Linguistics

The following languages are available to players. Each language family is taken as a separate Linguistics Ability. You start with a free Trait in one language family as your native language, as well as one of the dialects from that family as a free Specialization. Experience Traits can be spent on Linguistics to increase knowledge in a family, or to get access to a new family of languages. You many purchase a dialect as a Specialization for any family you know. You automatically succeed any Test to converse in your Specialization dialect.

While Latin is the official language of the Roman Empire, Common Greek became used as a shared language in the eastern Mediterranean region as a result of Alexander the Great's conquests in the 4th century BCE. Trilingualism is not uncommon among educated people who came from regions where a language other than Latin or Greek is spoken.

^{(See:Languages of the Roman Empire)}

† represents a language or dialect no longer spoken by the common mortal during the game's time period. Knowledge of it should be explained through your character's backstory. Names of languages and dialects are italicized.

Families

Europa

Aegean

• Ancestral language: Minoan^† (prior to 1400 BCE)
• Writing systems: Minoan hieroglyphs, Minoan and Cypriot syllabaries, Etruscan and Old Italic alphabets
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Eteocretan^† (As a dialect of Minoan^† that came after their civilization collapse)
  • Eteocypriot^†
  • Rhaetic (Dialect: Camunic^†)
  • Etruscan (Dialects: Nuragic, Ligurian)
  • Lemnian^†

Armenian

• Ancestral language: Old Armenian^† (prior to 1100 BCE)
• Writing system: unwritten
• Single language:
  • Armenian

Balkan

• Ancestral language: Old Balkan^† (prior to 1500 BCE)
• Writing systems: Greek and Latin alphabets
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Dacian (Dialect: Getaen)
  • Thracian (Dialects: Dardanian, Mysian, Paeonian)
  • Illyrian (Dialects: Liburnian, Messapian)

Balto-Slavic

• Ancestral language: Balto-Slavic^† (prior to 2000 BCE)
• Writing system: unwritten
• Main languages:
  • Baltic
  • Slavic

Celtic

• Ancestral language: Old Celtic^† (prior to 800 BCE)
• Writing systems: Greek, Old Italic, and Latin alphabets (continental), unwritten (insular)
• Transalpine Celtic dialects:
  • Gaulish, Galatian, Noric
• Cisalpine Celtic:
  • Lepontic^†
• Hispano-celtic dialects:
  • Gallaecian, Celtiberian^†
• Insular Celtic dialects:
  • Brittonic, Goidelic

Germanic

• Ancestral language: Old Germanic^† (prior to 500 BCE)
• Writing system: unwritten
• Germanic dialects:
  • Ingvaeonic, Irminonic, Istvaeonic
• Nordic language:
  • Norse

Hellenic

• Ancestral language: Mycenaean^† (prior to 1000 BCE)
• Writing system: Greek alphabet
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Common Greek (Older regional dialects: Attic Greek^†, Doric Greek^†, Ionic Greek^†, Aeolic Greek^†, Arcadian Greek^†, Epic Greek)
  • Macedonian^†
  • Phrygian
  • Sicanian^†

Hispanic

• Writing systems: Iberian and Tartessian syllabaries, unwritten
• Main languages:
  • Aquitanian
  • Iberian
  • Tartessian^†

Italic

• Ancestral language: Old Italic^† (prior to 1000 BCE)
• Writing systems: Old Italic and Etruscan alphabets; later, Latin alphabet
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Latin (Older dialects: Old Latin^†, Faliscan^†)
  • Sabellic dialects: Oscan, Umbrian^†, Piscene^†
  • Venetic^†
  • Siculian^†

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Asia

Anatolian

• Ancestral language: Old Anatolian^† (prior to 2500 BCE)
• Writing systems: Anatolian hieroglyphs, Hittite cuneiform, Lydian and Lycian alphabets
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Hittite^† (Dialect: Elymian^†)
  • Luwian^† (Dialect: Milyan^†, Lycian^†, Carian^†, Sidetic^†, Pisidian)
  • Lydian
  • Palaic^†

Aryan

• Ancestral language: Old Aryan^† (prior to 1800 BCE)
• Writing systems: Persian cuneiform, Parthian abjad, unwritten
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Sanskrit (Dialect: Prakrit)
  • Persian (Dialects: Old Persian^†, Median, Parthian)
  • Scythian (Dialects: Cimmerian^†, Bactrian, Sakan, Chorasmian)
  • Avestan

Caucasian

• Writing system: likely unwritten
• Main languages and dialect:
  • Georgian
  • Zan
  • Svan
  • Hattic^† (Dialect: Kaskian^†)

Central Semitic

• Writing systems: Aramaic, Nabataean, North Arabian, and Phoenician abjads, and some other various older abjads and cuneiforms
• Arabic dialects:
  • Arabic (Old Arabic^† prior to 700 BCE), Nabataean Arabic, Hismaic, Safaitic, Dadanitic
• Aramaic dialects:
  • Aramaic (Imperial Aramaic^† prior to 200 BCE), Nabataean Aramaic, Ashurian, Syriac, Samalian^†
• Canaanite dialects:
  • Phoenician, Punic, Hebrew, Edomite, Ammonite^†, Moabite^†
• Amorite dialects:
  • Amorite^†, Ugaritic^†, Taymanitic^†

East Semitic

• Writing systems: Akkadian and Assyrian cuneiforms
• Main languages and dialects:
  • Akkadian^† (Dialects: Assyrian^†, Babylonian)
  • Eblaite^†

Elamite^†

• Writing systems: Elamite cuneiform and Elamite syllabary
• Single language:
  • Elamite^†

Mitanni^†

• Writing system: Assyrian cuneiform
• Main languages:
  • Hurrian^†
  • Urartian^†
  • Kassite^†

South Semitic

• Writing systems: South Arabian abjad, unwritten
• Main languages and dialects:
  • South Arabian dialects: Sabaean, Minaean, Quatabanic, Hadramitic
  • Ethiopic

Sumerian^†

• Writing system: Sumerian cuneiform
• Single language:
  • Sumerian^†

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Africa

Berber

• Ancestral language: Old Berber^† (prior to 1000 BCE)
• Writing system: Berber abjad
• Main language and dialects:
  • Berber (Dialects: Numidian, Guanche)

Cushitic

• Writing system: unwritten
• Main languages:
  • Blemmyan
  • Agaw
  • Rift

Egyptian

• Writing systems: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Hieratic
• Main languages:
  • Archaic Egyptian^† (prior to 2600 BCE)
  • Old Egyptian^† (2600 BCE to 2000 BCE)
  • Middle Egyptian^† (2000 BCE to 1300 BCE)
  • Late Egyptian^† (1300 BCE to 700 BCE)
  • Demotic (after 700 BCE)

Meroitic

• Writing systems: Meroitic syllabary and Meroitic hieroglyphs
• Single language:
  • Meroitic

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Table of contents

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Types of script

Abjad: only consonants are represented with characters, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader

Alphabet: characters are provided for both consonants and vowels

Cuneiform: oldest writing system made of wedge shape impressions, where characters represent words or syllables

Hieroglyph: characters combine logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements

Hieratic: cursive form of hieroglyph script

Syllabary: characters are available to cover all syllables in the spoken language