Is Thieves' Cant a language?Are there any other rule mechanics that could grant Thieves' Cant?Can Thieves'...

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Is Thieves' Cant a language?


Are there any other rule mechanics that could grant Thieves' Cant?Can Thieves' Cant be used across languages?Can Thieves' Cant be understood without a level in Rogue?Why doesn't the Criminal background give Thieves' Cant?Would other PCs eventually notice two rogues talking in Thieves' Cant?Except for PC Rogues, who else knows thieves’ cant?Does Comprehend Languages allow one to understand Thieves' Cant?Every language character optimizationCan you choose a dialect of a language instead of the whole language?Can Thieves' Cant be used across languages?What justification could there be for a PC learning thieves' cant when multiclassing Rogue?Are there any other rule mechanics that could grant Thieves' Cant?






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17












$begingroup$


In a recent question there was some confusion as to whether or not Thieves' Cant is a language, a class feature, or both.



Which is it?










share|improve this question









$endgroup$










  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday


















17












$begingroup$


In a recent question there was some confusion as to whether or not Thieves' Cant is a language, a class feature, or both.



Which is it?










share|improve this question









$endgroup$










  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday














17












17








17





$begingroup$


In a recent question there was some confusion as to whether or not Thieves' Cant is a language, a class feature, or both.



Which is it?










share|improve this question









$endgroup$




In a recent question there was some confusion as to whether or not Thieves' Cant is a language, a class feature, or both.



Which is it?







dnd-5e class-feature languages






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 2 days ago









illustroillustro

12.8k2 gold badges42 silver badges93 bronze badges




12.8k2 gold badges42 silver badges93 bronze badges











  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday














  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    $endgroup$
    – illustro
    2 days ago










  • $begingroup$
    related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday








1




1




$begingroup$
@PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
$endgroup$
– illustro
2 days ago




$begingroup$
@PJRZ just because a question might have a similar answer (or part of an answer) to another question, doesn't make it a duplicate question. Asking what is the maximum damage of a Great Axe is not the same as asking which is better, a Great Axe vs a Great Sword, but both questions will have an answer with a similar calculation
$endgroup$
– illustro
2 days ago












$begingroup$
Let us continue this discussion in chat.
$endgroup$
– illustro
2 days ago




$begingroup$
Let us continue this discussion in chat.
$endgroup$
– illustro
2 days ago












$begingroup$
related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday




$begingroup$
related rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/132288
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















33












$begingroup$

Thieves' cant is not a language but it's treated as one mechanically



It's a class feature (though I'm not sure anyone's debating this) because it's detailed in the list of a Rogue's class features. Beyond that...



I think you've hit one of those places where the game rules have attempted to fit a round peg into a square hole. Mechanically the way the rules treat thieves' cant (as a language) appears to jar slightly with the way you'd most likely rationalise it being used narratively.



It's referred to explicitly as a langauge in a couple of places:




With your DM’s permission, you can instead choose a language from the Exotic Languages table or a secret language, such as thieves’ cant or the tongue of druids. Basic rules



You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain organizations or political affiliations to communicate. DMG




It's worth noting that both of these quotes refer to it as a 'secret language and that it is not listed in either the standard or the exotic language lists. This is support for it sitting slightly uncertainly alongside other normal languages.



It's a written language:




You understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Basic rules




So, these symbols are portrayed as an international code known to thieves - not in any way localised.



But it's not a spoken language:




During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. Basic rules




The fact that thieves' cant allows you to hide these messages 'in a seemingly normal conversation' means that it isn't itself an alternative spoken language.



Proficiency in thieves' cant allows a thief to have an apparently innocuous conversation in Common (or any other spoken language) while employing a series of techniques in order to communicate a specific message, entirely unbeknownst to unenlightened listeners. If they were speaking either another language entirely, a variant of Pig Latin, or even something like cockney rhyming slang, then it would not appear to be 'a seemingly normal conversation' to a casual observer - even if they'd be none the wiser to the words actual significance.



So is thieves' cant a language?



Well, yes and no.



Yes - mechanically the game treats it as one, referring to it within lists of languages on a couple of occasions - you can even take it as a language option if your DM allows. It also has elements of a basic written language, as it's able to convey 'short simple messages' through signs and symbols. And understanding of these symbols is not apparently in any way localised - unlike a real world cant or argot.



