Nomenclature and Languages In Adel

A lot of worlds have a conlang, but I’m not adept enough to do this for Adel, nor would I want to. I try to use generic terms wherever possible to identify objects and people in my articles on Adel. For example, I don’t refer to the clothes Adelians wear as kimonos, hakamas or other non-English terms, despite the fact that those types of clothing are the closest to what I refer to as the Adelian’s “robes.” I also resisted the temptation to name their spirits and gods using real-world Hindu and Shinto mythology, though sometimes I will throw around an Oni or a Kappa or a particular flavor of creature.

Despite this, not everything in Adel is in English. In this post, I wanted to establish some of the fast-and-loose methods I employ when naming things in Adel, and what the words and names mean for the languages spoken in Adel. Adelians wouldn’t speak anything recognizable as English, but I write in English for a predominantly English audience. That being said, there are a few ways I play around with non-English languages. Note that some of these “rules” (such as they are) have not yet actually been shown in text, or are used in old, outdated articles and not in the new ones.

Nonetheless, they will likely see use in the future.

Primer On Adelian Language

All of Adel has a common language. Ever since the Aptoan Empire established itself, all of Adel has spoken Aptoa Standard, renamed Adelian Standard after the Aptoan Empire fell, and its name became taboo. Before this, each of the three major groups of Adelians had its own language. Some people may still speak a smattering of or carry on the tradition of the tribal languages, but for everyday life, every Adelian has a common language in Adelian Standard.

Adelian Standard is largely represented using words from English, Spanish, or both.

Magic in Adel has three different languages. The most common Adelian magical language is New Adelian, which is, again, represented to the reader as words of English, Spanish or both. However, Adelians also use some words of the Ancient Language, spoken by the Lost World inhabitants and Elves, as well as the Spirit Language, to form the basis of their first magical language, Old Adelian. This language was in use during the Aptoan Empire as the premier magical language. Old Adelian is a mixture of latinized words, de-facto latin and greek words, and Ainu or Swahili words.

Speaking strictly in-universe, neither Old Adelian or New Adelian can actually be used to carry a discussion – their structure is designed to focus the speaker on magic. New Adelian has a different grammatical structure from Adelian standard, that is intended to focus on a first-person subject commanding or shaping an object.

The third language of magic is Droemedae. This magic language is never actually represented to the reader of Adelian setting articles. If I were to write an Article where something of the Droemedae magic language is used, it would probably be a smattering of strange syllables creating weird sci-fish words, or perhaps numbers. Droemedae are meant to be alien and have a sci-fantasy touch to them, so their language could reflect this – perhaps computer code?

As mentioned above, the Lost World from which Adel was created after the cataclysm, had its own language. Whenever “The Ancient Language” is used, its words are represented by Latin and Greek, or fake “latinized” words. No Adelian actually speaks the ancient language, and only some can read it, usually mages. Adelians can translate it well enough to get the gist of things, and incorporated some of the words into the Old Adelian magic language. But they can’t actually speak the language well. There are some holes in their knowledge of it. It is impressive among academics to be able to carry a few sentences of a conversation in the ancient language. Nonetheless, what they know, they’ve used well.

Spirits have their own language, and it is in fact the oldest and most revered spoken language in Adel. When the Spirit’s tongue is used, its words are Hindi, Ainu and Swahili. These words have a special significance to the Adelians, and are a kind of liturgical voice for Adel’s religious community. Most people know songs that were originally in the spirit’s tongue, and thereby know those words in Adelian Standard, but cannot speak the spirit’s tongue as an everyday language. Oblates of the clergy, along with Cherubim, Seraphim and some Mages, can speak the Spirit’s tongue fluently.

Sorians speak Adelian Standard. However, they rely heavily “Southernisms” from the US, as well as speaking with a Southern drawl. Sorians have a number of stereotypical cultural features of the rural South.

Elves have their own language, but it is unimportant and never represented. In-universe, it is a “purer” form of the Ancient Language than what Adelians know – not perfect, but admirably close.

What’s In A Name?

Adel has a number of different languages. There are many different names thrown around with different origins and different significance within the setting. Here is a quick guide to Adelian names.

Spirit’s Tongue: African, Hindi and Ainu names are the most common among rural Adelians, due to their religious significance. For a number of reasons too heavy to get into, it takes a bit more effort to research proper Ainu names and words than it does to find Hindi and African names and words, but I recommend you do, for it is a unique and wonderful culture and language. You can find numerous Hindi and African names with a simple google search. Speaking from an in-universe perspective, the vast majority of characters should have such names, but that doesn’t mean yours must.

Adelian Standard: The second most common set of names would probably be Spanish names, and then English names. Towns and cities are less common than villages, and the rural population is greater than the urban. Adelian townsfolk and cityfolk are more likely to have names in Adelian Standard. Their lifestyles don’t revolve around nature, and give them less harmony and peaceful contemplation and interaction with their religion than the culture of villagers. That’s not to say the urban people are irreverent (though some might be), but they are not as close to their objects of worship as the villagers, who may see a spirit or two every day, and who have closer relationships with the Spirit Guardian of their village, than a townsperson has with his or her Town Spirit, or a city slicker has with his or her City Spirit or National Spirit.

Latin And Greek?: Adelians are as prey to trendiness as any other culture. Many Adelians probably find it cute to name a child a word of the Ancient Language, which would be Latin or Greek, though some of the more staunchly superstitious people might consider it taboo or ill fortune to use the language of the Lost World so lightly.

Japanese/Chinese?: As a conceit of the Japanese and Chinese inspiration of the setting, there are Japanese and Chinese words and names used in Adel. I would place these names in Adel as being part of the tribal tongues before the Aptoan Empire. So a character that is in touch with his or her heritage to its very roots would have a Japanese or Chinese name, or a character from a family that honors the tribal traditions prior to the Aptoan Empire.

Spells And Nomenclature

Having read the above, you probably have some idea of how to use Adelian nomenclature now in the ways I do. Spirit magic, hymn songs and other divine magic would use Hindi, Ainu and Swahili words. For example, the common Adelian magical attack “Smite” could be referred to as “Tawki,” “Buta” or “Hamale” if someone were casting the divine version of the attack (these are Ainu, Swahili and Hindi, respectively, for “hitting,” “striking,” “harming,” etc to convey the same meaning as the common spell name, Smite). The arcane version might be just Smite, or using the latin “Infligo.”

Sometimes Adelians make names up that seem fitting, drawing from whatever language. Angels for example are referred to by vaguely latinized, mock “scientific names” for their various “species” of machines.

As said before, the majority of Adelians wear robes. I prefer to call these “robes.” If you want to add a more definitive flavor, you could refer to the robe as a kimono, or you could even have Adelians wearing traditional Indian clothing such as the sari, langa and choli, or Ainu-inspired Attush robes. City Adelians and some townsfolk might wear more European-style clothing and call it what it is, but is very rare to see villagers in shirts and overalls. Soldiers tend to wears pants and jackets and shirts while on duty, and you would refer to that clothing style in English. From there, use your imagination.

Non-English Speaker?

I don’t mean for this article to marginalize or offend anybody. I am a native speaker of English and Spanish, and my audience has predominantly been of English and Spanish speakers, so I refer to those languages as the baseline for how I work and view the setting. If you speak German, then of course Adelian Standard is German. That is, after all, what you speak. If you speak Swahili, or are trying to keep the Ainu culture alive and vibrant, then those become your Adelian Standard, and English and Spanish might become the Spirit’s Tongue! In the absence of a conlang, we have to play around this way. I hope that the article enlightened, entertained or gave you ideas and I hope it did not cause offense.