Difference between revisions of "Languages of Wesnoth"

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The world of Wesnoth is as rich in languages as it is in all sorts of creatures and races that inhabit it. Although fieldwork in distant lands is never easy, many mages from the Great Academy on Alduin as well as other scholars from Weldyn and Elensefar have managed to assemble impressive archives full of manuscripts on the various languages ​​of Irdya. Most of them date back to the [[Timeline_of_Wesnoth#628-673_YW:_The_Silver_Age_of_Wesnoth|Silver Age of Wesnoth (628-673 YW)]] and the peaceful reign of [[CharactersStorys#Konrad_II|Konrad II]], which sparked a minor scientific renaissance in the kingdom, reviving the level of interest in linguistics among the scholars seen before only during the [[Timeline_of_Wesnoth#200-350 YW: The Golden Age of Wesnoth|Golden Age of Wesnoth (200-350 YW)]].
 
The world of Wesnoth is as rich in languages as it is in all sorts of creatures and races that inhabit it. Although fieldwork in distant lands is never easy, many mages from the Great Academy on Alduin as well as other scholars from Weldyn and Elensefar have managed to assemble impressive archives full of manuscripts on the various languages ​​of Irdya. Most of them date back to the [[Timeline_of_Wesnoth#628-673_YW:_The_Silver_Age_of_Wesnoth|Silver Age of Wesnoth (628-673 YW)]] and the peaceful reign of [[CharactersStorys#Konrad_II|Konrad II]], which sparked a minor scientific renaissance in the kingdom, reviving the level of interest in linguistics among the scholars seen before only during the [[Timeline_of_Wesnoth#200-350 YW: The Golden Age of Wesnoth|Golden Age of Wesnoth (200-350 YW)]].
 
<div class="tright">__TOC__</div>
 
<div class="tright">__TOC__</div>
 +
== Dwarvish Language ==
 +
 +
The Dwarvish language is spoken by the dwarves of the Heart Mountains and is one of the most well-documented languages of the Great Continent, along with the Wesnothi and Æthenwood Elvish languages.
 +
 +
=== Phonology ===
 +
 +
<div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: space-between; justify-content: space-between;">
 +
<div>
 +
{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
 +
|+Consonants
 +
!
 +
! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Dorsal
 +
|-
 +
! Nasal
 +
| m
 +
| n
 +
|
 +
| ŋ
 +
|-
 +
! Obstruent
 +
| p b
 +
| t d
 +
| t͡s
 +
| k g
 +
|-
 +
! Fricative
 +
| f
 +
| θ
 +
| s
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
! Sonorant
 +
|
 +
| ɫ
 +
| r
 +
| j
 +
|-
 +
|}</div>
 +
<div>
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 +
|+Vowels
 +
!
 +
! Front !! Back
 +
|-
 +
! Close
 +
| i || u
 +
|-
 +
! Mid
 +
| ɛ || ɔ
 +
|-
 +
! Open
 +
| colspan="2" | a
 +
|-
 +
! Diphthong
 +
| colspan="2" | ai̯ au̯
 +
|}</div>
 +
</div>
 +
 +
/ɫ/ is always a dark l and /r/ is always a trill.
 +
 +
=== Orthography ===
 +
 +
The dwarves use two writing systems: a native runic one, the usage of which goes back to times long forgotten, when dwarves still lived underground, and a steel-hand one, adopted fairly recently. Runes are usually carved into architecture and used on special occasions, while the steel-hand alphabet is used in the daily life and on paper.
 +
 +
<div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: space-between; justify-content: space-between;">
 +
<div>
 +
{| cellpadding=4 style="font-size:large; text-align:center;"
 +
| colspan="9" style="font-size:smaller;" | '''Dwarvish alphabet''' (steel-hand)
 +
|-
 +
|| A a || B b || C c || D d || E e || F f || G g || H h || I i
 +
|-
 +
|| /a/ || /b/ || /k/ || /d/ || /ɛ/ || /f/ || /g/ || /∅/ || /i/
 +
|-
 +
|| L l || M m || N n || O o || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u
 +
|-
 +
|| /ɫ/ || /m/ || /n/ || /ɔ/ || /p/ || /r/ || /s/ || /t/ || /u/
 +
|}</div>
 +
<div>
 +
{| cellpadding=4 style="font-size:large; text-align:center;"
 +
| colspan="11" style="font-size:smaller;" | '''Dwarvish alphabet''' (runic)
 +
|-
 +
|| ᚠ || ᚢ || ᚦ || ᚨ || ᚱ || ᚲ || ᚷ || ᚾ || ᛁ || ᛃ || ᛈ
 +
|-
 +
|| /f/ || /u/ || /θ/ || /a/ || /r/ || /k/ || /g/ || /n/ || /i/ || /j/ || /p/
 +
|-
 +
|| ᛋ || ᛊ || ᛏ || ᛒ || ᛖ || ᛗ || ᛚ || ᛜ || ᛟ || colspan="2" | ᛞ
 +
|-
 +
|| /s/ || /t͡s/ || /t/ || /b/ || /ɛ/ || /m/ || /ɫ/ || /ŋ/ || /ɔ/ || colspan="2" | /d/
 +
|}</div>
 +
</div>
 +
 +
⟨h⟩ is only used in the digraph ⟨th⟩ to represent /θ/. /t͡s/ and /ŋ/ are written as ⟨ts⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ in the steel-hand alphabet. /j/ only appears in diphthongs and is represented by ⟨i⟩ and ⟨ᛃ⟩ respectively.
 +
 
