Foreign Language

Foreign Language
Type	Utility Trait
Fields	Communicate, Picori, Sheikah, Subrosian, Tokay, Twili
Cost	10 rupees

Foreign Language is a utility trait, and an innate racial perk of several races: Picori, Sheikah, Subrosian, Tokay, and Twili. Because this is an innate racial perk, all of the benefiting races must have this perk upon character creation, but gain it for free. Any race can gain this treasure for 10 rupees, thereby studying and mastering a language foreign to them.

It is assumed every character is able to speak the Hyrulean language, which is spoken by nearly every sentient creature on the Hyrulean continent and surrounding islands. Any character with this treasure is also able to speak one less-common language in addition to Hyrulean. Common choices are shown in the table below.

Language	Primary Speakers	Description
Minish	Picori	Being tiny creatures, Picori normally can't even hear Hylians and other races properly, and so their own language was developed. It is useful for the rare outsider who shrinks down to Picori size and visits this race or their kin.
Tokay	Tokay	The distant Crescent Island is home to the reptilian Tokay which speak a relatively simple language, simply referred to as Tokay.
Subrosian	Subrosian	Only recently was a path between the subterranean world of Subrosia connected with Hyrule. As a result, Subrosians have a completely separate language spoken in their homeland.
Twilit	Twili	All Twili hail from the Twilight Realm, a completely separate dimension from Hyrule. The handful which have crossed over from it have needed to learn the Hyrulean language, but retain the ability to speak Twilit. It is unknown if even a single Hyrulean has ever mastered the Twilit language.
Ancient Hylian	Sheikah, Undead	This language is believed to be an archaic form of Hyrulean, and is commonly spoken by ancient beings. It is rumored to be used by Sheikah and perhaps other secret societies as a common second language, to allow communication in secret.

For any character which has this treasure as an innate racial perk, it is assumed the character first learned their native tongue, and then learned Hyrulean as a second language--and as a result, may be less fluent than native speakers. For all other characters, it is generally assumed Hyrulean was learned first. Regardless, if the character truly knows a language through this treasure, she is able to read, write, speak, and verbally understand it.

Common Languages

Common languages are languages that can frequently be found across Hyrule. One would not have to search long throughout Hyrule before finding one familiar with one of these tongues, and members of any race are able to pick up these languages without exceptional difficulty. Listed below are some of the most common languages, and it is assuming that any member of a race speaks their particular language(s), unless otherwise stated. Many other minor languages and dialects exist throughout the land of Hyrule, and this is by no means an exhaustive list of the languages of Hyrule. Members are free to customize and make languages to their liking.

These languages may be reasonably acquired at no rupee cost.

Language	Primary Speakers	Description
Hylian	Hylian, Human Races	The most common language in Hyrule. This is the language of the Hylians, but is spoken by virtually every civilized race to come into contact with Hylians and even some that do not.
Gerudo	Gerudo	The language of the Gerudo. It tends to come off as stronger and more expressive when compared with Hylian, which may make their sentences seem more forceful or intimidating to other-language speakers. Hylians living within the Eastern Caves tend to be proficient with this language as well.
Goro	Goron	The language of the Goron. It is a simpler language in nature, with many suffix words and repeated words, such as their own language name, ‘Goro’.
Zoran	Zora	The language of the Zora. Its inflection is not only based on the mouth but also the waterflow through the gills, allowing for speech underwater to those capable of underwater breathing. While the gills are not a requirement for the language’s use, when being spoken without using them- such as by a non-Zora or by a Zora above water, - some of the richness and complexity carried within a particular sentence tends to be lost. Sea Zora and River Zora share the same language, but over the years have developed intentionally different dialects in an attempt to distinguish themselves from one another.
Treetongue	Deku Scrub, Great Fairy, Kikwi, Kokiri, Korok, Skull Kid, Tiny Fairy	The language of those of the forest. This includes; Deku Scrubs, Great Fairies, Kikwi, Kokiri, Korok, Skull Kids, and Tiny Fairies. To non-native speakers of Treetongue, it can come off as whimsical and almost non-sensical, with its fast-paced speaking and structure. Some races, such as the Fairies, Skull Kids, and Kokiri, seem to have an innate understanding and mastery of this language from creation, while others, such as the plant-based races, learn it like any other language.
Rito	Rito	The language of the Rito. Generally revered as the language of their god, Valoo, it is accentuated by many short words and sharp stops, making it very quick and straight to the point. Rito also tend to communicate not just with words, but use varying clicks and clacks of their beak to punctuate and add emphasis, adding an almost rhythmic sound to the language.
Beastspeak	Monster Races	The common language shared among the monster races. To Hylians, it can seem very brash and simplistic, and as such, Hylians have taken to referring to it derogatorily as ‘beastspeak’. However, it is actually quite nuanced with subtle differences changing its meaning, and is difficult for non-monsters to use fluently. In their language, monster races have taken to calling it a term roughly meaning “our language”, and they tend to pride themselves in calling it such to further differentiate from Hylians.

Trivia

• A character can learn several other languages at once using the Jabber Nut, but is only able to speak and hear them, not read nor write.
• The Book of Mudora is able to translate all script and speech from any language into one the reader understands, but imparts no ability to speak nor write foreign languages.
• Between both the Jabber Nut and the Book of Mudora, any language can be spoken, audibly understood, and read--but only with Foreign Language can it be properly written.