# How does Draconic sound?



## I'm A Banana (May 10, 2003)

We all have an idea in our head about the typical 'sound' of some of the languages of D&D....Elvish is lilting Welsh/Irish/French-ish, with a lot of soft vowels and "L's", etc....Dwarvish is filled with "K's" and "Z's" with harsh stops and lung-coughing, closer to German/Scottish....heck, you can even imagine Halfling as some sort of heavily accented Aulstralian/Great Brittain English...

So, what do people hear in their head when they hear Draconic? What kind of "Earth Language" has similar phoentics and feel? Does it sound like something from an African tribe, with noises and sount effects and "oo's" and "M's" and "B's"? More smiliar to Spanish/Portuguese/Italian, with a lilting rush of letters in some sort of sing-songy nature? Perhaps it's something like Incan/Mayan/Aztec, with "X's" and "Z's," and "Atl's"?

Just thinking of what kind of feel most people have for Draconic.  All suggestions welcome.


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## Tsyr (May 10, 2003)

I always think of a gutteral version of latin, for some reason.

And I think of Japanese for elves.


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## blackshirt5 (May 10, 2003)

Have you ever met Gareth-Michael Skarka?  Imagine him talking, he's the most Draconic person I've ever heard.


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## DonAdam (May 10, 2003)

Ever heard the charm of making from _Excalibur_?

Annal-nathrak
Uthboz vethood
Dokiel Deinvay

That's how Draconic sounds.


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## dave_o (May 10, 2003)

I think of it as sorta Entish, with lots of "harooms" and "hooahs", and other Dragon-y sounds, and a healthy dose of Black Speech. Thus, you get something like:

"Alhoom, doocht haroth ooht."

Long A's, long O's, long everything.

And in my opinion, it's written like edgy cursive, with lots of little circles around letters, in various sizes.

I love languages.


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## Kweezil (May 10, 2003)

I always imagined it sounded like a sillibant blend of deep hisses, snarls and rumbles to a human ear. After seeing Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, it'd sound like a deeper, more resonant form of Parseltongue.

_[edit, added after seeing Dave-O's post]_
IMHO it'd be written in angular syllabic runes. Soft curves are too hard to draw with talons 

_[second edit]_
This give me an idea, to include information like this (real world analogies etc) for the languages on my campaign website.


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## LGodamus (May 11, 2003)

I dont know bout that other stuff, but common is gotta be good ole southern  Americanese.


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## Cyronax (May 11, 2003)

How about a slithery sounding Chinese-esque Draconic? That's how i've used it. China is the original home of dragons after all.


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## Wayside (May 11, 2003)

I've always imagined it sounding like Nahuatl.


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## Hand of Evil (May 11, 2003)

sounds like death for any failure!   

Deep throated growling sound, along the lines of the big cats and other large animal.


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## Tanager (May 11, 2003)

It all depends on what you envision a dragon's mouth to be like. 
The shape of it's tongue and teeth are going to be major factors.
In my mind, labio-dental fricatives (f and v) would be minimal,  if in existance at all, since all them sharp teeth would be killers on the lips. Sibilants would likely be prominent, as would liquids (such as l & r, which could also function as semi-vowels). The flexible tongue and larger interior of the mouth could possibly expand the range of vowels as well.

If you picture the tongue as narrow and snakelike then most stops would be altered (except the plosives) since airflow would carry around the tongue more.

For some reason I also see it as being heavily aspirated.

This message has been brought to you by Captain Pedantic


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## Craer (May 11, 2003)

If I remember correctly, Dragon had an issue a while back containing a limited dictionary and pronunciation guide to Draconic.  Being the ubergeek I am, I went and memorized a phrase or two to shout at players, passerby on the street, etc.  Best one:  "Renthisj ausir, *pothoc*!"  Translation: Depending on the inflection and tone, it can mean anything from "I don't understand" to "Speak more clearly, you blasted fool!"  Literally it translates to "speak white, idiot".  White being the closest I could find to "clear" or that sort of thing.

But yeah.  Lots of gutteral hissing and snarling.  Also, it's the only language I've ever heard of to use asterisks as punctuation.

-Craer


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## Painfully (May 11, 2003)

I think it sounds snake-like.  Although wizards might understand it as one of their language choices, I require a split-tipped tongue for my players to actually speak it correctly.  For powerful spells of 7th level and up I require that they speak Draconic, but by that level they can disguise their tongues from townfolk with a simple spell like alter self.

It gives my players something to worry about when they happen to spot somebody with a split tongue.  And to this day they still worry when meeting lizardfolk.  Hehehe.


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## Gez (May 11, 2003)

Cyronax said:
			
		

> *How about a slithery sounding Chinese-esque Draconic? That's how i've used it. China is the original home of dragons after all.  *




I hadn't make a choice on how it sounds, but for how it is written, right-o, it's chinese/japanese-looking ideograms. It allows for a complicated language, where a symbol may be a word or a syllable, and where meanings may be different depending on the sense you are reading it (left to right, right to left, up to down or down to up, in diagonal, etc.). No wonder deciphering scrolls and spellbooks is hard!

