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Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jun 2021 : 22:37:54
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Hello!
First time posting on Candlekeep (but a regular reader) so I hope i've posted this in the right section!
I have looked everywhere for this information but not been able to find it. I have read in various places that dragons are born with some element of ancestral memory and are quite capable of communicating in draconic from a very early age; am I right in this? If that is the case what form does that draconic take? Do all dragons accross Toril speak in the exact same form of draconic or does it vary?
My own imagination always led me to the conclusion that it would be monolithic in the same way as English is broadly the same throughout the world but also very different. If draconic is the same how does it differ; is it more regional or based on species lines? Do dragons in Tethyr have the same dialect for instance or is it more a matter of Greens speaking in lyrical verbose prose while Whites are short and snappy, for instance?
Does this pass along to half-dragon descendants? I imagine at least some half-dragons must get snippets of ancestral memory?
I'd be interested in hearing peoples thoughts on this; not sure why this fascinates me so much!
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Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
958 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2021 : 23:24:00
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| Think of Draconic as Common among dragons. Species may have accents,dialects or even distinct languages as humans differ between Chondathan and Chultan. I hasten to add Aurugrakh as Auld Wyrmish is rare even among older dragons. Think of Aurugragk to Draconic in the same vein as Loross to Netherese. |
Edited by - Delnyn on 12 Jun 2021 23:27:08 |
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Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2021 : 00:20:07
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| Thanks for the reply! That brings up an interesting point; if draconic is something dragons are born knowing what would account for there being an older version of the language? Afterall if humans were born with an innate knowledge of ancient Babylonian it seems unlikely they would have put any additional effort into creating more languages? |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2021 : 02:55:34
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Well, being separated by a dimensional barrier would count as that. That's why there is differences between Glave (the draconic language used by all dragons on Toril) and Aklave (the draconic used by all dragons in Abeir, Toril twin world from a parallel world). Glave and Aklave means the same thing, "to converse" or "to speak", yet the pronunciations are different. However, since draconic is a language that is learned instinctively rather than by traditional means, the diferences are only some pronunciation stuff (Abeiran draconic changes "x" into "sh", for instance; so, "aurix", the draconic word for gold in Glave, is "aurish" in Aklave"). This also means that draconic from other worlds, such as Oerth (Greyhawk) and Eberron, is bound to have differences with the draconic of the Forgotten Realms.
There is also the matter that other creatures using draconic as their mother tongue (such as kobolds and dragonborn) are more social than dragons themselves, and have created new words that later are incorporated into the main draconic by the dragons. Dragonborn of Tymanther, for instance, use the Aklave dialect, but have modified it as they have added more social words that dragons normally don't use, such as the word "sathi" ("dude"), and is obviously a word only humanoids would use in a conversation, lol
In fact, according to Races of the Dragon (3.5e sourcebook), some elves scholars theorize that the written form of draconic (named Iokharic in recent editions) wasn't created by the dragons, as they have little necessity to write anything, but actually was created by kobolds and the dragons just adopted it many centuries later. So this would answer why the draconic, monolithic as it is, has different dialects. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 13 Jun 2021 03:04:36 |
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Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2021 : 10:17:38
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| Thanks that actually makes alot of sense! So its more the matter of being born knowing draconic but, being surrounded by lots of different outside stimuli, coming up with differences in pronunciation and borrowing words from other groups? |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2021 : 16:39:08
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| Yeah, that seems to be the case. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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The Draconic Language and Dialects
