Languages of Tamriel

by ReynelUvirith

Summary:

An introductory overview of the linguistic makeup of Tamriel in the Fourth Era by the esteemed Maura Charboche, Professor of Linguistic Science at the University of Gwylim.

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An attempt to flesh out the linguistic situation of Tamriel beyond the barebones "Imperials speak Cyrodilic, Dunmer speak Dunmeris, everyone speaks Tamrielic" version typically seen in the games, expanding it into a version more complex, realistic, and interesting. Now with maps!!

Notes:

by Maura Charboche, published by the University of Gwylim Press, 4E197

Chapter 1: Foreword

Despite the great tribulations of the latter half of the second century of the Fourth Era, the enduring support of His Majesty the Emperor Titus II has allowed for great advances in the linguistic and historical sciences. In addition to His Majesty, the author would like to offer her thanks to Soscean, Professor of Yokudan History at Phrastus University, and Calcelmo of Markarth, foremost expert on the ancient Falmer and Dwemer, for their assistance and support in the compilation of this volume. 

This text serves as an introduction and overview of the linguistic situation of all of modern Tamriel. As this field is ever-changing with new discoveries and better study of poorly documented languages and dialects, the classifications put forward here should be understood as simply the current scholarly consensus. In certain cases where the consensus is controversial or no consensus has been reached, the author has attempted to cover common interpretations, as well as those which are uncommon but particularly probable.

Each chapter of this text will cover the linguistic makeup of a single traditional province of Tamriel, beginning with the provinces of the Mede Empire. Due to the difficulty in obtaining the necessary information, the Summerset Isles (Alinor) and Valenwood are combined into a single chapter based primarily on pre-Dominion studies. An additional chapter is dedicated to the myriad languages and dialects of the Orcs found throughout the continent. Together with each chapter is a map that illustrates the extent of the languages spoken in the relevant province.

Chapter 2: Cyrodiil

The Starry Heart of Nirn, Tamriel, and the Empire, Cyrodiil is the largest, most populous, and most diverse region on the continent. Boasting a cosmopolitan population with distinctive local cultures and sizable native and immigrant minorities, the province’s linguistic variety is unmatched.

Cyrodilic

The native language of Imperials, Cyrodilic enters the historical record in the early First Era with the Ceyatatar amulet. This small necklace, discovered in 3E318 during Attiera Vocia’s excavation of the ancient Ayleid city, is inscribed with liba cal sesar—“will of (lit. ‘give’) Shezarr”, akin to Ayleidoon liebal Lorcane—written in the Ayleid script. The language first written upon this ancient talisman likely originated during the Middle Ayleid Period as a creole language spoken by the various Nedic and Cyro-Nordic slave peoples of Ald Cyrod. As these mannish subjects were sold and transported between city-states, their manifold dialects coalesced into a single common tongue, largely a simplification of the speech of their Ayleid masters, but with influence from each and every one of its progenitors.

Cyrodilic’s vocabulary remained primarily Ayleidoon for at least the first third of the First Era. As a part of their anti-Aldmeri practice of Sacred Expungement, the Alessian Order endeavored to rid Cyrodilic of its merish roots. Their attempt was largely successful, and most less common or more formal terms were replaced with newly coined Nedic, Nordic, or even entirely novel words. Day-to-day terminology, however, was firmly entrenched in the minds of Cyrodiils, and remains staunchly Ayleidoon in origin to this day. In rebuke of the Selectives’ efforts, Aldmeris found its way back into Cyrodilic in the years after the Middle Dawn; the merish tongue’s dominance of Tamrielic scholarship has led to a plethora of high-prestige loanwords in all the dialects of Cyrodiil.

In reflection of its fragmented origins, Cyrodilic is not a single monolithic language but a dialect continuum stretching from the Gold Coast in the west to the Valus Mountains in the east, and from Falkreath Hold in the north to Topal Bay in the south. The varieties of western Cyrodiil are often collectively referred to as Colovian or Colovian Cyrodilic, while those of central, eastern, and southern Cyrodiil are called Nibenese or Nibenese Cyrodilic. Nibenese dialects, in general, are mutually intelligible with each other, and Colovian with each other. Speakers of Nibenese in central Cyrodiil can communicate with nearby Colovians, but far eastern Nibenese and far western Colovian dialects are not mutually intelligible.

Nibenese

• Tamrielic - Tamrielic is the standardized dialect of Cyrodilic used as the lingua franca of the Septim and Mede Empires. First codified in the early Third Era to serve as the official language of the young Septim Empire, the new standard was largely based on City Cyrodilic, already widely used as a trade language throughout the Heartlands and Nibenay Valley. In order to distinguish it from the Tamrielic of the Reman Empire commonly spoken in the late First and Second Eras, the names New Tamrielic and Tiberian Tamrielic were common prior to widespread use. To facilitate its adoption throughout the nascent Empire, Tamrielic lacks many of the grammatical and orthographic irregularities present in non-standard Cyrodilic. Although Tamrielic and City Cyrodilic have diverged in the centuries since Tiber's reign, the two remain mutually intelligible.
• Heartlandic - The variety of Cyrodilic spoken in the Heartlands. Heartlandic spoken within the Imperial City is typically called City Cyrodilic; when spoken outside the city proper on the shores of Lake Rumare, it is known as Rumarean; further south, around the shores of the Niben Bay, the dialect is known as Bay Nibenese. Each of these is similar enough to be considered the same dialect, although there are local variations. Once widespread up and down the Niben River as a native tongue and trade language, Heartlandic has been on a slow but steady decline for centuries. As more of its native speakers raise their children speaking exclusively standard Tamrielic, it is increasingly likely that nonstandard Heartlandic could disappear.
• Bridge Tongue - Considered by most scholars to be a local variety of Heartlandic, the Bridge Tongue is nevertheless an independent dialect native to the Talos Bridge connecting the Imperial City with mainland Cyrodiil. One of the largest bridges in Tamriel, the Talos Bridge is lined with buildings several stories tall which often overhang Lake Rumare and the central corridor of the bridge itself. Constant contact with travelers has lent the Bridge Tongue a diverse vocabulary with influences ranging from Dunmeris to Bretic to Jel. The heavy foreign influence on the Bridge Tongue and dynamic linguistic environment of its speakers has allowed the dialect to diverge radically from neighboring Heartlandic varieties.
• Cheydin - The dialect with the widest native range, Cheydin is spoken throughout the Nibenay Basin, in the foothills of the Valus Mountains, and as far south as the Panther River in County Leyawiin. Owing to its wide range, numerous subdialects are found under the Cheydin umbrella. As the dialect spoken by the majority along the entire Cyrodiil-Morrowind border, Cheydin has extensive influence from Dunmeris, especially from Hlaalis, to such a degree that the counts of Cheydinhal have been native speakers of both Cheydin and Hlaalis since the late Third Era. Cheydin enjoys a robust literary tradition; the idyllic landscape surrounding Cheydinhal has been said to inspire countless artists and authors.
• Canulusi - Along the northern border with Black Marsh in the lowlands surrounding Lake Canulus, the Canulusi dialect is spoken. Notably distinct from the varieties of Cheydin spoken just to the west and north, Canulusi is almost exclusively an oral language; the vast majority of its speakers are illiterate common folk of rural far eastern Nibenay. This unwritten nature and the dialect's isolation from Cyrodiil's primary population centers have left it tragically insufficiently documented.
• Leyawinic - Spoken in the Blackwood region of southern Cyrodiil between the border with Anequina and Pellitine and the border with Black Marsh. Through centuries of interaction with the neighboring Khajiit and Argonians, Leyawinic has acquired significant influence from Ta'agra and Jel, including a plethora of loanwords and phrases. As Leyawiin has long been the Cyrodiil's center of commerce on the Topal Bay, Leyawinic once served as a major language of trade in southern Tamriel. While it, too, has lost much of this status due to the encroachment of Tamrielic, speakers of Leyawinic can still commonly be found in mercantile cities around the Topal Bay.
• Gidden - The Imperialization of Gideon during the Third Era gave rise to a dialect of Nibenese heavily influenced by the locals' native Jel. Originally spoken by the city's lower classes, Gidden took root in the middle class in the later years of the Septim Empire. The nationalist expansion of the An-Xileel following the Oblivion Crisis drove most Giddens out of Black Marsh, settling as refugees in County Leyawiin. The village of Blackwater, to the northeast of Leyawiin, remains almost entirely Gidden-speaking to this day.

Colovian

• Bruman - Although modern Bruma is typically considered part of Nibenay, its local dialect betrays its mixed Colovian-Nibenese heritage. Scholars disagree on whether Bruman should be considered a Colovian or Nibenese dialect, but the relatively weak control the Ayleids had over modern County Bruma produced a variety of Cyrodilic with strong Cyro-Nordic roots. As the Colovian/Nibenese linguistic divide is typically based on relative influence of Cyro-Nordic and Nedic roots, Bruman is included here as a variety of Colovian. Although Bruman is the Colovian dialect most closely related to the speech of Nibenay, its long history of interaction with Nordic to its north has rendered modern Bruman more divergent than would otherwise be expected.
• Weald Colovian - Spoken throughout the West Weald, Weald Colovian is the primary dialect of County Skingrad and is common in parts of County Bravil. Weald Colovian is often seen as the prototypical variety of Colovian: rugged and harsh, as its people. Predominant in the heart of Old Colovia, it has strong mutual intelligibility with neighboring Chorrolian and Strident. While knowledge of the dialect isn’t widespread outside its native range, certain Weald Colovian words and phrases are commonplace in culinary circles around Cyrodiil.
• Chorrolian - Closely related to Highland Colovian, Chorrolian is spoken in and around the Great Forest, in most of County Chorrol and portions of Counties Bruma and Skingrad. Although Bruman has a closer genetic relationship to Nibenese dialects, its heavy Nordic influence means that Chorrolian is the Colovian dialect most understandable to the peoples of Nibenay. Many a merchant has come from Chorrol, utilizing this intelligibility to peddle their wares throughout Cyrodiil. Chorrolians are natural picks for generals and statesmen, as well—the unwavering Colovian spirit together with simpler integration with the Nibenese elite makes a potent combination.
• Highland Colovian - Also called Highlander or Highlandic, this dialect is common in the Colovian Highlands, on both the Cyrodiil and Hammerfell sides of the border. The most conservative variety of Colovian, speakers of the more cosmopolitan Colovian dialects often have trouble understanding Highlanders. Generations of interactions with Hammerfell across the border have lent Highland Colovian a distinctive Redguard tinge, even having adopted a number of Yoku terms. In spite of its backwater origins, Highland Colovian is widely studied in Cyrodilic military circles, as Highlanders make up a disproportionate number of Legion troops.
• Strident - A Colovian tongue originally spoken in the Strid River Valley that now serves as the primary dialect of southwestern Cyrodiil. Strident is the primary language in Counties Anvil and Kvatch, as well as in western County Skingrad. Prior to the rise of Tamrielic, Strident saw wide usage in ports around the Abecean Sea, carried by traders from the Gold Coast. Although this position as an Abecean lingua franca has declined in the face of Tamrielic, Strident speakers can still be found in many of the port cities of western Tamriel.

Other

• Valusi - Valusi, spoken in the Valus Mountains along the border with Morrowind, is traditionally taken to be a highly divergent variety of Nibenese. Given that it lacks any mutual intelligibility with any dialect of the Cyrodilic language, even neighboring Cheydin, numerous scholars have put forward alternative classifications. Recent analyses, such as Modern Nedes (4E192) by the esteemed Marinus Andus and Soscean of Phrastus University, even suggest that Valusi is a proper Nedic language whose closest relatives are the Hammerfell Nedic languages. Despite this uncertainty, Valusi is included here as a Cyrodilic tongue for reasons of tradition and convenience.
• Stirk Creole - Following the discovery of rich silver deposits on the island in the late Second Era, Stirk was settled by immigrants from around the Abecean Sea, especially those from Hammerfell, Colovia, and Valenwood. The prestige language of colonial Stirk was the Gold Coast variety of Strident, which provided much of Stirk Creole’s lexicon. The official language of modern Stirk is Tamrielic, but almost all commoners speak exclusively Stirk Creole in their daily lives.
• Topalic - Also known by its endonym, Tohholoon, Topalic is a highly conservative and unusual language spoken on Grand Topal Island. Although traditionally considered a Nibenese dialect, its insular nature—in both a literal and metaphorical sense—has shielded it from many of the shared changes of its mainland cousins, to the point where it has lost mutual intelligibility in all but the most trivial of cases. As Topalic was cushioned from the purges of the Selectives and lacks almost any Akaviri influence, it is of particular interest to those studying the early history of Cyrodilic, and has even aided in the decipherment of ancient Ayleidoon texts.

Khajiiti

The long and historically porous border between Cyrodiil and the lands collectively known as Elsweyr has allowed the languages of the Khajiit to prosper throughout south-central Cyrodiil. Khajiit have inhabited what is now Cyrodiil since time immemorial; Father of the Niben describes proto-Khajiit living as far north as the Heartlands during the Middle Merethic.

