Races and their real-life equivalents

[Linkedblade]

Interesting analysis, however, I always thought of Kul Tiras as Victorian England. Boralus just has that Victorian era aesthetic.

I don't see Blood Elves as Korean. Their architecture and interiors are definitely inspired by the Arabic world. Even the new jewelry options for females has an arab vibe to it. I also didn't know concubines were common among Blood Elves? I thought it was just Illidan who had a lair with Blood Elf prostitutes.

All the races are an amalgam of multiple groups irl. The older night elf architecture is clearly ancient Roman/Greek inspired. While their language is more arabic/islamic. "Ishnu'allah" and the newer druidic night elf architecture is Asian influenced.

High elf/blood elf is clearly dome and teardrop shaped with smooth stone. That seems more islamic or perhaps Russian. But the language being close to the night elves the accent sounds more European or even american.

[Frontenac]

The Spanish also had sailors of sort:
[/snip]
(Assassin's Creed: Black Flag)

Of course they had. But I was refering more to the time period. And Kul Tirans are mostly based off the Brits of that period because, well, their accents are British and their names are British. The storyline in Norwington Manor was probably the most "tally-ho!" British thing I have seen in this game. I mean that guy couldn't be more posh. The sea shanty "Daughter of the Sea" sounded British. Drustvar was like a British Hammer Production movie. The "Spanish helmet," called a "morion", was also used during the Renaissance by English pikemen:



Really, I fail to see anything Spanish in Kul Tiras' landscape or its people.

[Beloren]

All the races are an amalgam of multiple groups irl. The older night elf architecture is clearly ancient Roman/Greek inspired. While their language is more arabic/islamic. "Ishnu'allah" and the newer druidic night elf architecture is Asian influenced..

‘alah is the only similar thing to Islam, the language sounds nothing like Arabic and the meaning is totally different.

However it is the same moon god deity, predecessor to Islam and incorporated into it, so there are parallels there. There is no translation for Allah, the entity is worshipped as God by its followers but it is very specifically called Allah predating Islam. I think Allah was redefined by Muhammad into what Muslims worldwide believe. And I think it bears some relation to what is Elune.

But don’t take my word for it.

[Frontenac]

‘alah is the only similar thing to Islam, the language sounds nothing like Arabic and the meaning is totally different.

However it is the same moon god deity, predecessor to Islam and incorporated into it, so there are parallels there. There is no translation for Allah, the entity is worshipped as God by its followers but it is very specifically called Allah predating Islam. I think Allah was redefined by Muhammad into what Muslims worldwide believe. And I think it bears some relation to what is Elune.

But don’t take my word for it.

Allah simply means "God". It is related to other semitic words as El, Elah, Elohim and it was used to name the supreme divinity of a pantheon. In monothesitic religions, it was used for God alone. Given names like Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Daniel, Israel, Immanuel, Ezeckiel, etc. are all about God. "Elune" comes from the D&D goddess of the Moon Selûne, which itself is a deformation of Selene, greek goddess of the Moon. Also, in French, the Moon is called "la Lune."

[Isilrien]

‘alah is the only similar thing to Islam, the language sounds nothing like Arabic and the meaning is totally different.

However it is the same moon god deity, predecessor to Islam and incorporated into it, so there are parallels there. There is no translation for Allah, the entity is worshipped as God by its followers but it is very specifically called Allah predating Islam. I think Allah was redefined by Muhammad into what Muslims worldwide believe. And I think it bears some relation to what is Elune.

But don’t take my word for it.

This is wild speculation as far as the moon god and Islam and no scholar worth their salt could reasonably suggest anything like this or get away with arguing that in the academic community. While one common symbol of Islam is the crescent moon, this symbol has nothing to do with Allah or your claim that it references a pre-Islamic moon god (there were *many* gods in that region, by the way). Since this crescent appears in Islamic architecture and some flags, the NE use of the crescent echoes Islamic use in architecture but it's only a poor echo or allusion; it's not a one-to-one correlation. (Tangent: As to why the crescent appears in Islamic architecture, many argue that this references the lunar calendar and the start of Ramadan, which celebrates and commemorates in turn the original revelation to Muhammed. Every month, and particularly Ramadan, begins when the first sliver of moon is seen in the night sky.)

Thank you, Frontenac, for explaining what "Allah" means in Arabic.

I can read the Qur'an and had to learn how to recite portions of it for a class in graduate school, so I'd say with some measure of confidence that some of the word *sounds* in NE language are similar to Arabic. The meaning doesn't have to match and rarely does in any fantasy language that is based on a real language (Tolkein's strains of elvish, for example).

[username993720]

Of course they had. But I was refering more to the time period. And Kul Tirans are mostly based off the Brits of that period because, well, their accents are British and their names are British. The storyline in Norwington Manor was probably the most "tally-ho!" British thing I have seen in this game. I mean that guy couldn't be more posh. The sea shanty "Daughter of the Sea" sounded British. Drustvar was like a British Hammer Production movie. The "Spanish helmet," called a "morion", was also used during the Renaissance by English pikemen:



Really, I fail to see anything Spanish in Kul Tiras' landscape or its people.

