I'm going to throw this out here because I just wrote these moves yesterday for my own game:
If you are a Bard, Cleric, a Wizard or a noble, you are educated, but have no trade skill. You can, read and write well in the local language, trade pidgin, and an ancient language. What is the ancient language called? What else can you say about it?
For my group's elf wizard:
You are educated, but you have no trade skill. You can also, read and write in Elvish, Ancient Elvish, just fine. You can speak the local language and pidgin just fine, but write them poorly.
You can keep your language skills as is, OR roll +INT: On a 10+ pick two (you can pick the same one twice), on a 7-9 pick one:
• you are also fluent in another language. Name it.
• you can choose two more languages you read, speak and write. Name them.
• you gain no new language skills, but your current language skills are excellent, poetic, etc.
On a miss, your writing skill is poor.
If you are a commoner Thief or Fighter, etc., you have a trade skill if you want one. If so, what is it?
Commoners/the lesser educated: You can speak pidgin and the local language. Roll +INT: On a 10+ roll on the table above or choose 3:
• you can read and write pidgin. Tell us how you learned it.
• you can read and write the local language. Tell us how you learned it.
• you can speak another language. What is it? Tell us how you learned it.
• you can read and write another language. What is it? Tell us how you learned it.
On a 7-9, choose one:
• you can read and write one of the languages you speak. Which one?. Tell us how you learned it.
• you can read and write only poorly in both pidgin and the local language. Tell us how you learned them.
• you can speak another language or read another language. What is it?
On a miss, pick one:
• you can read a little and make your mark, in pidgin or the local language, but can't write much beyond that.
• you can't read or write at all, but you can choose another trade skill.
Admittedly, it is a bit convoluted. So, before I presented these moves to my group, I also allowed them to opt out and just tell me what languages the know, which I think is fine, but if they choose to roll, they should keep it.
This is just part of the fiction. They can learn a language in the game if they study one or have good exposure to one.