Vortaan he/him Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Good point, she is in warform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 It's quite likely that they found a form that was more scholarly or better at that kind of thing. What the heralds may or may not be doing is likely a very different thing. Again, I have to ask. What happens if you use Shadesmar to mess with things like a language? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortaan he/him Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 It's quite likely that they found a form that was more scholarly or better at that kind of thing. What the heralds may or may not be doing is likely a very different thing. Again, I have to ask. What happens if you use Shadesmar to mess with things like a language? Well, I don't think you Soulcast anything that doesn't have a tangible Physical element, so that's out. And as Shadesmar seems to be somewhat affected by perception, I don't know that any single person could do much damage to a language from Shadesmar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leuthie Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 You could change a language from Shadesmar. It would be difficult.and pointless as no one would notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortaan he/him Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 You could change a language from Shadesmar. It would be difficult.and pointless as no one would notice. Could I get a little bit more here besides "Yes you could do it?" How do you change the cognitive aspect of something that has to exist in the heads of thousands if not millions of people? Where does that manifest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Wherever it would manifest, it would be pretty freakin enourmous. Destroying the concept of language would be nearly impossible. But picking off a few beads would work, though what effect it would have is anybody's guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leuthie Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 I dont know how you'd do it, but it would be a huge undertaking and you'd end up with a change that few if any would notice since you'd have to.change their cognitive view to change the language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman he/him Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Could I get a little bit more here besides "Yes you could do it?" How do you change the cognitive aspect of something that has to exist in the heads of thousands if not millions of people? Where does that manifest? Dunno. It seems likely. I do wonder, though, if it would affect written language. I suspect that if it is possible to change language in the cognitive realm, you could make words that used to seem modern seem outdated, or something like that. Very strange effects. I am still not sure it can happen at all, though. As others have pointed out, a common language is huge and complicated. If you could observe the cognitive aspect of, say, a language as common as English or Chinese, it would probably dwarf mountains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet he/him Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) It seems very much along the lines of the bible and the Pentecost. The apostles speaking and each man hearing in his own tongue. I agree with this. I think when the Heralds speak, they do so in such a way that it was as if everyone hearing had a Shard-powered Babelfish . I like the tie-in with the cognitive in the OP, but I don't anticipate it being, at least always, the result of a concious decision to speak Alethi an Alethi, or Thaylen to a Thaylen, etc. It would be cool, if in mixed company, they could do this on a concious level, then they could have a private conversation. Or even to expand that, if in the company of two Alethi, directing his comments to only one. The one would hear and understand while the other hears a foreign language (the Dawnchant language). That would be sweet! Edited May 28, 2013 by Shardlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSelector Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 If we accept the idea that "Damnation" is either on another planet, or at the very least far away from the main story, then it seems reasonable that Taln would have traveled through Shadesmar to get to Kholinar. Why he picked that particular city is up for discussion (though I think the fact that Nohadon was based there is significant). In any case, we know that language has a very large geographical component, and so maybe Taln was able to learn the langauge through some Shadesmar trickery when he exited, and he picked Alethi because that was the dominant language in his destination. Perhaps, had he arrived in another city, he would have walked out speaking a totally different language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloom he/him Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 If we accept the idea that "Damnation" is either on another planet, or at the very least far away from the main story, then it seems reasonable that Taln would have traveled through Shadesmar to get to Kholinar. Why he picked that particular city is up for discussion (though I think the fact that Nohadon was based there is significant). In any case, we know that language has a very large geographical component, and so maybe Taln was able to learn the langauge through some Shadesmar trickery when he exited, and he picked Alethi because that was the dominant language in his destination. Perhaps, had he arrived in another city, he would have walked out speaking a totally different language. The Alethi were the defenders, they stood guard over Roshar. Why the Alethi? well, I can theorize... If westward is the place closest to Honor, then eastward towards the Origin would by definition be the place farthest from Honor. If this is true, then it may be that desolations, while wide spread and fast moving, originate in the east. This, in conjunction with the power of the highstorms over Nantanatan may be why it is one of the least populated countries in the world. If desolations start in the east, then you would want an eastward country to protect the rest of Roshar, but not the eastern most country. You don't want to risk having a desolation suddenly appear in the midst of your command center if you can help it. So Alethkar is in the east, but westward enough that warning could reach the Alethi ahead of the desolation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoser he/him Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 The Alethi were the defenders, they stood guard over Roshar. Why the Alethi? well, I can theorize... ... So Alethkar is in the east, but westward enough that warning could reach the Alethi ahead of the desolation. Certainly seems reasonable. Additional or alternative reasons could have to do with Nohadon having conquered the world (time of the sword) and the Radiants wanting to keep an eye on the most effective military society and isolate the poisonous effects of violence to a single country. The Radiants make it a logical place for Taln to go if he doesn't know they are disbanded. For all we know, he went to Urithiru first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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