#Fantasy Language

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[mortish-writes]

A sneak peek of how Wyransith will be handled in the Week One update. When you understand a word or multiple words they will become clickable, allowing you to change them to English.

In the update, there will be more Wyransith spoken, but also the opportunity for the MC to learn some of it in the prologue. After Week One, your MC will be able to practice on an almost nightly basis, should she choose. I think it'll be a fun thing for interested players to piece together, but also not essential for those who aren't into fantasy linguistics.

Additionally, fantasy terms such as "duvkrovyr" will become similarly toggleable, allowing readers to click on them, translate "divine blood," probably say "oh, yeah," and then click again to change it back to "duvkrovyr." This will ensure you don't need a spreadsheet for these terms and I don't need to keep using the fantasy and English words interchangeably, which to me feels sloppy.

The update will also have a new interface, a historical timeline, a guide to the seasons and months, a religious pantheon, and a few other things I'm probably forgetting to mention. Obviously right now I'm working on finishing the Night VI Standard Heretic update for patrons and then I'll be working on getting the Itch version ready, but in my downtime I'm prepping the new version. I'll be sharing snippets of the new prologue next week. I've modified it in some interesting ways that I think you'll like.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

How would ungulates do sign language with a more limited possible set of signs? I feel like ears would be a big factor, but they can't replace hands. Leg motion could be a partial factor, but then they couldn't really walk and talk.

My assumption is that you mean a quadrupedal sapient species, like sapient deer or horses, since walking on all fours would indeed prevent the use of any forelimbs being a tool of silent communication.

in this case, I think they would put a lot more emphasis on facial expression and body language. The examples I'm drawing are all in profile because ungulates tend to have very wide vision with a blind spot directly in front of their face. as a result, visual communication would be best done while two of them are standing next to each other.

(image description: four simple sketches of a deer-like creature's head, displaying different forms of body language. first, the option to use its large ears like semaphore flags, moving them in different directions. second, the option to use blinking as morse code. third, the option of head motion, shown here as a nodding movement. fourth, the option of an expressive face, shown here as the creature making a face of disgust with its mouth open, nose crinkled, and ears laid back. end description.)

you could go with a combination of these, studying the body language of horses in particular. horses are domestic animals that have a complex relationship of communicating with humans, so that's a good place to start for nonverbal hands-free communicative language!

morse code and semaphore flags rely heavily on alphabetic spelling, with their signs mostly just representing singular letters. but your ungulate folk can assign bigger meanings to their own ear and blinking signals! especially combining it with the motion of the head and the expressiveness of their mouth, I'm sure they could create a whole complex language. it may not directly translate out into clean english grammar, of course, but neither do real human sign languages.

I don't think they would, for example, be able to communicate something as distinct as "oh I think I see a strange creature hiding between the trees just ahead of us", but they could communicate "strange creature [that direction] hide" or something like that. it's not necessary for their language to have complicated grammar. Language only needs to be able to convey ideas in a clear manner.

hope that helps! i'm no expert on sign language, so maybe some of my followers will have more ideas to add.

[dunmeshistash]

I hope Ryoko adds some more on world locations in the new Bible..

The fanfic in my head needs some namess

Also do we have anything about the diff languages or just common?

-👾

As far as I can tell the new edition has the same locations on the map as the last one... but for city names we got this from Kabru

EHScans Translation:

Official English Translation:

Kahka Brud, Izganda, Sadena, Melini and Dozahk are all in the eastern continent and show up in the world map, since it says "world's major cities" I imagine the rest must be in other continents

Edit: Speaking of which... is Melini village even a major city? Could it be that it grew that much from the dungeon in 6 years? Or is it named just because that's where they are? It's said it was just a fishing village before.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Anyone know how Duolingo chooses what constructed languages to teach and how we can petition them to teach Grishaverse languages?

Asking for a friend

[tomthefanboy]

Big news Willow Fans! Thanks to the concept art posted by Eliot Amos last year, we've finally been able to construct the FULL Pnakotic alphabet! He used a pangram on one of his swords!

(fixed tags)

[spacemagictea]

The WITW soundtrack on Bandcamp has translated Voidtongue lyrics! Some tracks repeat the lyrics.

Murum Vull:

No God Above Knowledge and Sanctum Anatomica:

The Fragmented:

Yara Jeliira:

The Master Returns:

Source here

[savethegrishaverse]

Posts made by one of the conlangers of the show - Christian Thalmann! It's amazing to see the languages of the Grishaverse used to help us fight!

[fae-info-dumps]

Okay so In my linguistics research I have found a series of things

When I was looking for how environments affects language I found this article which was very helpful. I also just surfed the web but who cares, the article was compact, succinct and informative, many claps.

