39,327
edits
Language of Magic: Difference between revisions
m
categories and general cleanup
(→[[Real Life]]: clean up) |
m (categories and general cleanup) |
||
Line 7:
A version of [[Functional Magic]] where spells are cast by [[Be Careful What You Say|speaking]] in a particular language. Can be [[Words Can Break My Bones]] or [[I Know Your True Name]] taken to the N<sup>th</sup> degree, where ''every'' word in the language is a "true name", but this need not be the case for it to be a language of magic.
[[Black Magic]] is often paired with [[Black Speech]], [[White Magic]] is often in [[Our Angels Are Different|Angel song]]. In works set on Earth, the language may be a real-but-now-dead one, such as [[Altum Videtur|Latin]]. The words are often written in the Old Norse [
[[Words Can Break My Bones]] and [[I Know Your True Name]] are subtropes. May be the backbone of a [[Magical Incantation]]. If consistently SUNG to make it magic, that's [[Magic Music]].
Line 24:
** At one point, a [[Mr. Exposition]] character explained that back in the beginning of the world, magic was ''purely'' based on intent and no words were attached. But the "Grey People" did some epic thing that permanently tied the magic of Alagaesia to words, in order to make magic more controllable.
** There is a handy dictionary in the back of the book that lets people try to speak it: the ancient language does not at all roll off the tongue. Kinda makes it much weirder when we learn that the entire elven race speaks it on a daily basis.
*** If the "Ancient Tongue" looks that difficult, you need to [
** The language isn't that hard if your native tongue is Swedish or Norwegian. Also, Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian get an easy ride, though they pronounce the words differently.
** Subverted in that [[Our Elves Are Better|the elves]] use this language for normal conversation. See, if you don't actively put any magic behind the words, then its only power is being a [[Language of Truth]].
Line 93:
** Raistlin Majere, in fact, learned the activation word to the light spell in his staff through extensive trial and error. Finally, in frustration, he blurted out "Shirak, damen du!", which translates as "Light, damn you!". After the staff lit up, he went back and realized that "Shirak" (light) was the keyword, while "Dulak" (dark) was used to cancel the spell.
* Subverted in Awakening, the magic system from ''[[Warbreaker]]''. While speaking aloud is essential for Awakening, Commands (aka spells) only work if given in the Awakener's own native language. So ''any'' language is potentially magical, as long as you grew up speaking it.
* Played with in ''[[The Mirror of Her Dreams|Mordant's Need]]'' - the Imagers all use a specific chant when summoning a manifestation from their magic mirrors, but it turns out that the chant is just a load of [
== [[Live Action Television]] ==
Line 150:
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Various dead languages are used for ritual purposes by new religious movements and practitioners of "magick", such as Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit etc. Sometimes [[Con Lang|ConLangs]] are used, ranging from unimaginative letter substitutions to sophisticated creations like the [
** A notable example being [
* Programming languages are essentially this trope made real.
Line 157:
[[Category:Language Tropes]]
[[Category:Magic and Powers]]
[[Category:Language
| |||