This is a bit of a reach, given that the topic is about 5 years old by now, but I only recently started thinking about this.
In the official post of the (admittedly incomplete) Dragonspeak Dictionary, a fair amount of terms used ingame are expanded upon and given real definitions with which to understand a fair amount of the language, but also to understand the phonology behind the language even if much of it is left to subtext instead of explicit explanation like in A Lesson In Dragonspeak.
For the most part, this is a very realistic example of a language that could be used by dragons, most notably for the exclusion of the bilabiar plosives /b/ and /p/, along with the voiced labiodental fricative /v/. A problem arises when you consider the voiced bilabial plosive /m/ should also not be possible, nor should the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/. But, truly, these don't bother me as much as it seems, it just seems slightly odd. Acceptable enough for /f/, as a similar sound is possible by attempting a dental fricative just below the lips, but /m/... I'll just let it go.
The real problem lies in a word that is near and dear to the hearts of many, goes totally unmentioned in the (again, admittedly incomplete) Dragonspeak Dictionary, and should, by the languages own unspoken phonology rules, be impossible -
Bahrr, of Bahrr Lehs.
This is the name of the location you restore in the Moogle Beast Tribe quests, and thus is a word used a relative many times within the script. It goes undefined, as many Dran words in the game do, and is spoken by many a dragon within the quests even though, logically, they should not be able to, as dragons do not have lips. And it contains - even begins with, again, a sound totally absent from said dictionary of terminology and the existing set of phonemes we are familiar with.
Of course, I am not mad about this. This is an overall well-made language and very interesting linguistically to me along with all its simple intricacies. It is also a video game language that is just for fun. I just found it interesting that such a - relatively - important word wouldn't match the rules laid down by the creator of the language, and I enjoyed learning more about Dragonspeak as I investigated this. I don't even know if anyone else was nerdy enough to notice this!
Naturally, I do still wish to know what it means, but I suppose it is a mystery that will remain unsolved.
Continue reading...
In the official post of the (admittedly incomplete) Dragonspeak Dictionary, a fair amount of terms used ingame are expanded upon and given real definitions with which to understand a fair amount of the language, but also to understand the phonology behind the language even if much of it is left to subtext instead of explicit explanation like in A Lesson In Dragonspeak.
For the most part, this is a very realistic example of a language that could be used by dragons, most notably for the exclusion of the bilabiar plosives /b/ and /p/, along with the voiced labiodental fricative /v/. A problem arises when you consider the voiced bilabial plosive /m/ should also not be possible, nor should the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/. But, truly, these don't bother me as much as it seems, it just seems slightly odd. Acceptable enough for /f/, as a similar sound is possible by attempting a dental fricative just below the lips, but /m/... I'll just let it go.
The real problem lies in a word that is near and dear to the hearts of many, goes totally unmentioned in the (again, admittedly incomplete) Dragonspeak Dictionary, and should, by the languages own unspoken phonology rules, be impossible -
Bahrr, of Bahrr Lehs.
This is the name of the location you restore in the Moogle Beast Tribe quests, and thus is a word used a relative many times within the script. It goes undefined, as many Dran words in the game do, and is spoken by many a dragon within the quests even though, logically, they should not be able to, as dragons do not have lips. And it contains - even begins with, again, a sound totally absent from said dictionary of terminology and the existing set of phonemes we are familiar with.
Of course, I am not mad about this. This is an overall well-made language and very interesting linguistically to me along with all its simple intricacies. It is also a video game language that is just for fun. I just found it interesting that such a - relatively - important word wouldn't match the rules laid down by the creator of the language, and I enjoyed learning more about Dragonspeak as I investigated this. I don't even know if anyone else was nerdy enough to notice this!
Naturally, I do still wish to know what it means, but I suppose it is a mystery that will remain unsolved.
Continue reading...