Several languages have been established as in-game canon by staff, and are listed here as a reference for players' RP. Please note that these are NOT canon to the television series, though they do in some cases incorporate linguistic cues taken from Battlestar Galactica.
Please be aware of the following guidelines, as far as character sheets are concerned:
- Standard must be at a minimum of 4 for all military personnel or anyone capable of carrying basic speech patterns in the language.
- To be considered 'native speaking' you must have a skill of 7.
- You must have one language at 'native speaking' level.
We welcome suggestions from players on additional languages. Please feel free to contact staff, and if we like your idea, we may consider adding it to canon.
Mierce
This 'language' could be more accurately considered a dialect that's veered heavily away from standard Colonial. Spoken almost exclusively in the highlands and mountainous regions of Aerelon, its closest real world equivalent varies from the English regional dialects of Yorkshire and Lancashire, to the 'twang' of the southern United States. Mierce can be considered very common amongst people hailing from Aerelon, though it isn't a language that a non-native is likely to have taught to them; the best way to pick it up is simply to live there.
Thracian
A language that split off entirely from standard Colonial centuries ago, Thracian bears a close resemblance to Spanish, Italian and Latin. It is spoken amongst many natives of both Virgon and Tauron, and is widely considered to be the most beautiful language; many operas and classical pieces have been composed in Thracian. It can be considered somewhat common on its home colonies, though non-natives shouldn't have too much trouble picking it up from elsewhere.
Kashmiri
Spoken exclusively amongst natives of Sagittaron, Kashmiri bears no relation to standard Colonial whatsoever, and has entirely distinct linguistic roots. It is most similar to modern day Persian, Iranian, Hebrew and Arabic; there are almost as many variants and dialects of the language as there are regions of the colony. Many of those dialects are spoken only amongst a tiny portion of the population, and bear no written history whatsoever. Almost all natives of Sagittaron will speak some dialect of Kashmiri, though the further north one gets, the more likely one will speak standard Colonial as well as or better. A few of its more common variants are taught at many Universities, though it is unlikely a non-native will pick up the intricacies of the language without extensive study or residence.
Kalimnos
Considered by most to be a dead language, Kalimnos is almost exclusively the realm of scholars and priests. It is the root of modern day, standard Colonial, and bears close resemblance to real world Greek. There is an even lesser known offshoot of Kalimnos that closely parallels real world Sanskrit, though is used almost exclusively in religious rites. Kalimnos is spoken in small pockets on Gemenon still, but is in no way a common language for even natives of the colony to speak. Most who know Kalimnos either studied it formally, or picked up a small amount through religious ordainment.
