Translation

From The Heretic Knowledge Vault

A spell that gets around the language barriers among races.

Description

We don't know exactly how it works. The effect, however, is clear: speakers of different languages can understand each other somehow, even if the languages differ by as much as Latin differs from Japanese (see Poe notes below).

Where Used

We've never seen Meji cast it, but although her language appears distinct from everyone else's, she's able to communicate with them just fine. A translating ability seems to be the reason; see following notes.

The only time it has clearly been cast in the story, it's by the Anilis-enhanced Ian, so that he can attempt "negotiations" with a band of trolls. This turns out so badly, however, that he may wish he hadn't attempted the thing.

The portal mages at Tsuirakushiti also use Translation effects as needed, for example when barbarians like Jon Amraphel come visiting. The elves at Praenubilus Astu do likewise, for the same reason. Really, you'd just think Jon would learn another language or two, wouldn't you?

(Taken from this thread in the Forum)

Rubber Band Man wrote:

If the elves taught the humans everything, wouldn't they be speaking some form of elfish?

This has been bugging me a bit, but Meji is from a city that, untill just a bit ago, was hidden for several thousand years, right? And yet it seems that everyone speaks the same as the normal humans, who have untill just a bit ago, have had no contact with Elves or the magical city, right?

So why the hell do elves speak a different thing from everyone else, who they taught to speak in the first place?

You can prolly say Elfish languge hasn't changed because once you learn how to speak, theres not much reason to change, they weren't interacting with other cultures and so on, as well as not chaging as people, while out in the real world, humans were.

But wouldn't this mean Meji speaks a different languge too? What are the odds english would be invented from two seperate (and different) cultures?

(Poe) Translation spells.

No really, I had at some point, meant to use some scene where the group finds themselves in sort of place that cancels out magical effects and where suddenly Meji and Jon can't understand each other anymore.

On that topic, the humans (the Farrel and Veracia ones anyway) do speak something that is a kinda, almost unreconisable, far removed bastardized, direvitive of the sanguen elven lanague (that's the one that sounds like bastardized, butchered latin). The Tsuiraku humans speak a somewhat close direvitive of the Rinkai lanague. (that's the bastardized, butchered japanese stuff)

The elves, meanwhile, pretty much all speak sanguen now, regardless of race, with a few rinkai words thrown in for some magic/science/mathmatical terms here and there.

See Also

• List of Spells