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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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'''Low Gothic''' (or '''Imperial Gothic''') is the common language of the Imperium. In the [[Age of the Imperium]] it is spoken as a first language on almost all [[Civilised World|civilised planets]], and is accepted as a second language on planets within Imperial control with the exception of some [[Feudal World|medieval]] and [[Feral World|feral worlds]].
Low Gothic is a bastardised version of [[High Gothic]], combining additional elements from several of the oriental languages of ancient [[Terra|Earth]]. Over the millennia it has changed greatly, and now bears almost no resemblance to the tongues from which it derived. 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.
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.
