Languages of Thelemar

In Thelemar, languages have a central role in communication and the fostering of foreign relationships. They carry both cultural and practical significance, and knowing a language often opens new opportunities and pathways for those who care to study. This page is the hub for the tongues of the world; each links to its own page.

Common and its dialects

Common is the language spoken throughout the lands of Thelemar, evolved from the old language of the Empire. Its writing carries Tone Indicators as an integral part of the script, and it splits into five recognised dialects that share a root yet challenge one another’s ears:

• Lexalian - the mercantile dialect of the Lexalian Republic.
• Olympian - the liturgical dialect of the Holy Theocracy.
• Jaknian - the terse, military dialect of the Jaknian Conglomerate.
• Clairnian - the sung, pitch-rich dialect of Clairnia.
• Hubian - the traders’ creole of the Hub.
• Old Common - the near-dead ancestral tongue of the Empire, kept alive by monks and inscribed on Teleportation Circles.

Exotic tongues

The species-tongues of Thelemar, each shaped by the people who speak it:

• Skyspeak (Avian) - the whistling, mimicry-built tongue of the Tengu and Kenku.
• Mictlānian - the guttural infernal tongue of tieflings, gnolls, and the fiends of Mictlān.
• Jötunn - the Language of Giants, spoken by ogres, goliaths, and firbolgs.
• Gob - the honorific-bound tongue of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears.
• Trunkodon - the memory-language of the Loxodons, with its generational tenses.
• Felis - the percussive, song-hidden tongue of the Tabaxi.
• Minotaur - the oath-binding herd tongue of the Minotaur clans.

Planar and ancient tongues

Languages that predate, or stand apart from, the Empire’s lineage:

• Draconic - one of the oldest tongues, language of dragons and of magic.
• Sylvan - the truth-bound tongue of the Feywyld.
• Stygian - Sylvan’s lie-capable corruption, spoken in the Shadow Realm.
• Primordial - the four elemental dialects (Ignan, Auran, Aquan, Terran).
• Celestial - the gravitas-laden languages of the gods.

Cants and codes

Not every form of secret speech is a true language. Thieves’ Cant and Druidic are coded registers carried within other tongues - the former among thieves, the latter among druids - rather than languages of their own.

Appendix

Sources & Attribution

• Primary lore: editions/5e-2014/world/languages.md (Traveler’s Guide, Origins of Thelemar → Languages), author TrueMichato.
• Superseded original: the earlier content/General/Languages.md (which mapped languages to real-world inspirations and used some older names), backed up at content/private/_originals/General/Languages.md and Languages.original.md.

Languages

Languages

Languages of Thelemar

Common & Dialects	Common Lexalian Olympian Jaknian Clairnian Hubian Old Common
Exotic Tongues	Skyspeak Mictlānian Jötunn Gob Trunkodon Felis Minotaur Beastspeech
Planar & Ancient	Draconic Sylvan Stygian Primordial Celestial

Link to original