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{{Infobox ars magica/primer}}
{{Infobox ars magica/primer}}


''Back to [[Mythic Europe]]''
''Back to [[Mythic Europe]]'' <br />
''Back to [[Nova Semitae Languages]]''


== Introduction ==
== Introduction ==


These are the languages and rules defined for Mythic Europe for Simon Cornelius’ Ars Magica game. It is based on Guardians of the Forest and The Lion and the Lily but expanded in scope and with the penalties between languages reduced by 1 (e.g. Langue d'Oc and Northern French are -1 for different dialects).  from that.  These rules greatly simplify our understanding of the historical situation at the time, for the purposes of game-play.
These are the languages and rules defined for Mythic Europe for these Ars Magica games. It is based on Guardians of the Forest and The Lion and the Lily source books.


=== Language Groups ===
=== Language Groups ===


The main division of languages is into Language Groups. Any speaker of one member of a Group can converse with a speaker of another, but with a penalty determined by the penalty in title of the first common cell in the relevant language table.  So, for example, for a speaker of Irish Gaelic to converse with a speaker of Southern Welsh, the penalty is -2.  This may never take the score below 1 though.
The main division of languages is into Language Groups. Each language characters take must have a dialect as a specialty; for PCs and other important NPCs, they may take any other specialty.


=== Dialect ===
The following rules are used to determine whether or not languages are mutually intelligible:


One of the main simplifications is to treat all dialects as the same language.  Persons with little exposure to society outside their own locality will have a dialect as their speciality.  Educated and well-travelled speakers do not have dialect: instead, they may have other specialities.
* The same dialect, or the same language without dialect: -0 to speaking rolls
* Different dialects of the same language: -1 penalty to both speakers
* Different languages/dialects of the same sub-group: -2 penalty to both speakers
* Different languages/dialects of different sub-groups in the same group: -4 to both speakers


Two speakers of the same language but both with different dialects still converse at the same level of ability but the communication will be slightly slower (rarely relevant in the game).
Effectively, there's a -1 penalty for each "step" you have to go up on the chart to reach a common language ancestor, with a -2 if you reach the main language group at the far left.
 
== Language Fluency ==
 
 
Per the Language ability (ArM 5, p. 66) there is no roll. After the penalty is applied, reference the chart to see what level of communication is achieved based on the lowest score of the speakers.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|'''Score'''
|'''Fluency'''
|-
|0
|''Point and greet.'' With one or more experience points, you know "please", "thank you" and a few other words.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|1
|''Basic questions and answers.'' "Where is the church?", "Do you sell food?" Constant mistakes, and an atrocious accent. People must speak slowly and often repeat themselves, and you cannot string a conversation together.  Contrary to popular belief, speaking loudly does not convey a +1 to comprehensibility.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|2
|''Basic conversation.''  You can sustain a short conversation on a common topic.  You still make many mistakes and often fail to catch what others say.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|3
|''Haltingly functional.'' You can hold a conversation on everyday topics, although it takes time, you make many mistakes and your accent is still bad.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|4
|''Functional.'' You can hold a conversation on non-technical topics, and make few mistakes.  People do not normally need to repeat themselves. This is the minimum level required to study from a book.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|5
|''Fluent.'' You still have an accent if this is not your native language, but it is weak.  You speak as well as most natives.  This is the minimum level to write a book.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|6+
|''Elegant.'' You choose your words well, and have no accent if this is not your native language.
|}


== Language Tables ==
== Language Tables ==
Line 21: Line 56:
=== Celtic Languages ===
=== Celtic Languages ===
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
|'''Language Group (-2)'''
|'''Language Group '''
|'''Sub-Groups (-1)'''
|'''Sub-Groups '''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Dialects'''
|'''Dialects'''
Line 56: Line 91:
=== Germanic Languages ===
=== Germanic Languages ===
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
|'''Language Group (-2)'''
|'''Language Group'''
|'''Sub-Groups (-1)'''
|'''Sub-Groups'''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Languages '''
|'''Dialects'''
|'''Dialects'''
|-
|-
|rowspan="12"|Germanic
|rowspan="14"|Germanic
|rowspan="4"|Anglo-Frisian Group
|rowspan="6"|Anglo-Frisian Group
|Lowland Scots
|Lowland Scots
|Lowland Scots
|Lowland Scots
|-
|Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
|Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
|-
|-
|Northern English
|Northern English
Line 74: Line 112:
|Frisian
|Frisian
|Frisian
|Frisian
|-
|Middle English
|Middle English
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|German Group
|rowspan="3"|German Group
Line 103: Line 144:


=== Romance (Latinate) Languages ===
=== Romance (Latinate) Languages ===
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
|'''Language Group '''
|'''Sub-Groups '''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Dialects'''
|-
|rowspan="20"|Romance Languages
|rowspan="10"|French Languages
|rowspan="6"|Northern French<br />(Langues d'oïl)
|Francien (Orléans, Bourbonnais, Champagne, Paris)
|-
|Picard (Picardy, Lorraine, Franc-Comtois)
|-
|Norman (Normandy, eastern Brittany, Maine)
|-
|Poitevin (Poitou, Saintonge, Anjou)
|-
|Bourguignon (Burgundy)
|-
|Walloon (Flanders, Brabant)
|-
|rowspan="4"|Langues d’Oc 
|Languedocien (Toulouse)
|-
|Provençal (Arles, Avignon, Nîmes, Provencal Maritime, Nice)
|-
|Gascon (Guyenne)
|-
|Occitan (Limousin, Auvergnat Provençal Alpine)
|-
|rowspan="4"|Iberian Languages
|Catalan
|Catalan (Catalonia)
|-
|Portuguese
|Portuguese (Portugal)
|-
|Aragonese
|Aragonese (Aragon, Navarre)
|-
|Castilian
|Castilian (Castile)
|-
|rowspan="3"|Italian Languages
|Gallo-Italian
|Piedmontese, Lombard, Emiliano-Romagnolo, Ligurian, Venetian
|-
|Italo-Dalmatian
|Tuscan, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Corsican
|-
|Sardinian
|Northern, Central, Southern
|-
|rowspan="2"|Eastern Romance
|Dalmatian
|Dalmatian (Dalmatia)
|-
|Romanian
|Romanian (Romania)
|-
|colspan="2"|Latin
|Ecclesiastic Latin, Hermetic Latin, Judeo-Latin
|}


=== Greco-Armemian ===
=== Greco-Armemian ===
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
|'''Language Group '''
|'''Sub-Groups '''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Dialects'''
|-
|rowspan="2"|Greco-Armemian
|colspan="2"|Greek
|"Standard" (Constantinopolitan), Cypriot, Cretan, Cappodocian
|-
|colspan="2"|Armenian
|Armenia, Cicilian
|}


=== Finno-Ugric Languages ===
=== Finno-Ugric Languages ===
{| style="width: 700px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"
|'''Language Group '''
|'''Sub-Groups '''
|'''Languages'''
|'''Dialects'''
|-
|rowspan="5"|Finno-Ugric
|Ugric
|Hungarian
|Western, Eastern, Csango
|-
|rowspan="4"|Finno-Lappic
|Estonian
|Estonian
|-
|Livonian
|Livonian
|-
|Finnish
|Finnish, Karelian
|-
|Sammi
|Western, Eastern
|}


=== Other Languages ===
=== Other Languages ===


'''Language Isolates'''
* Albanian: Gheg dialect is spoken in the north; Tosk dialect, the south.
* Albanian: Gheg dialect is spoken in the north; Tosk dialect, the south.
* Basque: spoken in the western Pyrenees.
'''Semitic Languages'''
* Arabic: Spoken through most of the Islamic world. Local languages also exist.
* Arabic: Spoken through most of the Islamic world. Local languages also exist.
* Armenian: Classical Armenian (Grabar) uses the 38-letter alphabet developed by St. Mesrop. Spoken in Kingdom of Lesser Armenia and in some areas through Anatolia and the Caucasus.
** Maltese: spoken on Malta, oddly enough; an Arabic off-shoot
* Basque: spoken in the western Pyrenees.
* Medieval Hebrew, flourished in Spain, used among Jews as a common language much like Latin in the Christian world
 
'''Other'''
* Berber: spoken in Moorish Spain and Northern Africa.
* Berber: spoken in Moorish Spain and Northern Africa.
* Caucasian languages: A wide variety of languages are spoken in the Caucasian mountains, with only a passing similarity to each other. They are not Indo-European languages.
* Caucasian languages: A wide variety of languages are spoken in the Caucasian mountains, with only a passing similarity to each other. They are not Indo-European languages.
* Finnish: Major dialects include Estonian, Sami (northern Norway and Sweden), and Suomi (in Finland).
* Greek: The official language of the Byzantine Empire.
* Magyar: spoken in the middle Danube basin (Hungary).
* Maltese: spoken on Malta, oddly enough.
* Persian (a.k.a. Farsi): One of the more prominent languages of the Islamic world.
* Persian (a.k.a. Farsi): One of the more prominent languages of the Islamic world.
[[Category: Ars Magica]]
[[Category: Ars Magica Primer]]

Latest revision as of 22:49, 28 March 2020

Ars Magica Primer
ArM5LogoColor.jpg
Game Setting
Mythic Europe
The Order of Hermes
The Order of Hermes
The Code of Hermes
The Peripheral Code
Hermetic Book Cycle

Back to Mythic Europe
Back to Nova Semitae Languages

Introduction

These are the languages and rules defined for Mythic Europe for these Ars Magica games. It is based on Guardians of the Forest and The Lion and the Lily source books.

Language Groups

The main division of languages is into Language Groups. Each language characters take must have a dialect as a specialty; for PCs and other important NPCs, they may take any other specialty.

The following rules are used to determine whether or not languages are mutually intelligible:

  • The same dialect, or the same language without dialect: -0 to speaking rolls
  • Different dialects of the same language: -1 penalty to both speakers
  • Different languages/dialects of the same sub-group: -2 penalty to both speakers
  • Different languages/dialects of different sub-groups in the same group: -4 to both speakers

Effectively, there's a -1 penalty for each "step" you have to go up on the chart to reach a common language ancestor, with a -2 if you reach the main language group at the far left.

