Languages
From TheManaWorld
This article is currently only a proposal
The features or design guidelines described in this article are only a proposal made by one or some persons. It has not been evaluated or accepted by the core development team yet. Feel free to add your personal opinion about them or make counter proposals.
This is a basic compilation of the (fictional) languages used in-game. I will be adding more to these as I continue.
Common: This is basically English. Menus, dialogs, etc. will be in this language.
Sparron: Name pending.
Tritan: Name pending.
Ifriton: Name pending.
Aether: Name pending.
Since we don't know what the names are yet, I'll give a basic outline of each of the languages. Once things get set into stone, I can move this all to individual pages.
Sparron
The idea is that the language is composed mostly of mono-syllablic clicks, mixed with some "normal" syllables as well. The written language itself is very complex, trying to embody air itself on earth. Many stops and other diatric marks appear in this language, making it more difficult for foreigners to learn.
The syllables used in the written and spoken language are as follows: A (ah), e (eh), i (eye), y (ee), pa (pah), py (pee), lta (lyah), lyi (lie), ra (lah), re (leh), ri (rye), vy (vee), va (vah), sa (sah), ba (bah), ke (keh), ka (kah), ky (key), ha (hah), he (heh), ma (mah). These may be combined in any combination as you see fit. Any of the consonants ending in 'a' may be changed to a single constant with the addition of a diatonic mark. As such, ma becomes m', etc. Naturally the Sparron language would not use an apostrophe, seeing as how they have their own written language. The word Sparron itself would appear as S'par'ram' in the Sparron language. When translating into Common, however, the words become truncated. As such all diatonic marks are left out and m' sometimes becomes n. There are other diatonic marks, however they are used mostly in formal situations and almost never in names.
The royal dynasty of Sparron is Kes'h'ram' (Keshlam), of which a notable leader was Sab'baras' (Sabborus). The Sparron do not make any distinction between male and female seeing as how they are almost identical physically. Thus, names are not chosen based off this fact, but are instead chosen for events or deeds performed during the person's life. A strict social rule is that Sparron children may not be named until they are at least 3 years of age, at which time it is customary to name them for something they are associated with. Sabborus, for instance, was named after the Sabborus tea that he loved as a child. The tea is a common export of the Sparron and the main ingredient only grows on their island. Although the small nuances for names change depending on both personal opinion and clan families, there are some general rules that are often carried out.
Am' is a common combination in the Sparron language and is heard frequently in speech. Due to their swift yet gentle nature, the Sparron tend not to use hard-to-pronounce combinations such as Ltara or vykyy. Of course, what they consider hard-to-pronounce is often quite different from what we might! Another common syllable in both names and speech is kyma, most likely because one of the Sparron words for 'Air' is Kymar'lta. As they live their life day in and day out of air, the Sparron have developed several words for the single word 'air,' of which kymar'lta is but one. A very common combination in names is s'ea, often being added to the end of an already complete name! It is not uncommon for an old and skilled warrior to add s'ea to the end of their name when retiring. Nobody is quite sure what the meaning of the syllables is, but the Sparron seem to take a great liking to them, almost to the point of holy reverence.
