Common Tongue: Difference between revisions

** It is somewhat explained in that all the languages are based on a common ancestor known, quite originally, as the Old Tongue. Also, there are many, many accents, and some places, notably Illian, even use different syntax. As for the Seanchan, remember they were invaded and taken over by people from the main continent, who may have forced their language closer to that of other places. Still, having Common is probably just for the sake of convenience, given how there are characters from just about every country in the cast.

** Also, according to [[Word of God]], literacy within the setting is unusually high due to the printing press being one of the few technologies to survive the Breaking of the World. Cuts down on linguistic drift a bit.

{{quote|"And Morporkian is something of a lingua franca even in the Klatchian empire. When someone from Hersheba needs to trade with someone from Istanzia, they will undoubtedly haggle in Morporkian."}}

* In the ''[[Foundation]]'' series everyone speaks Galactic Standard, albeit with some dialects.

* Subverted in the ''[[Ethshar]]'' series by [[Lawrence Watt-Evans]] -- each nation has its own "language", but the reader eventually learns that the differences are really little more than a local dialect and/or shifted pronunciation of a common tongue.

 

* Commonly [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Zig-Zagged]] in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel]]''. Almost every demon speaks English, even ones in alternate dimensions, until it's more dramatic for one not to.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had Interlac, which I think was math-based. (As it went, most races seemed to learn English easily enough, though admittedly most examples were diplomats and traders.)

 

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[[Category:Language Tropes]]