So, what I’ve learned and what I will implement is:

People/animals will change their vocal pitch depending on their environment, this is called “acoustic adaptation”

1)People/animals living in more open places will use higher clearer sounds, because it travels better

2)People/animals living in more densely forested places will use lower sounds, and will change the sound of the vocalisations to travel the best depending on tree/environment type.

3)People/animals living in colder/higher altitude environments will use more “ejective consonants” like ‘p’ ‘k’ and ‘t’ because they travel better and are less likely to dehydrate them.

4)People/animals living in more humid places like rainforests will use softer, more vowel heavy sounds because they, yet again, travel better and they don’t need to worry about dehydration. (“Sonorous”)

These four components + my method of writing/letter system will be very helpful in creating conlangs :)

[delicateartisantrash]

Cybertronian Language Ref Project

So, I was absolutely ASTOUNDED to discover there isn't, as far as I could find, any dedicated directory of a List Of Words for the Cybertronian languages, though there is some documentation on the written languages themselves.

Inspired by those, I started creating a document to keep track of Cybertronic languages used in the fanfictions I write, because I have an obsession for fantasy language in a story actually being written out.

Would anyone be interested in sharing this resource? I don't have terribly many words installed yet, and I mostly focus on the common tongue since that's what comes up most often in my stories so far, but I plan to flesh out all of them with time.

Imagine some of the fun miscommunications between Decepticons and Autobots who are mingling, when they have the same spoken word but they mean vastly different things >:DDD

[valy-gc]

FAESPEAK GRAMMAR

Faespeak is fluid, lyrical, and evocative. Its grammar is relatively simple and flexible, though there are still rules. These rules can be broken if it improves the rhythm or intent—faes are whimsical, after all—but only faes can get away with that.

Sentence Structure

Basic Structure: [Pronoun Prefix] + [Verb Root] + [Modifier/Intensifier] (optional) + [Object/Subject] + [Adjective]

Example: sy’aeltheren shilthys — “I offer myself in deepest beauty” → sy- (I), aeltheren (offer self), shilthys (deep beauty)

Pronouns and Prefixes

Pronouns are expressed through prefixes attached to verbs and nouns. They are rich with tone and reverence, with several layers depending on emotion, rank, or respect.

Core Personal Prefixes

Person Prefix Tone Example I (neutral) ae- Neutral/formal aeva(my name) I (personal) sy- Intimate/personal syael(my soul) I (formal) tye- Sacred, royal tone tyeva(my name) I (beloved) zya- Devoted/loving zy’ael(my soul) I (communal (we) tye- Collective t́yeme’a(our light) I (magic-bound) vo- Faeric unity/ritual voithren(our dream)

| You (neutral) | sya- | Casual/respectful | sy’ael (your soul) | | You (formal) | mi-| High respect/formality | miael (your soul) | | You (beloved) | lye- | Intimate/loving | lyeael (your soul) |

| They/Them (neutral - plural) | ka- | General third person | kame’a (their light) | | They (disdain) | vi- | Dismissive/lesser | vime’a (their dim light) |

While Faespeak typically uses gender-neutral terms, specific forms do exist for poetic, intimate, or emphatic purposes. These are still used as prefixes but imply more than just gender—they carry fae-perceived essences.

When two following prefix/words end/start with the same letter, an apostrof is added between, keeping the letter of the word rather the prefix. Sya- ael = Sy’ael and not Syaael Essence Prefix Example Meaning He (masculine) ra- rame’a his light She (feminine) le- leme’a her light They (genderless) tya- tyame’a their light It (object) ni- niva its name

Note: These are used for literary, dramatic, or reverent expression. Everyday speech favors gender-neutral forms like tya-.

Pluralization

Plurality in Faespeak is indicated by a soft-sounding suffix, depending on the word type.

1. Plural Suffix -elai (general plural, especially poetic)

kaen (their light) → kame’aelai(their lights)

ael (soul) → aelelai (souls)

2. Plural Pronouns Already Include Plural Meaning

Prefixes like ka- (they) or tye- (we) imply plurality inherently, so pluralizing the object is optional depending on emphasis.

Negation

Negation in Faespeak is usually soft and elegant, avoiding harsh sounds.

Negation Particle: nei- It is placed before the verb root, following the pronoun prefix.

aeaeltheren (I offer myself) → aenei’aeltheren (I do not offer myself)

kaelyssar (they love) → kanei’lyssar(they do not love)

Alternative poetic negations:

veil- (impossibility, sacred no) — used in oaths or curses:

tyeveil’thelan (I shall never return)

noa- (gentle denial, refusal of feeling)

zyanoa’lyssar (I cannot love you)

Questions

1. Question Particle -aei? Placed at the end of the sentence.

syaeltheren shilthysaei? — "Do I offer myself in beauty?"