I had my players pass in front of a huge spellbook once -- a small labyrinth made in thin stone plates, engraved with draconic signs that didn't made any sense. But actually, reading each panel as if following a valid itinerary of the labyrinth (as seen from above) allowed to read the spells inscribed in it.

They didn't guessed that, of course.


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## Methinkus (May 11, 2003)

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR


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## ColonelHardisson (May 11, 2003)

I sort of imagine it as something like the Black Speech of Mordor (as written in the books), but with more sibilance and other reptilian sounds like rumblings and bellows, with some bird-like sounds thrown in, from eagle screams to almost songbird-like calls.


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## Liquide (May 11, 2003)

Cyronax said:
			
		

> *How about a slithery sounding Chinese-esque Draconic? That's how i've used it. China is the original home of dragons after all.  *




Not entirely true.

Almost every mythos have their dragons in some shape or another and almost all dragons were created in about the same time in the diffrent mythosis.

Take for example the Norse Linnorms, first record of them is noted somewhere around 800 AD (might be earlier not quite sure about it).

Parts of the bible make references to dragons in text written around 300 AD (it might also be due to bad translation they are actually referred to as dragons who knows really  )

Greek mythos also refers to a a lot of dragon-like creatures, not just the hydra (laernan hydrae), and the first record of this is even before both of the above references (cannot supply any exact year/century though).

Still all of these references are before we the western world had any major contact with any of the eastern cultures, and the dragons referred to in each of the above sources/mythos are a lot more similar to the dragons that were portraid in stories during the dark ages and medieval times then those of asian cultures.

Still for me draconian would be a mix of old norse and Acient Greek. A runic script with a flowing speech, much similar to a melody. (ever listened to how norse langauges sound, do that and you will hear something diffrent our languages actually use a melody when you construct sentences in speech)


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## Liquide (May 11, 2003)

*
I den kraft som kommer från mitt blod skall jag återkalla den kraft som kommer från svunnen tid.

Den kraft som dödliga anammar och kallar magi.
*

 bonus points if you translate the above (or record it in swedish so people can have a sound file to listen to in order for them to hear what swedish sounds like).


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## 333 Dave (May 11, 2003)

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.


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## Gez (May 12, 2003)

Liquide said:
			
		

> *
> I den kraft som kommer från mitt blod skall jag återkalla den kraft som kommer från svunnen tid.
> 
> Den kraft som dödliga anammar och kallar magi.
> ...




My knowledge of Swedish is limited to knowing it's the language spoken in Sweden, but I'll try to guess.

I blah blah with blood blah hunt blah blah blah blah. Blah blah enemy blah magic.

Mmh... Havn't rolled high on Decipher Script.


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## Liquide (May 12, 2003)

Gez said:
			
		

> *
> 
> My knowledge of Swedish is limited to knowing it's the language spoken in Sweden, but I'll try to guess.
> 
> ...




blod = blood
magi = magic

aye 

(I think you failed the DC26 with quite some there)


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## Left-handed Hummingbird (May 12, 2003)

Liquide said:
			
		

> *I den kraft som kommer från mitt blod skall jag återkalla den kraft som kommer från svunnen tid.
> 
> Den kraft som dödliga anammar och kallar magi.*



By the power of my blood I will recall the power of ancient times. ...The power mortals have taken to them and named magic.

Or something very similar.


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## Ashy (May 12, 2003)

Tanager said:
			
		

> *It all depends on what you envision a dragon's mouth to be like.
> The shape of it's tongue and teeth are going to be major factors.
> In my mind, labio-dental fricatives (f and v) would be minimal,  if in existance at all, since all them sharp teeth would be killers on the lips. Sibilants would likely be prominent, as would liquids (such as l & r, which could also function as semi-vowels). The flexible tongue and larger interior of the mouth could possibly expand the range of vowels as well.
> 
> ...




Well, that is exactly what I was going to say!


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## Gez (May 12, 2003)

Ashy said:
			
		

> *Well, that is exactly what I was going to say!   *




The whole message, or just its "Captain Pedantic" conclusion ?


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## Tanager (May 12, 2003)




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## Umbran (May 12, 2003)

Tanager said:
			
		

> *It all depends on what you envision a dragon's mouth to be like. *




And let us not forget the lizard lips!  The sounds of B, M, P, and W all require lip motion that real-world reptiles simply don't have.  

All of this raises the possibility of having dragons who can understand Common, but are physically incapable of speaking it.


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## Sunbagel (Dec 30, 2020)

I get that this post was made the same year I was born but I always thought it sounded like Russian


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## Sunbagel (Dec 30, 2020)

I get that this post was made the same year I was born but I always thought it sounded like Russian


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## Fenris-77 (Dec 30, 2020)

It sounds like a Komodo dragon gargling a halfling.


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## Dioltach (Dec 30, 2020)

I think it depends whether you're in the dragon's mouth or stomach.


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## Sunbagel (Dec 30, 2020)

Fenris-77 said:


> It sounds like a Komodo dragon gargling a halfling.



lol my halfling was raised by a dragonborn so that would be a bit disturbing


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## Tonguez (Dec 30, 2020)

Methinkus said:


> ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR




funnily enough Ive always thought of it having a lot of Rah and Roah sounds Ragorah Vroa!

