Language
The International Language
The main spoken and written language on Demrefor is called “International”. It was created in the early 900s when the International Alliance was formed.
The language was developed by combining the sentence structures and words from many Sentients’ languages with the goal of making international communication easier. The language quickly became popular and now it is considered commonplace in most countries to teach children International alongside their native language. One of the few exceptions to this are Star Seer countries, which are very cut off from the rest of the world and whose people don’t always see a reason to know International.
There are a few alternate forms of International; most of these forms do not change the words, but the grammar and sentence structure. The most spoken alternative to International is Rendi International.
The Rendi International language follows a very similar sentence structure to that of the Rendi races’ native languages, as it mostly cuts out words to simplify sentences and International sentences such as “Pass me the milk” and “Meet me at the tavern at 11 in the afternoon” become “Pass milk” and “Tavern meet 11 after day” in Rendi International. Rendi International is used especially by the avio people, who sometimes struggle to use the common form of International.
Race-Specific
As well as learning International, every race has their own language, with each country having a slightly different dialect of the language. The main base is referred to by the race name (EG, “Wolven”) and the country-specific language is referred to as with their country and race (EG, “Canis Wolven”).
Country-specific languages don’t tend to vary too greatly from the generalised language but have minor differences such as slang words, spelling, and accents.
There are also sign-language adaptions to all race-specific languages. These are referred to in a similar way to the spoken languages, with each language being named after the race and/or country it was created by. Most commonly sign language will be known with acronyms such as ISL (International Sign Language), WSL (Wolven Sign Language), or AVSL (Avio Sign Language).
Though the languages may vary greatly between races, it is believed that there are 3 original roots to all Sentient languages on Demrefor. These can be given three simple titles; Land-Dwellers, Rendi Speak, and Aquatic.
Land-Dwellers
Land-dwelling Sentients tend to have rather complicated spoken and written languages. A land-dwelling Sentient will usually speak and write with whichever language they grew up with, even if it is not their own race’s language.
Rendi Speak
Rendi races usually have a more simplified language structure-wise. Because of this, they often have more specific words that, if used in the wrong context, completely change the meaning of a sentence.
Aquatic
Aquatic Sentients have their own unique ways of speaking above water that sets them apart from the rest; all aquatic Sentients, with the exception of kurloke, naturally speak half through their gills and it can be hard for them to learn to speak otherwise.
Aquatic Sentients have learnt how to communicate underwater, as well as above.
Other
There are many other languages on Demrefor, besides International and the race-specific languages. A few of the best-known are listed below:
Ancient Demreforian
Ancient Demreforian is a barely-translated language found on ancient nurlak temples. It is believed to be the oldest language on Demrefor, with a few modern words coming from rough translations of the old language.
Small pieces of the language can be translated, but these translations are never completely accurate and a lot of the meanings behind the words have been lost. There are three words, however, which are very easily understood: mre (moon), dem (three), and efor (planet).
Old Human
Old Human is the original human language, which can still be found on ancient boats, weapons, and armour. All current human languages find their roots in Old Human.
A bit of Old Human has been translated, but there are still a lot of missing translations in the language that make it impossible to learn correctly.
Flute
The flute language was brought to the Sentients by fauns during a civil war in Tcku. It is a coded language made out of different notes, played on a flute as intricate songs, that is very common among lovers of musical history.