However, No, it's not a language in the plainest sense. It cannot be spoken on its own but relies on the thief speaking another language while applying a series of verbal techniques in order to disguise their true meaning. Thieves' cant can apparently be applied to a conversation in Gnomish or Abyssal just as easily as one in Common and it therefore must be considered more of an array of obfuscating oratory techniques than any kind of linguistic dialect.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
    $endgroup$
    – Justin Time
    2 days ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
    $endgroup$
    – Jasen
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
    $endgroup$
    – the dark wanderer
    3 hours ago



















9












$begingroup$

It's a class feature and not a language




Thieves’ Cant



During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.



In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.




Linguistically, Thieves' Cant is a cant (unsurprisingly) or argot. Its use in D&D is based on the real-life thieves' cant used in Britain originating in the 14th century and popularised in Elizabethan literature.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$











  • 3




    $begingroup$
    The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
    $endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    2 days ago














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2 Answers
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2 Answers
2






active

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active

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active

oldest

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33












$begingroup$

Thieves' cant is not a language but it's treated as one mechanically



It's a class feature (though I'm not sure anyone's debating this) because it's detailed in the list of a Rogue's class features. Beyond that...



I think you've hit one of those places where the game rules have attempted to fit a round peg into a square hole. Mechanically the way the rules treat thieves' cant (as a language) appears to jar slightly with the way you'd most likely rationalise it being used narratively.



It's referred to explicitly as a langauge in a couple of places:




With your DM’s permission, you can instead choose a language from the Exotic Languages table or a secret language, such as thieves’ cant or the tongue of druids. Basic rules



You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain organizations or political affiliations to communicate. DMG




It's worth noting that both of these quotes refer to it as a 'secret language and that it is not listed in either the standard or the exotic language lists. This is support for it sitting slightly uncertainly alongside other normal languages.



It's a written language:




You understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Basic rules




So, these symbols are portrayed as an international code known to thieves - not in any way localised.



But it's not a spoken language:




During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. Basic rules




The fact that thieves' cant allows you to hide these messages 'in a seemingly normal conversation' means that it isn't itself an alternative spoken language.



Proficiency in thieves' cant allows a thief to have an apparently innocuous conversation in Common (or any other spoken language) while employing a series of techniques in order to communicate a specific message, entirely unbeknownst to unenlightened listeners. If they were speaking either another language entirely, a variant of Pig Latin, or even something like cockney rhyming slang, then it would not appear to be 'a seemingly normal conversation' to a casual observer - even if they'd be none the wiser to the words actual significance.



So is thieves' cant a language?



Well, yes and no.



Yes - mechanically the game treats it as one, referring to it within lists of languages on a couple of occasions - you can even take it as a language option if your DM allows. It also has elements of a basic written language, as it's able to convey 'short simple messages' through signs and symbols. And understanding of these symbols is not apparently in any way localised - unlike a real world cant or argot.



However, No, it's not a language in the plainest sense. It cannot be spoken on its own but relies on the thief speaking another language while applying a series of verbal techniques in order to disguise their true meaning. Thieves' cant can apparently be applied to a conversation in Gnomish or Abyssal just as easily as one in Common and it therefore must be considered more of an array of obfuscating oratory techniques than any kind of linguistic dialect.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
    $endgroup$
    – Justin Time
    2 days ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
    $endgroup$
    – Jasen
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
    $endgroup$
    – the dark wanderer
    3 hours ago
















33












$begingroup$

Thieves' cant is not a language but it's treated as one mechanically



It's a class feature (though I'm not sure anyone's debating this) because it's detailed in the list of a Rogue's class features. Beyond that...



I think you've hit one of those places where the game rules have attempted to fit a round peg into a square hole. Mechanically the way the rules treat thieves' cant (as a language) appears to jar slightly with the way you'd most likely rationalise it being used narratively.



It's referred to explicitly as a langauge in a couple of places:




With your DM’s permission, you can instead choose a language from the Exotic Languages table or a secret language, such as thieves’ cant or the tongue of druids. Basic rules



You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain organizations or political affiliations to communicate. DMG




It's worth noting that both of these quotes refer to it as a 'secret language and that it is not listed in either the standard or the exotic language lists. This is support for it sitting slightly uncertainly alongside other normal languages.



It's a written language:




You understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Basic rules




So, these symbols are portrayed as an international code known to thieves - not in any way localised.



But it's not a spoken language:




During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. Basic rules




The fact that thieves' cant allows you to hide these messages 'in a seemingly normal conversation' means that it isn't itself an alternative spoken language.



