Fanghur Rahl he/him Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 So I had an interesting idea that I hadn't considered before, and it pertains to how spren and spren-like beings like Nightblood seem to be able to communicate with whoever they choose regardless of what language the person speaks. So it made me think, do spren just somehow instinctively know how to speak whatever language the person does, or are the spren in fact not actually speaking in a language at all, but rather in some sense in pure thought, mind to mind, and the language is just the way the person's mind or cognitive aspect or what-have-you interprets the Spren' communication? In other words, is Syl actually objectively speaking in Alethi in the sense that she perceives herself as doing so, or is that just how Kaladin is perceiving her because she's communicating directly with his mind, which communicates in Alethi? I can see it going either way to be honest.
CrazyRioter she/her Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 We discussed this a little on Discord, and I pointed out that there are a lot of spren in Shadesmar that require translation because they DON'T speak Alethi. So I think spren do speak languages,and bonded spren pick up languages from their bondmates because of the Connection between them. So Syl actually does speak Alethi when talking to Kaladin and the others. 2
Fanghur Rahl he/him Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 Yeah I know, but when in Shadesmar I don’t think they are communicating in quite the same way that they are when outside Shadesmar. In Shadesmar I get the impression that the communication is more ‘physical’ for lack of a better term, whereas between a Radiant and their spren it’s directly mind-to-mind. And then there’s Nightblood, whom different people seemingly hear very differently. So it just makes me wonder what the exact mechanics at work here are. I definitely think that connection is involved, but the question is precisely what form that connection manifests in, so to speak. If Syl wanted to communicate with, say, a Scadrian world hopper who had never been to Roshar before, would he hear her in Scadrian? Or would they just not be able to communicate?
+Invocation Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 Spren with bonds speak what their bonds speak, but if all spren spoke all languages, (Oathbringer) Spoiler they wouldn't have needed to have Syl and Pattern translate in Shadesmar while trying to get a ship. 1
Fanghur Rahl he/him Posted January 22, 2019 Author Posted January 22, 2019 So is it that when a spren bonds someone, that connection in some sense ‘imprints’ the person’s language onto the spren?
+Invocation Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 4 hours ago, Fanghur Rahl said: So is it that when a spren bonds someone, that connection in some sense ‘imprints’ the person’s language onto the spren? Probably via the increased Connection of the bond, yeah. 1
Fanghur Rahl he/him Posted January 22, 2019 Author Posted January 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Invocation said: Probably via the increased Connection of the bond, yeah. Okay, that makes sense.
Subvisual Haze Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 6 hours ago, Fanghur Rahl said: So is it that when a spren bonds someone, that connection in some sense ‘imprints’ the person’s language onto the spren? I would actually guess they're bypassing spoken language and translation entirely and instead communicating ideas directly to one another. Similar to how Dalinar is able to communicate fluently with the Azish. Dalinar "hears" them speaking Alethi, they "hear" Dalinar speaking Azish.
Recommended Posts