[FastJack]

Don't forget, in 2054, Sperethiel was so rare that only the "higher-ups" in Elven society used it on a regular basis. In order to get their people to use it more, they had to spread the teaching of the language to reach those that didn't have access before. And, in doing so, they opened the door to those outside their target audience.

[Critias]

(similar to Sperethiel in that it was an ED holdover)

Just for the record, Sperethiel went from SR to Earthdawn. Or'zet went from ED to a later edition of Shadowrun. Sperethiel has always been around in the SR core book.

I meant ED holdover in the fluff -- it's an ancient tongue, recovered from the previous age, a "true" elven language that shows how awesome and magical they are, blah blah blah (just read the press releases) -- rather than ED holdover in real life.  Sorry.

[Frostriese]

Don't forget, in 2054, Sperethiel was so rare that only the "higher-ups" in Elven society used it on a regular basis.

Well, "on a regular base" it is only used in TT ceremonies anyway. Already in 2054 I think more than just the TT top honchos could speak it. I mean, wasnt it already back then used as, well maybe not common but also not extraordinary skill for Elven characters, or Ancient ganger NPCs? And thats pretty near the bottom step of the social ladder.

[The Laughing Man]

Not that it has a whole lot to do with Shadowrun...

...but Aragorn in Lord of The Rings could speak the elven language quite fluid.

Don't see why humans couldn't learn it, I'm sure if they've got the growl for it they could speak Or'Zet too.

[FastJack]

    Tir Tairngire takes an irrational approach to language . The official language of the nation is Sperethiel, the elven tongue. However, because those who can speak or understand the language are largely limited to the Comital rank or higher, English remains the common language of business and social interaction. Only the most prestigious schools, those open to families of privilege, teach Sperethiel . Many chip and electronic training programs exist for Sperethiel, but the language is so difficult that few of these are of any real worth . The lower social ranks consider knowing a bare minimum of Sperethiel, primarily common greetings and partings, quite chic.
     A Tir subject must speak Sperethiel for the Naming, and an understanding of the language becomes useful on certain ceremonial occasions when the High Prince makes a short traditional address in the language . Some people claim that the High Prince has only a rudimentary understanding of the language and learns his speeches phonetically, as do most participants in the Naming. I know for a fact that the High Prince speaks Sperethiel fluently.

So the language is difficult to learn, but in the almost 20 years since the Tir Tairngire information was published on Shadowland, the chip-tech has become better and there are a lot more people that have learned the language.

[Frostriese]

Ah. Comital. Spes was Comital, wasn't he? That explains his language skill (he said he can speak it) then.

[wraith]

I really think that Homo Sapiens Nobilis makes this question pretty silly, neh?  Elves are just humans with a mildly different morphology.

[Medicineman]

Not that it has a whole lot to do with Shadowrun...

...but Aragorn in Lord of The Rings could speak the elven language quite fluid.

Don't see why humans couldn't learn it, I'm sure if they've got the growl for it they could speak Or'Zet too.

Well...he was Dunedaîn and lived for Decades among the Elves
So he's not a good example

with a Dance in the Shires
Medicineman

[Longshot23]

In Vice, it's mentioned that a Pashtun group have hunted down any Pashtun linguasofts, because of a belief such violates some part of their code.

I actually got the impression that the Tirs were doing something similar to Sperethiel linguasofts in the earlier 6th World days, but either they gave it up as futile or stopped for other reasons.  Nevertheless, there is no reason that someone's campaign couldn't feature elven purists who object to non-elves speaking Sperethiel.  Might be good for an adventure or 2.

[Critias]

I actually got the impression that the Tirs were doing something similar to Sperethiel linguasofts in the earlier 6th World days, but either they gave it up as futile or stopped for other reasons.  Nevertheless, there is no reason that someone's campaign couldn't feature elven purists who object to non-elves speaking Sperethiel.  Might be good for an adventure or 2.

Remember, the Tir's had some major shakeups in the last several years.  As of 2065, all the old Princes were ousted, the border security's softened, imports/exports are on the rise, tourism is up, and they're -- as a whole -- more concerned with foreign relations (and less concerned with being an awesome pseudo-Fascist fantasy kingdom) than they ever have been before.

So officially, I'd say it's about eight years too late for there to be any formal government-associated programs that are hunting down and deleting Sperethiel linguasofts, or something.  But all those old elven supremacists didn't just up and evaporate, so, like you said, there's still some room for diehard elven racists to be trying to keep things "pure" on their own.

[Nomad Zophiel]

The spread of Sperethiel makes for an interesting character development point, though. The language essentially hasn't existed for more than 50 years. So the players, if not the characters can probably trace their teaching lineage back to an a Tir Prince and from there to an Immortal Elf with only a few degrees of separation. That provides great potential for those pundits who espouse the vast elven conspiracy. After all, who taught the Ancients if not the original leaders of Tir?

[Longshot23]

Plus, there could be players who think "I'm playing an Elf, so therefore my character MUST know Sperethiel".

[Frostriese]

Plus, there could be players who think "I'm playing an Elf, so therefore my character MUST know Sperethiel".

Such players exist, and "hence" there are always some lowlife characters in game who know Sperethiel. That's what I meant, and hence even in the 50s Sperethiel cannot have been all that elitarist...

[FastJack]

You have to remember though, in the 50's almost no one outside of the Tirs knew what was going on inside them. They kept a very isolationist policy going to the world in general and the two Tir Shadowland documents were considered to be a feather in the Neo-A's caps (only Aztlan was more tightly controlled).

Once the info broke, a lot still wasn't known about the goings-on until the "revolution" in the Tir princes. Remember, neither of the Tir nations has yet to claim Dunkelzahn's bequest to the first one to release complete information to the masses...

[Kot]

Bah. The Ancients sperethiel isn't really pure, i bet. It's a street gang lingo.