Sylvan is the language of the civilized Feywild, much of which is based on ancient Celtic mythology. Old Gaelic, rather than modern Irish Gaelic, would be thematically appropriate in my opinion.
You could try looking for recordings people have made reading Táin Bó Cúailnge, aka The Tain. It's a series of old Irish stories that was originally written in Old Irish (there's also a version that was composed in Middle Irish). By listening to a recording you could get an idea of what Old Irish sounds like, and reading the untranslated versions would also give you a feel for how it looks on the page.
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Pretty much what Nat_30 said, yeah. I'd make sure that the narrator is Irish, or at least has a good Irish accent. While I'm sure the accent's changed over the years, a modern accent narrating in old gaelic would be maximum Sylvan, in my opinion.
You could of course look at Tolkein's languages as an alternative. Just watching the Lord of the Rings for those scenes with elves could be an acceptable base to work off of.
Either way you go, they're both very Sylvan-adjacent. My own preference would lead to an Irish accent speaking in old gaelic.
Partially just for the sake of it, just like how we often use "ye olde english" or languages such as latin. But old gaelic does have a higher level of complexity to it than modern.
Thematically I agree that Gaellic would be highly appropriate, but wouldn't different regions of the Feywild have different dialects? I personally like the sound of pixies speaking Cornish, the Celtic language of Cornwall, and insisting that they are piskies, not pixies.
Not really, it's more like the difference between Spanish and Portuguese, they sound very similar, and use a lot of the same words, but are in fact different languages. They're both Celtic in origin, but one originated in South West England, one in Ireland.
Just look up examples on Youtube of the Irish accent, it'd be your best bet. Remember, you don't have to actually imitate a non-native accent accurately. Whatever accent you can consistently and entertainingly do, whether it's accurate or not, is all that matters at any table. Watch some videos, practice some of the characteristics, and have fun with it.
That's a good choice. I'd look to the Black Speech of Mordor myself, but Klingon is very appropriate and also has a lot of content to look into for inspiration and pronunciation guide.
Yes, Klingon has the perfect combination of hard-to-pronounce sounds and funny vocabulary (for example, ‘hangover’ is ‘uH’). The reason the sounds are so great for fantasy is because although each sound is found in a real language, they are so mismatched (from very different languages) that it’s hard to imagine real Klingons speaking it.
Yes, Klingon has the perfect combination of hard-to-pronounce sounds and funny vocabulary (for example, ‘hangover’ is ‘uH’). The reason the sounds are so great for fantasy is because although each sound is found in a real language, they are so mismatched (from very different languages) that it’s hard to imagine real Klingons speaking it.
Reminds me of a documentary I watched about the Klingon language, where this group of friends always do a single day of speaking only Klingon each, and the rest of the friends cover for them. They were at a diner, and the klingon speaker was struggling to find the right word to say for an item off the menu he wanted. So he turned to one of them, stated everything he could in Klingon, but then slotted in a Hebrew word. The word itself wasn't the missing word in Klingon, it was just a reference, but his friend recognized it, translated the order to the (probably very confused) waitress, and they moved on.
But after going to multiple conventions, talking online, etc etc, that one instance became an inside joke became an unofficial word became canonized. And so now the Klingon word for sandwich is a Hebrew word for a particular mountain (iirc).
I have this thought that sylvan sounds like Gaelic, I would appreciate some feedback.
Gaelic is a terrible sounding language.
It's very guttural and little more than spittle. And take it from me who loves the language.
Ive spoken it for decades. I was made to read the bible in it lol. I also know German and Russian and either of those are better sounding but not by much.
Most person's mistake is thinking slowly sung, soft spoken, carefully chosen lyrics are "Gaelic". Most celtic songs you hear are sung about 3x as slow as the language is spoken.
Here are some songs that are written as the language is more natively spoken.
I have this thought that sylvan sounds like Gaelic, I would appreciate some feedback.
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ModeratorSylvan is the language of the civilized Feywild, much of which is based on ancient Celtic mythology. Old Gaelic, rather than modern Irish Gaelic, would be thematically appropriate in my opinion.
oh cool! thank you so much! do you know where I can find some sources?
You could try looking for recordings people have made reading Táin Bó Cúailnge, aka The Tain. It's a series of old Irish stories that was originally written in Old Irish (there's also a version that was composed in Middle Irish). By listening to a recording you could get an idea of what Old Irish sounds like, and reading the untranslated versions would also give you a feel for how it looks on the page.
