DM Q&A: Language Learning Roleplay

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

I am clear on the rules of how you determine how many language slots a character has, and how many they start with, and the methods of learning a new language. The last part though is what I feel could use some more definition. I may have missed it and it has been answered, but if it hasn't been asked or answered before, it would be great to have some guidance.

How many logged hours of roleplay need to be submitted to show the language learning process?

I have a serious interest in my very scholarly character moving forward with learning new languages and I am trying to determine what kind of total time sink I am looking at. As far as I know there isn't a clear rule at least that is accessible to players on how much roleplay has to be logged to learn a new language. I think some clarity could also be given on what that roleplay involves, since we are dealing with fictional languages for which the known lore usually equals a short wikipedia article or less. I have attempted multiple times over 14ish years to learn draconic, and undercommon once but in the end failed to log more than a couple of sessions and did not continue. Also, is this the only way to learn languages, can someone with access to say, a Lorehouse full of knowledge teach themselves languages from books?

Thanks!

[DM Flash]

Hey Masterbard Alyster Darkharp ,

That's a good question and thanks for asking. The DM Team remains committed to reviewing logs of sessions that cover multiple aspects of learning a language, with the primary goal being to ensure quality RP was performed over time and players aren't pencil whipping it for a token.

The following outline is intended to be a guide; these are not mandatory but in the absence of any other ideas players can RP these topics to help move their language learning forward:

• Counting - tens, hundreds, thousands
• Parts of Speech - how a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions
• Punctuation & Expressions - Punctuation can completely alter the meaning of a sentence, as in these examples: He came home. He came home? He came home!
• Word Order / Common Words and Phrases - word order is used to determine the relationship between different words. Ex: In a basic English declarative statement, the subject should always come first, the verb-second, and the objects and adverbial phrases (if any) third.
• Tense & Aspect - present, the past, or the future and one single instant action, a regular or repeated action, or an ongoing or progressive action or state
• Determiners - Since nouns can rarely stand on their own without prior context, determiners such as "which", "how many", "what", "my", and so on are needed to give them meaning
• Connectors - connect phrases, words, or clauses to one another. They can express subordination (if, who, that, when, because, although), coordination (but, and, yet, nor), or correlation (either, or, both, and) between the units they link.
• Slang - Common terms or idioms

If players choose to use this outline they will have performed a total of (8) 1hr sessions, intended to be done 1/wk over the course of 8 weeks (minimum) to allow time for the material to sink in. Again these topics are not mandatory but hopefully this gives some insight on what the DM Team would like to see for new languages in terms of topics covered and time spent.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Mar 12, 2022 9:11:36 GMT -5 DM Flash said:

Hey Masterbard Alyster Darkharp ,

That's a good question and thanks for asking. The DM Team remains committed to reviewing logs of sessions that cover multiple aspects of learning a language, with the primary goal being to ensure quality RP was performed over time and players aren't pencil whipping it for a token.

The following outline is intended to be a guide; these are not mandatory but in the absence of any other ideas players can RP these topics to help move their language learning forward:

• Counting - tens, hundreds, thousands
• Parts of Speech - how a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions
• Punctuation & Expressions - Punctuation can completely alter the meaning of a sentence, as in these examples: He came home. He came home? He came home!
• Word Order / Common Words and Phrases - word order is used to determine the relationship between different words. Ex: In a basic English declarative statement, the subject should always come first, the verb-second, and the objects and adverbial phrases (if any) third.
• Tense & Aspect - present, the past, or the future and one single instant action, a regular or repeated action, or an ongoing or progressive action or state
• Determiners - Since nouns can rarely stand on their own without prior context, determiners such as "which", "how many", "what", "my", and so on are needed to give them meaning
• Connectors - connect phrases, words, or clauses to one another. They can express subordination (if, who, that, when, because, although), coordination (but, and, yet, nor), or correlation (either, or, both, and) between the units they link.
• Slang - Common terms or idioms

If players choose to use this outline they will have performed a total of (8) 1hr sessions, intended to be done 1/wk over the course of 8 weeks (minimum) to allow time for the material to sink in. Again these topics are not mandatory but hopefully this gives some insight on what the DM Team would like to see for new languages in terms of topics covered and time spent.

Very helpful Flash, thanks so much for the reply. It gives me a solid direction to take and I appreciate it.

[brygun]

Ah there is the suggested "list" I had recently asked about.

Bump you lovely bumper