(09-09-2017, 05:56 AM)Yian Kutku Wrote: I've been going by the official Dragonspeak dictionary, and I realized I have no idea how dragons are named.
I would highly recommend (if you've not already seen this) Fernehalwes's Lessons in Dragonspeak which have been compiled into a thread here on the RPC by Kage. Links to the original posts by Fernehalwes are provided. Fernehalwes goes over the basics of the language, why it's written the way it is, how words are economic in their meaning, which is why you get very strange and simple naming conventions. It should provide a lot of insight!
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(09-09-2017, 05:56 AM)Yian Kutku Wrote: Older dragons apparently do not have names based on that dictionary, like Vidofnir, Vedrfolnir, Gullinbursti, etc. However, younger dragonets and apparently wyverns do: the three examples I know of are Ohl Deeh and Orn Khai for dragonets, and Whei Ahf for wyverns.
(09-09-2017, 01:26 PM)Kilieit Wrote: I think I might know the reason for this! Those names were, if I recall correctly, given to them by mortals. I think they might have Dragonspeak names too, but we're unaware of them..?
Kilieit has the right of it. Fernehalwes gives us this:
Fernehalwes Kagoshima Letter Wrote:Q:
How are dragon names decided? Many of the dragons in and around Anyx Trine have names made from words in from the dragon language, but there are others--Vidofnir, Vedrfolnir, Gullinkambi--who have names taken from Norse Mythology like Midgardsormr and his children's are. Is there a reason they have their own unique names? Are names like this earned?
A:
Every dragon has a name in the base draconian tongue, including the more prominent figures such as Bahamut, Vidofnir, Midgardsormr, etc. The 'Eorzean' names have been earned through the dragons' interactions with past civilizations. The elder dragons (especially those of Midgardsormr's first brood) have spent thousand (tens-of-thousands) of years roaming about Hydaelyn. During that time, they have come in contact with many different peoples--some primitive, some advanced. Some with which they warred, some with which they fostered peace. Those peoples gave the dragons names in their own tongues. Some were based on existing words in those tongues, while others were phonetic interpretations, bastardizations, and subsequent degradations of a language that they could not accurately pronounce. These names took hold amongst the people of Eorzea, being passed down orally and in print, and effectively became the second names of the dragons. Rather than fight this, it was ultimately easier for the dragons to simply allow man to call them what they wished. Some of the dragons have even grown fond of these names, choosing to use them even when speaking with other dragons (who would otherwise know them by their draconian names).
Hope this helps! ^^