• Ta’agra - The unifying standard concocted to foster Khajiiti unity in the wake of the formation of the Elsweyr Confederacy, Ta’agra is widely spoken as a native language in southern Cyrodiil, primarily in County Leyawiin. Khajiit immigrants are oftentimes more reluctant to give up their mother tongue than others; Ta’agra use remains high even after several generations outside of Elsweyr. Certain Ta'agra grammatical structures prove remarkably resilient even among those who do adopt Tamrielic as their primary tongue, such as the well-known avoidance of first person pronouns outside of familial contexts.
• Rim’kha’agra - The long-time standard dialect of Anequina, Rim’kha’agra is common in Cyrodiil along Anequina’s northeastern border. Bravil’s Rim’kha community is the strongest outside of the Khajiit homeland, and is even the predominant Khajiiti tongue in the city.
• Duneii - Once the ancestral tongue of the Dune region, Duneii is nowadays most common in the southern West Weald, along Anequina’s northern border. Its speakers have lived in the area since the First Era, unaffected by the introduction of the Ta’agra standard in Elsweyr proper. The Cyrodilic Duneii are most prominent in rural southeastern County Skingrad and western County Bravil, rarely being found within the cities themselves.
• Le-di-Rawla - Sometimes Cyrodilicized as “River Tongue” or “Niben Khajiiti”, the Le-di-Rawla is a Khajiiti language whose historical range included much of the Lower Niben. Leyawiin’s annexation of much of this land in the late Third Era has put Le-di-Rawla on a steady downward trend, many of its speakers switching to Tamrielic due to intense pressure from the County. A notable exception is the village of Border Watch, which, while it has adopted Tamrielic for external relations, retains the use of Le-di-Rawla exclusively for internal matters.
• Rumaaj - It is unclear when the Khajiit of the White Rose River basin first came to live in Cyrodiil. There are tales of Khajiit inhabiting the Heartlands dating back to the time of Topal the Pilot, but the prevailing scholarly opinion is that the Rumare Khajiit are more recent transplants. Regardless of their origin, Rumaaj is a highly divergent Khajiiti tongue, with little resemblance to the languages of modern Anequina and Pellitine. Prolin Casseldor’s Cats of the White Rose (4E56) asserts that Rumaaj is ultimately a Pellitini language, descended from the dialect spoken by settlers from the Alabaster region around the time of the Thrassian Plague. The insularity of the Rumare Khajiit has allowed Rumaaj to prosper even in the Heartland of the Imperial Province.

Nordic

The language family of the Nords of Skyrim has a long history in Cyrodiil. Nord settlers crossed the Jeralls as early as the Merethic Era, joining their earlier Cyro-Nord cousins. In modern times, most Nordic immigrants can be found in County Bruma; Bruma is sometimes even called the “Whiterun of the South”.

• Nordic - The de facto standard Nordic language—Tiberian Nordic—is widely spoken in County Bruma by the area's Nord population. Although many speakers of the Nordic languages native to Skyrim who live in more cosmopolitan parts of Cyrodiil eventually give their languages up in favor of Tamrielic, several varieties see heavy usage amongst immigrants from Skyrim and Tiberian Nordic has a healthy speaker base in the Jerall hinterland.
• Brum - Not to be confused with the Cyrodilic Bruman, Brum is the native Nordic language of the Jerall Mountains. It developed separately from the Cyro-Nordic tongues that contributed to modern Cyrodilic, likely having been introduced to northern Cyrodiil when it was ruled by the First Empire of the Nords. Separated from Skyrim by the Jeralls—and in some periods by Colovian Falkreath—Brum and its northern Nordic cousins have diverged enough that speakers of one can no longer understand the other. The Cyrodilicization and later Nibenization of Bruma during the Second, Third, and Fourth Eras has eroded the status of Brum in County Bruma, and it is now rarely spoken in the city itself. The last native Brum-speaking ruler of Bruma was Belf the Worn during the time of Reman Cyrodiil, who was also a native speaker of Bruman. Nevertheless, Brum still finds life in the more rural and mountainous regions of northern Cyrodiil.
• Jerals - Despite its name, Jerals is actually spoken in the foothills of the eastern Jerall Mountains, rather than the mountains themselves. Millennia of interaction with the nearby Cheydin variety of Nibenese have left Jerals highly divergent from other Nordic languages, even its close cousin, Brum. It is perhaps best known as the language spoken in the environs of the Temple of the Ancestor Moths; Jerals-speakers are known to become Moth Priests at a higher rate than any other group in Cyrodiil.

Redguard

Although Cyrodiil’s border with Hammerfell is among its longest, Hammerfell’s sparse settlement of its eastern regions has meant that there are few major historical Redguard populations in Colovia. While modern Redguard immigration has established their languages in many a port city, only around the Brena River have Redguards traditionally made up a large portion of the native population.

• Redguard - Both the Forebear and Crown standards of numerous Redguard languages are spoken in Cyrodiil, primarily amongst newer immigrant communities. Anvil, in particular, has a substantial Redguard minority, constantly replenished by Redguard sailors settling in the Gold Coast city.
• Brenan - A Hammerfell Nedic language spoken around the Brena River Valley, northeast of Rihad, Brenan has a long but unremarkable history in Colovia. The Brenans are of Redguard stock, speaking a Nedic language of the Hammerfell branch, who consider themselves to be true Colovians. The Brenan language has had strong influence from Colovian Cyrodilic, giving it a more rugged and consonant-heavy quality when compared to most other Hammerfell Nedic languages.

Other

More recent immigrants to Cyrodiil typically speak standard or otherwise widely spoken dialects of languages from across Tamriel. In pursuit of conciseness, these modern minority languages will be summarized here based on overarching linguistic classification.

• Altmeris - Altmer have historically made up a relatively small but powerful minority within Cyrodiil, contributing many a great mage and politician, including Potentate Ocato in the aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis. These Altmer are typically polyglots, fluent in Tamrielic, Altmeris, and often Aldmeris. Following the Sunrise Coup in 4E22, emigration from the Summerset Isles ground to a halt. However, many more fortunate Altmer families made it out of the country prior to the Thalmor takeover, most of whom settled along the nearby Gold Coast. Altmeris remains widely spoken in Anvil, especially in the Little Alinor neighborhood.
• Bosmeris - Varieties of Bosmeris have been spoken along the Strid River for most of recorded history. Due to the Green Pact, however, relatively few Bosmer have traditionally lived on the right bank, instead preferring to stay within Valenwood. As has been the case throughout much of history, the vast majority of Bosmeris-speakers in modern Cyrodiil are recent immigrants. The city of Anvil, for instance, has a robust Bosmer minority, many of whom still speak Graht Bosmeris at home.
• Bretic - As the only non-insular province not to border Cyrodiil, High Rock’s connections to the Imperial Province are matters of immigration, not native inhabitation. There are no Bretic languages native to Cyrodiil, but the city-states of the Iliac Bay produce a steady stream of immigrants to most major cities. Notably, Bretons make up a slight plurality in Bravil, causing Iliac to be the second-most widely spoken language in the city.
• Dunmeris - The rugged Valus Mountains found along the Cyrodiil-Morrowind border have historically acted as a stark dividing line between Cyrodilic and Dunmeri dialects. As such, most Dunmeri influence on the linguistic makeup of Cyrodiil has been through trade relations with northeastern Nibenay, particularly with Cheydin. Cyrodiil does, however, have a strong Dunmer immigrant population, especially since the demotion of the Hlaalu from Great House status. Many prominent Hlaalu fled Morrowind after the Red Year, settling in the part of Cheydinhal nowadays known as Little Narsis. These Dunmer have retained their Hlaalis, interacting relatively little with the Cyrodilic population of the city. Outside of Cheydinhal, Dunmer have tended to adopt Tamrielic over the course of a few generations, with older generations speaking their ancestral standard.
• Jel - Academic opinion is split on whether or not Jel has dialects in a traditional sense. It is clear that there is a distinction between the Jel spoken by natives to Black Marsh and the Jel of the Argonian diaspora, but this difference is largely due to the lack of Hist trees outside the swamps of Argonia. Regardless, Jel-speaking Argonians are prevalent in southern Cyrodiil, both in Leyawiin itself and in Argonian-majority villages throughout Blackwood.
• Orsimeris - Although there are many Orcs native to Cyrodiil, their languages are too numerous to properly describe in this section. Orcish strongholds and nomadic tribes can be found throughout the province, especially in the northern and eastern highlands. Few of these isolated groups speak standard Orsinium Orsimeris or Tamrielic, living insular lives cut off from the rest of the continent. In addition to these native Orcs, contemporary Orcish immigrants can be found in most cities, refugees who fled to the southeast after the last sack of Orsinium.

Notes:

Map of the Languages of Cyrodiil, 4E197

Chapter 3: Skyrim

The towering mountains and sheer cliffs of Skyrim—and its frequent periods of political fragmentation—offer the perfect environment for linguistic divergence, and this northernmost province of Tamriel is now home to a vibrant patchwork of Nordic languages and cultures. A long history of interchange with neighboring provinces and the frequently shifting borders between them have also fostered the development of a number of significant native minorities.

Atmoran

Ysgramor himself is credited with the invention of the Atmoran runic script, the first known script used to record any of the languages of men. Although it is almost certain that he learned of the concept of writing from the early Falmer inhabitants of what is now Winterhold—there is no evidence that the Atmorans were privy to the Dragon script until after the rise of the Dragon Cult—it is unlikely that he ever learned their alphabet itself. While nothing confirmed to have been written by Ysgramor has survived to the present day, contemporary and near-contemporary texts, such as the Songs of the Return, agree that he was responsible both for creating the script and popularizing it.

In addition to being the mannish languages with the longest recorded history, the Atmoran languages have proven remarkably resistant to outside influence. While a few spoken along the border have adopted much from their extra-provincial neighbors, those of Skyrim’s interior almost as a rule prefer calquing foreign terminology over borrowing the words themselves. As such, educated Nords show a remarkable degree of understanding of texts written in older Nordic tongues, even when those texts date as far back as the late First Era.

As continental Nordic languages make up the vast majority of the speaker base of the Atmoran languages, “Nordic” is widely used as a synecdoche for the family as a whole. In this text, “Nordic” is used specifically for those continental Atmoran languages spoken by Nords. As the Atmoran-descended inhabitants of the countless isles of the Sea of Ghosts largely do not identify themselves as Nords, their languages, while not necessarily any more closely related to each other than they might be to their continental cousins, are detailed in their own section.

Nordic

• Tiberian Nordic - Sometimes called Standard Nordic or even just Nordic, Tiberian Nordic is the lingua franca of Skyrim. In the centuries prior to the founding of the Third Empire, Skyrim had been a shifting patchwork of independent Holds and Kingdoms, and its linguistic diversity had been allowed to flourish. As Tiber Septim's conquest of Tamriel in the late Second Era was built on the backs of Nordic soldiers from every corner of Skyrim, the Imperial Legion became a melting pot of their cultures and tongues. While in service, a pidgin formed of the various Nordic languages, with additional Colovian influence from their fellow Legionaries. When they returned home, knowledge of this Sark Nordin (roughly ‘soldier Nordic’) was both a badge of honor and a vital tool in a new interconnected Skyrim. Those soldiers passed it onto their children, who passed it onto theirs, until it was known in all but the most isolated of valleys.

• Old Tongue - Not to be confused with Old Nordic or the ancient language of the dragons, the Old Tongue is the language spoken in far northeastern Skyrim. This region was the first settled by Atmorans after the fall of Saarthal, a legacy its modern inhabitants still pride themselves on. As the language spoken in the former capitals of Windhelm and Winterhold, the Old Tongue has long been the prestige of eastern Skyrim, to the extent that speakers of nearby languages have sometimes maintained that theirs are dialects of the Old Tongue itself. The Hsaarin variety spoken in Winterhold was the standard form of the Old Tongue through much of the Third and early Fourth Eras; the Eastmarcher variety has become predominant in the seventy-five years since the Great Collapse.

• Anthorn - Spoken in the remote villages deep in the Mount Anthor Range of southern Winterhold, Anthorn is a highly unusual Nordic language. It is entirely unintelligible to any non-Anthorn-speakers, and possesses a notably smooth and undulating quality. Its high proportion of words of merish origin has led some scholars, notably Thurin Half-Giant, to conclude that the early Nordic inhabitants of the Mount Anthor Range took in Falmer refugees fleeing the pogroms that followed the Return.

• Ice Field Tongues - The numerous languages and dialects spoken by the nomadic Nords of the Ice Fields in western Winterhold. The inhospitable environment and population mean these tongues are almost entirely undocumented, and their oral nature leaves little to study outside of field work. The primary resource on the Ice Field Tongues remains Valgeir White-Hair’s unfinished manuscript detailing his interactions with the inhabitants of the Ice Fields before his disappearance on a research expedition there in 4E81. Based on his analysis, the Ice Field Tongues are strikingly dissimilar to neighboring tongues in Winterhold and the Pale. He claims they diverged from other mainland Nordic languages in the far distant past, and are in fact most closely related to that of the Skaal of Solstheim.

• Aalton - While the Old Tongue is the primary language of Eastmarch from the confluence of the White and Yorgrim rivers to the sea, the sparsely populated plains, hills, and springs to the south are the domain of Aalton. Despite its small speaker base and low prestige, words of Aalton origin are inordinately common in the culinary and leisure spheres. Alto wine gets its name from the Aalton name for the region, the Aalto, and the “jazbay” in “jazbay grape” is actually the Aalton word for “grape”.

• Yorgrim - The land surrounding Lake Yorgrim and the upper River Yorgrim has changed hands many times throughout history, having been part of Whiterun, Eastmarch, Winterhold, and even its own independent hold prior to being incorporated into the Pale. The Yorgrim language reflects this fragmented history, sporting clear influence from each of its neighbors. To this day, Yorgrim-speakers are able to understand—though not necessarily be understood by speakers of—the Old Tongue, Whiterunner, and Stadin with remarkable ease.

• Honneth - The common language of the Rift, spoken natively in the eastern two-thirds of the hold. Its name comes from Honnith, an ancient name for Lake Honrich, which has long served as the focal point of Honneth culture. Honneth displays the highest degree of Dunmeris influence—primarily Redoranis and later Hlaalis—of any Nordic language, the product of eras of trade flowing through the Rift Pass. Honneth has a long-standing reputation for being particularly beautiful, with a distinctive smoothness and flexible cadence. Unsurprisingly, Honneth was the primary language of skaldic poetry in the old Kingdom of Eastern Skyrim, alongside the perennial favorite, Haafingjar.

