Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Languages in Sartar

Posted on December 2, 2022

Let’s think a little bit about languages. So in Sartar pretty much everyone either speaks Sartarite (aka Heortling) or Old Tarshite as their first language. Pretty much everybody also some knows Tradetalk – when you talk to someone you don’t know, it is usually in Tradetalk. Most people also know their cult language – usually Earthspeech or Stormspeech. That’s the language cult ceremonies typically employ.

A smattering of people know a foreign language such Praxian, Darktongue, Pure Horse Speech, Beastspeech, New Pelorian, etc. Esrolian is a closely related language – most Sartarites can understand Esrolian reasonably well, and some study it to speak as well as a native.

What language people use depends on context. For discussions with family, clan, and tribe, most people use Sartarite. At the market or with strangers, most people use Tradetalk. In cult rites, the cult language is often used (note – some cults have no special language). And foreign languages might be used to have a deeper communication than with Tradetalk.

So if you go to a marketplace, you will hear a lot of Tradetalk, some private discussions in Sartarite, and a smattering of foreign language (the trolls speaking Darktongue among themselves, the Seven Mothers cultists exchanging New Pelorian, etc.). You might even hear a curse or two muttered in a cult language!

Language Tree from RuneQuest

Where do the old Pelorian languages fit? There are a whole host of Pelorian Farmer Languages – Darseni, Naverian, Kostaddi, Darjiini, Jarasan, Suvaran, Pelandan, etc. They all come out of Fire Speech (now only 1/10th skill) and most have some intelligibility with Dara Happan (1/2 skill).

I don’t think there are any common languages in lowland Peloria that are derived from Earthtongue – beyond Earthtongue itself (which is used by some cults).

New Pelorian is a newer development. It is mutually intelligible with Dara Happan and the other Pelorian Farmer Languages, and has some traces of Fire Speech and Pure Horse.

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Language, Peloria, Sartar (homeland), Tradetalk

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • Role-playing in Glorantha
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Defunct Sartar Tribes

    The Dundealos tribe was “destroyed” by the Lunar Provincial Government …
  • CHArisma

    CHA is arguably the most important characteristic in the game …
  • Sartarite Names

    Many Sartarite names combine prefixes and suffixes as per below; …
  • Dragon Pass Map Forest Overlay

    Just because I find it interesting, here’s that composite map …
  • Ramalia

    So the last major polity in Maniria is Genertela’s answer …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest Glorantha on MeWe
  • Glorantha Wiki on Fandom
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Looking for VTT players for Pol Joni campaign
  • Sorcery Runes and Components
  • the length of spirit magic spells ?
  • 5th session in and Vishi was having a bad night.
  • Clarification sought on Jonstown Compendium
  • Daily life expenses in Sartarite cities
  • What Prevents Dead Trolls from Self Resurrecting by Returning Back to the Surface World?
  • Shargash Crown (not Helmet)
  • Orlanthi crafting
  • The Scared Girl

Popular Tags

2007 Avalon Hill Boldhome Chaosium Chaos pantheon Cult demographics Cults of Glorantha (preview) Deprecated cult Doraddi pantheon Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FR G+ post Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt HW Issaries Jar-eel Lhankor Mhy Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose Nomad Gods Oriflam Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Prax (homeland) RQ2 RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Solar pantheon Spirit Cult Subcult Tales of the Reaching Moon Tatou Troll / Uz pantheon Yelm Yelmalio

Recently added or updated

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Q&A

  • Defunct Sartar Tribes

  • CHA4029 RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack – Q&A

  • Red Emperor

  • Notes on The Red Emperor

  • Takenegi

  • Thed

  • Daak

  • Dakkalesilla

  • DonKivis the Aesthete

  • Barntar

  • Yelmalio

  • Entekos

  • Runes (2004)

  • Bagog

  • Shargash

  • Entekos in the Lunar Heartlands

  • Buserian

  • Myth of the Month: Clouds (2000)

  • Welcome to the Glorantha Resource Site

©2023 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme