The Language of the Mountain Dwellers

[DurinRustbeard]

It had been many years since Kilinar had last been asked to teach someone his native born dialect, and in fact his human master of wizardry had taught Kilinar how to teach it. It’s natural for anyone to speak his races native tongue, but when it comes to teaching it they realize how difficult it can prove. He found himself often frustrated in trying to communicate what he was teaching. His master at the time detailed to him several techniques for both how to learn new dialects and to teach those dialects he had mastered.

It was to be her first lesson so he would take his time in teaching some of the basics in the harsh tongue. He gathered a variety of scrolls and prepared several with dwarvish words in common print. The woman seemed eager to learn when she arrived the next day, and after closing his ledger he wasted no time in directing her to the neat arrangement of scrolls laid out for her. As expected, the gritty speech proved difficult at first, but after a few hours she was repeating the words Kilinar would offer patiently while he continued his work. Some of the more difficult sounds and pronouncements eluded her tongue, but she had made good progress in her first day. Hopefully tomorrow would prove as productive Kilinar hoped.

((Chara Smith feel free to add to this))

[EndsBeginning]

Chara was practicing hard. Dwarven is a very useful language for any smith or miner. As she progressed with learning how to work metal and mine it had become more and more of a handicap not knowing it. It was helpful that Humans learned faster than other races, and on top of that she was very intelligent for a human. She was ever grateful of the patience and intelligence of Kilinar. When she mangled the word "greetings", which in dwarven is "khaakarkth" into "kakarth". She learned simple words easy enough. "Ahur" and "A azl" being simple enough to reproduce and learn their meaning quickly.

As always she had to practice more, to learn more. She didn't mind that in some cases it bordered on obsession, it had given her her freedom. Being taught by someone who had a good grasp of both languages so completely and the patience as she stumbled on her first baby steps was incredibly helpful.

At the end of her first day she thanked Kilinar profusely. She could only hope to learn the more complex and longer words with time and familiarity.

[DurinRustbeard]

The next day,and the three after that she arrived promptly at the temple eager to learn more. In that time she had surprisingly come to copy Kilinar's inflections and intonations on nearly all of the common words. As he ran errands each day she would accompany him, carrying some of the scrolls or iron as they went to and fro. He would point to a given object with his well manicured stout hand as they walked to prompt her to recite the words she had learned for the basic items such as a house, tree, wagon, forge, and varieties of stone.

He appreciated the extra pair of hands when it came to carrying his supplies and he thought occasionally that it would be a shame for the lessons to end if for no other reason than her proving a dutiful helper. By the last day he had begun to teach her how to pluralize words and verbs. She was indeed a quick learner...