• Geir - Once the language of the old hold of the Throat, Geir is now spoken throughout its former territory in the foothills of the Throat of the World: southeastern Whiterun, southwestern Eastmarch, the western Rift, and eastern Falkreath. Also spelled Ghar or Gar, the name comes from Lake Geir in what is now the Rift, itself named after the ancient archmage Geirmund. It is quite common for Geirs outside of the immediate territory of Lake Geir to append “-geir” or a variant to personal and place names. Notable examples include numerous Geir Jarls of Falkreath, including the current Jarl, Dengeir of Stuhn, as well as—according to one theory—the Throat’s now-ruined capital city, Hrothgar.

• Falkreather - The most divergent major Nordic language, even the briefest look at Falkreather makes its Cyrodilic—and, to a somewhat lesser degree, Redguard—influence abundantly clear. Falkreath’s long history of association with Cyrodiil, up to its inclusion in the late Second Era Colovian Estates, has given Falkreather a plethora of words of Cyrodilic origin, even outnumbering native Nordic words. An interesting side effect of this is that Falkreathers have been much more amenable to the adoption of Tamrielic; in the present day, Falkreath Hold has a higher rate of Tamrielic proficiency than any other hold, even Haafingar.

• Whiterunner - Spoken throughout Whiterun Hold, as well as neighboring regions of Falkreath, the Reach, Hjaalmarch, and the Pale, Whiterunner was for centuries the language of trade all across Skyrim. Just as Whiterun lost much of its political and economic significance in the late Third and early Fourth Eras, Whiterunner, too, has largely been supplanted in this role by Tamrielic. Although Whiterun has come far in its recovery, Whiterunner is nowadays largely confined to its role as just the language of the vast plains of central Skyrim.

• Stadin - The collective name for the language spoken along the Stad, the north-central coastal region of Skyrim. It is the predominant language of Hjaalmarch, where it is usually called Hjaalmarcher, and the Pale, spoken in both of their capitals. The Dawnstar dialect, Dawnstarn, has an unusual guttural quality, sometimes colloquially described as “swallowing sounds”. This feature became widely known among the Imperial Legion during the city’s time as a major regional garrison, and “speaking Dawnstarn” has entered Legion jargon as a phrase meaning ‘to mumble’ or ‘to speak unclearly’.

• Drajkmyrn - Despite its proximity to Skyrim’s capital, the inhospitable environment of the Drajkmyr Marsh in northern Hjaalmarch, and the great difficulty found in navigating through it, has preserved its distinct local culture. Most closely—yet still quite distantly—related to Karther, Drakmyrn has little similarity to its other neighbors. Perhaps its greatest claim to fame—or infamy—are the wide variety of poisons with Drajkmyrn names, a product of the region’s unusually common nightshade and deathbell plants.

• Haafingjar - The prestige language of western Skyrim in the years before Tiber Septim’s unification of Tamriel, Haafingjar is natively spoken in Haafingar. The hold capital, Solitude, is home to the renowned Bards College, attended by every noteworthy skald since the First Era. As skaldic education is taught there in Haafingjar, the language is both the principal vehicle for preserving Nordic oral history as well as the primary language of art throughout modern Skyrim. In addition, Solitude’s steady rise in power since the late Third Era has carried Haafingjar to new heights across the northern coast of Tamriel, where speakers can now be found in almost every port city.

• Karther - Once the primary Nordic language spoken in the Reach, Karther has been on a slow but constant decline since at least the Tiber Wars. Speakers of Karther can now only be found in the far northeastern Reach, where the former Karthald Hold was located in the late Second Era. The mass influx of Nordic settlers into the Reach following Tiber Septim’s conquest of the region overwhelmed the Reach’s existing Karther minority. While Tiberian Nordic is now the first language of essentially all Nords in the Reach, the local dialect is full of unique terms and slang of Karther origin.

• Brum - Never particularly widespread in the northern Jeralls, Brum—the ancestral Nordic language of County Bruma in Cyrodiil—can yet be found in Skyrim in a thin band from Falkreath to Riften. While the most hospitable valleys in the Jerall Mountains have been settled over the centuries by more prominent Nordic groups, Brum clings to the more remote valleys, wedged between Falkreather, Geir, and Honneth. Despite its restricted geographical extent, Brum's future looks secure, if not bright, as a majority of its speakers remain monolingual.

Sea of Ghosts

• Roscreajar - Spoken in Roscrea and several neighboring islets, Roscreajar is by far the best documented extant language of the Sea of Ghosts. An Atmoran language only distantly related to the Nordic languages, Roscreajar exhibits features inconsistent with a shared descent from the Atmoran spoken by Ysgramor. As such, it is likely that the language derives either from a variety of Atmoran spoken in a region that sent few settlers to Tamriel, or simply from an earlier wave of settlement than the Five Hundred Companions. Following Uriel V’s mid Third Era conquest of the island and its growth from a distant backwater to a major port and exporter of fish and quicksilver, Solitude annexed Roscrea. Since then, a robust Roscreajar community has formed in Solitude, where they have been particularly resistant to giving up their mother tongue.

• Pilgrim Tongues - Beyond Hsaarik Head at the end of Winterhold’s Broken Cape lie the myriad Pilgrim’s Isles, named for the many pilgrims who come there to visit the landing site of the Five Hundred Companions, as well as the tomb of Ysgramor himself. Despite these frequent intrusions by mainland Nords, the people of the Pilgrim’s Isles are notoriously private, interacting very little with the visitors to their lands. What little is known about the languages spoken there primarily comes from the few who leave the isles for life on the mainland. From these accounts, it is clear that the languages spoken on the Pilgrim’s Isles are neither mutually intelligible with each other, nor with their mainland neighbors. Lucius Gallus, in his History from Fantasy: The Factual Basis of Skaal Myths (4E188), claims that the inhabitants of the Pilgrim’s Isles are, much like the people of the Ice Fields, distant relatives of the Skaal.

• Other - Due to the inaccessibility of many of the islands of the Sea of Ghosts, the languages spoken there are poorly documented and largely unknown. It would be remiss not to mention their existence, though little may be known about them. The most notable, though now extinct, variety was Olenvelds, once spoken on the island of Olenveld to the north of Winterhold. Although the island was depopulated in the late Second Era, speakers of Olenvelds, who largely moved to Winterhold, left their mark on the dialect of the Old Tongue spoken there.

Other

• Giantish - While the relationship between Nords and Giants continues to be a controversial and widely debated topic, recent studies have indicated that Giantish is, in fact, likely an Atmoran language. It should, however, be noted that this does not inherently indicate any connection between Nords and Giants themselves, as the Giants could have adopted Atmoran as early as the years after the Return. There are vanishingly few cases of a non-Giant having the opportunity to learn Giantish (and those that have claimed to be able to have not documented the language), but certain words and phrases have become common knowledge among the farmers and herders who must most often interact with them.

Bretic

The Eastern Reach, known as simply “the Reach” within Skyrim, has been home to disparate Reachman clans and tribes since time immemorial. This land is home to the vast majority of Skyrim’s Breton population, although smaller non-Reachman populations can be found natively in Haafingar and in immigrant communities in several of Skyrim’s major cities.

• Killoc - Spoken along the Giant’s Coast in northwestern Haafingar, Killoc is a Bretic language of unclear origin. Documents as far back as the Reman Empire refer to the “Bretons north of Kilkreath”, and it was often classed as a geographically removed Reachman language for much of history. Recent analyses, however, have shown there to be more in common between Killoc and Iliac than between it and Ruadach, despite there having been little non-Reachman Breton inhabitation of what is now northeastern High Rock until the late Second Era. Regardless, of all Bretic languages, it displays the highest level of Nordic influence, and many modern Killoc-speakers claim some degree of Nordic heritage.

• Ruadach - Also simply called Reachman or Reach-tongue, Ruadach is the native language of the Reach, a vast collection of distinct yet mutually intelligible dialects. The vast majority of these dialects are entirely unwritten, with no standard or even non-standard orthography. The only dialect that is commonly written is the Markarth dialect, which is therefore also the one most familiar to Tamrielic scholars. Despite this, Ruadach has an incredibly strong oral tradition, with Reachman vateshrans able to recite epic poetry that rivals even the greats of Cyrodilic literature in complexity.

Cyrodilic

Despite the close and enduring cultural connection between the Nords of Skyrim and the Cyrodiils of Cyrodiil, much of the linguistic influence has been one-way: from Nords to Cyrodiils. Falkreath Hold is the one area of Skyrim to display strong Cyrodilic influence before the current Era—Haafingar has since seen much Cyrodilicization, as well—and is even home to a native Cyrodilic language.

• Tamrielic - Tamrielic was slow to make inroads in Nordic society. Throughout the Third Era, few Nords outside the mercantile sphere learned the language, instead favoring Tamrielic’s Atmoran counterpart, Tiberian Nordic. Increased Cyrodilic focus on Skyrim following the secession of most of the Septim-era provinces is responsible for the greatly increased adoption rate of Tamrielic seen in the Fourth Era. In addition, monumental demographic shifts over the past two centuries have led to Skyrim receiving far more immigrants and refugees than ever before, most of whom either spoke or were quick to learn Tamrielic from those who did. Nowadays, much of the urban population of Skyrim has at the very least basic command of Tamrielic, and even the better educated or connected among those in smaller towns have begun to acquire it as well.

• Falcrenthic - At the crossroads between Skyrim and the old Colovian Estates of western Cyrodiil, Falkreath is the heart of the Cyro-Nordic cultural continuum. While there is some evidence of Cyrodilic-speaking populations in Falkreath Hold through much of history, modern Falcrenthic has its origins in the Second Era, when many Cyrodiils fled the chaos of the middle Interregnum, settling in relative safety north of the Jeralls. These Cyrodilic communities, drawn from all across the province, tended to stick together, and by the late Second Era, a new dialect of Cyrodilic had been born. As might be expected from its position at the confluence of three provinces, Falcrenthic has strong influence from both local Nordic languages, and from the Redguard languages spoken in nearby Hammerfell.

• Valusi - Though the Velothi Mountains of eastern Skyrim are the same range as the Valus to the south, Valusi's range in Skyrim is restricted to only the southernmost fringe, where the borders of Skyrim, Cyrodiil, and Morrowind meet. These northern dialects of Valusi bear a slightly different endonym from their southern siblings—Valuthi instead of Valusi. Much like their namesake Velothi and Valus, it appears that the form with th is older, though it remains a topic of scholarly debate as to whether the distinction is because of the differing mountain range names, or simply a pleasant coincidence.

Dunmeri

The Velothi Mountains once served as a stark wall between the Nords to the west and the Dunmer to the east, with very few of either group living on the opposite side. The Dunmer population of Skyrim has exploded since the start of the Fourth Era, with Dunmer now being the largest minority group in the Old Holds.

• Redoranis - As the lands of Great House Redoran lie just across the Velothi Mountains from eastern Skyrim, most of the small amount of Great House Dunmer presence in Skyrim throughout history have been speakers of Redoranis. Given the hostility between the two groups, historical Redoranis-speaking populations in eastern Skyrim tended towards insularity, typically preserving their language for many generations before either adopting the local Nordic language, or even returning to Morrowind. The former case is the source of many a Redoranis loanword in eastern Nordic languages, especially Honneth.

• Hlaalis - Despite having almost no historical presence in Skyrim, in the past two centuries, Hlaalis has rapidly become the most common Dunmeri tongue spoken in the cities of eastern Skyrim. Among the Great Houses of Morrowind, House Hlaalu’s response to the Oblivion Crisis was the poorest—see The End of Great House Hlaalu (4E105)—and they were wholly unprepared for the Red Year and ensuing Accession War. The devastation of their homeland and widespread intra-Dunmeri distrust of them led many Hlaalu, peasant, kinsman, and councilor alike, to abandon Morrowind for neighboring Cyrodiil and Skyrim. Hlaalu refugees and their descendants are primarily found in the border cities of Riften and Windhelm, where Hlaalis can often be heard spoken on the streets of the Grey Quarter.

• Vernis - The Vernim are one of the rare group of Moriche, Dunmer whose endonym is neither a form of “Dunmer” or “Velothi”. Its speakers inhabiting the northern Rift in the region known as the Vernim Woods, Vernis is of great importance to scholars studying the development of Dunmeris. It is believed that the Vernim split off from other Dunmer as early as the Exodus, breaking off from the Velothi before even reaching Morrowind. This theory is supported by linguistic evidence, as Vernis cannot be reliably connected to either the Dunmeris of the Great House Dunmer or the Velothis of the Ashlanders.

Other

Skyrim has never had particularly large immigrant communities, even in its major cities, although the numbers have risen throughout the Septim and especially Mede Empires. Of the immigrants in modern Skyrim, most are relatively recent, and most speak Tamrielic.

• Altmeris - Altmer have never been plentiful in Skyrim, with those that could be found in the province typically filling a role such as a Jarl’s court mage—and thus speaking Nordic—or as a professor at the College of Winterhold—speaking Nordic, or later Tamrielic. Since the Sunrise Coup, many Altmer who had previously fled Alinor to Cyrodiil have moved northward. In Skyrim, they have primarily settled in Solitude, where Altmeris can be heard spoken on the streets of the Avenues District.

• Jel - The cold and unforgiving climate of Skyrim means it has never been a particularly promising destination for Argonian immigration. The largest Argonian population in Skyrim is in Windhelm, a community founded by slaves who had escaped from Morrowind before abolition. While the descendants of those refugees primarily speak a mix of Tamrielic, Nordic, Dunmeris, more recent Argonian immigration directly from Black Marsh have led to a resurgence in the usage of Jel.

• Khajiiti - As each hold has either an official or unofficial ban on Khajiit entering the cities, the Khajiit population of Skyrim is vanishingly small. As such, the vast majority of Khajiit in Skyrim live there only temporarily, particularly in the caravans that travel to all corners of the province. Their primary language is standard Ta’agra, as might be expected of merchants only temporarily residing outside Elsweyr.

