More or less what Pundit said, and I've never been in a group that used them, because most people agreed;).

For me to use alignment languages, they'd have to be something like Latin (or rather, Aramaic - you know, the language Jesus actually spoke:D), Hebrew, Arabic, Sanscrit, The Secret Language of the Temple of Ksarul, Old Realm, and such others. They would be possible to learn, but rare, because they'd only be studied by learned priests, rich men and women, and adventurers, even if the local languages were like Vulgar Latin (Sermo Vulgaris), a contemporary, bastardized form of them that's no longer mutually intelligible.

Alignment tongues make sense if you think of them (as they are, actually) as language of different philosophies.

Say you have two libertarians talking to each other. They will understand various points and references to libertarian philosophy. On the other hand, if one tried to talk to an intersectional feminist, then they would be mutually unintelligible.

Are these things impossible to learn? No, but on the same time, if you aren't a true believer, you would probably not be that interested and not remember fine points, or lose your temper. There's a science-fiction novel by F. Paul Wilson (a libertarian) where the hero is being chased by statists who are rioting and is able to seek shelter (of sorts) from fellow libertarians by speaking to them with a few bits of shared philosophy. That to me is a pretty good depiction of an alignment tongue.

But less abstractly, bear in mind in the D&D universe (whichever one except Dark Sun), gods and devils and what not are literally real and are constantly talking to and directing their minions. None of this hands off stuff like in the real world which has still managed to create quite a lot of fanatics. We're talking real, actual gods acting like Clash of the Titans turned to to 11. Is it really strange that the differing factions would have their own codes to talk to their own followers and allies?

Quote from: JeremyR;952555Alignment tongues make sense if you think of them (as they are, actually) as language of different philosophies.

Say you have two libertarians talking to each other. They will understand various points and references to libertarian philosophy. On the other hand, if one tried to talk to an intersectional feminist, then they would be mutually unintelligible.

Except neither of those things is a usable language unto itself.  They're just ways of talking about things within another language.  A German-speaking libertarian and a Chinese-speaking libertarian will still be mutually unintelligible.

I've seen several explanations for these by Gary over on the Dragonsfoot forums, in his Q&A threads.

I get the intent. Your alignment had spiritual ramifications that were larger than just a mental knowledge base about words, and part of it was expressing concepts that resonated with the larger tenents of that alignment. But I don't think Alignments were ever made to really line up with RL religions that shared the same alignment, or the other complexities that came with it. It must have been a concept he liked though, as it sat there in multiple editions for quite some time. Ultimately, it's a concept that didn't resonate with a lot of gamers, and could have been a common point of ridicule or confusion that lead to the idea being dropped.

I tried using them in play a few times, but could never make them work in a way the group found sensible.

Just search this forum. I already talked at length on this subject on at least two topics.

We've went in depth into signs, symbols, gestures, etc. We've went into depth of shibboleths, dialect, shared parent language, patois, pidgin, etc. We've covered how "language" as vernacular has to do heavier lifting beyond "language" as jargon. I even gave an example in practice through Spanish/Muslim & French/Christian association.

Go search, the topics beforehand were pretty thorough and well done on this topic.

Two things I've always disliked about the default universe of D&D: nearly all humanoids have infravision; alignment languages (along with the fact that demi-humans often know a billion languages).

The other advantage to alignment languages is that you don't have to decide of kobolds speak goblin or draconic, or shit like that.

Like other things in OD&D it may not make "sense" but it enhances a certain style of play.

Quote from: JeremyR;952555Alignment tongues make sense if you think of them (as they are, actually) as language of different philosophies.

Say you have two libertarians talking to each other. They will understand various points and references to libertarian philosophy. On the other hand, if one tried to talk to an intersectional feminist, then they would be mutually unintelligible.

And if they were presented in that way, as a philosophical lingo the way that Thieves' Cant is a professional lingo, then it would make sense.  But that's not how they're presented.

Anyways, two people from different parts of the world that both believe in "law" and "good" will not speak the same talking points.  If D&D made 'religious languages" or "allegiance languages" or something like that, it would be fine.