Languages & Dialogue

[Reila Tsukino]

LANGUAGES


In the world of MDA, Earth is very different than you and I know it. But look closely at the countries, languages, and people of MDA, and you might recognize that it is more familiar than you might first thing. Most of the people and languages of MDA are partially similar to real life counterparts, though they are not exactly the same.

The languages of MDA are far less greater in number than in our world. They currently number at sixteen, with several dialects existing in each.
The way languages work on this site is very simple: You color the text spoken in a certain language with a corresponding color of your choice. (You can use this website or this website for color reference). You then put the languages your character speaks in their signature under their profile, and color each with the color your character speaks it in. For example:

John Doe speaks Cretan, Drachman, and Amestrian

Furthermore, if you want to note that your character speaks in a certain accent, you may include that

Ex: Jane Doe speaks Cretan (with an Amestrian Accent)

This can help people you RP with know if your character sounds like he or she is foreign.

Some dialects exist in languages. Dialects simply note if your character came from a certain country or region or people apart from the main area which that language is spoken, and also allows your character to speak a certain way.

Ex: Pierre Lafayette speaks Rouenian (Gelemortian Dialect)

Ex: But Lucia speaks standard Rouenian, so in her signature she puts:
Lucia speaks Rouenian

If you speak a standard version of a language, you are speaking what is typically the most common form, so you don't need to note anything at all in your signature.

Note that with few exceptions, non-standard dialects are less common than the standard language, and should only be spoken if your character hails from the region that dialect is found. Any two dialects within a language are mutually intelligible.
For example: Xin Yang speaks Xingese. Hyun Kim speaks Xingese (Cho dialect). Even though standard Xingese is Mandarin, and Cho Xingese is Korean, we pretend that they are close enough to be understandable. But Xin Yang would probably think Hyun's Xingese sounded strange, and Hyun might say some words that Xin doesn't usually hear. Think of it as more the difference between American English and British English than the difference between Korean and Mandarin.

Lastly, we here at MDA do not expect you to actually speak the language your character speaks. MDA's de facto language for writing in is English. Even if your character speaks Amestrian, which is German, we wish for you to type in English, not German. But feel free to add German flavor to your text if you know some. Simple things like "Ja" instead of "yes". Or a Xingese character saying "Aiyaa" in a state of disbelief or shock. As long as others can still understand you, it should be fine.

Language rarity guide (International):

Very Common - A household language. Used all over the world and often taught as a second language. Used often in international organizations and business.

Common - A fairly well spread language. Learnt often as a second language and somewhat easily found outside the country its spoken in.

Uncommon - Though sometimes learned outside the country of origin, the majority of speakers are usually only found within the countries or regions its spoken in and emigrant communities in other countries.

Rare - This language is hardly ever spoken as a second language, and isn't the language of a country either. Usually only spoken by a stateless ethnic group

Very Rare - This language is extremely rare, hardly even spoken in its place of origin. Spoken only by a very small community of people. Most people aren't even aware that the language exists.

Extinct - This language is a dead language. Only historians who commit the time to research and read old texts can learn this language. No community in the world really speaks it.

• Aerguese (Japanese) (Uncommon*)
  
  Aerguese is the language of the land of Aerugo.
  *Though Aerugo has been a world power in history, it has not spread its culture or language as other countries have, and therefore it is labeled as uncommon in an international setting.
  
  Dialects: Standard - Spoken throughout the majority of Aerugo
  Kansaiben Dialect - Spoken in the southern isles of Aerugo (Rare)
  
  
  
  
• Amestrian (German) (Very Common)
  
  Amestrian is the standard and official language of Amestris and her people. Due to Amestris' past as a world power, it is a well spread language.
  
  Dialects: Standard (German) - Spoken all over Amestris, Ishval, and parts of the Great Desert
  Western Dialect (Dutch) - Spoken only in West near the Cretan border. A mix of Cretan and Amestrian (Uncommon)
  
  
  
  
• Cerisian (Italian) (Uncommon)
  
  Cerisian is the official language of the isle of La Cerise. It is mostly spoken in La Cerisé and the New Tiberia province in Gelemorté, and in various emigrant Cerisan communities around the world.
  
  
  
  
• Creig (Irish Gaelic) (Uncommon)
  
  Creig is the official language of Carraig
  
  Dialects: Standard (Irish Gaelic) - Spoken on the island-nation of Carraig
  Calish Dialect (Scots Gaelic and Welsh) - Spoken by less than half of the people found in the Calesland region of Creta (Rare)
  
  
  
• Cretan (English) (Very Common)
  
  Cretan is the official language of Creta. It is a commonly spoken language around the world and is considered the 'international language'. Cretan has no major dialects and has a wide mixture of (British) and (American) accents. Cretan is also spoken in the Calesland district of Creta, but people from there are known to have very strong (Scottish) accents.
  