2. Interrogative Words: Faespeak English shael what thelai who naerys where eivaan why vaela when shaera how

Examples:

mi’shael aeltheren? — “What do you offer?”

lye’naerys, kleteia ? — “Where are you, beloved?”

tye’vaela norin velme’a? — “When shall we rise in light?”

Attachment Words in Faespeak  Meaning Faespeak (casual) Faespeak (poetic/formal) of –el –ael with sir sira by ver vera from thal thala for lai laith to en Ena

Meaning Faespeak Poetic Flavor / Usage in vel “within,�� with connotation of depth, emotion, or containment on sya “upon,” used poetically like “on the wind” or “on the path” under noul “beneath,” with undertones of secrecy, reverence, or burden above lira “above,” often used metaphorically (e.g., status, sky) into valen “into” as in moving toward, often goal- or emotion-oriented

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Don't hesitate to propose me words that don't exist here so I can fill my dictionnary. You can also propose your own word, have fun, I mostly tap one first letter, them keyboard slam, and delete some letter, change others and it give a word. I also use name from the fantasynamegenerator)

A

Aaerih — Parent (mother/father) Aaertah— Adoptive parents Aeltheren – To offer oneself Aestrel – Star Adgolor — Music Adonai - Supremacy Aeurial — Dawnlight Aien — Writer Ailmon — To purr Aldori — Monster Alosrin— Jewel Avareth – Wine Anhaern— Anger Annyl — Sexual relationship Aop— Snake Aphrosyne - Passion / Passionate Areb — To draw / To paint Arebiarys– drawing / painting (objects) Asili - Nature Aura – Celest / sky Aurelifay – Celestial fae Avarin – Bird Aya'lu - Light of my life (name) Az’ig — Wing

B

Baeig — Tooth Begizh— Human Bhî’zei— Story Bhraff— Amnesia Blawel— Buttock Blum– Flower Blumifay– Floral Fae Bozn— Lust / sex / sexuality Brelith– Honeycake Brézarh— Curse Bryjorh— Mosaic Bwye — Skin

C

Calen — Green Calo— Sun Carwenys — Principle Caryave— Apple Cernin– deer Chei’goch— Goodbye Chiftik— Insult (“jerk” or worse) Chîwen— Mirror image; reflection of the soul Chor— Black Ciradyl— Mouth Cithrel— Narrow Conall— Head Corleo — Cruel Corlain – To weave / To sew Crenai – To cry Crimsael – Stew Crystael - Ice

D

Dar – A Dance Dareth – To Dance Darnakyn –Taurs Daurien — Path Delven– To search / To explore Diket —Mage / Sorcerer Dî’thamg — Slave Dloj — Past Dmoieh— In front of Dor — Tall / Big Dor’Ypoj— High Priest/Priestess Draulin – Mushroom Dravel– Earth / Soil Drayth – To fall D’rea – Memory Dro— On / above Drovane – Thunder Drue— Foot Durafay – Rock fae Duravelle - Rock / Stone

E

Ebaze — Arrow Ehg — Eye(s) Eilrie — Baby Elaith— Forgiveness (earned after wrongdoing) Elatris— Pervert Eldrin— Attractive / sexy Elqen— Boob (vulgar) Ensys— Eye Ensysor— Eyes Equestrel– Horse Erika— Secret Erro– To be Eryndel— Snowflake Esgo Htreal — Die! (curse) Es’Grungvo — Go away! Esther— Cute / adorable

F

Fay - Fae Faylen –Fairy fae Fayrienne – Fire fae Fe — If Fea— Spirit Féàràno — Child Felorin– Cat Feluren – Sugar / Sugary / sweet Fenhia— Universe Feriah – War Ferethiar – A fight / battle Fereth – To fight Fih— Also Fireph — Alone / loneliness Folyir— Whisper / To whisper Fuog — Happy Fzaof— Toy

G

Galan — Peace Gah’rrvaus -​ Honor​​​Garnelai – Bread Geag’egz — Makeup Geagf — Box / container Gharthûn — Blood; sacred essence of life Gin — Sailor Giofayelle – Glass fae Gormak – Bear Got’ — Hello (casual) Gotcheite — Greeting (formal) Grejeon — Romantic relationship Greou — Chance / fate Grunmok– Dwarf Gruskyn – Pig / Boar Guoz— Breath

