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Q: Hello! I was wondering whether you knew of a lore-specific reason why only the Keeper and Firsts of the dalish clans are taught how to read and write in elvish? It just seems impractical if they want to preserve the language, since oral tradition is notoriously inefficient. More elves being taught elvish also means more people to pass on the language if something dreadful happens to both the Keeper and the First. Sorry if there's an obvious reason I've missed, it just really bothers me.

At last, we have a canon ruling on the official/common language of the Tevinter Imperium. Lead DA writer Patrick Weekes responded to my Tweet this afternoon in which I asked which serves as the common language of day-to-day communication: Tevene or Trade Tongue. According to Weekes' response, the common language of Tevinter is Trade Tongue while Tevene serves as "flavor" with "phrases peppering speech as a sign of education."

So if you're describing a character writing or reading, then remember that what they are reading is probably going to be blocky, rune-like characters and not swirly, flowing script!

I think The Game is very difficult to write effectively partly because we don't really have this level of detail about Orlesian noble culture-but if we borrow from our own past, I think lots of interesting possibilities open up. The language of flowers, the meanings of gems, the implications of certain scents, sumptuary laws regarding who is and is not allowed to wear various forms of adornment…I'm sure there's so much more. And I think that while it'd be easy to get bogged in details like this, using them sparingly can add a lot to the richness of worldbuilding.

I was thinking about Solas and Sera, and the fact that he considered her on of "his people" or "our people" when he was trying to if she would understand the elven language. But when the inquisitor asks if Solas is happy for Briala as a fellow elf, and he said he does not consider himself the same as her. So what do you think made Solas consider Sera as one of "his people" and not the other elfs in the game?

Ok, so from Note: The Gates of Segrumar: - Terrible, to sacrifice one's own child with a lie. I preyed on perfectly trusting faith, but how could I explain my desperation? The Deep Roads wind in deceitful spirals, concealing the sigil from casual observance. I could not discern its true pattern until I stood in the Fade and gazed down upon the vast malevolent engraving. Its artist remains unknown, but its horrifying intent was all too clear - as was my necessity. I only wish it had not cost you, my only child. I could not build the locked barriers that would carve the marks and break the sigil. You alone could save us all, but only by destroying yourself. And I let you do it. Forgive me. Compare that to the note about the streets of Kirkwall, above. What keeps coming to me is that dwarves don't generally enter the Fade, so this is… maybe not a note from dwarf. The codex text also lacks any indication of being difficult for the Inquisitor to read, because of the language - unlike ancient Elvhen inscriptions. I can only assume that means it's written in Common.

This is a growing compilation of fan-made Elvish words, intended to fit in with the Elvish language in the Dragon Age series. Because holy hell, the canon vocabulary is small.

Features of the Elvhen Cipher: - filter by what kind of word it is, or by how "canon" it is. exclude fanon if you need to! - sources you can hover over - breakdowns/pseudo-etymologies of most words - search box for elvhen words, so you can find words with the same string If there's anything I'm goofing up, please let me know!

Query: Do we ever see ancient elven writing? That is, "letters or characters that serve as visible signs of ideas, words, or symbols". We see runes, which you interact with by having, essentially, visions, complete with feelings. We see 'books', which appear to be similar, and are also described as memories (with a question mark, as if description were confusing or difficult because of an unfamiliar concept). But do we see anything (whether we're able to read it or not) which appears to explicitly be symbolic, non-magical ancient elven text?

In Trespasser, if the Inquisitor drinks from the Well of Sorrows they have the option to say a secret greeting used among Fen'Harel's followers. This allows you to avoid fighting the spirits. The words themselves are mostly straightforward, there's less ambiguity than typical for elven. The grammar is atrocious however, so extracting the meaning requires more assumptions!