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I know that most Guardsmen speak low gothic, and I believe that officials and governors speak high gothic according to the BL fiction I've read.
What's the difference?
My buddies decided that low gothic is english (or a dialect of english) and high gothic is more like latin.

We also thought that maybe low gothic was like a cockney or lower class British accent, as High gothic is a Higher class British accent

What do you think?

"Low Gothic", as far as I know, is a general term for the thousands upon thousands of similar but distinct world-specific dialects. Some one from one world speaking "Low Gothic" might well be entirely incomprehensible to someone from another world, also speaking "Low Gothic".

High Gothic, on the other hand, is a distinct, universal language used by the Imperial elite and the Adeptus Terra.

That makes sense.

According to the Dark Heresy RPG rulebook, which has entries for both:

High Gothic is the language used by Nobles, Magistrates, Justices, and the Ecclesiarchy in their sermons. Basically, it is just a higher form of Gothic for a more formal setting. It has little to no slang, and is very "proper". It has very little variation, and can be easily understood by all who know the language.

Low Gothic, on the other hand, is the common language used by every-day citizens. It has some slang, but not as much as that used by Under-hivers and the like. For informal settings, it is appropriate for most applications. There are slight accents and variations, but it is largely uniform enough to be understood throughout the Imperium.

Hive Dialect is the lowest of the three. It is used largely by uneducated masses, and is fraught with slang and profanity. It usually pertains to only one hive, or the hives of a single planet.



You and your buddies wouldn't be too far off comparing Low Gothic to English, and High Gothic to Latin. For a current example, think of the Catholic Church. It is common for them to use Latin in their sermons, and English for everyday speaking.

As for a simple accent though, I don't think it is quite that simple.