H

Halueve — Marriage / sacred union Heideen— Freedom / free Heirieth— War Hesvara— Song Hetho— Paper Hohj — Nothing / void Hogue — Adventure Holafiel— Artist Hre’szao — You're welcome Hulee– Gift / treasure Hyrin – To do Hyzag— Donkey

I

Iaerih — Sibling Iezp— Chicken Idall - Knowledge Iliren— Spouse Inaro— Breast (polite) Ineo - Mercy Ir’goet— Warmth / heat Irhîzr— Book Ithren— Dream / to dream Iyren– To sing Izohg — Pride

J

Jagji — Prince / Princess Jandar — Ears Jerief— Sky Jesdi— Duck Jîhf — Closed / locked Jeovis – Tender / sweet

K

Kailu — Nose Kaosi - Chaos Kaug— Here Kelorin — Feather Khënôs – Root / mind Kleteia – Beloved / my love Kraddakch ! — No way! / Absolutely not! Krystal — Crystal Kuom — Extinguished Kveag — Bath Kylin — Suicide Kyo — Shadow Kze— Yes

L

Laevyre — Touch; physical connection Larrel —Hair Leagui— Fish Legiog — Drunk Lhov — Clothing Loa — Pure Loky— Woman / girl Loraven — Feast Lothi— Orange (fruit) Lyssar – To love

M

Malvyfay – Ice fae Marnavay – Lava fae Marg ! — Good! / Excellent! Massyor — House Mî— Small / tiny Miralafay – Fungus fae Miriel – Petal Me’a — Light Melas– To see / To witness / To watch Meren – Water Miasys — Art Mîr – listening Miruun – Fish Mmig — Desire Morpheiros— To sleep Morraun – Jam Mujrr— Many / a lot Myshaal — lover Myrden– To grow (plants) Myrrh — Music

N

Nahlin – Tomorrow Namia — Fruit Narveth – To write Nasîr — Arm Natay - Death Natr — Birth Nary — Above Nelaeryn— Body Nerevae— River Niblin - Gnome Nieven — Temple / sacred place Niova – Neige Norin – To rise / To ascend Nu — Under / beneath Nue’z — Cold / frozen Nungh— How Nylvaen – Milk Nyvra – To cast (a spell ; doing magic)

O

Obuer — Road Oepz — Mirror Olovyre — Acrobat Oltréna— Silence; sacred or profound quiet Omabela— Wild / untamed O’mrys – Deity Ori’jeon— Sculptor Orz’eeag — Orange (color) ‘otchei’ — Hey! / Yo! (rude) Ozrehs — Mercy

P

Pezuo — Mystery Phîtha — Criminal Phîtumal — Crime Pratz— No Putle — Fat / big / large Pyez— Dog

Q

Qchatlho' — Thank you Qerh— Challenge Qiegz — Library Qîerhj— Magic / magical Qimyar — Penis Qithyra— Cheese Qizumin — In-law (parent of spouse) Quethal — Ghost; lingering soul Qu’ug — Rabbit

R

Raelith — Truth Ravasandoral — Harmony (relationship) Riev — Crazy Risar— Liar Rhik — Sugar Roï— Polite Roïzei — Politeness Runari– Goblin Runn’eh – Spare / leftover Ruvyn— Powder Rygna — Star

S

Saetha  — Blade; weapon or sharp edge Sachiel — Wise Saeros — Brave Sapheïros— Eternal Selmin – To hear Selyren – Elf / Elven Seralune – Water fae Serarna— Justice Serivarn – Lamia Shahorn— Foot Shal – To go / to leave / To depart Shil– Beauty Shilthys – Deep Beauty / very great beauty Siam — Power Sigrin— Man / boy Sîkn — Behind Sikarn– Spider Silnael – Fruit Sin— The (singular) Sinaht — Coral Sinao’— This one Sinor — The (plural) Siralei– Yesterday Solkyn – Dragon Solketh – Tart / pie Solvayn – To shine / To glow Shei— You Sylith – Sorrow Syllin – Wind Sylliafay – Wind fae Syvarn – Snake Syvrel – To grow (from child to adult / in size)

T

Tal — Town / village / city Tarven– To eat (human’s « Tavern » is a deformation of it) Telya — Money Te’pih— Open Tezih — Like / as Thalareen– Merfolk Thalun – To swim Tharen – To speak / To declare Thelan – To return / To come back Thelofay – Seasonal fae Tholgrin – Orc Threnkai – Wolf / dog Tivze — Friend Toed— Red Trelvar – Vegetable Tzigh — Horse

U

Uefu — King / Queen Ueguo— Traitor Ueza — Uterus Ugyf— Fire / flame Uiob—Alcohol Uizri— Laziness Ulafial — Leg Umbrifay– Shadow fae Uthoî — Doll

