The Advanced Thieves' Cant, is a complex language used by master thieves and high thieves' guild officials. The language takes time and practice to learn the extensive vocabulary and the process of forming sentences. As stated on other pages, the advanced form of the Thieves' Cant is used by the elite - common thieves are either too stupid, or impatient to learn the intricacies, and some do not even know of the languages existance. This language is a tool of secrecy and is very rarely found in written form. To learn it, a thief must be taught by a high level guild official - the language is so rarely used, that it is often impossible to "figure out" the language him/herself.
Pronunciation
Vowel sounds in Cant are sounded the same way as in these English words: "a" as in bad; "e" as in bed; "i" as in bid; "o" as in lone; "u" as in suit; and "y" as in sly. Optionally, for easier pronunciation by those accustomed to English, "i" can be sounded like the "e" in see when the "i" appears in the middle or at the end of a word, and the "y" sound is shortened to sound like an "i" if the resulting syllable or word is easier to pronounce that way.
Vowel combinations such as "ai" or "oe" are pronounced by sounding each vowel separately. For instance, the Cant word "laimbo" (twenty) is pronounced la-im-bo and not laym-bo. In speaking the language, all words in Cant are stressed primarily on the first syllable. Many words of four or more syllables will be secondarily stressed on the other odd-numbered syllables if such accenting makes the word more easily distinguished or easier to pronounce.
There is no specific Cant alphabet, because Cant is only rarely encountered in written form. For the purpose of this introduction to the language, the written conventions of the English language are used to "spell" the Cant words. Note that many letters of the English alphabet have no representation in Cant; "c" and "d" are two noteworthy examples.
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