• Orsimeris - Skyrim has always been home to a large Orcish community, which has only been on the rise since the last sack of Orsinium. Of the latter group, despite having widespread proficiency with Tamrielic and often even Nordic, most have held quite tightly to their native Orsimeris even after several generations.

• Redguard - As northeastern Hammerfell is only very sparsely populated, there has been relatively little crossover through the Dragon's Teeth Mountains. The greatest linguistic exchange followed the War of the Bend’r-mahk, when Skyrim annexed several neighboring areas of Hammerfell. Since then, Falkreath Hold has been home to a sizable community of speakers of Elinhic, the Hammerfell Nedic language spoken around Elinhir.

Notes:

Map of the Languages of Skyrim, 4E197

Chapter 4: High Rock

Notes:

Returning readers: Since I posted the Skyrim chapter, I've made a few edits to the prior chapters, adding/editing a few languages and adding language maps for both Cyrodiil and Skyrim (!!), so I recommend taking a look at them again. This chapter also has a language map of High Rock at the end!

An old Breton proverb states, "Find a new hill, become a new king." For much of High Rock's history, this sentiment rang true for the province's languages, as well—each kingdom, duchy, county, each city-state with its own standard form of some regional dialect. However, in an uncommon repudiation of Tamriel's recent trend towards political fragmentation, High Rock has been on a path towards greater unity and integration with the establishment of the province as a singular entity under Tiber Septim, the later Miracle of Peace, and all the population exchanges that followed.

Bretic

It is unclear when Bretic languages first entered the historical record. Perhaps the oldest extant reference to what might have been an early Bretic language can be found in Khosey's Tamrielean Tractates (ca. 1E200). The "broken Nordic"—a plea for mercy spoken by a Direnni slave—described in the text was likely not Nordic at all, but some ancient Nedic ancestor of modern Bretic languages. As the Nedes of ancient High Rock were separated from their Atmoran cousins for perhaps only a few centuries at that time, a simple plea might have retained enough mutual intelligibility for their Nordic saviors to understand. In fact, a cry of "I am a man!" in Iliac—ne's sia mano!—and the Old Tongue—nan esk sMannan!—remain similar to this day.

While the earliest stages of the Bretic languages remain shrouded in uncertainty, it is clear that they are a branch of Nedic languages—the most widely spoken branch, at that. Despite their geographical proximity, the Hammerfell Nedic languages do not appear to be particularly closely related to the Bretic languages. A possible exception, however, might be the Reachman languages. While they are grouped here as Bretic per traditional analysis, recent research into the languages of the Western Reach—see Soscean's Legacy of the Ket Keptu (4E195)—suggests that they may actually be more closely related to the Hammerfell Nedic languages. 

Other than the Reachman languages, Bretic is split into two primary branches. In the west are the Galenic languages, dominant across the Iliac Bay and all the way north to Rivenspire. The Galenic peoples claim heritage from the ancient Nedic Druids of Galen. While the origin of the name "Galen" itself remains unclear, the term "Galenic" and many toponyms of western High Rock can trace their etymology to it: Glenumbra, Glenpoint, and even Glenmoril Wood in Stormhaven. To the east, in the highlands of the upper Bjoulsae, lie the Bangkor languages, spoken by the Bjoulsae River Tribes and their settled descendants. Originally named for the River Bangke across the border in Hammerfell—also the source of the name Bangkorai itself—the Bangkor languages of High Rock are today limited in range, wedged between the Orcs and Reachmen of Wrothgar and the western Reach. 

Galenic

• Iliac - Perhaps one of the strangest, though least studied, effects of the Warp in the West was the establishment of Iliac as the common tongue throughout the Iliac Bay region. While sources are difficult to come by due to the transformation of pre-Iliac texts into Iliac, scholarly consensus is that there were as many as a dozen languages spoken along the northern coast of the Iliac Bay by 3E400. The Numidian effect has proven quite thorough—even ancient texts from the region appear to be written in early forms of Iliac—and any reconstruction of the pre-Warp linguistic landscape has had to be through indirect mentions in non-Bretic sources. A particularly notable example of such a source is the ledger of East Empire Company officer Adan Lextia, dated 3E396, which lists expenses for separate translators required during stops in Daggerfall, Salgora, and Anticlere, suggesting that a different language was spoken in each. Following the Warp, the now-consolidated Iliac states shared a single tongue, clearly Galenic and surprisingly naturalistic, with all the irregularities one might expect. Since then, Iliac has only continued to rise in importance, spreading beyond its original range and finding use as the language of choice for Breton merchants throughout the province. 
• Cambraic - Cambraic is spoken in western Glenumbra, from the Ilessan Hills in the south, throughout the eponymous Cambray Hills, and north to the King's Guard. Centered on cosmopolitan Camlorn, Cambraic served as High Rock's primary language of diplomacy and trade in the late Second and Third Eras, though it was fast overtaken in this role by Iliac in the final years of the Third and beginning of the Fourth Era. Nowadays, Cambraic is best known for its vibrant literary tradition. The nobility of Camlorn fashion themselves poet-aristocrats, writing themselves and supporting the careers of many a Cambraic author, including such greats as Waughin Jarth.
• Kurallian - The rough and inhospitable Kurallian highlands of central High Rock have long been known for their hostility to foreign influence—the countless repulsed invasions have earned the land the nickname "the Conquerors' Graveyard". Even the Direnni were unable to forcibly subjugate the region, instead naming a local house as their noble envoys. This insularity—when it comes to their own lands, that is; the Kurallians have never been averse to getting involved in the goings-on of the rest of the province—means that Kurallian is the most conservative Galenic language of mainland High Rock, and perhaps one of the most conservative major Nedic languages in Tamriel. For that reason, Crown College in Shornhelm is a focal point for the study of Nedic linguistics and history.
• Boralic - Beyond the Kurallian Mountains lies rugged coastal Boralis, where Boralic is spoken. The local Blue Bretons—likely named for their near universal blue eye coloration—are unusual in High Rock in claiming that, rather than descending from the ancient Nedes and Direnni, they are instead of mixed Nordic and Ayleid stock. Whether the mythic origin holds any truth, the Boralic language does not seem to support it; the Blue Bretons speak a Galenic language most closely related to Iliac. Based on records of historical Breton migrations, Boralic is likely a descendant of what would have been the pre-Iliac language of early First Era Daggerfall, provisionally referred to as Ur-Glenumbran. 
• Markwastin - Often mistaken to be an Atmoran language due to its name and heavy Nordic influence, Markwastin is the Galenic language of the Westmark Moor region of Rivenspire and the nearby Wrothgarian Mountains. It was once spoken along the entirety of the Great Bay's western shore, from the Orc's Finger to Shipwreck Cove. In the First Era, Nords settled this region in droves—their lasting influence on the local tongue is what led the ancient common ancestor of Markwastin and Kurallian to diverge. Nowadays, Markwastin's range is greatly reduced. Kurallian has overtaken it through much of Rivenspire, while the southern shore of the Great Bay—which only ever had a sparse population of Markwastin-speakers—is now primarily populated by Frostbreaker Nords.
• Systrean - Sometimes called "Systriot", Systrean is spoken in the Systres, a volcanic archipelago found far to the west of Tamriel in the Eltheric Ocean. While there is much of interest in this strange Galenic language—its insulation from the trends of its mainland sisters, its interactions with ancient Yoku, its pan-Tamrielic influence from the larimar and ammonite rushes—perhaps the most remarkable feature of all stems from a brief period in the early First Era when the Systres were home to a faction of Lefthanded Elves. While traditional scholarship has minimized the impact that the Sinismer had on Systrean language and culture, there is now reason to believe this may in part be the result of the long periods of Hammerfell's stewardship over the archipelago. An Analysis of Aldmeri Influence on the Systrean Language (4E180), the most recent study of Systrean since the return of the Systres to High Rock in the late Third Era, presents a compelling argument that most Systrean words of presumed Aldmeris origin are actually Sinismeris. As scholars of linguistic science have flocked to the Systres in hopes of unlocking the secrets of the Sinistral language, some have begun to propose that the Lefthanded Elves may have predated the Bretons on the archipelago, and for a time might have even ruled over them.

Bangkor

• Morn - By far the most widely spoken Bangkor language, Morn is the dominant language of the Upper Bjoulsae on both the High Rock and Hammerfell sides of the border. As this region, Mournoth, has long been the confluence of trade between those lands and Skyrim, it has become a melting pot of cultures—Bangkor, Galenic, Hammerfell Nedic, Yokudan, Atmoran, and even Orsimeris. Morn is no exception. With massive influence from each of its neighbors, Morn has a reputation of being a "chimera language"—a Bretic body with Redguard, Nordic, and Orcish heads.
• Harusina - Just to the north of Mournoth, in the vicinity of Halcyon Lake, Harusina is spoken. In dry southeastern High Rock, wedged between the Wrothgarian and Druadach ranges, the Halcyon Basin is a land of little or plenty as the water levels shift with the seasons and years. In response to this environmental uncertainty, the Harus have developed linguistic taboo—avoidance speech—such that they do not anger Kiva, a local (and fickle) interpretation of Kynareth. While within view of birds or Kiva's sacred Halcyon Lake, they utilize an elaborate set of euphemisms and circumlocutions when discussing topics that might draw her ire. Particularly sensitive is anything involving her estranged husband, Aukai, whose domain includes the seasons, the movement of the sun, and even all manner of reptiles.

• Mahk - Mahk, typically referred to in Tamrielic scholarship by its Iliac exonym, Malic, was once spoken throughout the northern Western Reach, although its range has been greatly diminished since the Nordic conquest of the region in the late Third Era. It is a close sister of Morn, having diverged in the late Second Era—the ancestors of the Mahk migrated into former Orcish territory following the sack of Kurog's Orsinium, after the tense peace brought by the Daggerfall Covenant came to an end. The two languages retain much mutual intelligibility, but in the years since they split, Mahk has traded Redguard influence for that of Orsimeris and the Reachman tongues. So strong has their influence on Mahk been, especially since the Mahk were forced from Jehanna and into the hills, that some have begun to identify more strongly with the Reach and Reachmen than High Rock and other Bretons. 
• Gavaudonic - No longer spoken in its original range of Gavaudon, Gavaudonic, or Cavaodod, is now found in the region surrounding the Merchant's Pass in southwestern Wrothgar. As the lower Bjoulsae was depopulated when the Bangkor Bretons migrated upriver into formerly Reachman lands, speakers of Low Dirennis from Stormhaven moved in, pushing the original Bretons of Gavaudon to the northeast. In their new home, wedged between the highlands of the Wrothgarian Mountains, Gavaudonic was for a long while quite stagnant—the Middle Gavaudonic period is considered to have lasted for well over one thousand years. However, since the Frostbreaker Nords began to settle the shores of the Great Bay, and the ensuing meteoric rise of trade in the region, the Merchant's pass has become a major thoroughfare for merchants traveling to and from Wayrest and Evermor. In addition to great wealth, this has also brought great change to Gavaudonic, and has even carried Gavaudonic loanwords into languages as distant as Skyrim.

Reachman

• Ruadach - Also spoken in Skyrim across the Druadach Mountains—which get their name from (Markarth) Ruadach Broidhne dRuadach, meaning 'Mountains of the Reachmen'—the Ruadach of High Rock is quite distinct. While the Reachmen themselves maintain that they are the same language, there is relatively inter-provincial mutual intelligibility—Ruadach-speakers within High Rock can generally understand each other, as can Ruadach speakers within Skyrim, but understanding between those in High Rock and those in Skyrim is much more difficult. Some scholars thus classify Ruadach as two separate languages: a Western and Eastern variety. While this analysis has received increasing agreement in academic circles, it is staunchly opposed by Reachmen, many of whom ascribe to the motto Karth iet, Suaron iet, Ruadach iet—'one Reach, one speech, one Reachmen'.
• Caraedhach - In spite of what any mottos may say, in the northern regions of the Western Reach live a culture of Reachmen who speak Caraedhach. The Caraedhach are not considered by some Ruadach to be "true" Reachmen, as they are seen as having assimilated to Imperial culture. Sure enough, this region is where Titus Alorius, Tiber Septim's chosen governor for the Western Reach, was most successful—the Caraedhach Reachmen adopted worship of the Divines, and many learned Tiberian Tamrielic during its early years. Alorius was, however, unable to fully assimilate the Caraedhach before his death, and his goals for the region largely fell apart afterwards. The Caraedhach language—at the time considered one of the dialects of Ruadach—survived, though with heavy influence from the Tamrielic they were forced to learn and the Highland Colovian of many of Alorius's soldiers. Nowadays, most of this region exists in a state of diglossia. Caraedhach finds use in the home, with friends, and in other such casual situations, while Tamrielic is used for education, during sermons, and at any formal event.
• Brachuach - To the west of the Reach itself, in Lower Wrothgaria, a divergent Reachman tongue known as Brachuach is spoken. Like Caraedhach, Brachuach is considered by Ruadach-speakers to not be a true Reachman tongue, but, unlike Caraedhach, a few Tamrielic scholars agree. While it is included here as a Reachman language for simplicity and tradition, Hilia Vonix proposed in Reachmen or Redguards? (4E188) that Brachuach is actually a Hammerfell Nedic language. According to her hypothesis, Brachuach originated as the language of the Upper Bjoulsae, where it was spoken by relatives of the ancestor of languages such as Druhang and Elinhic across the border. This region was then settled by Reachmen, and, while most of the inhabitants assimilated or were replaced, some clung to their original language. However, this ancestor of Brachuach underwent relexification, whereby almost all of its vocabulary was replaced with words of Reachman origin, but its grammar remained the same. While this hypothesis remains unproven, it would prove a fascinating answer to the question of why the grammar of Brachuach is so different from Ruadach and Caraedhach, and so startlingly similar to the Hammerfell Nedic languages of Craglorn.