== Drake Languages ==
 
== Drake Languages ==
 +
 +
Drake languages ​​form a dialect continuum stretching from the volcanic islands of the Great Ocean (urheimat to the drake languages as a whole) to the eastern reaches of the Heart Mountains, with a fairly high level of mutual intelligibility in the Far North of the Great Continent.
  
 
=== Continental Drakish ===
 
=== Continental Drakish ===
 +
 +
The umbrella term "Continental Drakish" refers to all the varieties of drake languages spoken on the Great Continent.
  
 
==== Phonology ====
 
==== Phonology ====
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|+Vowels
 
|+Vowels
 
!
 
!
−
!Front
+
! Front !! Back
−
!Back
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Close
 
! Close
−
| i
+
| i || u
−
| u
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Mid
 
! Mid
−
| e
+
| e || o
−
| o
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Open
 
! Open
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=== Merfolk Language ===
 
=== Merfolk Language ===
 +
 +
The language of the merfolk is primarily spoken in the Bay of Pearls and the area around Jotha and Tirigaz, although minor merfolk settlements can be found all over the shores of the Great Continent from the Far North to the deserts of the south.
  
 
==== Phonology ====
 
==== Phonology ====
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|-
 
|-
 
!
 
!
−
! Unrounded || colspan="2" | Rounded
+
! unr. || colspan="2" | rounded
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Close
 
! Close
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| colspan="7" style="font-size:smaller;" | '''Merfolk alphabet''' (steel-hand)
 
| colspan="7" style="font-size:smaller;" | '''Merfolk alphabet''' (steel-hand)
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| A a || Ā ā || B b || C c || D d || E e || G g  
+
|| A a || Ā ā || B b || C c || D d || E e || G g
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| /a/ || /aː/ || /b/ || /c/ || /d/ || /ɛ/ || /g/  
+
|| /a/ || /aː/ || /b/ || /c/ || /d/ || /ɛ/ || /g/
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| H h || I i || Ī ī || J j || K k || L l || M m  
+
|| H h || I i || Ī ī || J j || K k || L l || M m
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| /h/ || /ɪ/ || /iː/ || /j/ || /k/ || /l/ || /m/  
+
|| /h/ || /ɪ/ || /iː/ || /j/ || /k/ || /l/ || /m/
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| N n || O o || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u  
+
|| N n || O o || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u
 
|-
 
|-
−
|| /n/ || /ɔ/ || /p/ || /r/ || /s/ || /t/ || /ʊ/  
+
|| /n/ || /ɔ/ || /p/ || /r/ || /s/ || /t/ || /ʊ/
 
|-
 
|-
 
|| Ū ū || V v || W w || Y y || Ȳ ȳ || colspan="2" | Z z
 
|| Ū ū || V v || W w || Y y || Ȳ ȳ || colspan="2" | Z z
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=== Naga Language ===
 
=== Naga Language ===
 +
 +
The naga language is particularly widespread in the regions of the Sleepless Sea and the Bay of Clouds, far beyond the reach of the Kingdom of Wesnoth. Substantial naga populations can be found in the Far North as well, particularly in the Black Marshes and the river delta of the Bork River, where they consistently clash with the local merfolk.
  
 
==== Phonology ====
 
==== Phonology ====
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The digraph ⟨ll⟩ is used to represent /t͡ɬ/ in the steel-hand alphabet. Vowels /i/, /o, /a/ are typically not written in the dunefolk script, but can be represented with the diacritics ⟨ــِـ⟩, ⟨ــُـ⟩ and ⟨ــَـ⟩ respectively. ⟨i⟩ and ⟨ي⟩ also represent /j/ in diphthongs.
 
