Language token

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Language tokens can be used to adjust existing languages or create a whole new languages. Vanilla language definitions can be found in <Dwarf Fortress>\data\vanilla\vanilla_languages\ within the language_*.txt raw files. Each token is permitted in a specific context.

Note: All language raw files use Code Page 437 encoding, and you should make sure you are editing these files in that format. As many text editors default to UTF-8, some characters with diacritical marks may fail to show properly. Saving one of the default language raw files in this state will overwrite these characters with the Unicode question mark, which will corrupt the file. To fix this replace the file with a clean one downloaded from the distributed version of DF.

	Urist asks...	I want to create a language for my custom civilization. Are there any programs built to support the in-game dictionary?
You can generate a language with DFLang from a list of sample words. You will need to update DFLang's copy of language_words.txt with the most recent version (mirrored here), as new words have been added since the last program release. If you use accent marks or special characters, make sure to save your input file with Code Page 437 encoding. LangCreate is a more limited alternative, but can generate from a smaller sample.

WORD

Token	Arguments	Description
NOUN	singular plural	Begins defining a noun usage of a word.
ADJ	adjective	Begins defining an adjective usage of a word.
PREFIX	prefix	Begins defining a prefix usage of a word.
VERB	present first person present third person preterite past participle present participle	Defines a verb usage of a word.
ADJ_DIST	number 1-7	Determines what order the adjective being defined comes in when in a string of multiple adjectives.
THE_NOUN_SING		Lets the singular noun form of the word be used after "the" ("The X of Y", where X is the word with the tag).
THE_NOUN_PLUR		As above, but with plural ("The Xs of Y").
THE_COMPOUND_NOUN_SING		Lets the singular noun form of the word be used as part of a compound noun after "the" ("The Z-X of Y").
THE_COMPOUND_NOUN_PLUR		As above, but with plural ("The Z-Xs of Y").
THE_COMPOUND_ADJ		Lets the adjective form of the word be used as part of a compound noun after "the" ("The Z-X of Y").
OF_NOUN_SING		Lets the singular noun form of the word be used after "of" ("The Y of X").
OF_NOUN_PLUR		As above, but with plural ("The Y of Xs").
FRONT_COMPOUND_NOUN_SING		Lets the singular noun form of the word be used at the front of a compound noun ("XY", as in surnames).
FRONT_COMPOUND_NOUN_PLUR		As above, but with plural.
REAR_COMPOUND_NOUN_SING		Lets the singular noun form of the word be used at the rear of a compound noun ("YX", as in surnames).
REAR_COMPOUND_NOUN_PLUR		As above, but with plural.
FRONT_COMPOUND_ADJ		Lets the adjective form of the word be used at the front of a compound noun.
REAR_COMPOUND_ADJ		As above, but at the rear instead.
FRONT_COMPOUND_PREFIX		Allows the prefix form to be appended as a prefix to a compound noun.
THE_COMPOUND_PREFIX		Allows the prefix form to be appended as a prefix to a compound noun following "the".
STANDARD_VERB		Allows the verb to be used in a compound noun and for its participles to be used as adjectives.

SYMBOL

Token	Arguments	Description
S_WORD	WORD	Specifies the given WORD (defined in #REDIRECT language_words.txt) as belonging to the symbol being defined. A given word can belong to multiple symbols.

TRANSLATION

Token	Arguments	Description
T_WORD	WORD translation	Specifies a translation from a given WORD (defined in language_words.txt) into the language being defined.

English instead of Dwarven language

You can hack the language files to display English in-game with this regular expression command:

:%s/T_WORD:\([A-Z_ -]*\):[^\]]*\]/T_WORD:\1:\L\1]/

A procedural version can also be found at Lua scripting#Identity language.

See also

• 40d:Language (has expanded explanations of parts of the language system, which seems to still be the same in this version)
• Speech files
• Utilities#Language tools
• Raws
  • language_SYM.txt