I recently read 'Latin: Story of a World Language'. Fascinating, although the technicalities are somewhat imposing for an amateur latinist like myself. It's gotten me thinking about linguistic developments and changes as societies progress, and how intimately it is tied with political and cultural factors. Of course there is one major difference between the society of Europe and the societies of Eldwan in the Age of Light which has rather unforeseeable consequences - lifespan.
It would be a massive oversimplification to attribute all alterations of language to generational succession, but it is undoubtedly a significant factor. As older speakers die, it is inevitable that their period's particular style of vernacular is lost. Conversely, as younger speakers and writers come into their own, they also wish to establish themselves, and part of this is involves inventing new expressions and reusing existing words in novel ways.
Perhaps it would be best to say that a written language has much more stability than a language that exists purely as atmospheric vibrations. The Radiant and the Faithful establish their written culture early on, having a common heritage of scripts from the Age of Harmony. Furthermore, if anyone contributed to Tas Eldwarach in the same way that Cicero and the other great Roman writers contributed to Latin, a codification of grammar and style would soon set a standard. Furthermore, these immortal authors would exist to clarify and critique any grammatical confusion of future generations, likely further inhibiting any drift away from their established rules.
Innovation would still be permitted, surely. But texts would be carefully sorted by the period in which they were written and overall, there would be far less change than what we observe in our present day languages. Furthermore, pronunciation would also have reduced variation, as the younger speakers grow up among a very static population of speakers who have been using the same vowels and consonants for centuries. The younger speakers would have to adopt the phonetic values of their elders to be understood, and this may have been firmly entrenched by formal education.
However, the situation is rendered a little more complicated by the existence of two separate societies in the Age of Light. I suggest that their grammar might not have differed significantly, since that was established when humanity was united. The definitions and connotations of words would have shifted. It might be particularly evident with words that were involved directly with the Day of Rebellion and Alero. For example, words like dragon, noon, independent, judgement and sunset, would have polarised positive or negative associations between the Radiant and the Faithful.
New words invented post-Rebellion would also have existed predominantly in only one society. This would include technical language, to describe new inventions, new discoveries and new ideas. These words would have migrated over to the other society, but would have been labelled as foreign borrowings. Since the Radiant focused on physics and electromagnetism in particular, they would have the appropriate terminology, while the Faithful, with their focus on natural symbiosis, would have had their own set of jargon. Words would also dance in and out of favour, just as they do today. The societies would have diverged in their choice word for a particular activity or noun.
Considering a wider range of events, the High Elves on the Far Continent would have had a very different language from the Cradle societies, but the telepathic abilities of the Elves would allow the Ward Elves to integrate themselves quite easily if they ever came into contact. But the essential features of the High Elvish language would have been fixed, as it is also descended from the original Tas Eldwarach.
Moving forward into the other ages, Tas Eldwarach is still spoken in Alaris in the Age of Water, but since death is now a prevalent spectre, it soon becomes the formal codified language and is distanced from the population's vernacular. The gods of Alaris would have persisted in Tas Eldwarach, so it would become the tongue of the state, the law and of religion. Of course the Elves would have spoken it as well, but the language of the Scattered along the coasts would have embarked on great Odysseys of transformation.
Tas Eldwarach was eventually lost to mortal man during the Confusion, the fatal blow to Alaris and human hubris. Thereafter it was known as the language of the Elves, as the Elves spoke it among themselves and not when interacting with the Fallen. After the Confusion, the languages of the Fallen would have proceeded, uninhibited, in their fragmentary metamorphoses. The languages of the Scattered would become isolate languages as the societies of the proud descendants of Alaris set out to claim vast tracks of land in the Age of Rulers.
Perhaps it would be best to say that a written language has much more stability than a language that exists purely as atmospheric vibrations. The Radiant and the Faithful establish their written culture early on, having a common heritage of scripts from the Age of Harmony. Furthermore, if anyone contributed to Tas Eldwarach in the same way that Cicero and the other great Roman writers contributed to Latin, a codification of grammar and style would soon set a standard. Furthermore, these immortal authors would exist to clarify and critique any grammatical confusion of future generations, likely further inhibiting any drift away from their established rules.
Innovation would still be permitted, surely. But texts would be carefully sorted by the period in which they were written and overall, there would be far less change than what we observe in our present day languages. Furthermore, pronunciation would also have reduced variation, as the younger speakers grow up among a very static population of speakers who have been using the same vowels and consonants for centuries. The younger speakers would have to adopt the phonetic values of their elders to be understood, and this may have been firmly entrenched by formal education.
However, the situation is rendered a little more complicated by the existence of two separate societies in the Age of Light. I suggest that their grammar might not have differed significantly, since that was established when humanity was united. The definitions and connotations of words would have shifted. It might be particularly evident with words that were involved directly with the Day of Rebellion and Alero. For example, words like dragon, noon, independent, judgement and sunset, would have polarised positive or negative associations between the Radiant and the Faithful.
New words invented post-Rebellion would also have existed predominantly in only one society. This would include technical language, to describe new inventions, new discoveries and new ideas. These words would have migrated over to the other society, but would have been labelled as foreign borrowings. Since the Radiant focused on physics and electromagnetism in particular, they would have the appropriate terminology, while the Faithful, with their focus on natural symbiosis, would have had their own set of jargon. Words would also dance in and out of favour, just as they do today. The societies would have diverged in their choice word for a particular activity or noun.
Considering a wider range of events, the High Elves on the Far Continent would have had a very different language from the Cradle societies, but the telepathic abilities of the Elves would allow the Ward Elves to integrate themselves quite easily if they ever came into contact. But the essential features of the High Elvish language would have been fixed, as it is also descended from the original Tas Eldwarach.
Moving forward into the other ages, Tas Eldwarach is still spoken in Alaris in the Age of Water, but since death is now a prevalent spectre, it soon becomes the formal codified language and is distanced from the population's vernacular. The gods of Alaris would have persisted in Tas Eldwarach, so it would become the tongue of the state, the law and of religion. Of course the Elves would have spoken it as well, but the language of the Scattered along the coasts would have embarked on great Odysseys of transformation.
Tas Eldwarach was eventually lost to mortal man during the Confusion, the fatal blow to Alaris and human hubris. Thereafter it was known as the language of the Elves, as the Elves spoke it among themselves and not when interacting with the Fallen. After the Confusion, the languages of the Fallen would have proceeded, uninhibited, in their fragmentary metamorphoses. The languages of the Scattered would become isolate languages as the societies of the proud descendants of Alaris set out to claim vast tracks of land in the Age of Rulers.
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