Scripts for the languages


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

Shadow Lodge

Do we know what the various languages look like when written out?

I'd imagine some of the basics: Keleshite is like an Arabic script, Vudrani is like Devanagari, Osiriani is in hieroglyphics (although maybe that's Ancient Osiriani and Modern Osiriani is Demotic).

Taldane? I want it Cyrillic. Specifically, like this.

Ulfen? Probably runic. Hallit, Varisian, Shoanti, Polyglot? No clue. Any suggestions for the tongues of other races? (What does Halfling look like?)

Hey, maybe Draconic should be based off Tibetan. Given the role of dragons in Tian Xia, that might not be so bad.

Sovereign Court Contributor

We also know that Roman numerals are a heritage of Jistka.

Tibetan, however, has an alphabet derived from a Indian writing system. I'm not sure the Tibet analogue would not be better placed in Vudra, given the religion, alphabet, tradition of mythological creatures, and trading links were historically more akin to South Asia than East Asia.

Perhaps Draconic might be linked to one of the undeciphered alphabets or writing systems, like Linear A. It even looks like pictures of dragons..


Jeff Erwin wrote:
Tibetan, however, has an alphabet derived from a Indian writing system. I'm not sure the Tibet analogue would not be better placed in Vudra, given the religion, alphabet, tradition of mythological creatures, and trading links were historically more akin to South Asia than East Asia.

But the Himalayas-analogue are the west coast of Tian Xia.


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...on reflection, I think it would be hilarious if Taldane script was that found in the Voynich Manuscript. :D

EDIT: There are even fonts.

Sovereign Court Contributor

Evil Midnight Lurker wrote:
Jeff Erwin wrote:
Tibetan, however, has an alphabet derived from a Indian writing system. I'm not sure the Tibet analogue would not be better placed in Vudra, given the religion, alphabet, tradition of mythological creatures, and trading links were historically more akin to South Asia than East Asia.
But the Himalayas-analogue are the west coast of Tian Xia.

Actually, the whole roof of world thing has been split among a number of different areas. We don't know for sure whether there are Himalayan-style mountains in Vudra or not, yet. Another parallel is in Varisia itself - Xin-Shalast and its links to Leng is clearly pulp Tibet (Shangri-la). The best reason for not associating Tibet specifically with Tian Xia is that there's no cultural analogue. The Wall of Heaven at least equally borrows from the mythical Kunlun mountains, home of the Spirit Mother of the West and the Jade Emperor. These formed the edge of the known world in Chinese tradition far more than the Himalayas did.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Hm...lesse, Ancient Taldan could in fact be Cyrillic, though modern Common (Taldan/Chelish) I've always assumed had a romance script (latin, specifically, or italian, considering a lot of Chelish names and words). Ulfen would be runic, and Hallit...hm...what were ancient Germanic characters like? Polylglot is tough, because i have no idea WHICH language of the African continent its based on, since a few didn't have a written alphabet, and the ones that do, i don't know the names of. Garundi is probably what the OP said, the same for Keleshite. Tian-Min would be kanji, or something similar, as would the other Tien languages (more eastern script, not specifically kanji). Varisian would be whatever script the Romani used...with Indo-European and heavy Balkan influence.

As for the race scripts...hoo boy.

Celestial uses the angelic script, or it might look abrahamic. Elven can just use the script Tolkien came up with, because why not. Halfling, being originally cobbled together from a bunch of other languages, would be romance-like. Gnomish would be whatever sort of script gaelic used (and sylvan would be similar, as would aklo). Dwarven would be runic, but a different sort of runic than Norse. I have no idea beyond that.


Anything that should look like Akkadian?

Still wish I knew that language myself and all.


I made a kind of handwritten Dwarven font for a fake tattoo that my character has it's monoline like she might be able to do to herself sitting in the camp at night. It's based pretty much on what I understand Tolkien's runic based characters for Dwarfs are. I made up a number system sort of combining roman numerals and Frasi. I'll make a dropbox link but I don't know how long it will stay up. Email if the link is dead and me if you want to check it out.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/001c7xj4w8unp8w/DwarvenRunetattoo-Regular.otf.zip ?dl=0


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Icyshadow wrote:

Anything that should look like Akkadian?

Still wish I knew that language myself and all.

I know more Sumerian than I do Akkadian (not saying too much) and OOH BOY is that a wibbly-wobbly, silly-willy, go-home-you're-drunk orthography. I've tried writing out Sumerian using the cuneiform you can access on Google products, and it was an exercise in patience and frustration.

But so pretty, though! <3 you, cuneiform! Kakama!

There is, obviously, Ninshabur as a place that begs to use a cuneiformic system (and is even stated as having done so), but that means players are pretty unlikely to see it....Areshkigal is a demon lord, and there's Nurgal and Nergal, and there are girtablilu and shedu and lamassu and such around....

Ninshabur seems to have exerted a significant influence on Kelesh, and thus on Qadira. Considering the other influences there, Keleshite script might be a Demotic-like cursive form of cuneiform in a flowing, calligraphic style like Arabic. Sounds pretty ~ if I had any visual-arts skill, I might play around with that.

Sarenrae has made High Ninshabur part of her realm in Nirvana, too, so I can totes see cuneiform being the basis for a cultic language in her worship.


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The Drunken Dragon wrote:
Tian-Min would be kanji, or something similar, as would the other Tien languages (more eastern script, not specifically kanji)

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If its like Earth, it would be close to Kanji (Japanese for Chinese or Han writing/characters), but only because of the origins of that writing system, Hànzì (Mandarin Chinese for Han writing/characters).

For Tian-Shu, the language of Tien would just use "Hànzì"(probably called Shuzì on Golarian).


Then, what language uses hiragana to their script?


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Laclale♪ wrote:
Then, what language uses hiragana to their script?

Tian-Min, or any language that is meant to be based on Japanese.

Note that, in Japanese, hiragana is hardly ever used exclusively on its own. Kanji is used for concepts that correspond to Chinese words. Hiragana is added for native Japanese words and word elements, and katakana is used for words imported from foreign languages.

I once traveled to Japan with a Chinese-American co-worker who informed me that she could read about 50% of the Japanese writing that she saw there.

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