Summary
The singular language of
dragonkind that lives upon
Veltrona's surface, Tarunvu is the single oldest, living language in known record. Often nicknamed 'draconic', 'dragon tongue', or 'soul speak', Tarunvu can be simple to grasp the idea of, but its execution is unreasonably difficult. Made for dragons by dragons, for others it is a matter of scholarly study as much as physical training to utilize the language.
Tarunvu's spoken aspect has heavy emphasis on its syllables, and they're modified by its three accepted tones (low-to-high, high-to-low, and middle-to-low). There is a third axis, one that is perhaps the greatest barrier for any trying to 'speak' it. Dragons can be considered 'radiant' beings, exuding their presence as naturally as one breathes. They instinctually use this when speaking, projecting their own literal thoughts, feelings, and sensations onto others. This is the same
'conveyance of meaning' mechanism that many within magical arts come to experience in one form or another.
As an example, if a dragon talked to another about a good vacation they had, two things happen: the literal sound of speaking, but also the conveyed meaning. The recipient would hear them with their ears, but also feel what that dragon conveyed, such as warmth, comfort, pleasure of food, and otherwise. In another light, this is a form of transmitted empathy.
However, not all things can be spoken with words; actions themselves, especially to dragons, can convey meanings. If for example two dragons engage in a fight, depending on their reasons, it may actually be a form of debate. For what words fail to hold the meaning, they can convey their thoughts and feelings through their bodies. Quite literally beating into one another what they're trying to 'say', draconic debate can outwardly resemble a savage brawl when it's anything but. Wrestling, choreographed dancing, romantic activities, and more can all communicate in their own varied ways.
These factors make the language perhaps one of the most complex on Veltrona, for better or worse. Even if the mundane aspects of its spoken words is mistressed, the conveyance of meaning is an altogether different challenge. It comes so naturally to dragons that its absence is more of a problem than anything else. They regard those who do not earnestly convey meaning as being dishonest, suspicious, or duplicitous in some manner.
History
A literal relic of
the First Dawn, Tarunvu is a relatively static and unchanging language. Whereas many languages see drift, variance, and cultural change, Tarunvu's isolation and stagnant nature starkly buck this trend. As dragons only ever regularly speak it among other dragons, the impetous for change is far less. Being immortal, the hand-me-down lingual drift other languages encounter is comparatively smaller, and older dragons have a leashing effect on divergence. True change comes about moreso when better ways of conveying meaning emerge, or new ideas dragonkind never saw before must be described.
This status quo changed significantly when dragons needed to refactor their writing system. A cumbersome thing and usually regarded as an afterthought, the emergence of
humanity in the Second Dawn opened new perspectives. Lacking the ability to convey meaning like dragons, humans relied greatly upon articulate and careful means of description in their writing. Even if their technique only achieved a '90%' success in transmitting meaning, they were able to do so far faster and easier than the draconic method.
While many complicating factors happened in the Second Dawn, by the time of the Third Dawn, dragonkind had embraced a revised writing system. It came in two forms: an 'inspired', simplified version of human writing, and their classical methods that had been improved upon. The simplified version suited for many matters that dragons regarded as mundane, unimportant, or busywork for something much grander. Matters of grave complexity, nuance, or intrigue were handled with classical writing, which relied on conveyance of meaning to fully encompass its ideas.
This had a knock-on effect to Tarunvu as a spoken language, becoming an epoch moment in its timeless history. Dragons had to grapple with creating and understanding meaning without the usage of conveyance, something analogous to having an arm tied behind one's back. It invigorated them to find 'new' ways of working their thoughts, ideas, and feelings into language. The framing of their language against others was used as a whetstone; to see what they lacked, and what could be done to improve it.
One classical, well-known example is the word
'mage'. Dragonkind rather liked the human meaning of it, 'one that creates something from nothing', and so incorporated it into Tarunvu's vernacular. As time would march on, others, like 'douyon' from
Yonfao philosophy, would also be incorporated. In fact, some words and concepts have even outlived the civilizations that birthed them inside Tarunvu.
