Languages

Little canon detail is provided about the grammatical or phonological structure of most languages. Often there is little more than a set of names of places and people within the related cultures. Some have been loosely linked to Earth's human languages, but that is often no more than a flavour to help the DM. There are no strict rules as to how these linkages should be applied and there is no actual link between Earth and Aebrynis in the lore. However, some possible further language linkages have been suggested in the Languages of Birthright table.

Over time, it is stated that there has been some influence between the Cerilian languages. Sidhelien was particularly influential in the evolution of the human tongues; in fact, the Andu borrowed freely from the elvish alphabet when devising their writing system. Similarly, the Brecht writing system was based on the Karamhul runes. For most languages, there are no details of their writing system, if they have one. Some languages like Sidhelien and Basarji are known to have changed little over time.

Of course, the pronunciations of words and grammatical preferences within any language differ slightly between communities but it can be presumed that all speakers of the same language can understand each other regardless. For example, elves from any realm can speak Sidhelien to each other, even if the vowels and intonation of those from the Erebannien are different to those from Rhuobhe or Tuarhievel or the Sielwode or even the Seelie Court. Each dialect though may still have a few words and quirks that may cause some short-term confusion for non-native speakers, including an accent that may help a community identify whether a speaker is local or not.

Modern Anuirean is descended from the Andu language and uses the Anuirean alphabet.

The Rjurik peoples adopted the Anuirean alphabet, although they modified it for their own use. A person literate in Anuirean can pronounce Rjuven written words, although he cannot determine their meaning and syntax.

• Rjurik names
  

The language of the Brechts has a heavy, Germanic ring and follows many typically Germanic rules. The Brechts borrowed dwarven runes as the model for their written language, but Brecht has evolved to the point that a reader of Brecht can no longer read dwarven rune-letters.

There are two versions of the Brecht language in use - the older High Brecht and the more common Low Brecht.

The Basarji brought their own language to Cerilia and developed their alphabet independent of outside influence. The language is Arabic in appearance and sound, with a strong Mediterranean flavour. Little different exists between the language spoken by the Khinasi today and that spoken by their ancestors.

• Basarji names
  

The folk of Vosgaard do not have a written language. However a set of runic symbols is widely used for marking possessions and for counting.

• Vos names