Why We Have Cavilish - As I See It

[Eternal]

Cavilish, descended from the Dune Traders, utilized by those in the know of the mercantile arts... real world comparison?

Latin, descended from the Roman Empire, utilized by those in the know of the legal intricacies of western society.

Think about this... Latin is used almost exclusively by those who believe themselves to possess knowledge beyond the common man.  Whether that be the secular knowledge of law (habeas corpus, anyone) or the religious dogmatics of the Catholic faith (et spiritus sancti).  It is a dead language, outside of these two applications it is largely worthless.  Many languages have sprung from Latin, notably so the Romance languages, but it is not the living language of any self-sustaining country (the Vatican is a city-state).

Cavilish follows largely the same leanings, it encompasses terms that are solely the jurisprudence of the powerful merchants who are above their fellow common men.  To speak Cavilish is to show you possess understanding of those arts far better than Amos the trader who speaks only Sirihish.  This also relates to Latin and law in the real world, if you feel that it is guild-sniffing and bad for a merchant house (or those who work with them) to want you to speak the language, try applying for a job as a paralegal and list on your resume "Never studied Latin".  You're as likely to get hired as Amos.

This post is not about guild-sniffing, nor about any in-game events.  I just wanted to lay down my personal thoughts on the existence of this wonderful tool of commerce that helps to separate the Haves and Have-Nots of society.  Oh, and I have this great code idea... inflate or deflate haggle skill based on language... if you're speaking cavilish, it helps you to bargain.  If you're speaking to a human in allundean, or an elf in sirihish, it's detrimental.  Just food for thought.

Lord Templar Hard Nose says, in cavilish:
"So we have all of our supplies ready for the operation?"

The Snooty Trader says, in cavilish:
"As much as you need, M'lord."

Lord Templar Hard Nose says, in sirihish:
"Excellent work, we will be seeing you again."

Lord Templar Hard Nose gives The Snooty Trader an iron-shod chest of coins.

[Cale_Knight]

I'd equate Latin more to Tatlum than to Cavilish.

[Eternal]

Tatlum I see as closer to Sanskrit... though I can see your comparison.

[John]

That is definitely one (and IMO a valid) interpretation of the use of Cavilish. Another use I think it has is there's lots of terms for mathmatics, economics and bargaining that exist in Cavilish that simply don't have a counterpart in Sirihish.

[Cuusardo]

I always imagined Cavilish to sound a lot like Italian for some reason.

[Pantoufle]

I've always imagined the languages of Zalanthas to sound...

...like nothing comparable to real world languages.