Other

• Killoc - Once spoken along much of the Icy Shore, Killoc is now restricted to a small area nestled on the border with Skyrim. Jehanna began as a Killoc fishing village, but the migration of the Mahk into northwestern High Rock drove the Killoc east. Most speakers of Killoc are now found in Skyrim, though some have begun to return to these once lost parts of their territory—the new Nord landowners of conquered Jehanna were in desperate need of laborers for their mines and farms, and the Killoc were glad to take up their offer. As a result, the modern western varieties of Killoc possess ever-increasing influence from Tiberian Nordic, the Atmoran language acting as a wellspring for high-prestige loanwords.

Aldmeris

The Altmer of High Rock—typically called Direnni after the predominant clan, though the province has throughout history been, and still remains, home to dozens of different Altmer clans—first arrived in the province sometime in the late Merethic Era, not long after the earliest evidence of Nedic inhabitation. As they were more technologically and magically advanced than the native humans, the Altmer quickly established themselves in positions of power, drawing many of their more ambitious brethren to settle along the shores of the Iliac Bay. While these Altmer lost their political significance to their Breton descendants long ago, their influence has echoed through the millennia, and their tongues remain spoken by both the remaining High Rock Altmer and many Bretons to this day.

• High Dirennis - Officially one of the two major standards of Aldmeris—three, if Academic Aldmeris is counted—High Dirennis differs in significant ways from its sister standard in the Summerset Isles (Alinor). Much like their cousins back in the Altmer homeland, the Direnni maintain that their standard is the closest to the Aldmeris spoken in the Isles in the years immediately after Aldmer colonization. In a sense, they both appear to be correct. In contrast to the picture of a unitary Aldmeris painted by most Altmer, the consensus among Tamrielic scholars has increasingly favored an understanding of Aldmeris as having been a diverse patchwork of dialects, and perhaps even different languages as early as the late Merethic. Under this analysis, High Dirennis is thus a standard derived from the ancient dialect or language of the Diren Valley of northeastern Summerset, and many of its differences from other Aldmeris standards may date all the way back to those between those Merethic Era dialects. While few in High Rock speak High Dirennis natively—it is primarily a prestige language in the province—it is spoken by the Altmer of Balfiera. 
• Low Dirennis - With the fall of the Direnni Hegemony in the First Era, High Dirennis lost its prestigious status among the new Breton nobles. The earliest codified Galenic languages date to this period, as the wave of anti-Direnni sentiment spread throughout the province. The exception is the old heart of Direnni territory: the Isle of Balfiera and neighboring Stormhaven. In these regions most strongly impacted by the Direnni, even the common folk had adopted the language of their rulers. In the eras since, this Dirennis of the people has evolved into modern Low Dirennis. Originating as an informal register of High Dirennis in the First Era, Low Dirennis is still considered by its speakers to be an uneducated or at least informal variety of High Dirennis, despite the two sharing only partial mutual intelligibility. In truth, most remaining intelligibility between the two is due to High Dirennis's continued position as the language of power in this region; the everyday vocabulary of Low Dirennis has developed so significantly as to be unrecognizable.
• Wrothgaris - When Upper Wrothgaria was reconquered by Bretons in the mid-late Second Era, the charge was led by knightly orders of Stormhaven and Balfiera. They brought with them High Dirennis as their prestige language and lingua franca. As Bretons from across High Rock were drawn by the promise of wide-open land on which to settle, many of them adopted High Dirennis, passing it on to their children and beyond. In the millennium since, far from Direnni influence, their speech has developed into modern Wrothgaris. Sometimes described as a "half sister" of Low Dirennis, Wrothgaris reflects its Aldmeris roots strongly enough that the two sisters still possess some mutual intelligibility in highly formal speech.
• Latamasu - A highly unusual Aldmeri language spoken in northwestern High Rock, Latamasu is of unclear origin. Usually considered a rare flourishing remnant of the Direnni Hegemony's control of High Rock, the earliest years of Latamasu are shrouded in mystery. Contemporary Direnni sources fail to describe northwestern High Rock almost at all—famously omitting even nearby Camlorn in many of their maps—and by the time Latamasu enters the historical record, it is unlike any other merish language in the province. So different is it that some scholars have proposed that Latamasu isn't of Direnni origin at all, and that it is instead descended from the variety of Ayleidoon spoken by the Ayleid refugees that the Direnni Hegemony allowed to settle along their frontiers. If proven to be true, this would mean that Latamasu is actually one of the closest extant relatives to Cyrodilic, and the only one spoken by humans outside of Cyrodiil. One such similarity lies in Latamasu toponymy: fortified hill towns are usually given names prefaced by meir, such as Meir Dargard and Meir Torval. This practice can also be found among the Nibenese, and is the origin of town names like Mir Corrup.
• Iless - More of a collection of related yet distinct Aldmeri languages than a single unified one, Iless—natively Ilis, likely related to Iliac—is the term for the tongues spoken by the few remaining mainland Altmer of High Rock. Although most of High Rock's Altmer clans retreated to Balfiera following the fall of the Direnni Hegemony, this was not universal. Throughout the First, Second, and Third Eras, some isolated communities of Altmer remain in the mainland Iliac Bay region. Without the outside influence of standardized Aldmeris acting as a roof over their linguistic evolution, the Iless dialects grew quite distinct from the speech of their ancestors. In the mid Third Era, a highland group of Iless Altmer managed to establish an independent Iless-speaking region, the Barony of the Ilessan Hills, and created a standardized form of Iless based on their Hill dialect. While their barony was subsumed by the Kingdom of Daggerfall following the Miracle of Peace, they were granted autonomous status, and Iless is now healthier than ever.

Redguard

During the exodus from Yokuda ca. 1E800, most Yokudans followed the "southern route" to Tariel—that is, island hopping from Yokuda to Hammerfell via the islands of the central Eltheric, among them Pankor, the Systres, Herne, Cespar, and the Chain. Although several of these territories now fall under High Rock's domain, they still possess large populations of Yokudan descent, many of whom still speak daughters of their ancestral languages. Outside these islands, the Redguard languages native to High Rock are typically of the Hammerfell Nedic variety, spoken by later arrivals who crossed the Bjoulsae and settled the rugged east. Of course, the cosmopolitan cities of the Iliac Bay are also home to many first- and second-generation Redguard immigrants who carry with them languages from across Hammerfell, especially Myrkwasan.

• Silverhoof - Unique among the Redguard languages natively spoken in mainland High Rock, Silverhoof is a Yokudan language, not Hammerfell Nedic. Living in the Vale of Silverhoof in western Rivenspire, the Silverhoof Horsemen are most likely the descendants of one of the few groups of Yokudan refugees to follow the "northern route"—from Akos Kasaz, through Kevalla, and across the great expanse of the northern Eltheric to High Rock. As an island of Yokudan within a sea of Bretic, the Silverhoof language has experienced centuries of linguistic pressure from neighboring Kurallian, from which it has adopted a plethora of terms and areal features. For example, unlike almost any Yokudan languages, but like many Bretic ones, Silverhoof is largely head-initial. At least one clear reminder of Silverhoof's ancient heritage does remain, however: here, the Akos Kasaz drawl, lost or never present in its sisters, shows no sign of disappearing.
• Rahbensepta - Spoken in a small region of Lower Wrothgaria known by its speakers as the Rahbense, Rahbensepta is a Hammerfell Nedic language with origins in the central Dragon's Teeth Mountains. The ancestors of the Rahbensepta, who spoke Old Elinhic, were pushed from their homeland by the incursion of Colovians migrating into Craglorn, escaping the chaos that had overtaken Cyrodiil the early-mid Second Era. They wandered north, beyond the Bjoulsae, and were surprised to find that the local Orcs readily offered them hospitality—both Redguards and Orcs comprise the modern Rahbensepta-speaking population of High Rock. Rahbensepta still retains much mutual intelligibility with modern Elinhic—in the late Third Era, it was still considered a far-flung Elinhic dialect, even—but, thanks in part to heavy influence it has absorbed from the local Orcish tongues, it is now widely accepted by scholars as an independent language.

• Druhang - Mostly spoken over the border in Hammerfell itself, Druhang is a Hammerfell Nedic language also found in a select few areas of southeastern High Rock. It is the primary language of Upper Craglorn, finding some usage along the Upper Bjoulsae and in the southern fringes of the Western Reach, regions that have changed hands between High Rock and Hammerfell many times throughout history. The dialect of Druhang spoken in High Rock has been somewhat insulated from the Nordic influence that has so heavily affected its southern sisters, as, following the War of the Bend'r-mahk, its speakers were spared from the policy of Nordicization pursued by the new Nordic rulers of Dragonstar. When the borders were redrawn following the Second Reach War, this northernmost area within the Druhang range was given to High Rock. In the centuries since, many Druhang-speakers have moved back into Hammerfell, leaving its range within High Rock sparse, scattered, and in danger of disappearing as the Redguard youth increasingly adopt Morn as their daily language.

• Ugonoyoku - When the Ra Gada first arrived in the Dellese Isles—Herne and Cespar—they referred to them as Ugo-no-Yokuda, meaning 'far from Yokuda'. Most Redguard languages today continue to refer to the islands by some derivation of this name, and the name of the Ugonoyoku language was formed by analogy with Yoku. While Redguard stories of the exodus usually describe the Dellese Isles as having been uninhabited when they arrived, there is a clear Nedic substrate that suggests otherwise. This unknown ancient language is far from the only Nedic influence on Ugonoyoku, however. The Dellese Isles have changed hands between High Rock and Hammerfell many times throughout history, most recently in the late Third Era after Camlorn defeated Hegathe in the Abecean War. During one such period of Breton control, settlers from some region along the Iliac Bay must have arrived in the Isles—Bretons still made up two fifths of the population when Camlorn conquered them—as Ugonoyoku shows signs of significant Galenic influence. Unfortunately, all contemporary Breton documents are now in an older form of Iliac, so the identity of this Galenic language cannot be firmly established, although it is clear from its impact on Ugonoyoku that it was not Iliac.
• Pankoriji - Pankor, far to the west of mainland Tamriel, was the first island visited by Frandar Hunding's Ra Gada during their exile from Yokuda. When they found it uninhabited—except for a colony of Sload that they made short work of—some of his soldiers chose to stay behind, and it is them who became the ancestors of the modern Pankoriji. These soldiers were, like Hunding, primarily from what is now the island of Yath, and spoke Old Vathi, either a divergent dialect of Old Yoku or one of its first true daughters. Modern Pankoriji is quite conservative—perhaps as a result of its continuing strong connections with the remnants of Yokuda—and quite unlike most other Yokudan languages of Tamriel, of which very few are Vathi in origin. One such interesting feature is that Pankoriji-speaking Redguards still retain the Vathi use of toponymic surnames. These surnames are marked by the particle dzu; compare the Old Vathi Frandar do Hunding with modern Pankoriji Frender dzu Awnjing.

Nordic

While it does not appear that Bretons are descended from Atmoran slaves captured during the destruction of Saarthal, as was once thought, Nordic inhabitation of High Rock does date back to the earliest years of the First Era. The First Empire of the Nords conquered much of High Rock from its merish rulers during the mid-1E200s, ruling the land for two centuries before losing it to the resurgent Direnni. Despite the ensuing Direnni policy of de-Nordicization that resulted in the exile or death of most Atmoran settlers, remnant populations of High Rock Nords in the more remote regions of the Direnni Hegemony, especially in the province's northern mountains. In addition to these relict populations, the Western Reach has fallen under Nordic control several times throughout history—most recently in the years between the War of the Bend'r-mahk and the Second Reach War (3E397–4E15)—and is today home to a significant population of Nords.

• Tiberian Nordic - Following Skyrim's annexation of the Western Reach during the War of the Bend'r-mahk, High Queen Hanja offered land in the conquered territories to the victorious troops. Many took up her offer, especially in the northernmost regions around the city of Jehanna. Much like in the neighboring Eastern Reach, these soldiers brought with them Tiberian Nordic, the official language of Skyrim's military since the start of the Septim Empire, and the language quickly took hold as the dominant language of this northwesternmost territory of Skyrim. Although Jehanna was returned to High Rock following the Second Reach War, the stipulations of the treaty ensured that the Nords of Jehanna would be allowed to retain their status and holdings. Since then, Tiberian Nordic has remained the primary language of Jehanna, even being adopted by recent Breton immigrants to the area, and its future looks bright. Outside of Jehanna, Tiberian Nordic is also the language most commonly used among Nordic immigrant communities, who come from every region of Skyrim in search of the many opportunities offered by the mercantile cities of the Iliac Bay.
• Dargarder - After the fall of the First Empire of the Nords, the ascendant Direnni Hegemony pushed out—or even killed—most Nord colonists who remained in their new territory. While most of these Nords returned to Skyrim proper, some instead fled to the fringes of Direnni territory, especially loosely controlled—and economically insignificant—Rivenspire. In the ensuing centuries, most of these Nords were later Breticized, the only sign of their Atmoran heritage being the occasional surname or toponym. While Dargarder is no longer spoken in its eponymous Darguard Ridge, the Kurallian Mountains—once known as the Northern Darguard—proved resistant to both Direnni incursion and Breton assimilation. Today, the Dargarder Nords still remain as a distinct cultural and linguistic entity. The Dargarder language descends from the early First Era variety of Atmoran spoken by those Nord colonists, and lacks many changes that are universal among the Nordic languages of Skyrim. Instead, Dargarder shares a number of areal features with neighboring Bretic languages, such as the use of the accusative case, not the nominative, for the complement of the copula.
• Frostbreaker - Unlike the speakers of Dargarder to the west, the Nords of Frostbreak Ridge are much more recent arrivals to High Rock. Beginning in the mid Second Era, several waves of Nords from the Stad in northern Skyrim began to settle the eastern coast of the Great Bay. This region was sparsely inhabited—primarily just a few nomadic Orcish clans—largely due to the difficulty inherent in navigating the treacherous and icy Great Bay, a barrier which posed little trouble to the skilled sailors of Clan Frostbreaker. As they settled the region, they brought with them the Stadin language, and until recently, Frostbreaker was known as Great Bay Stadin. While Frostbreaker and Stadin are still partially mutually intelligible, they have diverged to an extent where they can now be considered two separate languages. This divergence is in no small part to the Frostbreaker Nords' willingness to incorporate local nomadic Orcs who wish to adopt a settled life, giving Frostbreaker a very noticeable Orcish tinge.

