Languages

Introduction

The Discworld is a wide and wonderful place, with lots of areas just desperate to be explored. It’s all very well wandering around killing or stealing from everything you can (it’s the thiefy way); but eventually you’re going to want to get a proper feel for a place. To do that, you’re going to have to learn the local language.

There are a lot of languages on the MUD, but 3 main ones which correspond to three of the main cities and their surroundings - Morporkian, Agatean and Djelian. Other learnable languages include Ephebian and Uberwaldean, while others such as Dwarven are currently only available to NPCs.

Remember! This is not a complete guide to languages, that’s a complex business. I wrote this to get you started, any further questions you have I’m sure your fellow thieves will happily answer over the talker. Good luck!

What You Have

Everyone on the Disc can speak at least one language, local to the place you chose to start your character. On top of that, all Thieves speak Thieves’ Cant, a special language that all other thieves understand (based around sign language and braille). So even if you’re from a different area you can still communicate with all the best people on the MUD!

To switch between the languages you know, use the ‘speak’ command. So to switch to Cant: “speak Thieves’ Cant”, and to Djelian: “speak Djelian”. Simple as that. Once you’ve switched to a language, that’s the one you’ll use for speaking and writing, but you will still understand other languages you’re proficient enough in.

Not Your Average Skill

The other.language skill tree is completely different to any other. There is no level/bonus relation here - your stats have no effect on your ability, and you cannot use xp to boost your skills. Instead, languages are based on levels only, and you can only go up one level at a time. It’s best to think of your level as your percentage of expertise in a language, hence 1 is rubbish, while 100 is fluency. The only way to go up a level in a language is to TM it. Practice makes perfect!

Every language has its own branch in the ot.la tree, for example ot.la.djelian, ot.la.thieves’ cant, etc. Beneath each of these sections is, usually, a spoken and a written branch, ot.la.dj.spoken, ot.la.dj.written for example.

Learning

You cannot just start speaking a language. First you need to go to a teacher NPC and have them teach you the first few levels. Be warned- they will expect payment, usually something in the area of AM$5, or 10 Tooni, or 5 Rhinu (approx.). After your time with the teacher you will be able to ‘speak’ the language.

In Bes Pelargic you’ll find the Language Institute, which makes it possible for Agatean speakers to learn many of the languages from around the Disc, or foreigners can learn Agatean. In Djelibeybi the school on the northeast corner of the Bazaar will teach new-comers the basics of Djelian.

In Ankh-Morpork, Djelians and Ephebians can learn the local tongue in the Ephebian Embassy on Widdershin’s Broadway. Morporkians looking to future events can also begin their education in Ephebian here. For Morporkians who’d like to learn Agatean without travelling all the way to the Language Institute, Little Agatea in southwest Morpork may be a good place to explore.

TMing

Once you’ve seen a teacher and learned the basics of a language you can start trying to TM it. Remember: you must be speaking a language to TM it! Silly mistakes are often the easiest to make.

When you are using a language, speaking it or being in the same room as someone else, including NPC’s, speaking it, can TM the spoken branch. Writing or reading will TM the written branch. All of these actions will use GP, from your other.points. If your GP gets too low, you will still be able to understand, but stand no chance of TMing.

The best way to TM spoken languages is to spend a lot of time in the area where it is spoken. Identify some very vocal NPC’s and hang around them. Plenty of NPC’s talk when attacked, so you can gain xp while you’re learning. Try out the farmers and prophets/madmen in DJB, the board bearers in Agatea, and the area around God’s Collar in Ankh-Morpork.

To concentrate on learning the written language, get yourself a book in the language you want to learn. Carry it around with you, reading it now and then. Thus you can TM your Agatean written while hunting in DJB, stealing from Assassins in Ohulan-Chutash, or idling in the Drum, or wherever you may be! To be extra effective carry a quill and notepad, writing down the odd thought. Again you may also decide to spend some time in the area where the language is spoken. Run around, and read everything see: signs, posters, signposts, everything!

Variety is essential in learning languages. You need to mix up speaking and listening, reading and writing. Also, standing in one place and spending ten minutes working at 5 TM’s simply won’t work. As with instruments, the best way to TM is to do little but very often, rather than a lot now and then.

Skill caps

The above methods will only work up until level 90. That’s when things get really difficult. Past level 90 in a spoken language you can only TM from other players, who are within 10 levels of your level but below 90 themselves. Thus, it is impossible to get a learned language to 100 levels, 99 is the maximum.

Reading also stops TMing at 90. Though I am told that writing will continue to TM, I cannot confirm this through lack of that experience personally. It should also be technically possible to share a reading TM in a group with someone who is below 90 and TMs. That’s just theory though, and would probably be a minor miracle!

Accents

In an outstanding act of kindness our Creators have blessed us not only with different languages, but various accents to compliment them! These are a fantastic addition to the game, especially the lispy madness of the Sto Plains. However, when learning from teachers it’s best to shut them off for a while to properly get your message across. To do this use ‘options output accent=unadulterated’ to switch accents back on, (which I fully encourage)- ‘options output accent=mangle’.

Take your time

However hard you try, however much you push it, learning a language is going to take time. Be patient, keep at it, and think of all the quest xp waiting for you once you can understand what some NPC’s are asking of you. Good luck!

Bimbletrot - 2007/03/01