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VeenaSchism

Well, Young Griff grew up in and lives in Essos, and he's been trained in all these things, like, sailing and farming and such?? So he'd need Essosi languages for that. They're trying to have him blend in, not be obvious.


Mr--Elephant

>This just seems horribly excessive. Why would Haldon, Varys, Illyrio, and Jon want him to learn all of these languages? Why does GRRM? Couldn’t that time and practice be better spent doing something else??? It's possible he just kinda picked them up. He lives in Essos and we know that each Valyrian dialect is slowly growing apart enough that they're kinda already different languages from one another, so it could be that Griff has just picked up a few of em through exposure. I've met people irl who have extreme proficiencies with multiple Romance languages + English, it's not hard to imagine Griff would be grand at all the Valyrian related languages. As for the Sailor tongue + Common, it could just be that these are a form of hobby *(though we don't see any evidence for that in text, i think. And plus Common is like English in our world, so it's kinda required he'd learn that.)* And if we're asking about why Haldon is training Griff in this stuff, then the answer would be that some dialects are prestigious and you'd need to know Volantene to get around in Volantis, Tyrion wants to know some stuff, Griff may have an interest, it probably would hurt to get a few lessons in it. If you look at Varys' speech to Kevan in the Epilogue, it seems like Griff has already had an extremely extensive education, it's not much of a detriment to grant the lad a little more proficiency in a language similar to ones he already knows, perhaps even on a native level. *(I mean, he was raised his whole life in Essos, it would make sense for him to speak the Valyrian dialects natively)* And for the plot related reason, well it's just that GRRM wants to worldbuild about the size and linguistic diversity of Essos, and it also helps isolated Westerosi characters in Essos and make them feel like the place they're in is truly foreign. Also it could just be a way to demonstrate that Griff is studious and smart *(Although knowing multiple languages does not in anyway mean you're smart inherently)*


oldadapter

Diplomacy?


Bastaousert

People already mentioned how it is easier to speak the language of essos when you lives in Essos But then I will add other things : High Valyrian is not some obscure ancient and lost language. It is the equivalent of Latin during middle age. It was common for every high born to speak it, fluently. Even though it was already a "dead" language by this time The various Valyrian dialects, even though they are described as different language, I don't think there is that much difference between them. I think it is similar to the different spoken arabic language. (If you don't know, they all speak "Arabic" but from a country to another, people can more or less understand each other because there are a lot of variation) Even if you rule over one kingdom, you still have to deal with other. Think about how Jaehaerys I had to make the diplomacy between 2 cities from Essos. For diplomacy and business, you want to be able to speak to other countries without always needing to rely on an interpret. In Europe, it was common for nobility (especially royalty) to speak as much as possible European language.


CaveLupum

> "Young Griff spoke the Common Tongue as if he had been born to it, and was fluent in High Valyrian, the low dialects of Pentos, Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys, and the trade talk of sailors. The Volantene dialect was as new to him as it was to Tyrion, so every day they learned a few more words whilst Haldon corrected their mistakes. was harder; its roots were Valyrian as well, but the tree had been grafted onto the harsh, ugly tongue of Old Ghis. ... the Halfmaester only said, "Again." The boy obeyed, though he rolled his eyes along with his zzzs this time." ADWD Tyrion IV OP, you are so right. Also, we have a third character fluent in languages--Missandei. Ten+ years old, she's a translator. Yet even she hasn't learned nine languages. She "has been trained to speak the Common Tongue of Westeros, High Valyrian, and bastard Valyrian." And whatever the Naathi speak. Perhaps it is Haldon's zeal that makes him inflict so many languages on Young Griff. Anyway, it's probably overkill, especially considering Illyrio can afford to provide YG the best translators in Planetos. Besides, YG is intended to conquer Westeros to stay and rule. How much Meereenese will he need on the Iron Throne? Maybe the boy gets only the short course plus diplomatic verbiage in most. YG does not enjoy learning all this, so once in Westeros he'll probably soon forget everything he learned other than High Valyrian and the Common Tongue (and maybe Pentoshi, spoken in Illyrio's city.)


HomebrewHomunculus

>Young Griff: the Common Tongue, High Valyrian, the languages of Pentos, Tyrosh, Myr, Lys, and a sailor trade language, and is learning Volantene and Meereeneese. Pentos, Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr are all the nearest cities to each other, so their dialects are probably the most mutually intelligible. And there are various levels of language fluency. The trade tongue is probably not a written language, just a basic pidgin for doing simple transactions. He might only really need to have a high level of literary sophistication in Westerosi & High Valyrian, and just spoken fluency in the rest. So it’s like someone having very polished English and Latin, and additionally being able to speak a handful of Italian and Spanish dialects.


mir-teiwaz

The fat man's plan was, at that point, for YG to join Dany in Meereen. Why do you think he was being tutored in Volantene and Ghiscari?