The digraph ⟨ll⟩ is used to represent /t͡ɬ/ in the steel-hand alphabet. Vowels /i/, /o, /a/ are typically not written in the dunefolk script, but can be represented with the diacritics ⟨ــِـ⟩, ⟨ــُـ⟩ and ⟨ــَـ⟩ respectively. ⟨i⟩ and ⟨ي⟩ also represent /j/ in diphthongs.
 +
 +
== Gryphon Language ==
 +
 +
The gryphon language is spoken by the gryphons of the Gryphon Mountain and the surrounding gryphon populations nearing Knalga.
 +
 +
=== Phonology ===
 +
 +
Due to the biological constraints the gryphons possess, the diversity of sounds they are able to make appears to be quite limited.
 +
 +
<div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: space-between; justify-content: space-between;">
 +
<div>
 +
{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
 +
|+Consonants
 +
! colspan="2" |
 +
! Front !! Back
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="2" | Stop
 +
|
 +
| q ɢ
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" | Fricative
 +
! short
 +
| s z
 +
| ʂ
 +
|-
 +
! gem.
 +
| sː zː
 +
| ʂː
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" | Sonorant
 +
! short
 +
| j
 +
| r
 +
|-
 +
! gem.
 +
| jː
 +
| rː
 +
|-
 +
|}</div>
 +
<div>
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 +
|+Vowels
 +
!
 +
! colspan="2" | Front !! colspan="3" | Back
 +
|-
 +
!
 +
! short || long ||  short || long || overl.
 +
|-
 +
! Close
 +
| i || iː || u || uː || uːː
 +
|-
 +
! Mid
 +
| e || eː || o || oː ||
 +
|-
 +
! Open
 +
|  ||  ||  a || aː || aːː
 +
|}</div>
 +
</div>
 +
 +
The rhotic /r/ varies greatly in pronunciation, but is most often pronounced as [ɰ].
 +
 +
=== Orthography ===
 +
 +
The gryphons themselves do not write their language down. For the purpose of keeping records and writing down names, the following alphabet is used in Wesnoth.
 +
 +
{| cellpadding=4 style="font-size:large; text-align:center;"
 +
| colspan="10" style="font-size:smaller;" | '''Gryphon alphabet'''
 +
|-
 +
|| A a || E e || G g || I i || K k || O o || R r || S s || Y y || Z z
 +
|-
 +
|| /a/ || /e/ || /ɢ/ || /i/ || /q/ || /o/ || /r/ || /s/ || /j/ || /z/
 +
|}
 +
 +
The digraph ⟨sh⟩ is used for /ʂ/. Vowel length and gemination are represented by doubling/trippling the corresponding letter (/ʂː/ is written as ⟨sshh⟩).
  
 
== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==

Latest revision as of 10:01, 29 June 2026

Other languages:

The world of Wesnoth is as rich in languages as it is in all sorts of creatures and races that inhabit it. Although fieldwork in distant lands is never easy, many mages from the Great Academy on Alduin as well as other scholars from Weldyn and Elensefar have managed to assemble impressive archives full of manuscripts on the various languages ​​of Irdya. Most of them date back to the Silver Age of Wesnoth (628-673 YW) and the peaceful reign of Konrad II, which sparked a minor scientific renaissance in the kingdom, reviving the level of interest in linguistics among the scholars seen before only during the Golden Age of Wesnoth (200-350 YW).

Dwarvish Language

The Dwarvish language is spoken by the dwarves of the Heart Mountains and is one of the most well-documented languages of the Great Continent, along with the Wesnothi and Æthenwood Elvish languages.

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Dental Alveolar Dorsal
Nasal m n ŋ
Obstruent p b t d t͡s k g
Fricative f θ s
Sonorant ɫ r j
Vowels
Front Back
Close i u
Mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
Diphthong ai̯ au̯

/ɫ/ is always a dark l and /r/ is always a trill.

Orthography

The dwarves use two writing systems: a native runic one, the usage of which goes back to times long forgotten, when dwarves still lived underground, and a steel-hand one, adopted fairly recently. Runes are usually carved into architecture and used on special occasions, while the steel-hand alphabet is used in the daily life and on paper.

