MYSTARAN LANGUAGES
By Fabrizio Paoli and Marco Dalmonte
HUMAN LANGUAGES
This is the (almost) complete list of human languages in Mystara outer world (Known World + Red Steel/Savage Coast + Poor Wizard's Almanac) and how they are linked together.
Alphatian (Alphatian Empire, Minaean Coast, Glantri [Flaemish], Helskir, Ochalea)
Atruaghi (Atruaghin clans, probably different from clan to clan, the Horse Clan doesn't have a spoken language but uses hand signals.)
Averoignese (Glantri)
Darokinian (Darokin, Five Shires, Ierendi, Sind (not much))
Denagothian (Denagoth)
Emerondian (Emerond)
Espa (the other Savage Baronies)
Ethengarian (Ethengar, Glantri)
Eusdrian (Esudria)
Heldannic (Heldann, Northern Reaches, Norwold, Qeodhar, Wendar)
Hulean (Hule)
Jennite (Jen, Esterhold, Minaean Coast)
Kaelic (Glantri)
Karimari (Ulimwengu)
Makai (Ierendi)
Milenian (many dialects in Davania)
Minaean (Minaean Coast)
Minrothaddan (Minrothad)
Nuari (Pearl Islands)
Ochalean (Ochalea)
Ranax (Robrenn)
Sindhi (Sind, Sind Desert, Barren Plain)
Slag (Savage Coast Common tongue, used in the city-states, the Savage Baronies, Robrenn, Esudria, Renardy and Herath, known by traders in southern Hule, northern Yavdlom, Bellayne and Tortles )
Slagich (City States)
Thothian (Thothia)
Thyatian (Thyatian Empire, Alatian Islands, Five Shires, Glantri, Heldann [Hattian-Heldannic], Ierendi (for trade), Helskir, Karameikos, Norwold, Rockhome)
Thratian (Thyatian Hinterlands)
Traladaran (Karameikos, Glantri)
Urduk (Sind, Sind Desert, Barren Plain)
Verdan (Vilaverde, Texeira)
Yavi (Yavdlom)
Ylari (Ylaruam)
After reading the complete Timeline (thanks Daniel), I can draw the following conclusion:
In Mystara there are 4 alien languages: Alphatian/Flaemish, Averoignese, Kaelic (Klantyrian Gaelic, by Chris Davies) and Emerondian.
We can recognise 4 main linguistic stocks in Mystara: Oltec/Azcan, Tanagoro, Neathar, Nithian.
From Tanagoro come Nuari and Yavi (with Sheyallia Elvish influence).
From Nithian originate Thothian, Ylari and Traldar (which later became Traladaran), and from this come Slagich.
Neathar is the "father" of Makai, Urduk and Antalian. From the last one come Esudrian, Heldannic, Thratian and Thyatian.
From the Oltec/Azcan group come Ethengarian , Atruaghi, Jennite, Sindhi (with Urduk influx) and Minaean (with strong Milenian influence).
Darokinian should be a mix of Nithian, Traldar, Ylari and probably Sindhi, Elvish and Thyatian.
Glantrian is (according to Chris) a technical language that takes words from Flaemish, Averoignese, Traldar, Thyatian, Kaelic, Alphatian, 2 Elvish dialects, and Ethengharian.
Milenian comes from Traldar and Oltec.
Minrothad Patois is a mix of all languages.
Slag derives directly from Thyatian, with a faint Slagich (Traladaran) influence.
Verdan and Espa come from Ispan (Thyatian dialect of Kerendas).
Denagothian and Ochalean aren't linked to any other language.
DEMI-HUMAN LANGUAGES
This is the (almost) complete list of demi-human languages spoken throughout the whole Mystara (Known World + Hollow World + Red Steel/Savage Coast + Poor Wizard's Almanac) and how they are linked together.