Proficiency in thieves' cant allows a thief to have an apparently innocuous conversation in Common (or any other spoken language) while employing a series of techniques in order to communicate a specific message, entirely unbeknownst to unenlightened listeners. If they were speaking either another language entirely, a variant of Pig Latin, or even something like cockney rhyming slang, then it would not appear to be 'a seemingly normal conversation' to a casual observer - even if they'd be none the wiser to the words actual significance.



So is thieves' cant a language?



Well, yes and no.



Yes - mechanically the game treats it as one, referring to it within lists of languages on a couple of occasions - you can even take it as a language option if your DM allows. It also has elements of a basic written language, as it's able to convey 'short simple messages' through signs and symbols. And understanding of these symbols is not apparently in any way localised - unlike a real world cant or argot.



However, No, it's not a language in the plainest sense. It cannot be spoken on its own but relies on the thief speaking another language while applying a series of verbal techniques in order to disguise their true meaning. Thieves' cant can apparently be applied to a conversation in Gnomish or Abyssal just as easily as one in Common and it therefore must be considered more of an array of obfuscating oratory techniques than any kind of linguistic dialect.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
    $endgroup$
    – Justin Time
    2 days ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
    $endgroup$
    – Jasen
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
    $endgroup$
    – the dark wanderer
    3 hours ago














33












33








33





$begingroup$

Thieves' cant is not a language but it's treated as one mechanically



It's a class feature (though I'm not sure anyone's debating this) because it's detailed in the list of a Rogue's class features. Beyond that...



I think you've hit one of those places where the game rules have attempted to fit a round peg into a square hole. Mechanically the way the rules treat thieves' cant (as a language) appears to jar slightly with the way you'd most likely rationalise it being used narratively.



It's referred to explicitly as a langauge in a couple of places:




With your DM’s permission, you can instead choose a language from the Exotic Languages table or a secret language, such as thieves’ cant or the tongue of druids. Basic rules



You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain organizations or political affiliations to communicate. DMG




It's worth noting that both of these quotes refer to it as a 'secret language and that it is not listed in either the standard or the exotic language lists. This is support for it sitting slightly uncertainly alongside other normal languages.



It's a written language:




You understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Basic rules




So, these symbols are portrayed as an international code known to thieves - not in any way localised.



But it's not a spoken language:




During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. Basic rules




The fact that thieves' cant allows you to hide these messages 'in a seemingly normal conversation' means that it isn't itself an alternative spoken language.



Proficiency in thieves' cant allows a thief to have an apparently innocuous conversation in Common (or any other spoken language) while employing a series of techniques in order to communicate a specific message, entirely unbeknownst to unenlightened listeners. If they were speaking either another language entirely, a variant of Pig Latin, or even something like cockney rhyming slang, then it would not appear to be 'a seemingly normal conversation' to a casual observer - even if they'd be none the wiser to the words actual significance.



So is thieves' cant a language?



Well, yes and no.



Yes - mechanically the game treats it as one, referring to it within lists of languages on a couple of occasions - you can even take it as a language option if your DM allows. It also has elements of a basic written language, as it's able to convey 'short simple messages' through signs and symbols. And understanding of these symbols is not apparently in any way localised - unlike a real world cant or argot.



However, No, it's not a language in the plainest sense. It cannot be spoken on its own but relies on the thief speaking another language while applying a series of verbal techniques in order to disguise their true meaning. Thieves' cant can apparently be applied to a conversation in Gnomish or Abyssal just as easily as one in Common and it therefore must be considered more of an array of obfuscating oratory techniques than any kind of linguistic dialect.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



Thieves' cant is not a language but it's treated as one mechanically



It's a class feature (though I'm not sure anyone's debating this) because it's detailed in the list of a Rogue's class features. Beyond that...



I think you've hit one of those places where the game rules have attempted to fit a round peg into a square hole. Mechanically the way the rules treat thieves' cant (as a language) appears to jar slightly with the way you'd most likely rationalise it being used narratively.



It's referred to explicitly as a langauge in a couple of places:




With your DM’s permission, you can instead choose a language from the Exotic Languages table or a secret language, such as thieves’ cant or the tongue of druids. Basic rules



You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain organizations or political affiliations to communicate. DMG




It's worth noting that both of these quotes refer to it as a 'secret language and that it is not listed in either the standard or the exotic language lists. This is support for it sitting slightly uncertainly alongside other normal languages.



It's a written language:




You understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Basic rules




So, these symbols are portrayed as an international code known to thieves - not in any way localised.



