Originally posted by Cha0s
Askr: I\'d like to point out a flaw in your \"the different languages of the players correspond to the different languages of races in Yliakum.\" The issue is that you can\'t have all of the races randomly speaking different languages. Yes, it is true that someone with a French parent and a German parent can grow up speaking only Italian.
That is not my point. That was something someone else brought in response to my point.
But this case is rare and unlikely. Most people of direct French descent speak French. Most people of direct Italian descent speak Italian. Most of the educated world also speaks English (this is not a rap on those that do not. I\'m sure there are some quite intelligent people who speak not a word of English). English represents the common \"interracial\" language for communication in Planeshift as it does in the real-world (I think we can agree on this?).
I do not deny this. Matter of fact, several times I have been forced to point out the fact that I am entirely aware of this. And it appears, that yet again, I am forced to do so.
The problem arises when you look at the number of people of each race speaking each language. Thirteen races do not all have the same set of languages. I\'d guess that you\'d find a roughly even distribution of German-speaking players (example) over all of the races. Yes, it is possible for people of one race to learn the language of another. However, this is the exception not the rule. Unless you can make almost every Italian player play a dwarf, and every German player play a Klyros, etc. (note this is an example, of course, these specifics match-ups don\'t matter), then your role-play justification for languages doesn\'t work:
If languages are not realistic, they are not in-character (this is supposed to be a realistic world, fantasy elements aside).
Therefore, if they are not in-character, they do not belong in public chat.
And again, given what he have, the above statements do not lead to this conclusion. We have races that arrive in Yliakum from different locations...those locations are not specified.. the languages those races speak are not specified. The timeframe is not specified. The only fact is that English is a Common Tongue. We have no lifespans for said races. We have no geographical statistics -- what language is more predominant on what level. No cultural statistics. Etc. All of these things -- and more -- are necessary for a
realistic examination of language.
Realism of language at this point is a matter of speculation, opinion, preference and assumption. Until there is provision made for determining language dispersion and transformation realistically, we cannot make the claims that have been made so far. IOW there is no valid reason why a language would have disappeared, changed, or intermixed with the language of any other race.
Create the necessary information and in a short period of time we can determine the number of languages still in existence, the dispersion of such languages, who is more likely to speak these languages (is it based upon social structure, occupation, level of education, location, etc). Then and only then will it be realistic.
Likewise, not every individual of a race needs speak the same language. There has been provision made in the game for a character of one race to have been raised in the village/city/realm of another race. Language should easily enough follow.
I hope I\'ve reasoned this through thoroughly enough for your standards. 
While I admit you were a bit more cordial about it, you are still basing everything upon the same assumptions. Logically you would come to the same conclusions. Therefore, your reasoning is really not much different than anyone elses.
To illustrate my point. If I follow your logic and considering the lack of information available at the moment, in addition to language we can safely assume that:
1. There is no retention of previous culture in any of the races (except perhaps Lemurs and Kran). This of course cannot be true because it would invalidate much of what has been written about each race so far.
2. There is no retention or continuation of previous racial strengths and weaknesses (except for perhaps Lemur and Kran). This of course cannot be true because it would invalidate much of what is going to be implemented in the future and what is known currently.
3. There is no differentiation between communities on different levels, much less on the same level. As has been pointed out many times, everything is already implemented in the RP world.
Why is that, you might say? Well because, as anyone who knows will tell you, language is the bearer of culture and a culture\'s customs. If the languages cease to exist then it follows that the culture has also, because the culture defines the language. Understand? If the language is gone, the culture that goes with it is gone. Example: to define something such as \"god and faith\" you do so by your culture\'s customs. Now let us say \"dyeus and bhedh\". You have something entirely different, though you have essentially stated the same thing. What you understand the words to mean depends upon your culture.
Therefore what we have is a single mass of different looking people, coming from different places, living on different levels and interacting/existing by different means but who, for some unknownable reason, are all just a like mentally and linguistically. This is both illogical and unrealistic. An example:
If these races have been interbreeding by necessity for say 750 years (which would be necessary according to the opposition), then there should be less differentiation between the races. No appearence will continue indefinitely, it will eventually be replaced by the appearence of new (shared) racial characteristics. Same goes with language, if the interbreeding was by necessity and the races have relatively short life-spans, then there would be fewer numbers retaining anything from the past and predominant use of a single language would result. This would also mean that the original cultures are now relatively nonexistant, except in foktales and distant memory (elders remembering the days when their grandfathers used to dance under the lunar light).
This is all very practical and realistic according to the information at hand. It is also really rather logical, again according to the information available. The only two races that thrived on their own were Lemurs and Kran. All other races came through portals and were in all likelihood very few. Therefore in order for the race to survive they would have had to interbreed. Inbreeding with too few couples causes the death of a species as everyone knows. With the necessary inter-breeding of the limited couples the languages, culture, and past identity would all die out in a few generations. The common tongue spoken would have in all likelihood been the speech of the Lemurs and Kran as they were created in Yliakum and were already established. Therefore it would have been their language that was picked up and then dispersed throughout the levels as the new \'tribes\', \'clans\', \'races\' (all in a rather limited sense) dispersed and spread through the realm. Then you must question why the dwarfs have such a pride of their race and the Xacha are proud of their origins and traditions, and so on and so forth.
I won\'t get into the possibilities if the races didn\'t arrive at a reasonably close interval.
I like my realism and logic to be a bit more realistic and logical. If we aren\'t going to conform to realism, then any language can be spoken by any person. Realism, reality, fact, are all objective they don\'t partially apply in certain but not all situations -- even in a game world -- or else they are in fact not realistic, reality, or fact. Basically, if you want realism be realistic. Don\'t just claim realism because you can.
In all of this I find it humorous that there has been suggested ways to make the different races speak different languages and not be understandable by the other races. That would of course be acceptable and not disruptive. But speaking French is disruptive, a sign of laziness, poor etiquette, grounds for hostility and segregation -- all because it is spam and will cram the chat window. What choice words will we call those who don\'t speak our language if that feature is implemented? Perhaps by then we can be more creative.