Dwarvish alphabet (steel-hand)
A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i
/a/ /b/ /k/ /d/ /ɛ/ /f/ /g/ /∅/ /i/
L l M m N n O o P p R r S s T t U u
/ɫ/ /m/ /n/ /ɔ/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /u/
Dwarvish alphabet (runic)
ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛈ
/f/ /u/ /θ/ /a/ /r/ /k/ /g/ /n/ /i/ /j/ /p/
ᛋ ᛊ ᛏ ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛜ ᛟ ᛞ
/s/ /t͡s/ /t/ /b/ /ɛ/ /m/ /ɫ/ /ŋ/ /ɔ/ /d/

⟨h⟩ is only used in the digraph ⟨th⟩ to represent /θ/. /t͡s/ and /ŋ/ are written as ⟨ts⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ in the steel-hand alphabet. /j/ only appears in diphthongs and is represented by ⟨i⟩ and ⟨ᛃ⟩ respectively.

Drake Languages

Drake languages ​​form a dialect continuum stretching from the volcanic islands of the Great Ocean (urheimat to the drake languages as a whole) to the eastern reaches of the Heart Mountains, with a fairly high level of mutual intelligibility in the Far North of the Great Continent.

Continental Drakish

The umbrella term "Continental Drakish" refers to all the varieties of drake languages spoken on the Great Continent.

Phonology

Continental Drakish phonology consists of the following phonemes:

Consonants
Labial Coronal Post-
alveolar		 Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Obstruent b t d t͡ʃ k g ʔ
Fricative v θ s ʃ
Liquid r l
Vowels
Front Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a
Diphthong au̯

Presumably, all consonants can be geminated and all vowels have a corresponding nasal variant.

Orthography

  • All phonemes are orthographically represented the same way they are in english, except for /ʔ/, which is written as an apostrophe ⟨'⟩.
  • Final ⟨hn⟩ serves as a nasalization marker.
  • Final ⟨é⟩ indicates the vowel is spoken rather than modifying a medial vowel (there is no silent final 'e' in the language).
  • Word-final ⟨ck⟩ has the value /k/.
Drake alphabet
A a B b C c D d E e G g I i K k L l
/a/ /b/ /k/ /d/ /e/ /g/ /i/ /k/ /l/
M m N n O o R r S s T t U u V v Z z
/m/ /n/ /o/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /u/ /v/ /z/

Oceanic Languages

The oceanic language family includes two major branches: northern and southern oceanic, commonly referred to as the "merfolk" and "naga" branches respectively.

Merfolk Language

The language of the merfolk is primarily spoken in the Bay of Pearls and the area around Jotha and Tirigaz, although minor merfolk settlements can be found all over the shores of the Great Continent from the Far North to the deserts of the south.

Phonology

Notable features of the merfolk language's phonology include the four long vowel variants, widespread vowel hiatus, a large amount of fricatives as well as a voiceless approximant series (/ç/ and /h/ are considered to actually be [j̊] and [ʍ] by some scholars).

Consonants
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n
Stop p b t d c k g
Fricative f v θ ð s z ç x~h
Approximant l̥ l j w
Trill r
Vowels
Front Back
unr. rounded
Close ɪ iː ʏ yː ʊ uː
Mid ɛ ɔ
Open a aː
Diphthong ai̯

Orthography

Most mermen live in isolation in shallow ocean waters and use their own script. During the Turmoil of Asheviere many coastal merfolk were made to join the sides of the conflict and integrate into army structures, adopting the wesnothian steel-hand with it.

Merfolk alphabet (steel-hand)
A a Ā ā B b C c D d E e G g
/a/ /aː/ /b/ /c/ /d/ /ɛ/ /g/
H h I i Ī ī J j K k L l M m
/h/ /ɪ/ /iː/ /j/ /k/ /l/ /m/
N n O o P p R r S s T t U u
/n/ /ɔ/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /ʊ/
Ū ū V v W w Y y Ȳ ȳ Z z
/uː/ /v/ /w/ /ʏ/ /yː/ /z/
Merfolk alphabet (merfolk script)
Α α Ᾱ ᾱ Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Θ θ
/a/ /aː/ /v/ /g/ /ð/ /ɛ/ /z/ /θ/
Ι ι Ῑ ῑ Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ο ο Π π
/ɪ/ /iː/ /k/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /ɔ/ /p/
Ρ ρ Σ σ/ς Τ τ Υ υ Ῡ ῡ Φ φ Χ χ
/r/ /s/ /t/ /ʏ/ /yː/ /f/ /h/

The digraphs ⟨ll/λλ⟩, ⟨ββ⟩, ⟨ph⟩, ⟨th⟩, ⟨dh⟩, ⟨ch/χι⟩, ⟨kh⟩, ⟨κι⟩, ⟨μπ⟩, ⟨ντ⟩, ⟨ου⟩ and ⟨οῡ⟩ are used to represent the phonemes /l̥/, /w/, /f/, /θ/, /ð/, /ç/, [x], /c/, /b/, /d/, /ʊ/ and /uː/ respectively. The grapheme ⟨ι⟩ is also used to represent /j/, as well as palatalization.

