[Lore] Language spoken by characters

[Callahan]

Hi there, what languages does the characters spoke?

To me it seem Latin or at least some based on Latin, i was able to grasp some word, some refer to the protagonist as "Letteratus" when they speak, "Reader" in English, some say "Gratia" (thanks).
I can ear some dialects and stuff too, Jodariel and the lone Ministrel call you "Letteratus" but in a different way and its quite awesome if you ask me, it doesn't seem some gibberish like simlish.
Good stuff man.

[Kristan]

Good catch! I also had the impression they repeated certain words based on context but, not knowing much Latin, it sounded like gibberish to me.

I got particularly curious about this since at a certain point in the story a character speaks to you in English . I would love to learn why this happens unless it is explained later in the game.

[Anonysaurus]

I was liek "do they speak latin?" too xD

[Skedaddler]

I think it's just some kind of dog-latin :)

[kid_zomb]

Hey, the language spoken by most characters in Pyre is a fictitious language we created for the game, called Sahrian. We wanted it to sound like an authentic old-world language. It takes influence from Latin as well as several other Western and Eastern languages.

We wrote thousands of lines of this stuff! Some characters even speak in specific dialects of Sahrian, to reflect their nonstandard mode of speech in the game. It's all there to enhance the personalities of all the different characters and make the world more flavorful -- hope you enjoy it!

[Anonysaurus]

Wow, this is cool! And do they actualy name themselves "Nox Alas"?

[kid_zomb]

Originally posted by Anonysaurus:

Wow, this is cool! And do they actualy name themselves "Nox Alas"?

'Noxalas' is Sahrian for 'Nightwings', or 'For the Nightwings!'

Note even though we recorded many phrases based on specific English translations, in the end we matched each verbal quip based on the overall sound and tone, to make sure it aligned with the feel of that moment. In other words please don't assume most lines are a verbatim translation, though we do repeat certain phrases in consistent contexts wherever we could.

A fun detail in Versus Mode is that you can get any of the characters to shout the names of any of the triumvirates by mixing and matching characters and triumvirates in whatever combination. You hear on the victory screens after each Rite.

[Callahan]

Originally posted by kid_zomb:

Hey, the language spoken by most characters in Pyre is a fictitious language we created for the game, called Sahrian. We wanted it to sound like an authentic old-world language. It takes influence from Latin as well as several other Western and Eastern languages.

We wrote thousands of lines of this stuff! Some characters even speak in specific dialects of Sahrian, to reflect their nonstandard mode of speech in the game. It's all there to enhance the personalities of all the different characters and make the world more flavorful -- hope you enjoy it!

I really do, love the overall lore, the story of the Emperor, the Scribes, it's really well put together, thank you guys, may you Pyre never be extinguished.

[Mondai]

Originally posted by kid_zomb:

Hey, the language spoken by most characters in Pyre is a fictitious language we created for the game, called Sahrian. We wanted it to sound like an authentic old-world language. It takes influence from Latin as well as several other Western and Eastern languages.

We wrote thousands of lines of this stuff! Some characters even speak in specific dialects of Sahrian, to reflect their nonstandard mode of speech in the game. It's all there to enhance the personalities of all the different characters and make the world more flavorful -- hope you enjoy it!

........ I think I just died a little bit.

Have I mentioned that I love you guys? Because ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, color me impressed... and starstruck... and... I'll go now.

That aside, I was wondering about the language, too. But I only speak a little Spanish and even less Japanese, so I wasn't picking up anything, here. So, thanks for this thread! :D

[Isomanic]

Finished the game, I still have no good explanation why one of your teammate can speak to you in comprehensible English. Is it because he is a reader, and all of the text is in English?

....or it might be telepathy thing.

[kid_zomb]

Originally posted by Isomanic:

Finished the game, I still have no good explanation why...

English is used in specific contexts in the game -- the Voice, the lyrics of the songs, and a moment or two from Volfred Sandalwood. It represents an older and more ancient language, with which the Reader is familiar, as opposed to the more 'modern' conversational language used by most of the characters...!

It all ties back to how your character in the game has a rare ability to interpret things like the Book of Rites.

Thank you for asking this! It's a cool question.

[Isomanic]

Originally posted by kid_zomb:

Originally posted by Isomanic:

Finished the game, I still have no good explanation why...

English is used in specific contexts in the game -- the Voice, the lyrics of the songs, and a moment or two from Volfred Sandalwood. It represents an older and more ancient language, with which the Reader is familiar, as opposed to the more 'modern' conversational language used by most of the characters...!

We don't expect players to necessarily get this exactly but that's our point of view on it. When Volfred speaks to you in English, in the first instance at least, he's basically saying 'don't think you're so smart.'

Thank you for asking this! It's a cool question.

I see, so it's there to make a distingush difference, with a good surprise to players.

Gotta admit, I felt theatened in my position as a reader after he saying that. He's real cool and shady.

[DwarvenHydra]

Originally posted by kid_zomb:

Hey, the language spoken by most characters in Pyre is a fictitious language we created for the game, called Sahrian. We wanted it to sound like an authentic old-world language. It takes influence from Latin as well as several other Western and Eastern languages.

I'd been wondering about the language myself! As a big nerd about that stuff, I'm really curious of how it was formed. Is it mostly substituting an English word for a Sahrian one, or is it a little more fleshed out like Klingon or Quenya? I'd love to learn whatever there is to learn about it, and wouldn't mind paying a bit for the information, wink wink, nudge nudge.
Or maybe I'll have to wait until super fans with more free time than me can deconstruct it based on just listening. ;;;;

[Valefar]

I would actually be really interesed in learning this language, it sounds great (especially when my mate Jodi speaks it). At first I thought it was some form of Latin ("Literatus/Letteratus" for Reader, "Si" for yes, "Cognizare?" for I understand/I think?).

[kid_zomb]

Originally posted by DwarvenHydra:

I'd been wondering about the language myself! As a big nerd about that stuff, I'm really curious of how it was formed.

It was made to support what we were trying to do in the game, so while we have some sense of the grammar and sentence structure, maintained a dictionary that grew pretty long, and know what longer sentences would look and sound like, we focused on shorter phrases simply because they felt better in context.

We would record a variety of phrases for each character in a variety of inflections, e.g. say this as though you're threatening someone, or say this as though you're anxious about something, and so on. Actors would have an English expression in mind while reading the Sahrian. We had rules around the pronunciation, and I would write everything out phonetically as well. We would focus on trying to get the accents right and so on.

We may reveal more of the details if there's a lot of interest but it's not really in a shareable form right now, and we mostly just want it to feel like a lifelike part of the game while retaining some of its inherent mystery.

[DwarvenHydra]

Originally posted by kid_zomb:

It was made to support what we were trying to do in the game, so while we have some sense of the grammar and sentence structure, maintained a dictionary that grew pretty long, and know what longer sentences would look and sound like, we focused on shorter phrases simply because they felt better in context.

We would record a variety of phrases for each character in a variety of inflections, e.g. say this as though you're threatening someone, or say this as though you're anxious about something, and so on. Actors would have an English expression in mind while reading the Sahrian. We had rules around the pronunciation, and I would write everything out phonetically as well. We would focus on trying to get the accents right and so on.

We may reveal more of the details if there's a lot of interest but it's not really in a shareable form right now, and we mostly just want it to feel like a lifelike part of the game while retaining some of its inherent mystery.

Well, if you ever do release details, I'd be happy to pour over them! As it is, it's still another detail that proves to me how much thought and effort was put into this game!