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I want to have "Broken Fangs" be the name of a group of Tabaxis in D&D, and I'd like to know how that would be spoken in their language.

However, I'm not sure where to find that information (if it even exists. I tried and wasn't successful) or how to make it up properly (if it doesn't). "Properly" meaning “following guidelines/lore or at least avoiding straying too far from them”.

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    – V2Blast
    Mar 3, 2022 at 17:01

1 Answer 1

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Tabaxi speak Common

Tabaxi as a player race are described in Volo's Guide to Monsters starting on page 113. Their Language trait states:

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Tabaxi NPC statblocks (for example, the tabaxi hunter from Tomb of Annihilation, p. 232) confirms this:

Languages Common plus any one language

So, if you want to follow existing guidelines, rules as written, the name of their group would be literally "Broken Fangs" in Common.

That should not stop you, however, if you want to change this. It's your world. If you find it cooler and more fun to have Tabaxi that speak their own language, you can be creative and make something up yourself.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Tabaxi did have their own language in 1e (as mentioned in the Fiend Folio) but that language was never described. In the Forgotten Realms, cat-people Tabaxi (as opposed to human-tribe Tabaxi, who do have a Tabaxi language but are entirely unrelated) don't have a native language but they do speak a form of Payit, a Maztican language. Payit also hasn't been described in any detail but Maztica is roughly inspired by Central and South American cultures, so one could look to the historical languages of those regions as example or inspiration for what a Tabaxi language might be. \$\endgroup\$
    – Carcer
    Mar 3, 2022 at 9:23
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Carcer, that's a lot of insightful info, thank you for sharing it! (I probably would have had fun with the players just making cat noises...) \$\endgroup\$
    – Nobody the Hobgoblin
    Mar 3, 2022 at 9:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ I think adding that to your answer would be a nice addition! It isn't really a standalone answer but is worth keeping for posterity :) I really tried to put a cat pun in, but scratched. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Mar 3, 2022 at 16:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ For reference, some of that info about FR tabaxi from past editions is detailed in the Forgotten Realms wiki page on tabaxi (with citations): forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tabaxi#Language \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Mar 3, 2022 at 16:52

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