Language Fluency

Per the Language ability (ArM 5, p. 66) there is no roll. After the penalty is applied, reference the chart to see what level of communication is achieved based on the lowest score of the speakers.

Score Fluency
0 Point and greet. With one or more experience points, you know "please", "thank you" and a few other words.
1 Basic questions and answers. "Where is the church?", "Do you sell food?" Constant mistakes, and an atrocious accent. People must speak slowly and often repeat themselves, and you cannot string a conversation together. Contrary to popular belief, speaking loudly does not convey a +1 to comprehensibility.
2 Basic conversation. You can sustain a short conversation on a common topic. You still make many mistakes and often fail to catch what others say.
3 Haltingly functional. You can hold a conversation on everyday topics, although it takes time, you make many mistakes and your accent is still bad.
4 Functional. You can hold a conversation on non-technical topics, and make few mistakes. People do not normally need to repeat themselves. This is the minimum level required to study from a book.
5 Fluent. You still have an accent if this is not your native language, but it is weak. You speak as well as most natives. This is the minimum level to write a book.
6+ Elegant. You choose your words well, and have no accent if this is not your native language.

Language Tables

Celtic Languages

Language Group Sub-Groups Languages Dialects
Celtic Languages Goidelic (Gaelic) Irish Gaelic Leinster, Munster, Ulster, Connaught
Scots Gaelic East Highlands, West Highlands and Islands
Manx Gaelic Manx
Brythonic Breton East Breton, West Breton
Cornish Cornish
Cumbrian Cumbrian
Northern Welsh Northern Welsh
Southern Welsh Southern Welsh

Germanic Languages

Language Group Sub-Groups Languages Dialects
Germanic Anglo-Frisian Group Lowland Scots Lowland Scots
Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
Northern English Mercian, Northumbrian
Southern English Wessex, Sussex, Anglia, Kent
Frisian Frisian
Middle English Middle English
German Group Low German Flemish, Holland, Brabant , Westphalian, Emsland, Bremenasch, Holstein, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Pommern
Middle German Thuringian, Mittelfränkisch, Hessian, Upper Saxon, Silesian German, Lusatian German
High German Alsatian, Bavarian, Bohemian, Carinthian, Franconian, Luxemburgish, Styrian, Swabian, Swiss German, Tyrolian, Yiddish
Norse Icelandic Icelandic
Norwegian Southern Norwegian
Faeroese Faeroese
Danish Danish
Eastern Norse Swedish, Scanian, Gotlandish

Romance (Latinate) Languages

Language Group Sub-Groups Languages Dialects
Romance Languages French Languages Northern French
(Langues d'oïl) 		Francien (Orléans, Bourbonnais, Champagne, Paris)
Picard (Picardy, Lorraine, Franc-Comtois)
Norman (Normandy, eastern Brittany, Maine)
Poitevin (Poitou, Saintonge, Anjou)
Bourguignon (Burgundy)
Walloon (Flanders, Brabant)
Langues d’Oc Languedocien (Toulouse)
Provençal (Arles, Avignon, Nîmes, Provencal Maritime, Nice)
Gascon (Guyenne)
Occitan (Limousin, Auvergnat Provençal Alpine)
Iberian Languages Catalan Catalan (Catalonia)
Portuguese Portuguese (Portugal)
Aragonese Aragonese (Aragon, Navarre)
Castilian Castilian (Castile)
Italian Languages Gallo-Italian Piedmontese, Lombard, Emiliano-Romagnolo, Ligurian, Venetian
Italo-Dalmatian Tuscan, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Corsican
Sardinian Northern, Central, Southern
Eastern Romance Dalmatian Dalmatian (Dalmatia)
Romanian Romanian (Romania)
Latin Ecclesiastic Latin, Hermetic Latin, Judeo-Latin

Greco-Armemian

Language Group Sub-Groups Languages Dialects
Greco-Armemian Greek "Standard" (Constantinopolitan), Cypriot, Cretan, Cappodocian
Armenian Armenia, Cicilian

Finno-Ugric Languages

Language Group Sub-Groups Languages Dialects
Finno-Ugric Ugric Hungarian Western, Eastern, Csango
Finno-Lappic Estonian Estonian
Livonian Livonian
Finnish Finnish, Karelian
Sammi Western, Eastern

Other Languages

Language Isolates

  • Albanian: Gheg dialect is spoken in the north; Tosk dialect, the south.
  • Basque: spoken in the western Pyrenees.

Semitic Languages

  • Arabic: Spoken through most of the Islamic world. Local languages also exist.
    • Maltese: spoken on Malta, oddly enough; an Arabic off-shoot
  • Medieval Hebrew, flourished in Spain, used among Jews as a common language much like Latin in the Christian world

Other

  • Berber: spoken in Moorish Spain and Northern Africa.
  • Caucasian languages: A wide variety of languages are spoken in the Caucasian mountains, with only a passing similarity to each other. They are not Indo-European languages.
  • Persian (a.k.a. Farsi): One of the more prominent languages of the Islamic world.
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