Detailed Language Rules

Language Branch (Spec)
Characters with this skill understand and can speak a foreign language. If the character is literate he can also read and write the language (does not apply to languages for which there is no writing system, such as traditional Navaho).
This skill much be purchased separately for each language “branch” that the character understands. Specialties are specific languages within the branch. In order for a character to have an understanding of all languages within a given language “family,” the character must purchase a minimum of one level in each branch within that family.
All characters start with a score of 3 in their native language (unless they have a trait which limits their starting score) and a score of 1 in the parent branch. The character’s native language should be noted on the character sheet.
In addition to being used in skill rolls, the skill score represents the character’s fluency with languages within the chosen group, as shown on the table below.

	Level	Fluency
	1	Rudimentary; simple words and phrases only. Thick, noticeable accent (obviously not a local).
	2	Basic; simple conversations. Moderate accent (requires Average Awareness roll to detect).
	3	Conversational fluency. Minor accent or regional dialect (requires Challenging Awareness roll to detect).
	4	Fluent; complex dialogue and expressions. No accent.
	6	Expert; speaks perfectly, better than most natives.
	8	Master; command of the language rivals the most learned scholar (a rarity!).

Language (Type) is a Universal Skill; all characters receive it at level 2 at no cost. The “Type” for this skill is the character’s native language.
Available language groups and the Specialties (individual languages) available are shown on the following page.
Languages and language branches in italics (such as Luwian and Anatolian) are archaic or “dead” languages in a modern setting. Those indicated by an asterisk are languages with no written component.

Language Families/Branches*
The 20 most commonly used languages in the world are shown in bold text.

