Languages
Overview
The world of Antæra is vast and diverse, with many different civilizations and cultures. One of the effects of this is the development of languages that are as diverse as the places they come from. They are created by the various cultures in the world and are influenced by many things, such as the pressures of the plane or divine intervention. Some may even be directly descended from, or related to, other languages. The languages presented here are unique to this world, and any languages present in base D&D, such as Sylvan and Gith, are still present. The given list of languages is incomplete and will be added when new languages are discovered over the course of time.
Languages of the Prime Material Plane
Ancient Antæran
This language is said to be the oldest language on the Prime and is only found in modern times in ruins and ancient texts. It is considered a dead language as no known living creatures fluent in it are alive anymore. Elven scholars believe it was the language spoken by their Eladrin ancestors, though all evidence of this was lost at the turn of the 2nd Era due to the disappearance of the Ancient Antærans. It is not used in modern society by anyone other than archaeologists wishing to study this ancient civilization.
Common
Originally brought to Antæra by the adventurers and heroes from their lost reality, this language flooded into the rest of the world like wildfire. It appeared to be simple enough for even the least intelligent creatures to understand but also complex enough to be used for scholarly pursuits. If they are intelligent enough to speak, most of the creatures in the world can be found speaking this language. This language dates back to the 4th Era, though it is usually only utilized when speaking to members of a race other than one's own.
Imperial
Imperial is the language of the humans who were originally brought over from their own reality when Ukrol fled his original reality, bringing his human children with him. Human scholars posit that this was the common language from their original reality and was also invented by humanity. This language is primarily spoken inside the New Haven Imperium and in the areas that they conquer. The Imperium forces the inhabitants of the lands they conquer to learn this language to integrate them further into Imperial society.
Smallfolk
Originally handed down to the gnomes by their deity Orion, several other dialects were also handed down to the various other smallfolk races created by Orion. The dialects include Dwarven, Gnomish, Goblin, and Halfling. Though they all use the same alphabet, they are all spoken wildly different, with their only similarities being their origins and alphabet. Unlike other languages with derivative dialects, speakers of these dialects cannot understand the others on a base level.
Languages of the Parallel and Inner Planes
Argentæl
This language is a descendant of ancient Elvish, having evolved and adapted over centuries due to the influences of the fey inhabiting the Feywild. The phonetics of Argentæl carry the melodic and fluid qualities characteristic of Elvish, mixed with the mystical language of the Fey. This blending created a lyrical and fluid language capable of expressing complex magical and natural concepts of the world around them. Argentæl's writing system reflects its elegant and intricate heritage, using characters as beautiful as they are complex, often resembling the intricate patterns one might find in the natural world or the artful creations of the fey.
Primordial
This language is as old as time itself and is spoken almost exclusively by elementals intelligent enough to be capable of speech. This language is broken down into four unique dialects: Aquan, Auran, Ignan, and Terran. While the different dialects are unique to each other in speech patterns, they use the same vocabulary and alphabet. Because of this, non-native speakers who train in one dialect can usually understand the meaning behind what is being spoken in the other dialects but cannot fully understand what is being said. However, the different dialects appear the same when written down, and anyone who can understand one can read any other Primordial dialect.
Languages from the Outer Planes
Durazian
Originally developed as a sort of creole of Celestial, Dwarven, and Gith, this language became its own unique language over a few generations as the warforged who used it gained their freedom from their masters in the House of Fabrication. The House of Fabrication made many attempts to stop its spread, but it was futile as it is impossible to stop its spread throughout a race spread out across the entire multiverse. This language is commonly criticized as a bastardization by the general populace of the Outer Planes. However, in other places, it is considered a unique language with complexities and expressions that are not present anywhere else. It is not commonly used in scholarly pursuits but is studied extensively by anthropologists in the Outer Planes and is used as a common topic of academic discussion. Due to the mechanical nature of its native speakers, it is difficult to speak for anyone who is not a warforged or other metallic construct, as it requires specific sounds and tones that only a person made of metal can truly make.
Vorian
Vorian is the ancient and feared language spoken by the monstrous denizens of the multiverse, blessed by the unholy goddess Vortressa. Known for its guttural sounds and distinctive clicks, Vorian is impossible to speak for those not touched by Vortressa's dark power. This language is characterized by its harsh and jagged phonetics, including uvular fricatives and a range of complex clicks. The script, composed of jagged and angular shapes, mirrors the menacing aesthetic of the monstrous culture that spawned it. Used in rituals and prayers, the ability to speak Vorian is a sign that Vortressa has taken an interest in an individual and is used as a rite of passage for cultists dedicated to Vortressa.
Celestial
This language is commonly mistaken as the language of goodly outsiders, such as angels and devas. While they speak a dialect of it, they are not its only speakers. The language of Celestial refers to what most inhabitants of the Outer Planes speak. The name Celestial derives from the Outer Planes being considered the "celestial realms" in many cultures, and other objects found in the Astral Plane are considered "celestial objects." It has many dialects that are spoken by many people: Luminaran is spoken by goodly outsiders, Infernal is spoken by the inhabitants of the Hell Worlds, Abyssal is spoken by the inhabitants of the Abyssal Realms, and Etheric is spoken by the common peoples of the Outer Planes. All of these dialects use the same script and alphabet, though the only two dialects similar enough to understand each other on a base level are Abyssal and Infernal.
Ogoroth
The name Ogoroth was assigned to this language by the non-natives who hear it, though its true name is unintelligible to the scholars who attempt to record it. It is the alien language spoken exclusively by the aberrant denizens of the Far Realms. It is known for its alien syntax and structure, which defy the linguistic conventions of more commonly known languages. Its phonetics include a range of sounds that most normal humanoid vocal tracts cannot produce, featuring guttural clicks, inhumanly extended hisses, and vibrations that can resonate in multiple dimensions simultaneously. Due to its complex and otherworldly nature, Ogoroth is only comprehensible to creatures with similarly alien minds, such as mind flayers, beholders, and other entities that inhabit or originate from the Far Realms. The language’s grammar and vocabulary encapsulate concepts beyond the understanding of typical beings, often relating to esoteric aspects of reality manipulation, existential and cosmic horror, and other abstract concepts.