Low Gothic

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Low Gothic (or Imperial Gothic) is the common language of the Imperium of Man. In the Age of the Imperium it is spoken as a first language on almost all civilised planets, and is accepted as a second language on planets within Imperial control with the exception of some medieval and feral worlds.[1]

Overview

Low Gothic is a bastardised version of High Gothic, combining additional elements from several of the oriental languages of ancient Terra. Over the millennia it has changed greatly, and now bears almost no resemblance to the tongues from which it derived.[1] There is some evidence that Low Gothic may include letters from the alphabets of some Ancient Terran Languages[19], as these letters were recognized by Alizebeth Bequin in M41 rather than being thought of as unintelligible script.[18]

"And the markings on the side of the rocket ships. The letters in red? What does C.C.C.P. mean?"
"No one knows that. No one remembers any more."

Alizebeth Bequin inquiring to shopkeeper Lupan regarding a toy model of a chemical rocket from the days of ancient Terra's first steps into space[18][Trivia]


Although a common language, it varies from planet to planet (and even from region to region), so that it is not always easy for two characters to communicate if they are from different worlds.[1] Medieval, feral and worlds suffering from long periods of isolation may have several indigenous languages derived either from High Gothic or one of the ancient Earth tongues. It was quite common during the Dark Age of Technology for worlds to be settled by small communities of "isolationists". These eccentric groups were often self-financed and their journeys unrecorded, many were of racial minorities attempting to recreate a sense of national identity away from the overpopulated Earth. Some of these groups made a deliberate attempt to revive long dead or moribund languages, perceiving them as a source of national identity and communal strength.[1]

Known Low Gothic Dialects

Badabian

Badabian refers to the many dialects of Badab.[17a][17c] There is a dialect known as Old Badabian.[17c]

  • Wear one's wounds with a smile. - a Badabian expression.[17a]
  • Ezhek jai grugull shivriek vagh skr[17b]

Cthonian

A dialect of the planet Cthonia. Among its speakers were the Cthonian Legionaries of the Luna Wolves Legion.[9]

  • Aebathan — Originally used to mean the severing of an enemy gang-killer's throat in single combat. Later used to refer to the successful completion of a military campaign.[9]
  • Luperci - "Brothers of the Wolf"[16a]

Colchisian

A dialect of the planet Colchis.[12]

Fenrisian

Main article: Fenrisian Lexicon

Juvykka is the name of the dominant language of Fenris in its own tongue.[2][15] In Gothic it is usually called Fenris Vulgaris or simply Fenrisian.[2]

Konndar

The dominant dialect of the planet Harakon.[3b]

Khorchin

The variation of Gothic spoken on Chogoris, sometimes known as Chogorian.[14]

Medusan

A set of dialects of the planet Medusa. Specific dialects include Tergiza, spoken by Clan Raukaan[3a] and Ekfrasi, spoken by Clan Kaargul.[6]

Valhallan

The dialect of the planet Valhalla.[7]

Ylath

A dialect of the planet Hagia.[4]

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

  • The rocket toy described in Pariah (Novel)[18] is likely a reference to the Soviet Space Program, which would (at least in the real world) occur in M2 and when mankind's first steps into space would also be taken with chemical rockets.
  • That Low Gothic uses letters could imply that its writing system is an alphabet based language, rather than a predominantly logographic character based language (such as real-world Chinese or ancient cuneiform)
  • The Korchin Guan Dao being a term for a power lance is likely a reference to the Chinese polearm, a Guandao

See also

Sources



Languages
Imperium Low Gothic • High Gothic • Cant Mechanicus • Sign Language
Chaos Dark Tongue • Scrap Code
Xenos Ork • Eldar • Hrud • Tau • Necron • Squat
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