Other

The wealthy city-states of the Iliac Bay are the primary destination for immigrants to High Rock. The exact status of these minority languages prior to the Miracle of Peace is unclear, as they, too, seem to have been affected by the appearance of Iliac as the dominant language around the bay, with even pre-Warp monoglots ending up fluent in Iliac overnight. In the two hundred years since, however, these linguistic communities have reestablished themselves, especially as High Rock has shone as a beacon of stability in the Mede Empire.

• Cyrodilic - Unique among the mainland provinces, High Rock does not border Cyrodiil, and as a result, there are no Cyrodilic dialects or languages native to High Rock. Despite this, the two provinces have had a long, close relationship through the eras. This has been particularly true since the beginning of the Third Era: many of the Septim Emperors spent their childhoods within view of the Iliac Bay, learning both Tamrielic and the local pre-Iliac language. Perhaps because of this, the Bretons of High Rock have readily picked up Tamrielic, and outside of the Iliac Bay region, it has become the default language used between groups of differing native tongues. In addition to Tamrielic, many of the local dialects of Cyrodilic have found a place in High Rock over the past several decades, as Cyrodiils fleeing the chaos of the Imperial Province have arrived in the culturally similar—and climatically moderate—High Rock.
• Dunmeris - Although the long distance between High Rock and Morrowind has prevented much large-scale Dunmer settlement, the languages of the Dunmer have found some purchase in High Rock throughout the eras. The Hlaalu, including such notable figures as Queen Morgiah of Wayrest, have long intermarried with the nobles of the Iliac Bay in order to secure trade relations. Perhaps for this reason, Wayrest in particular was the destination for a plethora of Hlaalu refugees in the early Fourth Era, leading to the revitalization of the Dreughside neighborhood as a Hlaalis-speaking enclave.
• Jel - Lying at the exact opposite corner of Tamriel from Black Marsh, High Rock has but a few cities with notable Argonian presence. Most of these cities are those along the Iliac Bay, with Jel-speaking Argonian populations that have grown up around communities of dockworkers and sailors. While those Argonians who settle in High Rock tend to give up Jel within a few generations, monolingual Jel-speaking Argonians were uniquely unaffected by the appearance of Iliac following the Miracle of Peace—after it happened, unlike any other monoglots, no known Jel monoglots spoke Iliac.
• Khajiiti - Since the division of Elsweyr in 4E115, immigration of Khajiit to High Rock has dwindled. Those Khajiit that do come hail almost exclusively from Pellitine, especially from the region around Senchal, the capital. Most of these Khajiit speak Ta'agra, though Quin'rawl'agra is also common, with many speaking both. Like Khajiit speakers of most non-Khajiiti languages, Khajiiti grammatical structures persist even past the loss of the languages themselves within Khajiit immigrant communities—around the Iliac Bay, Iliac spoken with heavily Khajiiti influence, especially common among Khajiit youth, is known as Ili'agra.
• Orsimeris - For much of history, High Rock has been the heart of Orcish society and culture—until the most recent Orsinium was founded deep in the Dragon's Teeth Mountains between Hammerfell and Skyrim, all Orsiniums had been inside the borders of High Rock. While many Orcs left High Rock following the sack of Gortwog's Orsinium during the difficult years in the wake of the Oblivion Crisis, even more remained, and the rugged and mountainous eastern High Rock—and even a few areas of western High Rock—remains a patchwork of Orcish languages and dialects. 

Notes:

Map of the Languages of High Rock, 4E197

Chapter 5: Hammerfell

As inhospitable as the deserts and mountains may be in the region that was once called the Deathland, Hammerfell is nevertheless home to a large and diverse population. Unique among the provinces of Tamriel, two unrelated language families co-dominate Hammerfell—the Yokudan languages, brought during the waves of Yoku migration in the First Era; and the Hammerfell Nedic languages, remnants of the period when Hammerfell was home to a plethora of Nedic peoples.

Yokudan

Disappointingly little is known about the earliest stages of the Yokudan languages. The ancient Yokudans did not possess any known form of writing, instead using memory stones to track their records and history. With the sinking of Yokuda, the ensuing Yokudan colonization of Hammerfell, and the cultural and political upheavals that followed, vanishingly few of those memory stones have survived to the present, giving a very incomplete picture of the linguistic situation in ancient Yokuda. Once the Yokudans arrived in Hammerfell, however, it was not long before they adopted the Nedic writing system, itself derived from Ysgramor's Atmoran script. 

The Yokudan languages of Tamriel are traditionally classified based on the region of Yokuda they can be traced back to. By the time of the exodus of Yokuda, Old Yoku had already begun to diverge into a number of daughter languages. These daughters were likely still largely mutually intelligible at the time—and contemporary Yokudans almost universally describe them with the term "dialect"—but their differences only grew as Yokudans from different regions congregated in different parts of their new home. 

Northwestern Hammerfell is dominated by languages that trace back to the region that is now the island of Akos Kasaz. Akos Kasazi languages are the most grammatically conservative branch of modern Yokudan languages. For example, almost all of them preserve Old Yoku's split ergativity, wherein sentences follow a nominative-accusative pattern when the first or second person is involved, and an ergative-absolutive one otherwise. Although this branch is relatively small in range, it contains some of the most influential Yokudan languages.

The Tavan branch is spoken across Hammerfell's southern coast. Unlike the other Yokudan branches, this branch does not get its name from a region in Yokuda, instead being named for the Tavan wave of the Ra Gada. The Tavan languages have the widest range of all Tamrielic Yokudan languages, stretching from Cape Shira in the west to the boundaries of the Weeping Desert in the east, and from the Dragontail in the north to the Abecean Sea in the south. The Tavan wave was the largest and most diverse wave of Yokudan refugees, with its people originating from all across northern Yokuda—what is now Akos Kasaz, Yath, Kanesh, Samara, and various smaller islands that surround them. A Tavan koine formed among these refugees, which became the ancestor of the modern Tavan branch.

While the Akos Kasazi and Tavan branches form the bulk of modern Yokudan languages in Tamriel, there are a handful that can be traced back to other regions of Yokuda. More of these other Yokudan languages were once found in Hammerfell, but, as a result of their smaller speaker bases due to fewer Yokudan settlers from those regions of Yokuda, few have survived until the modern day.

Akos Kasazi

• Yoku - The ancestral language of all modern Yokudan languages, Yoku—also called Old or High Yoku—still finds a use in modern Hammerfell, despite passing the torch to its daughters eras ago. As this preserved standard Yoku originated as the variety spoken in Totambu, the ancient Yokudan capital now lost to the sea just off the coast of Akos Kasaz, Yoku is included here in the Akos Kasazi branch. Upon their arrival in Hammerfell, the Yokudans were quick to pick up the languages of their neighbors in an attempt to stabilize diplomacy and trade, and as the dialects of Yoku diverged into the modern Yokudan languages, Yoku itself has thus been relegated to use as a ritual language. Holidays still carry their Yoku names, and ceremonies performed for them are typically still recited in Yoku, though those officiated by Forebears will sometimes use a modern vernacular instead. Among the common folk, the primary direct experience with this ancestral tongue lies in wedding ceremonies, which traditionally involve the writing and reading of Yoku poetry.

• Myrkwasan- While Classical Hegathid remains the primary language of Hammerfell's upper classes, Myrkwasan has grown increasingly prominent since High King Fahara'jad established his capital in Sentinel during the Interregnum. Spoken along much of the western coast of the Iliac Bay, Myrkwasan is an eclectic Yokudan language, featuring only a small core of native words of Yoku origin amidst a sea of loanwords, primarily of Hammerfell Nedic, Bretic, and Cyrodilic origin. In addition, while some Yokudan languages are spoken in closer proximity to Dirennis, thanks to the strong mercantile relationship Sentinel has had with cities such as Wayrest, Myrkwasan is also the Yokudan language with the strongest merish influence; even the name "Myrkwasa" is generally agreed to be of merish origin. Although the exact etymology is unclear, the most popular theory is that it derives from Maorquassa (roughly 'sea of sand'), presumably in reference to the Alik'r.

• Bergaman - Spoken in the canyons of Bergama deep in the Alik'r Desert, Bergaman is a staunchly conservative Yokudan language, in both its grammar and lexicon. It is, in fact, likely more conservative than any other extant relative; Bergaman is even the only Yokudan language in Tamriel that preserves the paucal number of Old Yoku, merged with the plural in every other relative. The city of Bergama, the eponymous capital of this region, was founded by the early Na-Totambu to serve as a repository of ancient Yokudan culture; as such, the Hall of Judgment closely monitors and regulates the development of the local Bergaman language to ensure its linguistic 'purity'. As part of this effort, schooling in standardized Bergaman is readily available even to the lower classes, and Bergaman speakers possess the highest literacy rates of any inhabitants of Hammerfell.

• Tigonid - A close relative of Myrkwasan, Tigonid is actually no longer spoken in Tigonus proper. Rather, the modern range of Tigonid lies in the small triangular area wedged between the Dragontail Mountains and the Iliac Bay, centered on the Totambu region; it is for this reason sometimes also known as Totambid. Tigonid had begun to diverge from its western sister by the end of the First Era, but these changes became most readily apparent by the end of the Second, when relations between the Crowns and Forebears of Sentinel reached a breaking point. Crown-controlled Totambu split from Sentinel politically, and what had formerly been thought of as the local dialect of Myrkwasan was instead considered to be its own language. While modern standard Sentinel Myrkwasan and Totambu Tigonid retain little mutual intelligibility, the two languages truly form more of a dialect continuum, with the Dragontail being the relatively arbitrary dividing line. For example, in Tigonus itself—where Sentinel quickly reestablished control—the local dialect is still considered to be a variety of Myrkwasan, despite being more similar to Tigonid.

• Ojwambid - Ojwambid is spoken in a limited region of Bangkorai around Lake Nilata. It traces back to the Anka-Ra wave of Ra Gada, a smaller wave composed almost exclusively of warriors. The Anka-Ra swept through much of what is now northern Hammerfell, actually settling only in a handful of locations. The city of Ojwambu, founded by Queen Ojwa of the Anka-Ra, was the largest and most significant, and one of the only in the region to still speak a Yokudan language to this day. Ojwambid is unusual among Yokudan languages in that its speaker base is composed of a diverse population of Redguards, Bretons, and Nords; in fact, the region was considered to be a part of High Rock through most of the Second Era. 

• Helrad - The only extant Yokudan language in Craglorn proper is Helrad. As Yokudan settlement of the mountainous regions of northern Hammerfell was far lighter and slower than the south, they largely ended up adopting the local Hammerfell Nedic languages—with significant influence from their Yokudan tongues, of course. The exception is Helrad, spoken in a small area along the Dragontail Mountains in south-central Craglorn. This region was once home to the Hel Ra Citadel, the easternmost bastion of Yokudan settlement. Though the citadel has long lain in ruins, the descendants of the Yokudans who controlled it still live in the area. The modern speakers of Helrad are an insular people, fashioning themselves the last remnants of lost Yokuda, and Helrad accordingly bears stunningly little influence from neighboring languages. It is, however, less conservative an Akos Kasazi language than might be expected—changes spread quickly through a language with such a small speaker base—and Helrad displays a number of innovations seen in few other Yokudan languages, including a marked trend towards agglutination. 

Tavan

• Classical Hegathid - Although Hegathe no longer holds the honor of being Hammerfell's capital city, its language still carries that ancient prestige. Classical Hegathid is the standardized form of the language spoken around Hegathe in the late First Era, now used as a common language among the nobility and merchant elite of Hammerfell. Like most widely spoken Redguard languages, Classical Hegathid has two modern standard forms—one each for the Crowns and Forebears. A third standard, formulated by King Lhotun in the late Third Era, also exists, which was intended to serve as a unifying standard alongside Tamrielic. Although Lhotun's plans ultimately failed, his Lhotunic standard did find a use in the academic sphere, where the need for the easy sharing of knowledge outweighed any Crown–Forebear rivalries. Nowadays, nearly two hundred years after Lhotun's death, most scholarship in Hammerfell is performed in Lhotunic Classical Hegathid.

• Hegathid - With more than two eras of divergence, modern Hegathid bears little resemblance to its classical ancestor. One of the most notable developments in the vernacular Hegathid is the development of a system of pitch-accent during the course of the Third Era that is unique among the mainland Yokudan languages. All words in Hegathid carry one of four pitch contours—high, low, rising, and falling; this is the source of the 'bouncing' sound sometimes attributed to Hegathid. It is also perhaps a contributing factor in Hegathe's enduring cultural significance. Speakers of Hegathid have been shown to possess perfect pitch at a much higher rate than any other Redguards, which has certainly helped cement Hegathe's position as the heart of Redguard song and theatre.

• Khefrid - After their arrival in Hegathe, the first Yokudans of the Tavan wave headed east to the coasts of Hew's Bane, in the region now known as Khefrem. At the heart of Tavan settlement, Khefrid is, on average, the most intelligible to speakers of other Tavan languages, which—together with Khefrem's advantageous position along the Abecean Sea—has greatly benefited the trade relationships the merchants of cities such as Gilane and Abah's Landing have been able to build. Modern Khefrid is divided into two main dialectal groups—Gilanid north of the isthmus at the center of Khefrem's Boot, and Hubalajadid to its south. While Gilanid dialects have more total speakers, in recent years, Hubalajadid dialects are more commonly heard when outside Khefrid's native range. As a result of the Dominion's invasion of Hew's Bane during the Great War, many speakers of the Hubalajadid dialects fled the peninsula, settling in safer regions far from the front lines.