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ModeratorPretty much what Nat_30 said, yeah. I'd make sure that the narrator is Irish, or at least has a good Irish accent. While I'm sure the accent's changed over the years, a modern accent narrating in old gaelic would be maximum Sylvan, in my opinion.
You could of course look at Tolkein's languages as an alternative. Just watching the Lord of the Rings for those scenes with elves could be an acceptable base to work off of.
Either way you go, they're both very Sylvan-adjacent. My own preference would lead to an Irish accent speaking in old gaelic.
out of curiosity, what is the specific difference between old and modern Gaelic?
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ModeratorPartially just for the sake of it, just like how we often use "ye olde english" or languages such as latin. But old gaelic does have a higher level of complexity to it than modern.
Thematically I agree that Gaellic would be highly appropriate, but wouldn't different regions of the Feywild have different dialects? I personally like the sound of pixies speaking Cornish, the Celtic language of Cornwall, and insisting that they are piskies, not pixies.
is that like the accent of the deep south in the US? Fast and near not understandable
Not really, it's more like the difference between Spanish and Portuguese, they sound very similar, and use a lot of the same words, but are in fact different languages. They're both Celtic in origin, but one originated in South West England, one in Ireland.
another question, how would the accent sound that i looking at for this character?
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ModeratorJust look up examples on Youtube of the Irish accent, it'd be your best bet. Remember, you don't have to actually imitate a non-native accent accurately. Whatever accent you can consistently and entertainingly do, whether it's accurate or not, is all that matters at any table. Watch some videos, practice some of the characteristics, and have fun with it.
Here's a quick one I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2PHch4IPPQ
sorry for the tangent, but I'm using Klingon as a stand-in for Infernal as the verbal component of my Tiefling Warlock's spells.
it's fun grunting out "BaQ'ah!" or the occasional "nga'Chuke!" as the need arises.
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ModeratorThat's a good choice. I'd look to the Black Speech of Mordor myself, but Klingon is very appropriate and also has a lot of content to look into for inspiration and pronunciation guide.
Yes, Klingon has the perfect combination of hard-to-pronounce sounds and funny vocabulary (for example, ‘hangover’ is ‘uH’). The reason the sounds are so great for fantasy is because although each sound is found in a real language, they are so mismatched (from very different languages) that it’s hard to imagine real Klingons speaking it.
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ModeratorReminds me of a documentary I watched about the Klingon language, where this group of friends always do a single day of speaking only Klingon each, and the rest of the friends cover for them. They were at a diner, and the klingon speaker was struggling to find the right word to say for an item off the menu he wanted. So he turned to one of them, stated everything he could in Klingon, but then slotted in a Hebrew word. The word itself wasn't the missing word in Klingon, it was just a reference, but his friend recognized it, translated the order to the (probably very confused) waitress, and they moved on.
But after going to multiple conventions, talking online, etc etc, that one instance became an inside joke became an unofficial word became canonized. And so now the Klingon word for sandwich is a Hebrew word for a particular mountain (iirc).
That’s cool. Even though Klingon has been around for less than half a century, it still has slang just like every other language.
- Tsvi
Plugging some sylvan names from Feywild-related 4e content into google translate, I get: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh.
Giant is Norwegian, btw.
Goblin might be German.
Gaelic is a terrible sounding language.
It's very guttural and little more than spittle. And take it from me who loves the language.
Ive spoken it for decades. I was made to read the bible in it lol. I also know German and Russian and either of those are better sounding but not by much.
Most person's mistake is thinking slowly sung, soft spoken, carefully chosen lyrics are "Gaelic". Most celtic songs you hear are sung about 3x as slow as the language is spoken.
Here are some songs that are written as the language is more natively spoken.
https://youtu.be/30Vt67JCTDM
https://youtu.be/n730FWycrTY
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Simeon Tor:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/34598-simeon-tor-chapter-1-the-heat-of-battle
The Heart of the Drow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/36014-heart-of-the-drow-chapter-1
Some Gaelic pronouced.
Lots of Guh. Duh. Shhs. Kuhs.
Kantchya.
Glooaish
Trrrah
Tee-ach-tar
Gan
Ooagnis
CHeyn
Oro
Whacksha
Shithean
Galarza
Any aha
Tar
Chugeen
Tchangee
Nar
Go gluinchin
Groin
Nawuay
Guchearrrchta
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Simeon Tor:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/34598-simeon-tor-chapter-1-the-heat-of-battle
The Heart of the Drow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/36014-heart-of-the-drow-chapter-1