V

Va – Name Vaelorn – Tree Vaeril — Flexible / flexibility Vageiros — Face Vajyre — Adultery Vallamine — School / studies Varkanyr – Protection / armor / shield Varken – To protect/guard Vathyra — Belly Vaydran– Storm fae Velcendrafay – Ashen fae Vellenkai- Candy Velthir – To burn Veniel – To understand Vezif — Genie / djinn Vhratm fer — Shut up Vilkari – Kitsune Virelle– Moon Virelliasy – Moonlight Vlogrit' Korv — Good luck Vulrai – Fox Vynarme— Beautiful

W

Waesro — Hand Wegoriph — Castle / palace Wete — White Wherti ! — Idiot! Widzih — Birth / childbirth Wiizeb — Vampire

X

Xergb — Prayer Xer — To pray Xilxidor — Sympathy Xoz’erj— Gluttony Xyryra— Jerk (insult)

Y

Yeshice — Painter Yesthyra— To fail Yiert — Old Yindove— Religion Yzei — World Ylo— That / this Ysr — Very Yllasalor – Today Yzevc— Pirate

Z

Zeff – metal / acier / metallic Zepharun – Metal fae Zeipsh — Chocolate Zertn— Boat / ship Zîp’re — Waterfall Zirelle– Tea Zizhr — Rage Zoefay – Animal fae Zoevgir – Beastfolk Zyldan — Vagina Zylzorwyn— Alphabet Zyprigh — Imagination

Faes tend to use the same word for multiple animal from the same specie. They will call « cat » any type of feline, either lions, tiger or actual domestic cats. There is some exceptions.

Below are several Faespeak sentences constructed using this vocabulary and grammar rules:

1. sy’aeltheren shilthys

I offer myself in deepest beauty → sy-(I, personal) + aeltheren (offer self) +shilthys (deep beauty)

2. mi’fereth laith sin me’a sira loa (Or « mi’fereth me’a loa »)

You fight for the light with purity → mi-(you, formal) + fereth (to fight) + me’a(light) + loa (pure)

3. tye veil’thelan

I shall never return (sacred vow) → tye-(I, reverent) + veil- (sacred negation) + thelan (to return)

4. zya’lyssar sy’ael jeovis

I love your soul with sweetness → zya-(I, beloved) + lyssar (to love) + sy’ael(your soul) + jeovis (sweet)

5. tye’ithrelen hanorin fuog

We dream of rising in joy → tye-(we, communal) + ithren (to dream) +hanorin (to rise) + fuog(happy)

6. ka’nei’lyssar aelelai

They do not love souls → ka-(they) + nei- (negation) + lyssar(to love) + aelelai (souls, plural)

7. mi’shael ferethiar?

What battle do you fight? → mi-(you, formal) + shael (what) + ferethiar(battle)

8. lye’ailmon sirciradyl fuog

You purr with a happy mouth → lye-(you, beloved) + ailmon (to purr) +ciradyl (mouth) + fuog(happy)

9. sy’melas tya’ael aestrel

I see their soul as a star → sy-(I, personal) + melas (to see) + tya’ael(their soul) + aestrel (star)

10. ka’dareth dar fuog

They dance the dance of joy → ka-(they) + dareth (to dance) + dar(dance) + fuog (happy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faespeak Pronunciation System (Not Human-Compatible)

Overview:

Faespeak is meant to be sung as much as spoken, blending resonant, breathy, guttural, nasal, and tonal elements. Certain phonemes have emotional weight, not just sound. Most humans flatten or simplify Faespeak, failing to capture its full power.

Writing in tendrilis, alphabet by Anomalis

[writingprompt-ledgers]

Crafting a Fantasy Language: 25 Writing Prompts for World-Builders and Storytellers

Creating a unique language for your fantasy world is one of the most exciting and immersive ways to bring depth and authenticity to your world-building. It can shape how your characters interact, define their culture, and influence their history and magic systems.

But where do you start?

Below are 25 writing prompts to help you build a prosperous, culturally embedded language that feels as alive as the world you create.

Root Words and Origins

Start by developing core root words. For example, words like “life,” “death,” or “magic” are central to the culture. How do these root words evolve into other terms? Are they tied to mythology or historical events?

Phonetic Rules

What does your language sound like? Decide on familiar sounds and patterns. Do certain phonetic combinations carry spiritual or cultural significance? For instance, soft sounds are for peace, and harsh sounds are for power.

Honorifics and Titles

Design a system for titles and respect. Is there a specific way to address elders, warriors, or magical beings? Do different regions or classes use distinct honorifics?