I can't give British ethnicity to every race. That would mean that the Gilnean Worgen, the Void elves and the Kul Tirans are all british because of their accents. But, i will research more into Kul Tirans to see if you're right.

[Vaedan]

But, the Gilnean Worgen are already established as Victorian England-era inspired:



Boralus architecture has similarities with that of Kezan, does that mean they are the same?:

Gilneas is definitely victorian England. Kul Tiras definitely hits English vibes for me too, but more those of great industrial revolution. I'd say that Gilneas is based more on fancy cities where middle-upper class resided, while Kul Tiras is centered around industrial centers.

The only thing that points to Spain is armor style of Boralus guards. Both Britain and Spain had powerful navies, so I guess they decided to combine themes from both to invoke feeling of nautical superpower. Britain vibes are way more dominant though.

[Beloren]

Allah simply means "God". It is related to other semitic words as El, Elah, Elohim and it was used to name the supreme divinity of a pantheon. In monothesitic religions, it was used for God alone. Given names like Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Daniel, Israel, Immanuel, Ezeckiel, etc. are all about God. "Elune" comes from the D&D goddess of the Moon Selûne, which itself is a deformation of Selene, greek goddess of the Moon. Also, in French, the Moon is called "la Lune."

That’s not what I was taught. I know that currently people use the word to mean God, like the judeo-Christians, and it is generally accepted by the masses to mean that just as religion cane to mean all faiths where previously it was exclusively a terra related to Christianity/Judaism.

What the masses do isn’t necessarily the truth of the matter, but I specifically remember being astounded that Allah does not translate to the same entity as iGod that the Jews/Christians worship, but is worshipped as God by its followers.

Anyway don’t quote me, do your research, and for crying out loud go a bit further than a google search.

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This is wild speculation as far as the moon god and Islam and no scholar worth their salt could reasonably suggest anything like this or get away with arguing that in the academic community. While one common symbol of Islam is the crescent moon, this symbol has nothing to do with Allah or your claim that it references a pre-Islamic moon god (there were *many* gods in that region, by the way). Since this crescent appears in Islamic architecture and some flags, the NE use of the crescent echoes Islamic use in architecture but it's only a poor echo or allusion; it's not a one-to-one correlation. (Tangent: As to why the crescent appears in Islamic architecture, many argue that this references the lunar calendar and the start of Ramadan, which celebrates and commemorates in turn the original revelation to Muhammed. Every month, and particularly Ramadan, begins when the first sliver of moon is seen in the night sky.)

Thank you, Frontenac, for explaining what "Allah" means in Arabic.

I can read the Qur'an and had to learn how to recite portions of it for a class in graduate school, so I'd say with some measure of confidence that some of the word *sounds* in NE language are similar to Arabic. The meaning doesn't have to match and rarely does in any fantasy language that is based on a real language (Tolkein's strains of elvish, for example).

Okay. I take your word for it. I wasn’t arguing the night elves were similar to Islam, though I have friends who identify with them because of the crescent moons and that very phrase Ishnu’alah being very close Islam. And they love it.

However there is a moon god connection, I am also aware most people including Muslims are not aware of. Anyway gods change names all the time and in some cases even change philosophies and doctrines.

Religions for the most part are man made and they change with man, some are the same but just change names and identifiers, with details mostly routed in folk lore and superstition. Mostly.

[Vargrik]

Night Elves indeed draw from Ancient Greek culture, but also from Celtic (druidism, forests) and, yes, I can see the similarity between their architecture and the Japanese.

[Isilrien]

That’s not what I was taught. I know that currently people use the word to mean God, like the judeo-Christians, and it is generally accepted by the masses to mean that just as religion cane to mean all faiths where previously it was exclusively a terra related to Christianity/Judaism.

What the masses do isn’t necessarily the truth of the matter, but I specifically remember being astounded that Allah does not translate to the same entity as iGod that the Jews/Christians worship, but is worshipped as God by its followers.

Anyway don’t quote me, do your research, and for crying out loud go a bit further than a google search.

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Okay. I take your word for it. I wasn’t arguing the night elves were similar to Islam, though I have friends who identify with them because of the crescent moons and that very phrase Ishnu’alah being very close Islam. And they love it.

However there is a moon god connection, I am also aware most people including Muslims are not aware of. Anyway gods change names all the time and in some cases even change philosophies and doctrines.

Religions for the most part are man made and they change with man, some are the same but just change names and identifiers, with details mostly routed in folk lore and superstition. Mostly.

Again, there is not a moon god connection. Sorry.

[Aucald]

As previously warned, this thread has traipsed into Forbidden Topics territory and will now be closed.