Dwarvish, Cimarron dialect (Cimarron and Savage Baronies)
Dwarvish, common (Rockhome dialect) (Rockhome, Thyatis, Northern Reaches, Karameikos, Savage Coast)
Dwarvish, Denwarf-Hurgon dialect (Alphatia, Norwold)
Dwarvish, Eusdrian dialect (Eusdria)
Dwarvish, Kogolor dialect (Kogolor Lands)
Dwarvish, Modrigswerg dialect (Northern Reaches)
Elvish, Aquarendi dialect (Undersea, Minrothad)
Elvish, Belcadiz dialect (Glantri)
Elvish, Blacklore dialect (Blacklore Valley)
Elvish, Callarii dialect (Karameikos)
Elvish, common (Alfheim dialect) (Alfheim, Karameikos, Glantri, Wendar, Darokin, Five Shires)
Elvish, E'aar dialect (Immortal's Arm, Nimmur)
Elvish, Erewan dialect (Glantri, Karameikos)
Elvish, Eusdrian dialect (Eusdria)
Elvish, Genalleth dialect (Wendar)
Elvish, Gentle Folk dialect (Gentle Folk Territory)
Elvish, Icevale dialect (Elflands of Icevale)
Elvish, Medier (Meditor/Verdier) dialect (Minrothad)
Elvish, N'djatwa dialect (N'djatwa Tribal Lands)
Elvish, Robrenn dialect (Robrenn)
Elvish, Savage Baronies dialect (Savage Baronies)
Elvish, Schattenalfen dialect (Schattenalfheim)
Elvish, Shadowelf dialect (Shadowelf Territories, Aengmor City, Aengmor/Alfheim)
Elvish, Sheyallia dialect (Graakhalia)
Elvish, Shiye dialect (Alphatia, Norwold)
Elvish, Sylvan dialect (Sylvan Realm)
Elvish, Trueflower dialect (Isle of Dawn)
Elvish, Vyalia dialect (Thyatis, Karameikos)
Gnomish, Davanian dialect (Davanian gnomish settlements)
Gnomish, Highforge dialect (Karameikos)
Gnomish, Hulean dialect (Hule, Savage Coast)
Gnomish, Oostdok dialect (Oostdok)
Gnomish, Serraine dialect (Serraine, Alphatian Neatharum, Aegos)
Gnomish, Stoutfellow dialect (Alphatia)
Halfling, common (Five Shires dialect) (Five Shires, Darokin, Ierendi, Karameikos, Minrothad, Thyatis, Savage Coast)
Halfling, Lalor dialect (Norwold, Five Shires)
All Elvish dialects come from the Old Elven Tongue, but have evolved so much that some of them seem unrecognizable to other elves.
The Aquarendi dialect is what is most similar to the Old Elven Tongue, then comes the Blacklore, strongly influenced by Blackmoorian (human language) to the point of being full of "technical" terms related to their automatons.
The Sylvan dialect also originates from the Old Elven Tongue, being the language spoken by all the elves who fled Grunland, as well as the Meditor/Verdier dialect, commonly referred as Medier (who separated from Ilsundal's group and settled in Traladara). However, both the Sylvan and the Medier dialects evolved from the Old Elven Tongue and became quite different from it with the passing of the centuries (note that the Feadiels of Alfheim speak both the Sylvan dialect AND the Alfheim one).
From the Sylvan dialect originate the Alfheim and Callari dialects (very similar to each other), and the Shiye dialect comes from the Sylvan one too, but this is almost completely different from the "Known World elvish", because they evolved in two distant continents separated by great geograpical barriers (oceans and mountains).
From the Alfheim dialect comes the Erewan dialect (this one very similar to the common elvish), the tongue of the Alfheim clan that migrated to Glantri when the Principalities formed.
As for the Genalleth dialect, it's faintly linked to the shadowelf dialect and the Old Elven Tongue, because the Genalleth (Wendar) elves were part of the elven clans that migrated near Blackmoor in the old days of Grunland, but then got separated from the rest of the elven folk and developed their own tongue.
The Shadowelf and Schattenalfen dialects are similar, but the Schattenalfen is much more influenced by the Azcan (although the Schattenalfen think the Azcan have been influenced by them).
The Icevale dialect derives from the Old Elven Tongue, because the Icevale elves were part of the Ilsundal migration to Brun (they decided to settle in the frozen valleys of Glantri instead of going on with Ilsundal, living there in complete isolation from the rest of the world), and it is now not very much different from it.
The Gentle Folk dialect is similar to the Icevale, because the Gentle Folk and the Icevale once belonged to the same elven group that lived in Glantri before the Broken Lands catastrophe of BC 1700. However, the Gentle Folk dialect is different from the Icevale because it's been strongly influenced by Halfling (Lalor dialect) and so they don't understand each other that much.
