Languages of Pb

 IODINIAN

Iodinian- The lingua franca of the Iodine Empire’s domain. Sounds like potatoes sizzling on a pan. Puritans deride the slew of loanwords that have crept in over the course of Imperial expansion, and it takes a Proficiency of at least 3 to remove them from one’s vocabulary, though those loanwords allow one to say basic idioms and phrases in all languages marked with an asterisk.

Low Chemoglyphic*- This language, with a script closely resembling a mix between chemical formulas and sacred geometry, is the preeminent tongue of the Church of Her Red Word, in which most Poetic holy books are written. Sounds like the war-cry of an angel. It is an aping of High Chemoglyphic, the language of magic, and one’s Proficiency in High Chemoglyphic is automatically 1 less than one’s Proficiency in Low Chemoglyphic.

CHURLIAN

Minespeak*- This language developed as the result of Imperial mining conscription, and it is the discordant blend of the Old Song and Iodinian. It is most frequently heard in Imperial mine-cities in the Fields, and sounds like rocks colliding with each other as they roll down a hill.

Old Song- This is the oldest widely-surviving form of oral communication, flourishing in the face of the Empire’s attempts to wipe it out. It is a music as much as it is a language, with rhythm and pitch endowing as much meaning as syntax and pronunciation. It sounds like the cries of a mother bird set to Gregorian chant. All who sing along understand some fragment of the phrase’s meaning, and even CHurlian animals are capable of such.

Symbography- More of a pictographic system than a language, Symbography is the visual language of the Churlian tribes. Appearing like Art Deco petroglyphs, they record the mythic history of the Churlian tribes from the Bridge Age and before on towering cairns the Empire have been fervently demolishing since before colonial efforts began.

SACCHARINIAN

Gluci*- The high-class brogue of the Dynastic sugar-crystal palaces. Due to its nuanced tonality and subtle consonant differentiations, it pairs suspiciously easily with Jabber, and as such any speaker has equal Proficiency in Jabber while speaking Gluci. Sounds like golden scissors gently slipping through a bolt of silk.

Chitter- The language of lepers, the itinerant, and the sugar-crystal crabs that make their nest in the glucose spires. Even knowing how to speak it is enough to make you a pariah in high society circles, which is why “chittertongue” is such a popular insult the world over. It’s almost entirely click-based, and sounds like tapping wet pieces of glass together. All lepers intuitively know how to speak it, their Proficiency growing with their symptoms.

BURSINGR

Fjordi*- The language of the low-elevation Bursingr peoples, those who live on glacier-barges and in caves carved into snow-clad cliff-faces. Coldwind speakers regard Fjordi speakers with condescension, but Fjordi serves the trade tongue of the confederate. Sounds like a reed flute after being submerged in mud.

Coldwind- The language of the high-elevation Bursingr peoples, so insular and storied that some people regard them as a myth. Coldwind allows a speaker to hear what the wind is saying, so long as it chills the bone as it whispers. Sounds like a last breath at the hands of a silent strangler.

GOLGOTHAN

Geol- A close cousin to the Old Song, Geol is closely guarded by the sages and griots of the principalities. It is an entirely oral tradition, and allows one to speak the languages of stones, minerals, sufficiently bastardized metals, and potentially dead ancestors, as well as know the resonant frequency of any object with a glance. Masterful speakers of Geol can make mountains tremble and boulders fragment. Geol sounds like the clacks of thousands of magnets colliding and repelling.

Earthbound- The language of the exiles banished to rest their calloused feet upon the scorched, accursed ground. Pity the poor pilgrim who mumbles their prayers in the tongue of the outcasts. Earthbound sounds like rain evaporating out of a steel bowl. Gain Proficiency in Earthbound when exiled from the suspended cities of the principalities.

Ediph*- The primary language of the Golgothan jungles and mesas at large. It is in Ediphisian script that the first of the world’s religious texts are written, and some linguists claim that there are ten thousand words for divinity. Jury’s out on whether this is hyperbole or not. Each principality has its own dialect, which you can put Proficiency in to be more highly regarded by the constituents of that principality. Sounds like hearts beating in time to an eschatological liturgy.

OTHER

Vermin*- The language of Verminfolk, occasionally appropriated symbolically by marginalized communities or rebellious organizations. Originating from Haven, the metal insect city in the star-shadow of the Husk, this language sounds like the buzzing and whirring of a plague of locusts. Most insects can understand its rudiments.

Jabber- This is not a language in and of itself, but rather, a way of speaking a language that subtly implies either a hidden message or the exact opposite of what is stated. Everyone understands sarcasm or facetious tones, for example, but one who is Proficient in Jabber can endow their words with more sophisticated alternate meanings, up to a point where advanced Jabbertongues can have two conversations at once. Comes in two mutually intelligible dialects; Cant, the language of thieves, and Doublespeak, the language of politicians.

Blade- The language of warriors and of the weapons they wield alike. Learning Blade and combat training are almost indistinguishable, and any seasoned tactician worth their salt would pay a soldier who knows Blade extra. It sounds like blood ecstatically swimming out from its prison and kissing its steel liberator in joy. You gain Proficiency in Blade every time you win a formal duel with your primary weapon.

Heretic- The blasphemous tongue of those who revel in the ways that came before the Poetic sects. Knowing but a word of it labels you an enemy of the state in the highest order no matter where you find yourself. One can learn Heretic not through study, but through pain; when one emerges from torture with their spirit unbroken and their faith intact, they gain 1 Proficiency in Heretic. Sounds like the noises of a phantom pursuer one hears while alone in the forest.

Lunacy- The language of the Lunatic Harmony, a fringe religious sect that believes in something strange called a “moon”. Apparently it is what provides the Æther’s luminosity, and is a big orb of… rock? Cheese? Something like that. They’re not taken very seriously on the large stage. Sounds like the gentle burbling of goldfish typing on typewriters, whatever those are.

LANGUAGE RULES: Start with 4 + WITS Proficiency to put into languages. 1 Proficiency means that you can speak snippets of a language with a heavy accent, but enough to get by for a day or two. It also means that you can differentiate between the writings and verbalizations of languages within the same family as yours. 2 Proficiency means you can speak basic sentences with a limited vocabulary, but approach fluency. 3 Proficiency is equivalent to a native speaker who doesn’t specialize in language use and serves as 1 Proficiency in languages of the same family. 4 Proficiency is rare even among intellectuals, representing an incredible grasp of linguistic function and manipulation. There are more languages than exist on these lists, and not everything written here is necessarily true.

Again, this one’s just for me. I tried to synthesize some cool things that my forebears had done with language, and I think I still have more to do in making these languages more interesting, but I have enough that I can get to the table and improvise, particularly because I mostly wanted these in place to start making commentary on interlinguistic power dynamics, and these do that as-is just fine. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.