• Tanid - Along the southeastern coasts of Hammerfell, Tanid is spoken. Tanid and its ancestors evolved around the Irk and Tark river basins, gradually spreading southward as the influence of Taneth grew, eventually displacing its sister Rihaddid entirely. While this region is home to most of the language's speaker base, Tanid is also disproportionately spoken as a minority language across Hammerfell. Both Taneth and Rihad were sacked by the Camoran Usurper during his campaigns across western Tamriel, spreading Tanid-speaking refugees across the remainder of the province. While these refugees assimilated in most Crown regions, they were often granted lands upon which to build new homes by friendly Forebear rulers; the villages founded on these lands are largely still Tanid-speaking to this day.

• Halland - Also called Helland, Halland is a language spoken across the shrublands of central Hammerfell. This region, locally known as Hallan (meaning 'basin', as it is surrounded by the Dragontail and southern Dragon's Teeth), is quite isolated and rural in character, boasting no major cities and little else of interest. Halland, however, is considered by many Redguards to be the most beautiful Yokudan language, with a smooth and rolling sound that reflects the land where it is spoken. A major component of this reputation is Halland's complex system of sandhi. This system includes elision, mutation, and even linking consonants, such that the Halland words and phrases flow naturally into one another without complex clusters or hiatuses. It is thought that this feature might be reflective of an ancient Hammerfell Nedic substrate in Halland, as similar—though decidedly less complex—systems of sandhi can be found in neighboring Skavender and Afisuz.

• Sanloan - The language of Stros M'Kai is Sanloan, a term derived from the Old Yoku name of the archipelago: Sanloa M'Kai. Stros M'Kai was, together with Khefrem, one of the first locations settled by the Tavan wave, but modern Sanloan has wildly diverged from its mainland relatives. At the center of the trade routes that crisscross the Abecean Sea, Stros M'Kai has since time immemorial been a popular spot for immigrants from across Tamriel, and each has left their mark on its language. Modern Sanloan has been influenced most strongly by Cyrodilic, primarily the Colovian dialects, with significant influence as well from Altmeris, Cambraic, pre-Iliac languages, and even Bosmeris. The most unusual source of influence, however, is actually local to the islands. Between the disappearance of the Dwemer and the arrival of the Yokudans, Stros M'Kai was home to the most—or perhaps only—advanced society of goblins known in Tamriel. While these goblins seem to have died out and been replaced by their less advanced mainland cousins, a few ancient goblin terms can be found in modern Sanloan. Probable goblin-origin terms include elgura (a common term of respect), obol ('door'), as well as possibly being the reason for the lack of a reflex for Yoku mluo ('cheese'), as it was quite similar to the goblin word for fecal matter.

Other

• Banthan - Spoken in the Bantha—the lush temperate rainforest wedged between the end of the Dragontail Mountains and the Iliac Bay—the Banthan language is notable for being the only known extant Nalongan language in Tamriel. While most Yokudans came to Tamriel from what is now the northern half of the Yokudan archipelago, a small group from the southern half—primarily modern Nalonga, though some from Ravan and the Yelirs—settled in the upper Iliac Bay region, following in the footsteps of the Anka-Ra. Legend has it that the Nalongan wave sailed up the coast of Hammerfell, searching for somewhere to settle beyond the Alik'r Desert, but the desert seemed to stretch on forever. They came ashore at a sheltered harbor in what is now Lainlyn, and named the land bantha, meaning 'unending'. Although the Banthan Desert long ago became the Banthan Jungle, relics of the past remain in the language itself. For example, a common Banthan phrase meaning 'rural' or 'outside of the city' translates most accurately as 'in the dunes'.

• Alik'ri - Alik'ri is the language of the deep Alik'r, the vast and nigh unreachable expanses of desert at the heart of western Hammerfell. While Alik'ri has traditionally been considered a Tavan language—although a placement within the Akos Kasazi branch has long been a significant minority opinion—there is now reason to believe that it might stand alone. In On the Origin of the Alik'ran Dialects (4E179), Melinette Suris posits that the ancestor of modern Alik'ri was not the early Tavan koine, but a pidgin that developed later in the First Era among the nomadic tribes of the Alik'r. By the Middle Dawn period, the dialects of Yoku had diverged into truly different Yokudan languages, many of which were spoken within the Alik'r, as its diverse peoples could be traced back to every corner of old Yokuda. Few records remain of this time, but those that do make reference to a patchwork of emerging languages within the Alik'r, such as the journal of a merchant from Gilane who lamented how none of her guides for the trade route to Sentinel spoke the same language. It is unclear when this pidgin—and later creole—ancestor of modern Alik'ri developed, as this region was the last in Hammerfell to adopt writing, but Suris states that it was well-established by the 1E2300s. In the eras since then, the dialects of Alik'ri have themselves drifted from each other, and it appears likely that one day soon, the Alik'r will again be a patchwork of distinct languages.

• Kelpsid - One of the few extant Vathi languages on mainland Tamriel, Kelpsid is found only in the small peninsula of Kelps Yat on Hammerfell's far western coast. The name of this region derives from the Old Vathi phrase kalibis yath, which roughly meant "there are many Yath Asps"—the large snakes endemic to the peninsula reminded the early Vathi Ra Gada of the great snakes of their homeland. It has also been suggested that this is the origin of the Cyrodilic exonym for the region, Dragon Grove, as one of many such place names in Hammerfell that invoke snakes or serpents which Cyrodiils reinterpret as referring to dragons. 

• Samitanan - The Samitanan language is spoken in the Chain, a small archipelago southwest of Hammerfell proper. These islands, known to their inhabitants as Samitana, are unusual in that they were first colonized by Yokudans from what is now the island of Samara. Modern Samitanan is a descendant of Old Samaran, possibly the only one in Tamriel—other than the contribution of Old Samaran to the koine that became the ancestor of the Tavan branch, of course. While Redguard oral histories maintain that the Chain was uninhabited upon their first arrival, Samitanan has a number of terms not found in any other Yokudan language that have been determined to be of Sload origin. Given the Sload artifacts discovered in the archipelago in recent years, and the geographical proximity to Thras itself, it is possible that these terms can be traced to pre-Yokudan Sload inhabitation of the Chain.

Hammerfell Nedic

Nedic languages have been spoken in Hammerfell since time immemorial. Even the earliest records of the ancient Nords suggest that the Nedes settled the region they knew as the Deathland long before, and it has yet to be determined when exactly the first Nedes arrived. Ancient Nedic languages were unwritten before the introduction of Ysgramor's Nordic script, further complicating the matter. When the Nordic script was introduced, however, speakers of the Hammerfell Nedic languages rapidly adopted and adapted it, and many of them thus enter the historical record in quick succession.

The first member of the Hammerfell Nedic family known to be written was the ancient Phangir language—the ancestor of languages such as Elinhic and Druhang—which was once spoken throughout the Dragon's Teeth Mountains along the border with Skyrim. Two artifacts, both originating in the vicinity of Elinhir, compete for the title of oldest written example of a Hammerfell Nedic language. The first is An Accounting of Grain, a fired clay tablet that predates the arrival of the Yokudans, which details the grain stocks in the ancient Phangir capital. The second is the Stele of King Haenix, which is inscribed with hænhecsa loai ('King Haenix'). Both date to the early First Era at the latest, but it is likely that the initial adoption of writing came even earlier.

Prior to the warrior waves of the Ra Gada and the ensuing Yoku colonization, most of Hammerfell was Nedic-speaking. The expansion of the Yokudans across the province spelled the end of the Hammerfell Nedes as a distinct cultural group, but the people themselves did not disappear. Almost all modern Redguards in mainland Hammerfell have some degree of Nedic ancestry, with the degree increasing further east and north, as the Yokudans intermarried with the native Nedes, and even adopted their languages in the Dragontail and Dragon's Teeth Mountains, where the Yokudan settlement was slowest. It is perhaps ironic that the regions controlled by the Crowns—ever the traditionalists—are those where the Hammerfell Nedic languages persist most plentifully. 

Dragontail

• Skavender - The central stretch of the Dragontail Mountains is known as Sunforge, and it is here that the Skavender language can be found. In the early centuries of the First Era, Sunforge was home to a diverse patchwork of Nedic cultures. The region underwent massive demographic change in the years that followed the arrival of the Yokudans. Most of the languages spoken in Sunforge died out, with the onlys survivor being Akanic, the ancient Hammerfell Nedic language of the western Dragontail that is now the ancestor of languages such as Skavender, Ahisuz, and Santakic. Vanishingly little remains of the brief written history of the other local languages, other than Keptu, a relative of the modern Reachman languages. Soscean's Legacy of the Ket Keptu (4E195) even asserts that Keptu itself was a Hammerfell Nedic language closely related to Akanic; regardless of its classification, it is clear that Keptu served as an important substrate for Akanic, and modern Skavender even sounds quite similar to Ruadach to an untrained ear.

• Druhang - Druhang is the primary language of northern Craglorn. Its native range, at the meeting point of Hammerfell, High Rock, and Skyrim, has been hotly contested throughout the eras, and Druhang has not been immune to the changes this situation has brought. While most of the early influence on Druhang came from the Bangkor languages—primarily Morn—some dialects have in the past few centuries been heavily Nordicized, as a result of Skyrim's occupation of the region through the final stages of the Third Era. While almost all of the modern range of Druhang now lies within Hammerfell, the vestiges of Nordic rule remain quite obvious in the east—many Morn-origin loanwords in these eastern dialects have been replaced by terms from Tiberian Nordic.

• Elinhic - Spoken throughout the southeastern reaches of Craglorn, Elinhic has the longest literary tradition of any Hammerfell Nedic language, and perhaps any Nedic language at all. It is for that reason quite unsurprising that Elinhir remains one of the hearts of Redguard culture and learning, second only to Hegathe itself. Elinhic is a true melting pot language. Craglorn was a major center of ancient Nedic civilization, and these roots remain readily apparent in modern Elinhic. Since then, however, southern Craglorn has changed hands many times, between the Nedes, the Nords, the Redguards, and the Cyrodiils—some even more than once. Much like the striped stone walls of Craglorn's canyons, all of these periods are apparent in spoken Elinhic, with its Nedic base layered with Yokudan, Nordic, and Cyrodilic superstrata. This linguistic diversity can be easily seen in the phrase talcam a kimhasi elem ('a knife is a miniature sword', roughly meaning 'use whatever you have available'); these four words are of Nordic, Nedic, Cyrodilic, and Yokudan origin, respectively.

• Afisuz - Sometimes known by the exonym Upper Ephesian, Afisuz is a language native to Ephesus—more commonly called Upper Ephesus nowadays—a plateau region in the western Dragontail Mountains. The natural defenses of this location have insulated it from many of the changes that swept through its neighbors; for this reason, Afisuz is typically considered to be the most conservative extant Hammerfell Nedic language. So conservative is it, in fact, that there were once theories that it was a Bretic language, as the Yokudan influence on its neighboring Hammerfell Nedic languages had obscured their relation. While Afisuz is now widely accepted to be a Hammerfell Nedic language, alternate classifications remain common; the most prominent such theory is that Afisuz is actually part of a separate branch of the Nedic family from the Bretic and Hammerfell Nedic languages, one which also contains the Reachman languages.

• Santakic - Once spoken throughout the western end of the Dragontail Mountains, Santakic can now only be found in a small area wedged between the mountains and the Alik'r, in the region known as Santaki. Surrounded almost entirely by Yokudan languages, Santakic has the heaviest Yoku influence of any Hammerfell Nedic language. What is particularly interesting, however, are the findings put forward by Caria Audellus in Linguistic Impact of the Rourken Dwemer (4E166). Santakic has long been known to have a large number of words of puzzling etymology, which has led to various theories about an unknown substrate, typically thought to be of other Nedic or possible Orsimeris origin. Audellus, however, through studying extant examples of Santakic's ancestors, has determined that that substrate was likely Dwemeris. The Rourken Clan are known to have heavily settled Santaki, but, with the Dwemer's disappearance prior to the arrival of the Yokudans in Hammerfell, no records remain of their relationships with the local Nedes. 

Other

• Brenan - Just as it is found across the border with Cyrodiil, along the upper reaches of the Brena River lies the Brenan language. The influence of Cyrodilic is less apparent on the dialects spoken on the Hammerfell side of the border, and is of different origin. While Strident is historically the largest influence on both Cyrodiil and Hammerfell Brenan, the Hammerfell varieties have received an massive influx of new words and phrases from Tanid in the years since the Great War. Most of the Tanid-speaking cities along the coast were sacked by the Aldmeri Dominion during the war, and their inhabitants often fled inland to escape. Many ended up along the upper Brena, where their influence on the local dialects of Brenan is now immediately apparent.

• Istaran - Istaran is an isolated and highly unusual Nedic language now found only in the remote inland areas of Hew's Bane. Although traditionally classed as a Hammerfell Nedic language—and, technically, it is a Nedic language in Hammerfell—its status in the family itself has come under increased scrutiny as it has become better documented. While it has become clear that Istaran is heavily archaic, many of these archaic features differ from those in the reconstructed and attested ancestral Hammerfell Nedic languages. Yazda gra-Shurgat posits in Reconstructing Pre-Cyrodilic Nibenay (4E170) that Istaran is actually of Nibenese origin, a fossil relative of the ancient Nedic substrates that were subsumed into the early Cyrodilic creole. Anthropological evidence seems to support this theory—the Istaran Redguards practice a system of facial tattooing that is strikingly similar to those of Nibenay.

• Kuruwi - Kuruwi is the primary language of the Weeping Desert in far eastern Hammerfell. While it is now spoken in this region, Kuruwi originated further east, across the border in what is now Cyrodiil. Prior to the arrival of the Cyro-Nords, Kuruwi's ancestor—a relative of the ancestor of Brenan—was spoken throughout much of the Colovian Highlands, and is even often theorized to be the source of the name Colovia itself (although other plausible etymologies do exist). As might be expected from its origin in Cyrodiil, Kuruwi's ancestor was heavily influenced by Ayleidoon, to such a degree that most formal or polite terminology in Kuruwi remains Ayleidoon in origin to this day. 