Grammar Rules

Create unique grammar rules. How does your language handle sentence structure, tense, or gender? Is time expressed differently, or does your language have an untranslatable concept?

Cultural Influence on Language

How does culture shape the language? Does it have specific words for rituals, nature, or emotions that don’t translate directly into our languages? How do spiritual beliefs influence everyday speech?

Language Evolution Over Time

Write a brief history of how the language evolved. Did it splinter into dialects or undergo drastic changes? How does the ancient version of the language differ from the modern one?

Idioms and Metaphors

Create idioms reflecting the culture’s beliefs. What do they say to describe someone wise, foolish, or lucky? How do natural elements like mountains or storms influence these expressions?

Magical Incantations

Develop a system of magical language. Are there special words or sounds that must be used for spell-casting? How does the culture perceive these words—sacred or dangerous?

Formal vs. Informal Speech

Establish formal and informal registers in your language. How do characters speak to authority figures versus friends? Is formal speech more flowery or simply more rigid?

Writing System

Does your language use runes, symbols, or an alphabet? Is writing reserved for the elite or magical classes? The activation of certain words might require inscribing them on stone or parchment.

Emotion in Language

Examine how the language conveys emotions. Does it have words for nuanced feelings, like a specific term for unrequited love or a parent’s pride?

Sound Symbolism

Consider how the sound of a word reflects its meaning. For example, long vowel sounds might be used for beauty or calm, while short, sharp sounds are reserved for urgency or anger.

Names and Naming Conventions

Create naming traditions. Are names passed down or chosen based on events or personality traits? Does a name hold magical power, shaping one’s destiny?

Dialect and Regional Variations

Imagine how different regions or social groups speak. Does one region speak in a formal tone while another uses a clipped, more casual dialect? How do these differences cause misunderstandings?

Proverbs and Wisdom

Develop proverbs or sayings that reflect cultural wisdom. What does the culture say about offering advice or warning against danger? How are these proverbs tied to religion or folklore?

Cursing and Insults

Craft curse words or insults. What offends people in this culture? Are insults based on personal bravery, family honor, or physical appearance?

Historical or Dead Language

Create a dead language that was once widely spoken but only used in rituals. How does it influence the current language? Is it studied by scholars or magicians?

Gestures and Body Language

Does the culture rely on body language alongside speech? What gestures complement or emphasize words? Are there specific hand movements or bows tied to certain phrases?

Language and Religion

Explore the relationship between language and religion. Are there sacred words only spoken by priests or during rituals? Does the language invoke gods or magical forces?

Borrowed Words

Create words the language has borrowed from neighboring cultures. How have they been adapted, and what tensions exist between the borrowing and original cultures?

Linguistic Taboo

Are there forbidden words or phrases? How is breaking this taboo viewed—does it bring misfortune or divine wrath? Are these taboos tied to ancient magic or politics?

Wordplay and Riddles

Develop a tradition of wordplay or riddles. How do these reflect cultural values? Is wordplay used for humor, or does it hold deeper, more philosophical meaning?

Poetry and Song

Write a poem or song in your fantasy language. How does the structure of the language shape its poetic forms? Are certain sounds or words reserved for religious or ceremonial songs?

Powerful Words

In some cultures, words are believed to hold power. Write a scene where a character uses a single word to summon magic or change someone’s fate. What makes this word so powerful?

Silent Communication

Create a silent form of communication—hand signs or gestures used for secrecy, combat, or ritual. Who uses it, and why was it developed? How does it interact with spoken language?

Building a fantasy language isn’t just about creating a cool set of sounds or words—it’s about breathing life into your world. Every phrase, idiom, and root word carries cultural, historical, and magical weight, giving depth to your world’s characters and lore. Use these prompts to develop a language that feels alive and connected to the people who speak it.

Have you crafted a unique language for your world? Reply and tell me about the most exciting aspect of your creation.

[mortish-writes]

I'm still neck-deep in the Valdricht Heretic route for Night IV, so here's one more snippet. Note the ♥! The next update will be getting another quality of life improvement, adding in icons to show you when your choices are unique to your stats.

This particular ♥ is a bondweave check. You'll need a +25 bond with Valdricht to open the link, meaning you'll have to be a few points into your blue thread. You'll have a few opportunities to strengthen your bond on Night IV prior to this check. If you click it, your entire episode will change.

A little Wyransith lesson:

thy - you (affectionate/casual)

kyspa - (inf.) to sleep/rest

'vir - imperative modifier

When -'vir is attached to a verb, it becomes an imperative. On its own, "kyspa'vir" would be the equivalent of "sleep" as in "go to sleep." With the addition of thy, it becomes "you should sleep."