The Sheyallia dialect too is linked to the Old Elven Tongue, because the Sheyallia clan was with Ilsundal when he crossed the Savage Coast. However, they stopped in Yavdlom, and here the language was strongly influenced by Oltec. Then, when they were forced to migrate, the Sheyallia settled for a brief time in Sind (some of them still live there), and then moved to the Plains of Fire, where they found and settled in Graakhalia, finally merging with Grugraak gnolls. The language now spoken there is an odd mixture of Elvish, Gnoll and Oltec, barely recognizable as an elven tongue.
The Eusdrian and Robrenn dialects derive from the Old Elven Tongue too, because they were spoken by those clans which had joined Ilsundal's migration but settled in the Savage Coast. They have been slightly influenced by Robrenn and Eusdrian human tongues, languages spoken by the tribes of the north-central part of Brun which migrated to the Savage Coast around AC 390 pushed by the Huleans.
Unlike their brethern living in Eusdria and Robrenn, the elves of the Savage Baronies have not been influenced much by the Ispans, but on the contrary they have influenced the humans, and the nobles of some of the Savage Baronies now speak elvish to distinguish themselves from the commoners. The elven tongue of this region has strong ties to the Old Elven Tongue, but it has also been strongly influenced by Oltec, and so it's now a bit much different from the old tongue.
The N'djatwa dialect is a mixture of Old Elven Tongue and Orcish, the N'djatwa beign elf-orc crossbreeds living in Davania, really difficult to understand for every other elf.
The E'aar dialect is totally different from the other elvish dialects. It derives from the Old Elven Tongue (the E'aars took part in Ilsundal's migration and settled in the mountains of the Arm of the Immortals) and the Language of Faeries, who (according to the legend) gave the E'aars their wings.
The Belcadiz dialect is an odd mixture of elvish and Ispan (thyatian dialect), but its roots are not easy to retrace because of the lack of information about the Belcadiz clan.
The Vyallia is truly amazing to explain. It seems it's somehow related to the Meditor/Verdier and the Callarii dialects, but somehow it took a different accent and syntax and becam the Vyalia dialect. This is probably due to the isolation policy of its clan members (note that the Karameikan Vyalia are much more close mouthed and xenophobic than their thyatian brethern)
Finally, the Trueflower dialect is difficult to analyze, given the lack of information about the clan, but it probably originates either from the Shiye dialect or from the Minrothad/Verdier (they live on the Isle of Dawn, so they are likely to come from Alphatia, which had a strong grip on it, or from Minrothad, a group of Meditor elves who ventured too far from home and got stranded on the Thothian plateau).
The Halfling is a much more simple matter. All the halflings commonly known speak the dialect of the Five Shires, and the most knowledged speak also the Lalor dialect, the ancient Halfling tongue. Surprisingly, the halflings are much more resistant to linguistic influence than any other demihuman race.
The halflings living in the Norwold stronghold of Leeha on the other hand, speak ONLY Lalor dialect.
The dwarvish of Rockhome is widely spoken by almost all the dwarves of the surface nations of Mystara. It is the "father" of the Denwarf-Hurgon dialect spoken in the alphatian territories, which is similar but somehow different from it (someone speaking common dwarvish understands only 60% of the Denwarf-Hurgon dialect).
The Modrigswerg dialect is only slightly similar to the Rockhome dialect, because several centuries of life spent underground shunned by every other race has made the Modrigswerg dwarves (and dialect) develop along their own personal lines.
The Kogolor dialect is completely different from modern dwarvish and has no ties with it.
The dwarvish of Eusdria is mainly Rockhome dialect influenced by the human Eusdrian tongue, while the Cimarron dialect (derived from Rockhome too) is the dwarvish dialect spoken in the Savage Baronies, heavily influenced by Espa.
The gnomish of Davania seems to be the original language from which all the other dialects have developed.
The gnomish of Oostdok is very similar to the Highforge and Serraine dialects, being influenced by both (the Flaemaker were from Serraine and the Valoin from the Northern Reaches, where they spoke the same language of the Highforge gnomes).
The gnomish dialect spoken in Hule is tied to the davanian dialect, but has been strongly influenced by Hulean.
The Stoutfellow dialect is closely linked to the Highforge dialect, but has evolved much differently due to the distance.
Finally, the Serraine dialect is a mix of old gnomish of Davania and many terms drawn from the languages of the aerial creatures like faenare, sphinxes, pegataurs, and the other races of Serraine.