Author’s Note Concerning Language and Words

The reader will no doubt note that The Two Dragons is a work written in English.  As such, English words are used to describe the people, places, and events in the story.  Therefore it appears that the people in the story speak some form of English, a notion possibly supported by slang which may appear British.  This is not the case.  The language for most characters in the story is Brech.  Brech is not English and English in not Brech.  However, of the many languages at use in our world, English is probably closest to Brech, and the material culture of England and America, particularly of Victorian/Edwardian England, is probably closest to that of the United Kingdom of Greater Brechalon.  Likewise Freedonian is not German and Mirsannan is not French.  I have used those languages, because of the languages available to me; they probably reflect the flavor of Freedonian and Mirsannan languages and cultures best.

The vocabularies of our languages are filled with indicators of people and places in our collective cultures.  Many times this is forgotten.  For instance, few remember that Port, the fortified wine, derives its name from Portugal.  Somewhat more obvious is the fact that prehistoric utahraptors were first uncovered in Utah.  The world of The Steel Dragon is filled with creatures that, for us, are extinct and only seen in fossilized form.  Senta can see creatures walking, flying, or swimming around her world that we must travel to a museum to see.  Rather than supply the Brech names for these creatures, which would be meaningless, or give long descriptions of their specifications, I have simply used their common English names.  So, while the people of Birmisia would have no idea where Utah is, they have a very clear idea of what a utahraptor is.