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Nicolai Withander Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 03:18:07
Hellow fellow scibes of candlekeep...

I was just wondering if anyone knew whether or not the Imaskar (Roushoum) language ever had an alphabet done?

Thanks!
7   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
Nicolai Withander Posted - 03 Jan 2019 : 10:24:46
Thank you all very much for your replies.

I didn't think there existed an Imaskar Alphabet, but I will indeed consider using the Tuigan... it seems to get the closest...

Thanks again
sleyvas Posted - 29 Dec 2018 : 09:24:22
quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Where's Akotan from? What are the western trading outposts? Are they talking about the Utter East area?


On the Zakharan maps, Akota refers to the lands to the west of Zakhara. On the map, a caravan route leads straight west from Tajar, totheedge of the map, where it just says “ to Akota”. Whole-planet maps of Toril just show that beyond the edge of the Zakharan map, there’s basically just a stretch of coast roughly Southwest to south. I seem ro recall (but could be wrong) that this was a possible way of adding another continent (it was implied that this might have been an African-inspired are, based on its realtive position to « middle eastern » Zakhara) but this was never developed further. So Akota was (intended to be) its own area, and is definitely different from Ulgarth and the Utter East.



I'm not doubting you, but which map? I've looked at several official map scans, and I must be blind. I'm curious as all heck now, because it made me go "wow, maybe this will let us name another continent". But the only two references other than the language that I find are these, which makes it sound like a "land route" not a "sea route".... so I may be SOL... I'm also looking at an unofficial map of Toril which I very much trust, and it shows what would match up to this, just some little area just beyond the maps.

Tajar is a major trading site in the Land of Fate. Here the caravan route from far-off Akota (an exotic place beyond Zakhara) meets the merchant armadas of the Golden Gulf.

<snip>
Najon told his son Ajan this tale, and Ajan has watched the fruit of Tajar wither with the passing years. Ajan's tribe wanders the south-central region of the High Desert and often pursues bandits who prey on the caravan route to Akota.



EDIT: You know what... I am entirely thinking NON-MAGICAL..... what if these "caravan routes" go to a portal. Yeah, I'm even more interested to see which map you find this on, just to see even if we can get a rough arrow direction. I say this because Akota's not shown in "Zakhara's Place in the World" from Corsairs of the Great Sea... but that also doesn't show the area we've been calling Katashaka, or the large island/continent directly to its west (which one gave an unofficial name of tabaxiland to), or the string of island off of Zakhara's coast shown in "A scholar's guide to Toril" from the 3e campaign setting (looks like Markustay gave it the name Farahsahad Isles), or the large island/continent (which someone gave an unofficial name of "Land of the Flying Monkeys" to).


Given purely that I like the name Farahsahad isles, but "land of the flying monkeys" and "tabaxiland" both sound kinda… stupid... to my ears... Akota for one of those would be better. It would make more sense for an entire language to come from a bigger place than a city state in my view. There may even be a city state that has been named Akota off the desert just to protect this portal.
Thauramarth Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 17:01:19
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Where's Akotan from? What are the western trading outposts? Are they talking about the Utter East area?


On the Zakharan maps, Akota refers to the lands to the west of Zakhara. On the map, a caravan route leads straight west from Tajar, totheedge of the map, where it just says “ to Akota”. Whole-planet maps of Toril just show that beyond the edge of the Zakharan map, there’s basically just a stretch of coast roughly Southwest to south. I seem ro recall (but could be wrong) that this was a possible way of adding another continent (it was implied that this might have been an African-inspired are, based on its realtive position to « middle eastern » Zakhara) but this was never developed further. So Akota was (intended to be) its own area, and is definitely different from Ulgarth and the Utter East.
sleyvas Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 14:58:26
As long as we're talking about Alphabets in kind of far flung areas, have we ever seen the alphabet used for Midani (the language of Zakhara)? I would say that its some kind of elemental language, but they also specifically say that they have Janni (the language of genies) as a language.

Also, I'm just noting as well, they have an entry that says

Several languages heard in Zakhara are #147;imports, #148;#151;languages acquired from foreigners who trade with Zakharan merchants. Such #147;outlander tongues#148; include Thorasta (and its dead ancestor, Thorass) from the distant North, Shang-Chou from the far-flung East, and Akotan from the western trading outposts.


Where's Akotan from? What are the western trading outposts? Are they talking about the Utter East area? I know from the Hordelands that the people of Ulgarth use Devic, and the countries further south have links to the Moonshaes, but the indigenous population I would have expected to be similar to Ulgarth and use Devic??? When I google Akota from our world it mentions some Indian city, so maybe Devic and Akotan are similar?


Finally, since they DID import the desert of desolation modules into the forgotten realms officially, and I believe that those modules had an alphabet listed in them.... does anyone know if anyone has ever scanned those characters in and made a font for them? I'm kind of wondering which alphabet those should be related to. In fact, that may bring us full scale back to the origins of this topic, since that's the Raurin desert and where Imaskar was.... might THAT be the Imaskari alphabet?
sleyvas Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 06:48:09
Since "new lore trumps old" Races of Faerun says

The Imaskari spoke Roushoum, a precursor of such varied tongues as Durpari, the Rauric family (Chessentan, Mulhorandi, and Untheric), Raumvira, and the various Tuigan dialects. The Imaskari alphabet has wholly fallen out of use, and is only found inscribed on a few ancient artifacts and the walls of Imaskari ruins.


I'd note that its listed as the below in the earlier 3e campaign setting

Language Alphabet Notes
Roushoum Imaskari A precursor of Tuigan

Then I'd note that Tuigan has had an alphabet made. It was in the hordelands boxed set. I turned it into a font a few years back along with some other alphabets, along with Semphari, Ra-Khati, and the Shou one from the kara-tur map.

Ra-Khati
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8CYc8h_6sg8TEdfbVFKemJ2RTA/edit?usp=sharing
Semphari
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8CYc8h_6sg8dG9fUzV4LVFsd28/edit?usp=sharing
Shou-Chiang
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8CYc8h_6sg8YXBoRV9iMHBrbTg/edit?usp=sharing
Tuigan
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8CYc8h_6sg8cWtTbG1iM0p3Rjg/edit?usp=sharing



Then in the hordelands boxed set I'd note it has a whole section on languages, where it notes that

The southern group remains truest to ancient imaskari, although it has adopted much from Muhjuri. Most of the southern group speakers are located in the central regions of the steppe, south of the Kora Shan.


All of that's my long winded way of saying, I'd personally use the Tuigan alphabet since we have it... and what the hell else will it be used for (I mean there's the rare one off thing that someone might have a Tuigan person write for an adventure). The races of Faerun entry may very well be "mostly right" as the Tuigan may not spend a lot of time actually writing, nor is their writing seen very much in Faerun.
George Krashos Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 05:09:08
There is a "fan" one I've seen floating around. It can be found here:

https://www.deviantart.com/washu-kun/art/Roushoum-Alphabet-42948706

-- George Krashos
Wooly Rupert Posted - 28 Dec 2018 : 03:25:32
quote:
Originally posted by Nicolai Withander

Hellow fellow scibes of candlekeep...

I was just wondering if anyone knew whether or not the Imaskar (Roushoum) language ever had an alphabet done?

Thanks!



I don't recall seeing any alphabets done for FR other than Thorass, Espruar, and Dethek.

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