Languages/Sylphic

See also: Languages and Sylph

Sylphs are one of the few beast tribes to have effectively renounced their ancestral tongue in favor of the language of those who took refuge in their domain—namely the founders of Gridania. Since the settlers' arrival, the sylphs have spoken in Eorzean, not only when communicating with the Hyur or the Elezen, but even amongst themselves. As to why the race was so quick to give up what can be considered part of their cultural heritage has puzzled scholars for decades, though one belief is that the sylphs do not place as much importance on the past as most civilizations, choosing instead to take advantage of the opportunities that the present offers. Quickly embracing the language of the outsiders ensured the "invaders" saw the sylphs in a favorable eye, and in turn protected them from any hostilities.

As the sylphs have no writing, the languages the tribe spoke before the arrival of the Black Shroud’s current inhabitants are all but lost, the only remaining passages found in songs sung and passed down by Sylphland elders. Vestiges, however, of one former language—Old High Sylphic—still exhibit themselves in the sylphs' use of their adopted tongue. For example, the sylphs do not employ traditional personal pronouns—such as I, you, or she—and instead replaces them with the term “one” such as “this one” for the first person, and “wicked ones” or “adventuring ones” for second and third.

While the advent of the Seventh Umbral Era closed the hearts of many a sylph before the Calamity, the tribe was known for their efforts to bring the myriad races of Eorzea together under a common cause—namely, the crystal trade. Founders of the Asherown Consortium, sylphs oft served as mediators between hostile parties, and it was their command of the common tongue that saw many a bloody conflict averted.