Obviously, Valdricht already repeats himself in your language because he likes you. This is just a breakdown to better understand the structure of Wyransith. It's also what happens when an English teacher makes an IF.

-Mortish

Bride of Shadows is an interactive fantasy romance novel, available on Itch.

[physalian]

On Writing Characters That Don't Or Can't Speak English

This such a fun dynamic, honestly and more fantasy and sci-fi should implement it. You don’t even have to design a fantasy language, although writing that character’s un-written dialogue constantly as narration might get old.

I haven’t done this with any real-world languages or cultures but a tiny advisory: Take care in how you describe the cadence, tonality, and gesticulations of characters meant to represent real world cultures speaking in their languages. You can get unintentionally discriminatory very quickly, so do your research and hire sensitivity readers.

With that said!

There’s a few points I want to cover here.

1. How your characters communicate without dialogue

This also concerns characters that cannot learn the dominant language, whether they’re a fantasy character that just can’t make those sounds, or they’re deaf or mute or have another disability that makes verbal communication difficult.

You have so many options and you can have so much fun with it. You can make your own version of a sign language or a code language that only your core characters or a group they belong to can communicate in. Create your own pidgin or medium of communication, like a soundboard of different tonalities or a thought-to-speech translator like a Speak n’ Spell, or an Etch A Sketch, or have a magic hologram subtitle display before them. Or like the Q*Bert dialogue bubbles in Wreck it Wralph where the translation is never given, only the detailed response so you can fill in the blanks.

One of my favorite cartoons is Transformers Prime. It’s based off the character designs from the Bay live action movies, not the original cartoons, so the machines they transform into are modern and updated and there’s a few references to the Bay movies’ lore sprinkled about, but not a required watch for appreciating the show.

In it, Bumblebee carries over his inability to speak due to a damaged voice box. I imagine he now communicates in a series of beeps and bleeps because the cartoon didn’t want to pay the licensing fees for Movie Bee’s jukebox dialogue, but it works way better here. Why? Because, I think, and I do not suffer from any speech impediments, that it better conveys the struggles of a disability.

Bee never speaks and his dialogue is never subtitled. The audience is only clued into what he’s saying when other characters respond to him in an unambiguous way so, like Q*Bert, you can fill in the blanks. He isn’t universally understood, either, only one human and the other transformers can understand him, so when he’s with other humans in a dangerous situation, their inability to bridge the language gap becomes a very real problem (that no one ever blames Bee for).

Also, Bee is never once insulted, belittled, demeaned, or mocked for his speech impediment and he’s a badass character in his own right. He’s not “the robot with the speech impediment” he’s “the badass sportscar scout with a heart of gold, and who also has a speech impediment”. The only time it’s talked about negatively is by the main villain, who’s trying to be an asshole about it, but even then, Megatron never thinks Bee is less capable for it, he just thinks everyone is lesser than himself across the board (Megatron is also responsible for his disability ‘cause Bee was captured and his interrogation went poorly, if you needed another exhibit of the Big M’s sadism).

Bee’s damaged voice box is almost never central to his arc, either. He gets one two-parter where he loses his ability to transform and takes it super hard, since he’s already damaged and sees himself as less useful than the rest of the team without this critical ability.

Again, I don’t have this disability so I can’t comment on how respectful it actually is to those who do, but from an outsider’s perspective, I think Bee is a fantastic example of empowering disabled characters and giving them substance beyond their disability—cannot comment on how they ended his arc and resolved the impediment, or that it was resolved at all.

2. How you describe those unwritten words

Doubling down here: Do your research so you aren’t stereotypical and insensitive, please.

Still going off the assumption that you aren’t just writing this dialogue in the other language for now, like a character who only speaks in Spanish and you have the dialogue there in Spanish that I may have to translate separately, like in Spiderverse, or the Gaelic in Outlander, neither of which were subtitled for non-native speakers.

Since you don’t have the dialogue there, you are relying entirely on tone of voice, gesture, volume, and facial expressions, so dial your descriptions of those up to eleven—especially if this is a character who over-gesticulates to better get their point across.

You can also have the characters they’re closest to pick up on a few of their common or significant phrases to convey the connection and friendship they share.

In Outlander, at least the first season when they’re actually in Scotland (easily the best season), there’s entire scenes in Gaelic and all you have as an audience member is their tone of voice and gesticulations, and sometimes you just have to presume the gist of the scene because an English speaker isn’t present and they only give the gist a few scenes later. One in particular comes at the end of the season after an extremely traumatic event that happened to Character A, arguing over why he wants to end his life to Character B. One would think that this gut wrenching dialogue would be critical to understanding the scene but the two actors go above and beyond conveying the critical emotions behind what they’re saying, so the words don’t even matter. If you were deaf, you’d understand the scene as effectively as someone who doesn’t speak Gaelic.