Naga Language

The naga language is particularly widespread in the regions of the Sleepless Sea and the Bay of Clouds, far beyond the reach of the Kingdom of Wesnoth. Substantial naga populations can be found in the Far North as well, particularly in the Black Marshes and the river delta of the Bork River, where they consistently clash with the local merfolk.

Phonology

The phonology of the naga language appears to be typologically unusual in comparison to other languages of Irdya. It has several laterals, but no voiced [l]. The voicing distinction among obstruents is missing as well, unlike in its sister language. Details of the fortis-lenis distinction are still a matter of debate among the scholars of Wesnoth, as fieldwork in naga territory comes with considerable risks.

Consonants
Labial Dental Alveolar Dorsal
Nasal m n
Obstruent Fortis b̥ d̥ ɡ̊
Lenis p t t͡ɬ k
Sibilant s̻ s̺ ç~ɕ
Fricative ʋ ɬ x
Sonorant ɾ j
Vowels
Front Back
Close i iː o
Mid e
Open a aː
Diphthong eɪ̯ aɪ̯ i̯a

The dorsal sibilant varies in pronunciation depending on the dialect. Voiced variants of lateral consonants appear intervocalically as allophones, as does the phone [v] as an allophone of /ʋ/ before an onset of a syllable.

Front vowels /i/, /e/ and /a/ tend to lenite into [ɪ], [ə] and [ɐ] when unstressed.

Orthography

Although the majority of the naga prefer to use the script of the dunefolk, learned from them due to years of coexistence, several communities in the Far North tend to use the wesnothian steel-hand as well.

Naga alphabet (steel-hand)
A a Ą ą B b D d E e G g H h
/a/ /aː/ /b̥/ /d̥/ /e/ /ɡ̊/ /x/
I i Į į K k L l M m N n O o
/i/ /iː/ /k/ /ɬ/ /m/ /n/ /o/
P p R r S s T t V v X x Z z
/p/ /ɾ/ /s̺/ /t/ /ʋ/ /ɕ/ /s̻/
Naga alphabet (dunefolk script)
ص ش س ر د خ ت ب ا
/s̻/ /ɕ/ /s̺/ /ɾ/ /d̥/ /x/ /t/ /b̥/ /aː/
ي و ە ن م ل ك غ ط
/iː/ /ʋ/ /e/ /n/ /m/ /ɬ/ /k/ /ɡ̊/ /t͡ɬ/

The digraph ⟨ll⟩ is used to represent /t͡ɬ/ in the steel-hand alphabet. Vowels /i/, /o, /a/ are typically not written in the dunefolk script, but can be represented with the diacritics ⟨ــِـ⟩, ⟨ــُـ⟩ and ⟨ــَـ⟩ respectively. ⟨i⟩ and ⟨ي⟩ also represent /j/ in diphthongs.

Gryphon Language

The gryphon language is spoken by the gryphons of the Gryphon Mountain and the surrounding gryphon populations nearing Knalga.

Phonology

Due to the biological constraints the gryphons possess, the diversity of sounds they are able to make appears to be quite limited.

Consonants
Front Back
Stop q ɢ
Fricative short s z ʂ
gem. sː zː ʂː
Sonorant short j r
gem. jː rː
Vowels
Front Back
short long short long overl.
Close i iː u uː uːː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː aːː

The rhotic /r/ varies greatly in pronunciation, but is most often pronounced as [ɰ].

Orthography

The gryphons themselves do not write their language down. For the purpose of keeping records and writing down names, the following alphabet is used in Wesnoth.

Gryphon alphabet
A a E e G g I i K k O o R r S s Y y Z z
/a/ /e/ /ɢ/ /i/ /q/ /o/ /r/ /s/ /j/ /z/

The digraph ⟨sh⟩ is used for /ʂ/. Vowel length and gemination are represented by doubling/trippling the corresponding letter (/ʂː/ is written as ⟨sshh⟩).

See Also

Retrieved from "https://wiki.wesnoth.org/index.php?title=Languages_of_Wesnoth&oldid=75472"
This page was last edited on 29 June 2026, at 10:01.