Klingons also a good option


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## Aldarc (Dec 30, 2020)

Turns out it sounds like geese.


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## cbwjm (Dec 30, 2020)

I always picture them sounding like Sean Connery.


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## zarionofarabel (Dec 31, 2020)

I think it sounds like drack-on-ick. Or maybe Klingon.


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## aramis erak (Jan 1, 2021)

I'm A Banana said:


> We all have an idea in our head about the typical 'sound' of some of the languages of D&D....Elvish is lilting Welsh/Irish/French-ish, with a lot of soft vowels and "L's", etc....Dwarvish is filled with "K's" and "Z's" with harsh stops and lung-coughing, closer to German/Scottish....heck, you can even imagine Halfling as some sort of heavily accented Aulstralian/Great Brittain English...
> 
> So, what do people hear in their head when they hear Draconic? What kind of "Earth Language" has similar phoentics and feel? Does it sound like something from an African tribe, with noises and sount effects and "oo's" and "M's" and "B's"? More smiliar to Spanish/Portuguese/Italian, with a lilting rush of letters in some sort of sing-songy nature? Perhaps it's something like Incan/Mayan/Aztec, with "X's" and "Z's," and "Atl's"?
> 
> Just thinking of what kind of feel most people have for Draconic.  All suggestions welcome.



For me, outside of Tolkien, Blood and Honor, and L5R...
Elven is closer to Hawai'ian in sound. (I love the sounds of Hawai'ian.)
Dwarves are Old Norse.
Halflings are either southeast US or Welshfolk speaking english.
Orcs are, of course, cockney.
Goblins are Liverpudlian.
Dragons are Mandarin, but 3 octaves down. (You feel it more than hear it; what you hear is just the overtones.)
Reptile men sound like !kung or Khosa, but with the clicks replaced with sibilants.
Gnomes are French or Russian.


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## TarionzCousin (Jan 1, 2021)

aramis erak said:


> Gnomes are French or Russian.



Or Belgian, perhaps?


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## Weiley31 (Jan 1, 2021)

Aldarc said:


> Turns out it sounds like geese.



I mean if Snails can meow then that ain't so far fetched.


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## aramis erak (Jan 1, 2021)

TarionzCousin said:


> Or Belgian, perhaps?



Never actually heard belgian, but I've heard a number of russians speak french.


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## reelo (Jan 1, 2021)

aramis erak said:


> Goblins are Liverpudlian.




"Liverpudlian" ?!? Surely you mean "scouse" !?


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## aramis erak (Jan 2, 2021)

reelo said:


> "Liverpudlian" ?!? Surely you mean "scouse" !?



I don't care what the Brits call it; the US media has long described that indecipherable dialect as Liverpudlian.


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## reelo (Jan 2, 2021)

Must be the same media that calls John Boyega an "African-American" actor, even though he's a Brit who happens to be black.


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## EzekielRaiden (Jan 2, 2021)

Hoo boy, the thread necromancy is _real_.

For my part, Draconic is:
Not heavy on the sibilants per se, but diverse with them, meaning sounds that are considered one allophone in (essentially?) all human languages are treated as distinct sounds. Like how the Hawaiian transliteration of "Merry Christmas" is "Mele Kelikimaka," with "ch," "st," and "s" all cashing out as "k."
Definitely has some shades of Aztec, Russian, and Germanic weird consonant clusters. I imagine dragon lips are more mobile than most give them credit for, and thus expect a pretty large consonant inventory.
Heavy on long and back vowels, so not very similar to American English at all. Dragon breath is a voluminous thing, and being long-winded carries certain positive connotations in spoken language as a result.
Highly inflected...but full of abbreviations, even worse than Latin. There's a thorough case system, with some cases not normally found in Earth languages; likewise the conjugation system is more intricate and precise than many Earth languages, with more tenses, moods, and aspects.
Written with two scripts, Claw and Fire (or Breath). Claw script is, as the name implies, made with claw marks, and resembles cuneiform or the TES dragon script. Designed more for personal use and everyday stuff, and quite good for carving into stone. Much easier for mortals to read and translate--very much a feature rather than a bug. Fire/Breath script is cursive, based on the notion of being burned into something with fire (or the breath of a dragon, presumably at point-blank range so it can't spread out too far). Fire/Breath script is much more formal and fancy, it's for important documents, threatening your rivals, and generally communicating a "high draconic society" vibe.

Most Earth human listeners would find it almost but not quite sing-songy, due to the partial rhythm produced from alternating long and short vowels. The various flavors of sibilants are lost to most human ears, robbing it some of its subtlety, and the occasional harsh consonants cut through the long, flowing sounds. This has helped its status as a language of magic; the deep declension and conjugation systems make rhyme possible but not trivial, and the innate rhythm makes it sound poem-like to us even in ordinary prose (after all, Sublime Rhyme is a thing!) The preciseness of its verbs and cases lends it to being very specific about plans and designs, which also lends it to the discussion of military strategy and engineering/architecture. (I imagine relative and absolute positioning are an important factor for a race that hunts by flying.)


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