It’s difficult to know where to start with languages, as they can evolve into an entire life’s work by themselves. Now I don’t have the time (skill or inclination) to get too bogged down, but I know I need to start with some consistent fundamentals before jumping into naming places, people and things. Each country needs to feel consistent, and with depth that can be expanded on later (and not just start plucking fantasy sounding names out of the air for things).

I envisage a number of different languages for the different main of the world, with a firm basis in European history (just to give that immediate familiarity and context). A common theme in my world will be to aim more for familiarity than pure originality. I want it to feel like a warm, familiar blanket you can just slip into when you feel like it, rather than something entirely new and alien. Plus it’s easier get started for me to flesh out the basics in order to explore where I can start to add my own original nuances and flourishes.

Why Valacian?

My world will have different countries that are loosely based on familiar European ones. From a pragmatic/design point of view it makes things easier if there is some common tongue that can be used so people from different countries can communicate easily. A simple solution for this is to have an ancient language that was widely used in the past, similar to Latin – the language of an ancient empire (Valcorin) – which has survived as the language of scholars after the empire broke up. Given that, it seemed logical to use Latin as the starting point.

Another issue then is that if it is the common language of the educated, how do the non/less educated people communicate. Borrowing from the idea of High/Low Gothic in Warhammer, the language lives on in two main forms (Valacian is often abbreviated to Vala):

High Vala – used in writing, diplomacy, and by scholars or nobles. It’s polished, poetic, and a bit formal.

Low Vala – the evolved, simplified, spoken version used by ordinary people in various regions. It’s messier, with more slang and variation, but still rooted in the same vocabulary.

Valcorin is an ancient empire, no longer around in it’s original form.

Some Basic Rules of High Vala

These will evolve over time, but here’s the current foundation:

Vowels can be short or long:

• a (as in “father”), e (as in “they”), i (as in “machine”), o (as in “go”), u (as in “rule”).
• Long vowels are often used in formal or poetic names.

Consonants are always pronounced — no silent letters.

• C is always hard (like cat), R is rolled or tapped, and V is pronounced somewhere between v and w.

Word order: adjectives usually come after nouns, like in Latin.

• Domus Alta = “High House”
• Rex Magna = “Great King”

Names often combine evocative roots with classical-sounding endings.

• Luxor, Thaliona, Valan, Aurelia

 

Sample Names

I’ve been building out a small dictionary with names for people, places, and mythical creatures. Here are a few early examples:

Personal Names

• Valgor – masculine, “strong light”
• Coraessa – feminine, “heart-born”
• Rexan – “of the king”
• Luxia – “one of the light”

City Names

• Ferrumora – City of Iron
• Domum-Pax – Peacehold
• Caelium – Sky city
• Astrarex – Star of Kings

Creature Names

• Dracornis – Dragon-beast
• Umbrosax – Shadow serpent
• Grifonax – Winged predator
• Ignalor – Fire giant

Sample Dialogue

Here’s a little flavor of how High Vala might sound compared to its everyday cousin, Low Vala.

High Vala

“Salve, custos. Venimus ex domo Australis. Licetne nobis intrare?”
“Greetings, guard. We have come from the Southern House. May we enter?”

Low Vala

“Hoi, guard. We come from South’n House. Can we pass?”

You can see how High Vala keeps that regal, old-world tone — while Low Vala sounds more lived-in and natural.

What’s Next?

This is still an early draft of Valacian. I’ll be expanding the dictionary, developing grammar rules, and probably sketching out different dialects of Low Vala for specific regions in my world.

But I wanted to the starting point down so I can us this to block out the first stage, Mythology.