyclopedia Eorzea II - A Triumphant Return: “It was not until the Sixth Astral Era when a dialect resembling modern Eorzean returned to Aldenard to take root, brought back by the very Hyuran tribes from which the dialect had first descended. Despite the Elezen having arrived in the land first, the choice to limit their sphere of influence to the Black Shroud prevented their language from spreading beyond the great holt. The Hyur, however, came in waves, settling every corner of Aldenard (including the Black Shroud), and it was only a matter of time before Hyuran converse had permeated the realm. Yet, while the Hyur have always been known for their adaptability, for reasons unknown they proved adamant in their unwillingness to succumb to the prevailing Elezen tongue.

Though the Elezen fought to preserve their language against the vulgar tide, the plight was doomed with the arrival of Lalafellin traders from the southern seas. The Lalafells, more interested in coin than pride, quickly recognized there was profit to be had in learning the language of the Hyur. When the Miqo’te tribes followed suit, it was thus the Hyuran dialect became what we now know as Eorzean.”

Encyclopedia Eorzea - A Chronology of the Sixth Astral Era:Year ca. 980* - “As sea trade flourishes, Limsa Lominsa experiences an influx of Plainsfolk Lalafell. Significant numbers of Hyur Midlanders and Miqo’te Seekers of the Sun also come to the city - some in search of a free life, others abducted by and assimilated into pirate bands - and its populace grows ever more diverse.”

*Sounsyy Note: This helps date the rising prevalence of the Hyuran language and the solidification of the Common Tongue as the dominant spoken language in Eorzea to less than 600 years ago, around the end of the 10th century into the beginning of the 11th century.

Encyclopedia Eorzea II - A Triumphant Return:“Having secured a strong foothold in Eorzea, the Lalafellin traders set their sights on Ilsabard and beyond, taking with them the simple, yet expressive Hyuran dialect that had seen their coffers full to bursting with gil, adding terms they thought necessary for haggling. It was through the efforts of these entrepreneurs that the language slowly spread, taking hold as the accepted parlance for negotiation. Now, it is not uncommon to see merchants from as far as Hingashi* and Radz-at-Han handling their transactions in common Eorzean traders’ cant.

The proliferation of Eorzean throughout Hingashi has sparked somewhat of a cultural renaissance in the once-isolated nation. Access to a wealth of printed word carried overseas by Western traders has opened eyes to a new world of quirks and customs, oft resulting in a wholly unique amalgamation of ideas that would have proven impossible were it not for the common tongue. How an article on moogle legend printed in Gridania’s The Raven led to the mass production of wooden mole-bats throughout the Far East is but one example of the undeniable power of language.”

*Sounsyy Note: Out of context this passage can be a bit deceptive. The Common Tongue came to Ilsabard and the Near East around the turn of the 13th century (less than 400 years ago, ca.1190-1200), but it wouldn’t travel as far as Hingashi and the Far East until roughly 300 years later around the turn of the 16th century of the 6th Astral Era.

Encyclopedia Eorzea II - The Eorzean Alphabet: “While the letters used during the Allagan rule closely resemble those of modern Eorzean script, the sounds they represent today have been altered significantly with the passing of time. This diversion confused early linguistic scholars, leading them to believe they were reading an entirely independent language. It wasn’t until the discovery of tomestones containing ancient audio recordings that similarities between Allagan and Eorzean were proven and scholars could come to the conclusion that at some point in history - most likely the Fourth Astral Era - all knowledge of letters was lost, only to be rediscovered and mistakenly repurposed in the Fifth.

The Eorzean alphabet consists of six and twenty letters which can be written in the upper and lower cases. The shape of some of the letters, as well as stroke order have given rise to the theory that the letters may have once been written with a left hand and from right to left instead of left to right.”

Encyclopedia Eorzea: “In times of eld, countless tongues and dialects were spoken regularly by the various peoples of Eorzea. As migration and cultural exchange between the races became more common, a universal language arose, easing the burden of communication between different people. This language, which came to be known as the common tongue, is now spoken by the vast majority of the realm’s residents. It is believed that Hyuran priests also played a vital role in the creation of the Eorzean alphabet at the end of the Fourth Astral Era, though the precise details are lost to history.”

Encyclopedia Eorzea - The Fourth Astral Era: “For approximately fifteen hundred years the silent war against knowledge continued, the church manipulating what knowledge (if any) trickled its way down to the masses. Religious leaders went even as far as introducing a new alphabet for their holy scriptures, taught only to men and women of the cloth, so as to solidify their control over the realm through the continued illiteracy of the common people. It is therefore ironic that this alphabet for the privileged would eventually evolve into the Eorzean script used throughout the realm today.”

In response to the wealth of new lore on the topic from the Encyclopedia Eorzea II, I’ve gone ahead and practically rewritten the entire post with new info, removed large sections of theorycraft that have since been answered, and also added entire new sections on Literacy and Publications, as well as the relationship between the Hingan and Doman languages and script in the Read More below!

Keep reading

#ffxiv #xivlore

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