But it's not a spoken language:




During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. Basic rules




The fact that thieves' cant allows you to hide these messages 'in a seemingly normal conversation' means that it isn't itself an alternative spoken language.



Proficiency in thieves' cant allows a thief to have an apparently innocuous conversation in Common (or any other spoken language) while employing a series of techniques in order to communicate a specific message, entirely unbeknownst to unenlightened listeners. If they were speaking either another language entirely, a variant of Pig Latin, or even something like cockney rhyming slang, then it would not appear to be 'a seemingly normal conversation' to a casual observer - even if they'd be none the wiser to the words actual significance.



So is thieves' cant a language?



Well, yes and no.



Yes - mechanically the game treats it as one, referring to it within lists of languages on a couple of occasions - you can even take it as a language option if your DM allows. It also has elements of a basic written language, as it's able to convey 'short simple messages' through signs and symbols. And understanding of these symbols is not apparently in any way localised - unlike a real world cant or argot.



However, No, it's not a language in the plainest sense. It cannot be spoken on its own but relies on the thief speaking another language while applying a series of verbal techniques in order to disguise their true meaning. Thieves' cant can apparently be applied to a conversation in Gnomish or Abyssal just as easily as one in Common and it therefore must be considered more of an array of obfuscating oratory techniques than any kind of linguistic dialect.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday









V2Blast

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33.6k5 gold badges123 silver badges210 bronze badges










answered 2 days ago









TiggerousTiggerous

15.2k4 gold badges68 silver badges120 bronze badges




15.2k4 gold badges68 silver badges120 bronze badges















  • $begingroup$
    Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
    $endgroup$
    – Justin Time
    2 days ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
    $endgroup$
    – Jasen
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
    $endgroup$
    – the dark wanderer
    3 hours ago


















  • $begingroup$
    Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
    $endgroup$
    – Justin Time
    2 days ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
    $endgroup$
    – Jasen
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
    $endgroup$
    – the dark wanderer
    3 hours ago
















$begingroup$
Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
$endgroup$
– Justin Time
2 days ago




$begingroup$
Hmm... might it be worth comparing to stereotypical spy speech?
$endgroup$
– Justin Time
2 days ago




2




2




$begingroup$
uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
$endgroup$
– Jasen
yesterday




$begingroup$
uh, convestation is speech. so it is also a spoken steganography,
$endgroup$
– Jasen
yesterday












$begingroup$
Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
Unlike normal stenography techniques, though, knowing another language is not required to understand Cant. If a thief only speaks common and his partner only speaks Abyssal there's nothing that would seem to prevent their communication via Cant , similar to if it were an additional spoken language, despite the fact that outsiders apparently think the pair are having a normal bilingual conversation or something.
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
3 hours ago













9












$begingroup$

It's a class feature and not a language




Thieves’ Cant



During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.



In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.




Linguistically, Thieves' Cant is a cant (unsurprisingly) or argot. Its use in D&D is based on the real-life thieves' cant used in Britain originating in the 14th century and popularised in Elizabethan literature.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$











  • 3




    $begingroup$
    The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
    $endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    2 days ago
















9












$begingroup$

It's a class feature and not a language




Thieves’ Cant



During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.



In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.




Linguistically, Thieves' Cant is a cant (unsurprisingly) or argot. Its use in D&D is based on the real-life thieves' cant used in Britain originating in the 14th century and popularised in Elizabethan literature.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$











  • 3




    $begingroup$
    The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
    $endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    2 days ago














9












9








9





$begingroup$

It's a class feature and not a language




Thieves’ Cant



During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.



In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.




Linguistically, Thieves' Cant is a cant (unsurprisingly) or argot. Its use in D&D is based on the real-life thieves' cant used in Britain originating in the 14th century and popularised in Elizabethan literature.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



It's a class feature and not a language




Thieves’ Cant



During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.



In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.




Linguistically, Thieves' Cant is a cant (unsurprisingly) or argot. Its use in D&D is based on the real-life thieves' cant used in Britain originating in the 14th century and popularised in Elizabethan literature.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday









V2Blast

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33.6k5 gold badges123 silver badges210 bronze badges










answered 2 days ago









Dale MDale M

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121k26 gold badges312 silver badges532 bronze badges











  • 3




    $begingroup$
    The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
    $endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    2 days ago














  • 3




    $begingroup$
    The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
    $endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    2 days ago








3




3




$begingroup$
The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
$endgroup$
– Michael Seifert
2 days ago




$begingroup$
The "secret signs and symbols" also have parallels with hobo signs.
$endgroup$
– Michael Seifert
2 days ago


















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