Imperial Common

The Morning Realm    Library    Linguistics      Imperial Common

You wrote in your last correspondence that the spread of Imperial Common has been remarkable, nay, unnatural. I fear you may be right.

— A shakily written letter

Imperial Common is the trade language of the Morning Realm. It is the most commonly spoken second language, and is quickly becoming the most common native language in the Argosian Empire.
The language was developed by a team of linguists lead by Ferdinand Sapire at the request of the Argosian Empire. Imperial Common was formally finished under the Sign of Leviathan, 138 IE. The Imperial Magisterium was tasked with providing the general public with resources and education. Since the Common Act of 140 IE the courses and materials for learning Imperial Common has been available at all Universities connected with the Magisterium, as well as at Bookwarden libaries.
In Sign of Magi, 270 IE, Bookwarden libraries shut down all Imperial Common courses to revise the curriculum.

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Creation

There is an ancient tongue, no, a disease, that bled into the world from that accursed rift in the underworld. This disease siezes the mind, wrecks one with headaches, dulls ones tongue and quill to any other language but it.

— A fragment from a shakily written letter

In the Written Era and the early Imperial Era there were multiple Lingua Dwarvas used by traders and travellers to communicate. Most commonly this would be one of Dwarven languages, typically Sirenic or Storan, who were prevalent languages for instruction and writing, or Classical Elven for myths, songs and poetry. It was however rare for common folk to be able to learn these languages, even with the Bookwarden libraries at their disposal.
Imperial Common began development in 132 IE, headed by linguist Ferdinand Sapire. The goal was to create a simple language that could allow two commoners from across the empire to communicate that could serve as the official language of the Argosian Empire.
The language was developed using words from both dwarven, elven and human languages and combined them to create a pidgin with simplified grammar. The team of linguists also collaborated with antiquarians and historians to study the protonic languages and the Alltongue, as well as the remnants of many long-dead language. The goal was to understand the roots of language and how it develops.
The project had many struggles, most notably with the grammar. The proposed grammars were either too complex to learn easily, or too simple to convey complex through. Sapire had a breakthrough in 137 IE while studying his notes from his last expeditions into the ruins that supposedly were the inspiration for the Dwarven language. He presented a reformed grammar that was key to solving the puzzle.

Remember the curse of the Old Ones? How Mordecai dismissed it as foolish superstition last we met? I recall it well, he said the only thing to fear from exploring the ruins is the Inquisition. This ancient language is the curse. That is why they ban excursions into the later ruins. That is what the Inquisition aims to abolish.

— A fragment from a shakily written letter

Imperial Common

Imperial Script (Half-Elven Font) by Daniel Zadorozny

Created by	Ferdinand Sapire
Date	Sign of Leviathan, 138 IE
Speakers	Native: Estimated 10 million L2: Estimated 50 million
Sources	Dwarven Languages Storan Sirenic Elven Languages Classical Elven
Writing System	Imperial Alphabet
Official Language in	Argosian Empire Castellan Kingdoms Storest