Can’t confirm but I think they did this very much on purpose because Gaelic isn’t getting any more commonly spoken and you’re meant to feel a little alienated by it and only those who know Gaelic can get the full scene, like it's just for them. Can’t confirm the accuracy of the dictation or translation of the language, either, but the ‘alienating’ effect always leaves me utterly fascinated by the language. You cannot ignore the Gaelic to just drone through the subtitles, you have to pay attention.

3. How that character bumbles through the dominant language

This one is for non-disabled bi or multilingual characters or those who could learn the dominant language but haven’t had the time or opportunity. Depending on the character’s skill with the language, they can Spanglish their way through with awkward parsing still using their native languages grammar rules.

I can’t speak to this, I only know very clunky Spanish. I can say my efforts to speak in Spanish are always done in excitement as I get the chance to practice this language, and then the pressure to translate on the spot has me forgetting words I definitely know how. I get by, even if my conjugations are botched, and me, looking as I do, definitely catch people off guard when I respond to them in Spanish, generally followed by smiles at my attempts.

Just recently I had to perform tech support for a family in my apartment complex. They needed to print a thing and the printer wasn’t connecting. We gestured and pointed our way through getting their files onto my USB drive and plugging that direct into the printer, and doing one copy at a time, it was a whole thing with me bumbling through printer tech support in basic Spanish because they didn’t know a single word of English. But by god, we did it.

4. The conflicts that arise from mismatched dialogue

On a more big picture level, miscommunication through to a mistranslation can range from comedic to critically life-threatening, and it can be a recurring hurdle for the character or team to consider and plan for.

Comedy wise, mistranslations can be hilarious. Characters blanking on the word they need and being entertainingly frustrated, or taking a roundabout way to get to the word they need by piecing it together. Characters who don’t get a joke that only native speakers would know, or translating a joke in their language that isn’t as funny in another language without the other parlance.

Or just two characters who have to cooperate to survive and who don't have a common language to make that cooperation easier. I *love* gratuitously violent action movies and just the action genre in general, even if the story is cheesy or dumb. One of those movies is Alien vs Predator. In it, eventually, Protagonist 'enemy of my enemy's her way into an alliance with one of the Predators, against the much larger Xenomorph threat.

He doesn't speak anything other than growls and she only speaks English and though the movie overexplains many things (probably because the producers didn't trust the audience like the writers did), they have several moments together where he has to give her critical survival information, like "I have a failsafe bomb with a very short delay we need to run right now" and "Use this meat shield to protect yourself against their acid blood" and "You're an honorary Predator warrior now I must do this ritual for you" and can only mime his way through it, and through the power of gesture and charades, they make it work.

Drama wise, I live for big problems coming unexpectedly from small, human mistakes. One translation error can snowball into some horrible consequences.

—

Big picture, though, you do your fantasy or sci-fi world a disservice by not considering multiple languages, even if you don’t write them, or multilingual characters and the problems and world biases that arise from these different groups. Dead languages, rare languages, languages associated with the villain group or minorities. Languages that only one character is fighting to keep alive, or a language that, when spoken, comes with some sinister side effects (like Parseltongue or the Black Speech, the language of Mordor).

It really adds to the immersion when you have an expansive story that doesn’t just assume English/Common is the law of the land, or that all your fantasy/alien species can or want to speak it.

[yandereunsolved]

LGBTQ+ Gerudo Terms (headcanons)

ღ Vae — trans

ღ Voi — non-binary

ღ Sav'q — queer

ღ Var — trans-man

ღ Vaer — trans-woman

ღ Sav — agender

ღ Vov'aq — gender queer

ღ Zwe'aq — bigender

ღ Alle'aq — pangender

ღ Sava'aq — genderfluid

ღ Vehaer — demi-girl

ღ Vehar — demi-boy

ღ Eir — gay

ღ Eier — lesbian

ღ Zwes — bisexual

ღ Alles — pansexual

ღ Vieles — omnisexual

ღ Nie'q — asexual

ღ Oteneuq — questioning

ღ Vo'uq — intersex

ღ Sav'q oten — neo/other pronouns

彡 taglist: @moonhasmanyanimals @cxndiedvi0lets @bleper

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

So a fun fact about me is that I ADORE worldbuilding, both learning about other constructed worlds and developing a constructed world of my own. So I was thinking that I might do a little series on worldbuilding, where I talk about concepts and successes in worldbuilding with examples from the Grishaverse (and maybe from my world too…?). Let me know if you guys would be interested in that :)