Calishite Alzhedo was a regional tongue of Southwest Faerûn, as well as the main language of Calimshan[1][2] and its native Calishites.[3]
Speakers[]
In the land of Calimshan, Alzhedo was spoken throughout polite society, as well as at court, in all government and judicial proceedings,[4][5] and in all official documents, ranging from those written by druzirs all the way up to the syl-pasha. Many visitors to Calimshan also learned the language so as to avoid being taken advantage of by local merchants. And the ruling class of the nation often sneered at doing business with those who didn't know even a smattering of the language.[5]
Beyond Calimshan, other regions where it was commonly spoken included: Amn, Chult, the Lake of Steam, Lapaliiya, Lantan, the Nelanther Isles, the Shaar, Tashalar, Tethyr, Waterdeep (among dwarves, elves, and gnomes), the Western Heartlands (among halflings and planetouched), the Wealdath, Tharsult, and the Old Shanatar region of the Underdark.[1]
History[]
Alzhedo was classified as part of the greater Untheric languages group, distantly related to the Midani language of Zakhara.[6] Calishite Alzhedo was very closely related to Old Alzhedo, the language spoken on the Elemental Plane of Air. This lent some credence to the theory that the first civilizations in the Calimshan area were made up of travelers from that plane.[4][5] However, other scholars argued that rather than the Plane of Air, the ancient Djen had migrated from the lands of Zakhara.[7] Further complicating matters, some observed that Alzhedo bore some similarities to the Ignan tongue spoken in the Plane of Fire.[8]
Phonology[]
It was a more guttural language than Old Alzhedo, and included many elements from Common, Dwarvish, and Elvish. It was considered to be the most melodic of human languages, nearly reaching the melodic heights of elvish.[5] It was to many a difficult language to learn and master,[4][5] for inflections and tones were used to convey subtle meanings.[5]
Script[]
Alzhedo, like most primarily human tongues, used the Thorass alphabet.[2]
Dialects[]
- Arnadar pidgin
- Throughout the Calishite city-states of the Arnaden region, many of those whom were conversant in both Common and Alzhedo combined the two into a pidgin tongue. At times this could consist of full conversations, but on other occasions it would be used in only a single sentence if a speaker felt that one of the languages better expressed their intent than the other.[9]
- High Calidrian
- A dialect that was spoken by the majority of Calishites.[6]
Names[]
Common Alzhedo surnames included Basha, Dumein, Jassan, Khalid, Mostana, Pashar, and Rein.[10]
Appendix[]
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See Also[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 11–31, Errata 1–2. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 85. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Scott Haring (1988). Empires of the Sands. (TSR, Inc), pp. 48–49. ISBN 0-8803-8539-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 53. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thomas M. Costa (1999). “Speaking in Tongues”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #4 (TSR, Inc) (4)., pp. 24–29.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ Christopher Rowe (March 2011). Sandstorm. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9, p. 150. ISBN 978-0786957422.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 12. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.