Language of Magic: Difference between revisions

** By contrast, most Eastern magic is based on Sanskrit letters, who have individual meaning but are combined in ways that do not form proper words.

 

* The [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] hero Zatara cast spells by speaking backwards. His daughter Zatanna casts spells the same way.

* Most magic spells in [[DC Comics]] work this way, at least when used by [[The Phantom Stranger]] and his supporting cast.

* Magic in the ''[[Second Apocalypse]]'' series by R. Scott Bakker uses an original variation on this; the trick to magic is not just speaking in another language, but in saying one string of words while ''simultaneously thinking a second and different string'' (not as easy as it sounds; try it). To make it worse, you have to simultaneously understand the meanings of both phrases; the reason being that the meaning of each phrase somehow clarifies and precisely limits the meaning of the other, creating sufficient mental precision to bring about the desired magical effect. (What happens to sorcerers who screw this up—whether nothing happens or something exceedingly bad and unintended happens—isn't specified.)

** It can probably be inferred that nothing happens. If something very bad happened from flubbing a spell, it's unlikely any sorcerers would survive their apprenticeships.

** There's a tradition of bad [[Dog Latin]] in ''[[Discworld]]'' with two examples of it being considered "wizard talk", although neither character was actually casting a spell.

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Gandalf uses Elvish words when "casting spells", but this is not anything specific to the language itself: being an Ainu, one of the angelic order who sung the world into existence, it makes sense he can change the nature of reality with his voice. Also seen with Tom Bombadil and Lúthien (who was half Ainurin).

** Sauron, also an Ainu, does much the same thing, using an incantation in the [[Black Speech]] which he had invented to imbue the One Ring with his power.

* ''[[The Weirdstone of Brisingamen]]'' uses Latin.

* The magic system in [[The Long Price Quartet]] is based on language. Poets use language to bind their andats, which are abstract concepts made flesh. They use an extremely intricate custom built language to describe the idea they want to capture. They have to describe it perfectly, with absolutely no ambiguity or imprecision, and then hold that definition in mind for the rest of their lives. Failure to be precise enough tends to be [[Cruel and Unusual Death|extremely painful]]. To further complicate matters, once an andat has been bound and subsequently escape, it has to be described in a completely different way to be bound again.

* The Old Speech in [[Susan Cooper]]'s ''[[The Dark Is Rising]]'' series, spoken by those of both the Light and the Dark.

* ''[[Labyrinths of Echo]]'' explores "[[Magic Is Mental]]", but since language and mind are interdependent, this side is complicated. For one, the local specialists say that known spells on "the old language" are mostly profanities, and the stronger, the worse - which some consider fitting, since Obvious Magic mostly is about violently reshaping the world. This rarely has side effects, right until words, attitude and personal power combine in the "right" way. One character in the prequels was going through all the curses erudition and temper allowed to remember, including ancient ones, and accidentally boiled water out of a bath he was going to take - which naturally convinced him that limiting himself to uncool modern swearing is in his own best interests.

 

* Magic in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''Angel'' tends to simply be a description of the spell in an ancient language (usually Latin). Apparently, in writing the scripts, writers would write a simple command, such as "open the door," and then mark it with "In Latin."

** However, Latin does not appear to be vital to spellcasting; a sufficiently powerful witch can skip it. See in particular the seventh season episode "Get It Done," in which Willow struggles for a while with a Latin incantation. She finally gives up and yells in English, "Screw it! Mighty Forces, I suck at Latin, okay? But that's not the issue! I'm the one in charge, and I'm telling you, ''open a portal, now''!"

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Language Tropes]]

[[Category:Magic and Powers]]