Afro-Asiatic Family
Berber*	Shluh, Tamazight, Riffian, Kabyle, Shawia, Tuareg, Guanch  
Chadic	Hausa  
Cushitic	Somali, Galla, Sidamo, Beja, Afar, Saho
Egyptian	Coptic, Egyptian, Heiroglyphics
Semitic	Arabic, Maltese, Hebrew, Amharic, Tigrinya, Tigre, Aramaic, Gurage, Harari, Geez, Syriac, Akkadian, Phonoecian, Punic, Ugaritic, Nabatean 
Altaic Family
Japonic	Japanese, Ryukyuan
Korean	Korean
Mongolian	Buryat, Kalmyk, Mongolian
Tungusic	Evenki, Lamut, Manchu, Nanai, Sibo
Turkic	Azeri, Balkar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Nogai, Salar, Shor, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Uigur, Uzbek
Athapascan Family
	Apache, Navajo*
Austro-Asiatic Family
Mon-Khmer	Khmer, Mon, Palaung, Wa, Bahnar, Sedang, Khasi, Nicobarese, So, Nancowry, Sengoi, Temiar  
Munda	Santali, Mundari, Ho, Savara, Korku
Viet-Muong	Vietnamese, Muong
Dravidian Family
Central	Brahui, Gondi, Kurukh, Kui, (Elamite)
Southern	Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu 
Eskimo-Aleut Family
	Aleut, Intuit
Gestures Family*
Gestures	Deaf Sign Language (by country), Hand & Arm Signals* (military)
Indo-European Family
Anatolian	Hittite, Lycian, Lydian, Luwian, Palaic
Armenian	Armenian, Lomavren
Baltic	Latvian, Lithuanian, Prussian
Celtic	Breton, Cornish, Cumbrian, Galatian, Gaulish, Irish Gaelic, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Pictish, Welsh
Germanic	Afrikaans, Anglo Saxon, Dutch, English, Flemish, Frankish, Frisian, German, Gothic, Lombardo, Old English, Old Norse, Norwegian, Scots, Swedish, Vandal, Visigoth, Yiddish
Hellenic	Byzantine Greek, Classical Greek (Attic), Modern Greek (Deotic, Katharevoussa), Koine, Mycenaean
Illyric	Albanian
Indic	Ardhamagadhi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maldivian, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Punjabi, Romany (gypsy language) , Sanskrit, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Urdu
International	Esperanto, Ido (improved Esperanto), Intal, Interglossa, Interlingua, Novial, Romanova, Unish, Volapük
Iranian	Avestan, Baluchi, Farsi, Kurdish, Ossetian, Pashto, Persian, Tadzhik
Romance (Latin)	Corsican, Dalmation, French, Italian, Italo-Dalmation, Latin, Oscan, Portuguese, Romanian, Sabine, Sardinian,  Spanish, Umbrian
Slavic	Bosnian, Bulgarian, Byelorussian, Czech, Kashubian, Kashubian, Knaanic, Macedonian, Old Church Slavic, Polabian, Polish, Romano-Serbian, Russian, Serbo-Croation, Slovak, Slovene, Sorbian, Ukranian
Malayo-Polynesian Family
Formosan	Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Tsou
Melanesian	Fijian, Motu, Yabim
Micronesian	Chamorro, Gilbertese, Marshallese, Nauruan, Palau, Ponapean, Trukese, Yapese
Polynesian Branch	Hawaiian, Maori, Marquesan, Niuean, Rapa Nui, Rarotongan, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Tuamotu, Uvea
Western Malayo	Achinese, Balinese, Batak, Bikol, Buginese, Cham, Igorot, Ilocano, Jarai, Javanese, Madurese, Malagasy, Malay / Indonesian, Maranao, Pampangan, Pangasinan, Rhade Sundanese, Tagalog, Visayan
Niger-Congo Family
Adamawan	Mbum
Bantu	Ambo, Bemba, Bubi, Bulu, Chagga, Chiga, Chokwe, Duala, Fang, Ganda, Gisu, Hehe, Herero, Kamba, Kikuyu, Kongo, Lingala, Lozi, Luba, Lunda, Lwena, Makonde, Makua, Matebele, Mbundu, Mongo, Nkole, Nyamwezi, Nyanja, Nyoro, Pedi, Ruanda, Rundi, Shona, Sotho, Sukuma, Swahili, Swazi, Thonga, Tonga, Toro, Tswana, Tumbuka, Venda, Xhosa, Yao, Yaundé, Zulu
Eastern	Banda, Gbaya, Sango, Zande
Efik	Efik, Ibibio, Tiv
Ijo	Ijo
Kwa	Adangme, Agni, Baule, Bassa, Ibo, Edo, Ewe, Fanti, Fon, Ga, Grebo, Idoma, Kru, Nupe, Twi, Urhobo, Yoruba
Mande	Bambara, Dyula, Kpelle, Loma, Malinke, Mende, Soninke, Susu, Vai 
Voltaic	Bariba, Dagomba, Gurma, Kabre, Mossi, Senufo
West Atlantic	Balante, Dyola, Fulani, Gola, Kissi, Serer, Temne, Wolof
Sino-Tibetan Family
Sinitic	Cantonese, Dungan, Fukienese, Gan, Hakka, Huizhou, Jinyu, Mandarin, Min, Min Bei, Min Dong, Min Nan, Min Zhong, Pu-Xian, Wu, Xiang, Yue
Southern Branch	Miao, She, Yao
Tai	Be, Chuang, Kam-Sui, Lao, Li, Nung, Puyi, Shan, Thai, Tung, Zhuang
Tibeto-Burman	Bodo, Burmese, Chin, Garo, Jonkha, Kachin, Karen, Lahu, Lepcha, Lisu, Lushei, Manipuri, Meithei, Mizo, Moso, Murmi, Newari, Tibetan, Yi

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Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Action! System Core Rules version 1.1 copyright 2003 by Gold Rush Games; Authors Mark Arsenault, Patrick Sweeney, Ross Winn.
Detailed Language Rules Variant copyright © 2003 by Gold Rush Games. Author Mark Arsenault.