Yaalah, My Sultan Wishes you Dead!!!

[Moros]

Saka would have also spoken a Scythian language but probably very different from the Sauromatae given the distance between them.

Not sure but wouldn't the saka talk a more eastern language? Probably closer to modern Turkish than Iranian?

[bobbin]

All I've read about them said they spoke a Northeastern Iranian language (of which Scythian was a part), I imagine they would have been a bit mixed but probably not with turkic as the Yuezhi were to their east. That said i'm no expert on this.

[Cute Wolf]

Hey... I refer to "Muslim faction" in M2TW and didn't mean much about religion......

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

And I am Indonesian....

[athanaric]

Not sure but wouldn't the saka talk a more eastern language? Probably closer to modern Turkish than Iranian?

I don't think so. The Saka language fragments I found in EB don't look very Turkish, either. Any similarities between Turkish and Iranian languages arise from the fact that Turkish borrowed much from these languages (and even more from Tokharian).

I missed an angry Frenchman yelling at me when I sack Paris.

They do? I think I must try this game after all.

[MeinPanzer]

Not sure but wouldn't the saka talk a more eastern language? Probably closer to modern Turkish than Iranian?

Only two fragments of the "Saka language" exist from the EB timeframe: the inscription from a drinking vessel from the Issyk kurgan (late 4th to early 3rd c. BC) and another on a silver ingot from the treasury at Ai-Khanoum (middle or late 2nd c. BC ?). Based on a comparison between these very brief inscriptions and Khotanese Saka, it has been pretty well proven that the language spoken by the Saka both in Semirechye and in modern Pakistan and Afghanistan was an Iranian language written in a variant of the Kharosthi script. It's also evident from onomastic and toponymic evidence that two major Saka dialects existed after their invasion into the latter regions: that spoken around Gandhara and Mathura and that from Sistan and Khotan.

Furthermore, there are tantalizing hints from evidence derived from Kushan inscriptions in a similar language that the Rouzhi (Yuezhi) also spoke an Iranian tongue before being driven westwards, which would mean that there were Iranian speakers in the Gansu corridor of western China. It is equally possible (if perhaps unlikely), however, that the Rouzhi adopted this language from the Saka whom they encountered.

[HayGuy]

So...where can I get tickets to this jewland?

[Belisarius II]

So would the Saka speak Iranian if what MeinPanzer says is true? With possibly a Chinese dialect?

[bobbin]

They would have spoken a Iranian language not Iranian, ie English is a germanic language but its not german.

Don't think they would have been influence much by chinese as to the east of them were the Yeuzhi (who as Meinpanzer said might have spoken an Iranian language) and then the poweful Xionghu who might have spoken a Yeniseian, Turkic, or Iranian language.
The chinese were pretty much confined to china at that point and it would be a while before they reached what they called "the western regions" (central asia)

[Moros]

Only two fragments of the "Saka language" exist from the EB timeframe: the inscription from a drinking vessel from the Issyk kurgan (late 4th to early 3rd c. BC) and another on a silver ingot from the treasury at Ai-Khanoum (middle or late 2nd c. BC ?). Based on a comparison between these very brief inscriptions and Khotanese Saka, it has been pretty well proven that the language spoken by the Saka both in Semirechye and in modern Pakistan and Afghanistan was an Iranian language written in a variant of the Kharosthi script. It's also evident from onomastic and toponymic evidence that two major Saka dialects existed after their invasion into the latter regions: that spoken around Gandhara and Mathura and that from Sistan and Khotan.

Furthermore, there are tantalizing hints from evidence derived from Kushan inscriptions in a similar language that the Rouzhi (Yuezhi) also spoke an Iranian tongue before being driven westwards, which would mean that there were Iranian speakers in the Gansu corridor of western China. It is equally possible (if perhaps unlikely), however, that the Rouzhi adopted this language from the Saka whom they encountered.

Thanks for the info, it's an area I know almost nothing about. Which is a shame really, but then again I have enough history to read already anyway.

[MeinPanzer]

Don't think they would have been influence much by chinese as to the east of them were the Yeuzhi (who as Meinpanzer said might have spoken an Iranian language) and then the poweful Xionghu who might have spoken a Yeniseian, Turkic, or Iranian language.
The chinese were pretty much confined to china at that point and it would be a while before they reached what they called "the western regions" (central asia)

Bobbin is exactly right here, but one point should also be added. Rather than Chinese influence on the language of the Rouzhi, who likely spoke an Iranian tongue, there is actually evidence of Indo-European influence in Chinese in some very limited vocabulary which could likely be traced back to the Rouzhi or, much less likelier, the Xiongnu (Otto Maenchen-Helfen was, IIRC, the first to identify this).

[Blxz]

Although Arabic is indeed the language of most Muslims, several important Muslim countries use different languages, most notably Turkey and Iran.

Indonesia, Malyasia, Indian muslisms, pakistan, I would consider those pretty notable as well.

[MerlinusCDXX]

Also, Central Asian Muslim countries, such as Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kyrghizstan, and Kazakhstan speak either Iranian, Turkic, Mongol (from the Muslim-converted Cha'adai Khaanate's former territory) or Pashtun languages and their derivatives, though you may hear Arabic "loan-words" in some of those languages.

[Satyros]

Are these audio files easily modded? Maybe I'll make the Sweboz generals yell "Go for the eyes Boo, GO FOR THE EYES!"

I vote for this .

You could also tweak things so that the opponents of the Gesetae say : " I hit .... to no effect ? "

This would be a nice addition too I believe . Heh .

But seriously I think it would nice to see the responses in EB if at all possible . I could live without it though .

Satyros

[Majd il-Romani]

The Arabic phrases in M2TW did make the game though. I'll never get tired of "HIMSHI! INFIDEL!"

the Arabs in M2 sound so white... its funny

but seriously, will there be subtitles on the campaign map if what they say is going to be in their own language? Cause I really dont wanna hear hjbifdssagvbhrek from my general and not know what it means...

[bobbin]

Knowing the EB team they'll probably be in greek as well.

[Alexandros_III]

And Gauls speak french and Sweboz speak Germans....
BTW, M2TW stratmap interface is excellent, even better than Empire....

A dead monkey could make something better than Empire.

[Alsatia]

A dead monkey could make something better than Empire.

Cheers mate

On that I have to agree.