  
  
• Drachman (Russian) (Common*)
  
  Drachman is the language of Drachma. Because Drachma is so large, it has a wide variety of dialects
  *Despite being spoken by a large number of people, it isn't as widespread as Cretan or Amestrian, and so I label it as common rather than very common.
  
  Dialects: Standard (Russian) - Most common dialect spoken both inside and outside of Drachma.
  Kinah Dialect (Finnish) - Spoken mainly in the province of Kinahmi (Uncommon)
  Delvideki Dialect (Hungarian) - Spoken mainly in the province of Delvidek (Uncommon)
  Poludzie Dialect (Polish) - Spoken in the province of Poludziem (Uncommon)
  
  
  
  
• Esparian (Spanish) (Uncommon)
  
  Esparian is spoken in the islands of Esparia and in Esparian immigrant communities in Creta.
  
  Dialects: Standard/Malos (Spanish) - The de facto dialect of Esparian. It is the most common form spoken in Esparia and abroad
  Tauhatl Dialect (Nauhatl-Portuguese) - Spoken in the Esparian island of Tauhatl. Errr, if Mexico had been conquered by the Portuguese instead of the Spanish, they would probably sound like this. I blame Niko. (Rare)
  
  
  
• Ishvallan (Arabic) (uncommon)
  
  Ishvallan is the language of Ishval and the widespread Ishvallan people in various Ishvallan communities throughout the world
  
  Dialects: Standard (Arabic) - Spoken in Ishval, parts of the Great Desert, and in various Ishvallan communities in Amestris and other countries
  Doe'ann Dialect (Turkish) - Spoken in the Ciel Dominion country of Maginea. Is the most different of the Ishvallan dialects, and some Ishvallan speakers have a hard time understanding it.(uncommon)
  
  
  
• Lokhyn (Icelandic) (Uncommon)
  
  Lokhyn is the language of the Lokhyn people, found mainly in Lokheim and northern Gelemorté
  
  
  
• Rouenian (French) (Very Common*)
  
  Rouenian is the primary language spoken in Gelemorté and was the primary language of Rouen before the Rouenian genocide of the late 80's and 90's.
  *Gelemortian Rouenian is actually the most commonly spoken of Rouenian, not Standard Rouenian.
  
  Dialects: Standard (French) - Once the official language of Rouen before its devastation, it is now nearly extinct, spoken only by very few survivors scattered around the world (Very Rare)
  Gelemortian Dialect - The official langauge of Gelemorté and the Ciel Dominion
  
  
  
• Saamaltat (Quechua) (Very Rare)
  
  The language spoken by Amazonians and other indigenous people of the western islands in Esparia who have not modernized like most Esparians have. Words from any South American Indian language may be used in this language, but Quechua is the easiest to find online dictionaries of.
  (Install this font to enhances your Saamaltat experience)
  
  
  
• Vazentian (Egyptian) (Rare*)
  
  Vazentian is the primary language of the indigenous populace of Vazent, and along with Esparian, is one of the foremost languages of the Vazentian Primacy. Considering the nature of Vazent having only just come into mainstream knowledge as a country, Vazentian is a relatively new language.
  *By definition, Vazentian would classify as Uncommon, but more seems to fit rare as it's almost impossible to have learnt it outside of the Primacy.
  
  
  
• Xerxian (Greek) (Extinct)
  
  A now extinct language that once once spoken by the prosperous kingdom of Xerxes before it vanished in a night
  
  
  
• Xingese (Chinese) (Common*)
  
  Xingese has the most native speakers of any language in the world and is the official language of Xing. Because Xing is so large, many dialects of Xingese exist.
  *However, it is not as commonly spoken outside of Xing as Amestrian or Cretan is, so I am labeling it as common, rather than very common
  
  Dialects: Standard/Han (Mandarin) - Spoken throughout Xing as the standard dialect of Xingese domestically and abroad
  Ar Dialect (Mongolian) - Spoken in the Northern regions of Xing (uncommon)
  Cho Dialect (Korean) - Spoken on the highly populated island of Choseom in Xing (uncommon)
  Nam Dialect (Thai) - Spoken in the South-eastern regions of Xing (Uncommon)
  Yi Dialect (Hunnic) - Spoken by the tribal Yi-Xingese people who live in the northern Great Desert. (Very rare)