This, in turn, polarized the concept of 'dialects' within dragonkind. As their language adopted more and more outside meanings, concerns over their own arose just as much. Many felt that, even if they served a purpose, true meaning only came from a dragon's mind, not others. Some lineages even took great offense to outside influence, becoming enforcers of Tarunvu as the draconic tongue. This wasn't entirely a racist cultural response, as it is important to bear in mind the empathetic response dragons have.
That is, draconic conversation is spoken word as much as conveyed meaning. If that meaning is particularly heinous or disturbing, it will direly affect them. If one talked about a rotten food, for a human it would sound uncomfortable; perhaps they would empathize based on their past experiences. To a dragon, they would be
exposed to the
other dragon's exact experience, meaning they both know
exactly what that rotten food was like.
Hence, even trying to take in outside meaning could result in many complex feelings, discomfort chief among them. This is the basis upon which most attempted to regulate Tarunvu, so that draconic discussions aren't unduly changed. The net result, after many centuries of constant back-and-forth over the matter, was the formulation of a 'time and place' for different concepts.
It would become a sign of upbringing and properiety to use the proper words in the correct contexts. Using non-draconic Tarunvu words was, for some, analogous to having rotten dirt thrown into their faces. So it was, manners dictated ascertaining if one's conversational partner, or audience, would be fine with such 'outside' concepts being brought forth. Opponents to this believe that exposure to many different concepts, even those not draconic, is important to a healthy, capable mind.
The most curious effect outside influence has had on Tarunvu, however, would be the dragons embracing 'non-conveyed meaning'. That is, by using language to communicate ideas devoid of convenyance, problematic topics could be broached without receiving the full experience from the get go. To dragons, it is akin to speaking improperly, but they've slowly recognized it as a valid form of conversation. The entire rest of the world, for the most part, talks that way in the first place.
It is largely only seen in the contexts of dragons speaking to non-dragons, but it has, slowly, become more of a norm in some limited ways.
Universal Reference
As other species and civilizations emerged on Veltrona, the existent dragonkind was an immense force in the world already. Even if they weren't directly involved, their presence was not unlike a moon. The mere existence of dragons caused ripples and tides that influenced many, in ways seen and unseen. Of these things, language is the one that has had the most noticeable effect. Because Tarunvu is so relatively static and unchanging, it is a very centralized point of reference when doing translations.
In other words, if one language had a translation in Tarunvu, other languages could use that relationship to find meaning. It allowed languages of even entirely different makes and understandings to find common ground of a kind. Barring that, the two could dip into Tarunvu itself as the vehicle to talk through. For dragonkind, this resulted in very strange situations where their language was being used by others as a conversational intermediary.
It resulted in ever increasing interest in all things draconic, and served as a common point of contact with dragonkind proper. Some dragons even found business in becoming translators, they themselves living libraries of countless languages. The prestige and value of enabling communication is hard to understate, and throughout the millennia has had many effects on civilizations. While countless languages, dialects, and cultural norms exist, Tarunvu's ubiquity means translation can be done in a matter of months, instead of years.
Of course, this assumes one has a translation into Tarunvu, or the ability to speak it. Without either of those, often a direct translation is better than using it as a reference or intermediary. There are plenty enough cultures that have little to no contact with dragons, or refuse to use their language for one reason or another. This is on top of the fact that Tarunvu is still incredibly difficult to learn, even when an earnest effort wishes to be made.
The Tarxah
Whether as a birth defect, the result of being maimed, or something else, dragons who permanently lost their hearing did and continue to exist. Regardless of how it comes about, these deaf dragons usually hone a finer, purer sense of conveyed empathy than others. They can fully converse and follow a conversation in Tarunvu without issue as long as their partner conveys meaning properly.
In fact, through training and diligence, they can obtain an absurd degree of precision with their conveyance sensitivity. Flucuations, meanings, and understandings that others might miss are easily caught by them. They can even dredge out the truth from the most stubborn and obtuse of dragons, making them intimidatingly 'truthful' beings. Those that pursue becoming an Tarxah, or one with soul sensitivity, find themselves as venerated moderators and interpreters among dragonkind.
Votyoger, for example, employs many of them as high level officials who oversee the forum's myriad complex problems.
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