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Midani language
Midani is the common tongue of Zakhara. It is spoken by all "enlightened" citizens of that region as well as by most unenlightened savages of that land.[1] A version of Midani is also spoken by the Bedine.[2]
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Variants
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Zakhara has five regional dialects. In the Pearl Cities, Midani is spoken with a sharp, precise rhythm, with the ends of sentences clipped off. In the Pantheist League, consonants are trilled, seemingly at random. In eastern Zakhara, Midani is spoken with a nasal accent. In Huzuz and Hiyal, the accent sounds flat and mechanical compared to other Midani speakers. The folk of Huzuz and Hiyal believe they speak the "true" version of the Midani tongue.[1]
Thieves' Cant is a choppy Midani lingo spoken only by rogues. It varies slightly from city to city.[1]
Maran is another dialect of Midani.[3]
Dead TonguesEdit
Related to Midani are several forgotten languages no longer spoken by any living cultures. They include Noga and Kadari (from the Ruined Kingdoms).[1] Other dead languages once spoken in the Zakhara region, such as Affa, Drow Elven, and Chun, are apparently not related to Midani.[3]
HistoryEdit
Like Mulhorandi, Mahjuri, Alzho, and Untheric, Midani is part of the Rauric language family. It is specifically part of the Untheric language group, like Untheric and Alhzo.[3] All Rauric languages are derived, at least in part, from the slave argot of ancient Imaskar.[4]
Midani has roots in all four elemental tongues.[3] This probably means it's partly descended from Jannti, the language of the genie races.[1]
In -339 DR, Bedine nomads migrated through a portal from Zakhara to the Anauroch Desert, intermingling with a handful of Netherese survivors. The Bedine retained their ancestral Midani tongue, but lost all knowledge of the written version of that tongue. Centuries later, traders from surrounding lands introduced the Thorass alphabet to the Bedine, which they use to this day instead of the historical Midani alphabet.[2]
Midani phrasesEdit
- Aywa (EYE wah): Yes.[1]
- La (LAH): No.[1]
- Es salam alekum (ess sah LAMB ah LEH koom): May peace be upon you. A general greeting.[1]
- Wa alekum es salam (wah ah LEH koom ess sah LAMB): May peace be upon you also. Response to the greeting.[1]
- Maas salama (mahs sah LAMB ah): Go with peace.[1]
- Saheeda (sah EE da): Greetings. Hello. Also goodbye.[1]
- Min fadlak (min FAHD lahk): Please.[1]
- Shukran (SHOOK rahn): Thank you.[5]
- Afwan (AHF wahn): You're welcome.[5]
- Kwayis (KWAY iss): Good.[5]
- Mish Kwayis (mish KWAY iss): Bad. ("Mish" negates whatever adjective it precedes.)[5]
- Hatar (hah TAR): Danger.[5]
- Samm (SAHM): Poison.[5]
- Ma (MAH): Water.[5]
- Ybbah!: Oh, papa! An expression of surprise.[5]
- Ymmah!: Oh, mama! An expression of surprise.[5]
NotesEdit
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Jeff Grubb (August 1992). Land of Fate (Adventurer's Guide to Zakhara), p. 124. TSR, Inc. ISBN 978-1560763291.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sean K. Reynolds, Matt Forbeck, James Jacobs, Eric L. Boyd (March 2003). Races of Faerûn, p. 106. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Thomas M. Costa. "Speaking in Tongues." Dragon Magazine Annual 1999. Page 29. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds, Matt Forbeck, James Jacobs, Eric L. Boyd (March 2003). Races of Faerûn, p. 97. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Jeff Grubb (August 1992). Land of Fate (Adventurer's Guide to Zakhara), p. 125. TSR, Inc. ISBN 978-1560763291.