Bretic

With High Rock lying just to the north, beyond the Iliac Bay and the Bjoulsae River, Hammerfell is home to many Bretons, both of native and immigrant stock. The ancestors of Bretons have inhabited some regions of Hammerfell since time immemorial, dating back even before the arrival of the Ra Gada, when Bretic peoples were but some of the many varieties of the ancient Deathland Nedes.

• Morn - Just as is true across the border in High Rock, Morn is the dominant language of the Hammerfell portion of Mournoth, all along the upper Bjoulsae. Mournoth was considered to be part of High Rock throughout most of history, falling under the domain of Evermor as recently as the late Second Era. While the region has since fallen under the control of ambitious Redguard—and, for a brief period in the Third Era, Orcish—rulers, the population remains staunchly Breton and Morn-speaking to this day. The southern dialects of Morn remain largely similar to their relatives north of the Bjoulsae, in large part due to the strong trade relationships that have remained even after the region's annexation by Hammerfell. 

• Ephesc - Like Afisuz, Ephesc derives its name from the Ephesus region, although Ephesc has never been spoken in Ephesus proper. Rather, it is spoken along the southern shores of the Bjoulsae estuary. This region is nowadays known as Lower Ephesus, and thus Ephesc is sometimes also called Lower Ephesian, though it bears only a very distant relation to Afisuz. Like neighboring Morn, Ephesus is a Bangkor language, but unlike Morn, Redguards actually make up a majority of its speakers. Prior to the arrival of the Yokudans in Hammerfell, this region was ruled by the Altmer Clan Sirunwen, who were quickly wiped out by the Ra Gada. The local Bretons, settled Bjoulsae River people who spoke an ancestor of modern Ephesc, were let be by the Ra Gada, and soon began to intermarry with the Yokudans who settled there. Nowadays, the speakers of Ephesc are a diverse group of Bretons and Redguards, most of whom also have significant ancestry from the other group.

• Ruadach - While the vast majority of the Reach is located in modern Skyrim and High Rock, a small portion—sometimes known as the Southern Reach—lies in the Dragon's Teeth Mountains along the northeastern border of Hammerfell. Ruadach is the primary language in this thin and isolated strip of land. Scholars disagree on how this Southern Ruadach should be classified. Although it is geographically closest to the Eastern Reach, it shares many features with Western Ruadach that are no longer found in eastern varieties. In fact, the southern dialects of Ruadach appear to be the most conservative of all, shielded from Nordic and Bretic influences by the Hammerfell border, and all but ignored by the ruling Redguards.

Cyrodilic

Far from most major population centers, the long border between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell is ever-shifting. As such, speakers of Cyrodilic languages have throughout history lived to some degree in far eastern Hammerfell, typically in the rural highlands, but also in Elinhir and Rihad, which at various points belonged to Colovian states. In the modern era, however, vernacular Cyrodilic languages are largely restricted to thin strips of territory along the border, while Tamrielic competes with numerous native Redguard standards for use as a prestige language.

• Tamrielic - As with most things in Hammerfell, the adoption of Tamrielic has been subject to the differences between the Crowns and Forebears. Although relations were strained between both parties and the early Septim Empire, as the Third Era went on, the Forebears came to embrace both Imperial rule and the Imperial lingua franca, while the Crowns continued to oppose both. As such, Tamrielic came to be spoken among the upper class across southern Hammerfell, as well as the merchants of the Iliac Bay. By the late Third Era, the language question had come to a head, with Crowns firm in their usage of solely Classical Hegathid, and Forebears in Classical Hegathid alongside Tamrielic. King Lhotun and his Lhotunics attempted to resolve the situation by encouraging his own Lhotunic Classical Hegathid for internal affairs and Tamrielic for external affairs, which became one of his few—and in this case, still partial—successes. Tamrielic is now learned by most wealthy Redguards, together with the local Crown or Forebear—not Lhotunic—standard of Classical Hegathid.

• Strident - While Tanid was once the primary language all along the southeastern coast of Hammerfell—and at times even into neighboring Cyrodiil—Strident is now spoken in the land's southeasternmost corner. This region around Rihad—also known by its Strident name, Riedda—was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Gold Coast during the latter half of the Second Era. The Forebear rulers of this region were quite open to adopting Strident to facilitate trade with their new countrymen, and by the time the region was reincorporated into Hammerfell with the Treaty of Stros M'Kai, it had taken root among the peasantry, as well. Nowadays, Strident is still the primary language in Rihad—although Tanid is also widely spoken—and a few other towns along the coast; the local dialect has developed to be quite distinct from its relatives south of the border, in large part thanks to heavy Tanid influence.

• Highland Colovian - Prior to the establishment of the Septim Empire, the border between Hammerell and neighboring Colovia was fluid. Throughout much of the Second Era, the region that is now southeastern Hammerfell was considered a part of the Colovian Highlands, ruled from Chorrol. During the chaos of Cuhlecain's unification of the Colovian Estates, Hammerfell captured this area, and the new border was made official with the Treaty of Stros M'Kai that officiated Hammerfell's entry into the Empire under Tiber Septim. However, as part of that treaty, the people that lived there were to be allowed to remain, and remain they have—Highland Colovian remains the predominant language along both sides of the border between Hammerfell and Cyrodiil.

• Falcrenthic - Much like Falkreath Hold across the border, the Kingdom of Elinhir was a popular destination for Cyrodilic refugees throughout the turbulent Second Era. The dialect that emerged from the melding of the arriving Cyrodilic tongues is sometimes known as Vlineric—from Vlinerus, the traditional Colovian name for Elinhir—but, as settlement was far heavier in southern Skyrim, it is typically referred to as Falcrenthic. The range of Falcrenthic in Hammerfell is quite limited. Many of its speakers left for Falkreath Hold or returned to Cyrodiil following the collapse of the Colovian Estates at the dawn of the Tiber Wars, and is now spoken only in a few isolated pockets, and as a minority language within Elinhir itself. 

Nordic

The ownership of Craglorn has been a contention issue between Hammerfell and Skyrim throughout most of recorded history. Nordic inhabitation of the region dates as far back as the First Empire of the Nords, and though it has typically been controlled by Hammerfell, it has gone through numerous periods of Nordic control that reinvigorate the local Nordic population. Nowadays, two centuries since the return of the lands conquered during the War of the Bend'r-Mahk, Nordic languages are still natively spoken in pockets throughout northeastern Hammerfell, though with increasingly heavy Redguard influence. In addition, more recent Nordic immigrants—and therefore a variety of Nordic languages—can be found in many coastal cities in Hammerfell, though their numbers have dwindled since the Great War.

• Drangstorn - As Nord settlement of the Reach intensified through the late First and Second Eras, some pushed even further into the then still sparsely populated northern regions of Craglorn. These Nords, primarily miners of eastern stock, founded a great many mining towns throughout the foothills of the Dragon's Teeth, most notably Dragonstar, which in their tongue is called Drangstor. Over the centuries of contact with neighboring Hammerfell Nedic languages, Drangstorn has diverged into a truly independent language from its sisters in Skyrim, most closely related to the Old Tongue. Since the War of the Bend'r-mahk, Drangstorn has been on a decline, as many of its speakers have migrated to Skyrim due to lingering anti-Nordic sentiment in Hammerfell's reconquered territories. However, Dragonstar itself is still home to a sizable minority of Drangstorn-speaking Nords and even Redguards, and pockets of the language persist throughout northern Craglorn.

• Falkreather - While the Falkreather Nords tended throughout history to stay on the eastern side of the Crag Pass, the period during which Falkreath was a part of the Colovian Estates was an exception. Throughout the late Second Era, when the Kingdom of Falcrenth and the Craglorn Estate were both part of the Colovian Estates, many Falkreather Nords settled throughout what is now northeastern Hammerfell. The modern Craglorn dialect of Falkreather remains surprisingly similar to those spoken back in Skyrim. This is in large part due to Skyrim's occupation of the area for several decades following the Imperial Simulacrum—High Queen Hania's official encouragement of Nordic settlement of the occupied territories led to the mixing of the then quite divergent Craglorn dialect with those of the new Falkreather settlers. Although many of the Nords of Craglorn left the area—willingly or not—following the resumption of Redguard control, pockets of Falkreather Nords persist throughout the region, and they make up a sizable minority in Elinhir itself.

• Brum - In the small area of eastern Hammerfell where the Jerall Mountains merge with the Dragon's Teeth live the westernmost speakers of Brum. Brum was once spoken further out into the Dragontail Mountains, as well, but these western regions of its range have been lost as Craglorn has become more densely populated. Today, Brum's future in Hammerfell is uncertain. With the devastation of southern Hammerfell during the Great War, many Redguards have moved to the relatively prosperous north, and it appears inevitable that even the remote mountains and valleys that the speakers of Brum inhabit will someday soon be culturally integrated with the rest of Craglorn.

• Heldorn - Spoken in the area around Heldorn Mount in the central Dragontail, Heldorn is an ancient Nordic language that predates the arrival of the Ra Gada. It is of central Nordic origin, most closely related to either Whiterunner or Geir, having split off during the period of the First Empire of the Nords. First Era Craglorn was heavily settled by Nords—the origin of Brum in this region, as well—and Nordic control of the region persisted long after the First Empire collapsed. While most of these earliest Craglorn Nords later assimilated into the Yokudan-Nedic cultures that developed after the arrival of the Ra Gada, a few remained, and Heldorn is one of the final remnants. 

Other

Much the same as in neighboring High Rock, the cities of the Iliac Bay are the primary destination for immigration to Hammerfell, although the cities along the southern coast have received an influx since the conclusion of the Great War. 

• Altmeris - Although the Direnni Hegemony once ruled much of northern Hammerfell, any native presence of Altmer languages in the region was purged following the arrival of the Ra Gada. While Dirennis-speaking states have at times controlled areas south of the Bjoulsae, their languages have rarely managed to take hold outside the ruling classes, and by the mid First Era there were no areas of Hammerfell that spoke Dirennis natively. Other than the Direnni, the Altmer of the Summerset Isles (Alinor) were generally unwelcome in Redguard society, and were only found in decent numbers in Sentinel and in Khefrem's Boot. These Altmer tended to rapidly give up Altmeris in favor of the local languages, and since Hammerfell's victory over the Aldmeri Dominion after the Great War, it is vanishingly rare to hear Altmeris spoken in any region.

• Bosmeris - Perhaps the most shocking archaeological finding in Hammerfell in recent years was the discovery of Bosmer artifacts at numerous sites along the western coast of the Alik'r. As described in Sofina of Cinnabar University's aptly titled Bosmer Inhabitation of Hammerfell in the Merethic Era (4E193), small numbers of these artifacts have been found throughout history at merish sites in the region, and were commonly assumed to have been the result of coastal trade with Valenwood during its golden age. Some artifacts and even permanent settlements have now been found, however, to date back to the late Merethic Era, before the Ayleid diaspora is known to have settled in Hammerfell. Whether or not this one day proves to be true, the modern presence of Bosmer languages in Hammerfell is entirely in its immigrant communities, primarily in the cities of the forested regions of the southwestern coast of the Iliac Bay.

• Dunmeris - Despite the vast distance to Morrowind, a surprising number of Dunmer call Hammerfell their home. After the Red Year, while most Dunmer refugees settled in Skyrim and Cyrodiil, northeastern Hammerfell became the destination for many from the Redoran regions of Vvardenfell. As many of these refugees had been employed in Vvardenfell's booming mining industry, they were able to settle and find work in Craglorn, which is now home to many Redoranis-speaking villages. Most unusually, in addition to the varieties of House Dunmeris, a small group of Moriche can be found in remote areas of the Dragontail Mountains. These Dunmer speak a language known as Oulnis, of unclear relation to other Dunmeri tongues. Early Redguard tales make mention of finding "elves of gold and grey" upon arrival in Hammerfell, which suggests that the Oulnim might predate the arrival of the Yokudans. 

• Jel - Few Argonians have historically found a home in Hammerfell. Among those who have, even fewer come from Black Marsh itself; most Argonian immigrants to Hammerfell are instead of Cyrodilic origin, and thus speak a Cyrodilic dialect before adopting the local prominent Redguard language. In spite of this, there are small populations of Jel-speaking Argonians found in Hammerfell, primarily in major coastal cities. Sentinel, in particular, has a persistent Jel-speaking community, replenished by Argonians who find employment as sailors or dockworkers.

• Khajiiti - Hammerfell's arid west has long been a desirable destination for Khajiit immigrants from Anequina. Khajiit neighborhoods can be found in almost any prominent port city across southern and western Hammerfell, where a wide variety of Anequinan tongues can be heard. The most significant Khajiiti community in Hammerfell is in Abah's Landing. After Orcrest was sacked by Cyrodilic forces during the Interregnum, many of the refugees found their way to Hew's Bane, which lacked the ban on Khajiiti settlement that was quite common across Tamriel during that period. While these Khajiit do tend to assimilate after a few generations, the presence of a sizable Khajiit minority in the city draws new immigrants from Elsweyr to this day, and a dozen Anequinan languages can be heard at any Khajiiti Rass-Le market.

• Orismeris - Orcs have long found a home in Hammerfell, in spite of the discrimination and pogroms inflicted upon them. Although found throughout the province even before the arrival of the Ra Gada, in the modern era, Orcs primarily live in the far northeastern Dragon's Teeth Mountains, along the border with Skyrim. It was in this region that the Fourth Orsinium was founded following the destruction of Gortwog's Orsinium in the early Fourth Era. Since then, this new Orsinium has become a melting pot of Orcish cultures from across Tamriel—it was here that the modern Orcish standard of Orsinium Orsimeris was born.

Notes:

Map of the Languages of Hammerfell, 4E197