What language is spoken on the shadow planes?

[ArtikSnow]

What is the language they speak on the shadow planes? I can not find anywhere where it tells what they speak.

[Inevitability]

There isn't a specific language. The Nightshades can communicate using all languages, while Shadow Mastiffs can understand common.

From other books there's the Shadar-Kai (whose elven and sylvan tongues aren't a proper indicator, as they were originally from other planes) as well as Shadows (who don't speak at all).

So unless your campaign is very Shadar-Kai-heavy, common's going to be your best bet.

[Psyren]

It's a reflection of the Material, and moreover most of the inhabitants are either shadow-templated creatures or undead like Shadows and Bodaks, so Common is likely to be the most, well, common.

[Eldariel]

The only Plane of Shadows-natives I can think of (Nightshades, Shadow Mastiff) only communicate telepathically. They understand Common though. Shadowcloak Elder Cloaker understands Undercommon, but then it's based on Cloaker. So, no special language.

[Venger]

It's a plane accessible from everyplace else and is made up entirely of immigrants. it's not a plane with its own native population such as limbo or gehenna. they don't have a separate language, but the semi-official language there is common like most other places.

[Segev]

It is a degraded, vulgar tongue. Just a shadow of the grandeur it once had.

[Zaq]

Illumians have connections to the Plane of Shadow, and Races of Destiny describes a large illumian-centric city there (Elirhondas). There's no claim that illumians are the primary residents of the whole plane, of course, but the fact that they have a major city there indicates that you might have the Illumian language have some presence throughout the rest of the plane, if you wanted.

(Of course, since illumians are really great at learning other languages, they'd probably be more likely to learn the languages of other folks on the plane than the other folks would necessarily be to learn Illumian. But it's something.)

If you choose to look at Races of Destiny to learn about the city of Elirhondas, try to ignore the diagram that shows "spinward" and "anti-spinward" as the same bloody direction.

[Vogie]

It is a degraded, vulgar tongue. Just a shadow of the grandeur it once had.

And when you write it, it's just common, backwards. Not spelled backwards, but the letters actually mirrored.

[mabriss lethe]

The Kayal from Tome of Magic speak Common plus one elemental language and one alignment based language.

[Âmesang]

So I'm'a be that guy and ask… which Common? :smalltongue:

Though I suppose it's fair to suggest that the portion of the Plane of Shadow over the Toril Material Plane speaks Faerûnian Common, the portion over the Oerth Material Plane speaks Aerdian (Flanaess) Common, &c., &c.

…but what of the shadowy spaces in between? :smalleek:

I refuse to believe the Common tongues of every Material Plane are alike. "You speak English?" "I am actually speaking Rigellian. By an astonishing coincidence both of our languages are exactly the same." Uh huh. Sure.