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[Tack]

I'd actually assume that low gothic is written the same everywhere because forgeworlds make the guns and ship them out. You've gotta be able to read the 'Ogryn-Proof' stamp on your weapons or else you're in real trouble. No idea where the Uplifting Infantry Primer comes from but I assume they're all written in the same tongue there to. One big freaking printworld.

[Grim Portent]

I imagine they'd be made by regional command's Administratum propogandists, presumably in whatever dialect of Low Gothic is the local Lingua Franca between different worlds.

Of course how you'd teach a Feral Worlder to read, let alone read a language he's probably unfamiliar with is another matter, so I imagine that the more exotic regiments get some leeway when it comes to basic procedure.

[Egan_BW]

I imagine that a common practice is "procedure can get stuffed, and no it's not heresy when we break procedure, and if you disagree you can talk to our guns (the real ones, not the flashlights), unless your guns are bigger than ours in which case okay it's heresy but it was all [insert political enemy here]'s idea."

[smjjames]

Space Marines are all able to talk the same language, yeah.

For Impguard, chances at least their officers will be able to communicate.

Low Gothic is the common language of the Imperium, but many worlds have their own languages (especially feral worlds) or their dialects are different enough they're not mutually intelligible.

How different is our language to the language we spoke 300 years ago? Ships can take that long or longer to get from place to place.

Older colony ships, sure, but I thought the WH40K setting had FTL tech?

[Teneb]

Space Marines are all able to talk the same language, yeah.

For Impguard, chances at least their officers will be able to communicate.

Low Gothic is the common language of the Imperium, but many worlds have their own languages (especially feral worlds) or their dialects are different enough they're not mutually intelligible.

How different is our language to the language we spoke 300 years ago? Ships can take that long or longer to get from place to place.

Older colony ships, sure, but I thought the WH40K setting had FTL tech?

Only the Necrons have FTL. Everyone else has to take shortcuts.

[Egan_BW]

The vast majority of people will probably live their whole lives on one planet, never leaving that gravity well and its associated planetary culture. Simply not a lot of movement around the greater imperium outside more militarized organizations like the guard or machine cult. So you could see how language would quickly become mutually unintelligible between even close planets.

People new to the setting seem to overestimate how homogeneous the imperium's culture is. But you don't get that with an empire the size of a galaxy, where transportation even over "short" distances is both expensive and dangerous.

[Kot]

Older colony ships, sure, but I thought the WH40K setting had FTL tech?

Well, sure, Warp travel does let you get to places faster than physically possible, but it's expensive, dangerous (AS FUCK) and even if it goes right it's often weird. There is a chance of arriving earlier than you departed, a week journey is actually a thousand years trip, and so on. Usually it's within a lifetime to get from one part of Galaxy to another, but it's very uncertain usually. Imperium is connected, but civilians will usually never see any other place, and if they do it's usually pretty deadly for them (becoming a Guardsman). As far as I'm concerned due to the over-reaching long arms of Administratum talk between people of two planets is usually within realm of possible. It's like same language family - less like English and like, whatever Australians speak, and more like Slavic languages. Some are odd, words don't neccesarily mean the same but with a bit of creative hand waving you can get the point accross. Also, presumably most guardsmen understand commands the same, as the Primers usually have same content (there are some variations), and that's the important bit. I think the written word remains roughly the same which helps a lot.

[Dorsidwarf]

Warhammer 40k FTL is extremely dangerous, and the rule of thumb seems to be "the faster you want to get where you're going, the more likely you are to be eaten by demons", which is why the Anime Smurfs just sort of skim in and out of the edges at the cost of being slower than everyone else.


The exception is Necrons, who travel at the speed of plot and didnt seem to get the memo that "ftl and teleporting are supposed to involve the Warp"

[Andres]

whatever Australians speak

We speak English.

[Dorsidwarf]

whatever Australians speak

We speak English.

Australians speak Advanced English (having transcended the barriers of the language to become something greater)

[Rowanas]

The exception is Necrons, who travel at the speed of plot and didnt seem to get the memo that "ftl and teleporting are supposed to involve the Warp"

Yeah, goddamn necrons. We're so magic that we break every rule in the universe, and everyone secretly worships OUR gods now.

Rowan the not-bitter-at-all Mechanicus fanboy.

[Rolan7]

Yeah, for being 100% cut off from the Warp, they have by far the best teleportation technology in the galaxy.  Even Eldar Warp Spiders use the Warp to jump around risking yaknow... Slaanesh.

But I guess the Necrons have tons of technology that would be potentially useful, it's just too advanced/different to reverse engineer.  Stargod magic basically.  The Eldar probably don't *want* it anyway.

[Tack]

Apparently the C'tan drive is pretty crap, so they've just taken a page from the Thousand Sons and just started using the webway.

Y'know, if it wasn't dangerous enough before.

[Egan_BW]

Maybe it's easier for necrons to teleport without using the warp because they don't have souls.

[Hanslanda]

Also judging by the books, especially the Horus Heresy, warp travel is a lot more reliable than you'd think. It does depend on the Gellar Field being functional, but otherwise most travel happens as if warp travel was just extremely efficient FTL that once in a great while tries to eat your soul.

Tl;Dr warp is like airplane. Sure there are crashes and they're very publicized, because "10000 other flights went totally fine!" Is a boring story.