6 Fictional Languages In Movies & TV Shows

Blog
19 September 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House

Star Wars

Even though magical tales and mythical creatures don’t really exist in the real world, these legendary lores do leave us something. Well, they leave us two things: very memorable stories and a catchy, new way of talking. The very memorable stories bind the entire thing and they are always rich and full of strength, wisdom, gumption. The new way of talking is easy to catch because it is easy to hear, but it is also difficult to understand, as this way of speaking is new to our ears. However, this fictional language does stick in our minds. Actually, when it comes to fantasy, everything sticks like glue and fantasy language is just as sticky and distinctive as everything else.

  1. Dothraki:

    Created by David J. Peterson, Dothraki was made for the hit television show Game of Thrones. The creation of Dothraki was based on the phrases from George R.R. Martin’s novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as from other spoken languages like Turkish, Swahili, Russian, Inuktitut, and Estonian.

  2. Lapine:

    Lapine is the name of the interesting language used by the rabbits in the 1972 novel Watership Down. This fictional language was created by author Richard Adams; its name comes from the French word “lapin” which translates to rabbit in English. It is believed that the Lapine language is an easy fictional language to learn and that its sound is influenced by languages like Welsh, Arabic, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish.

  3. Ewokese:

    The small and furry Ewoks speak the fictional language Ewokese. Ewokese first appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The language was created by Ben Burtt, which he based on the Kalmyk Oirat dialect of the Kalmyk people and the Lakota language by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. In an interview, Burtt revealed that he also used other Asian languages, such as those spoken in Tibet, India, and Sri Lanka, to help shape the development of Ewokese.

  4. Atlantean:

    In the Disney movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the people in the lost city of Atlantis spoke Atlantean or Dig Adlantisag. The language was developed by Dr. Marc Okrand. Its writing script was made with the help of John Emerson and it was inspired by the ancient Semitic alphabet. The Atlantean script is written in the boustrophedon style – with the first line written from left to right, the second line from right to left, the third line from left to right, and the pattern goes on line after line from left to right, and right to left. The main source of Atlantean words comes from the Proto-Indo-European language, but it also has other characteristics similar to other languages like Biblical Hebrew, Latin, ancient Chinese, Greek, and other known or reconstructed ancient languages.

  5. Klingon:

    Klingon is also known as Klingonese. At the same time, Klingon was pronounced as Klingonee by a Klingon character (a fictional alien) from the popular science fiction world of Star Trek. The fictional language was designed by American linguist Marc Okrand and its sound was formed by actor James Doohan and producer Jon Povill.

    The first play to ever be performed in Klingon is called A Klingon Christmas Carol and it was based on the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The play was originally a fundraiser event in 2007 by Commedia Beauregard, a theatre company. But as the concept evolved, a new script (still based on the Dickens story) was written by both Christopher Kidder-Mostrom and Sasha Warren, and translations were provided by the Klingon fan groups around the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.

  6. Elvish:

    Elvish, aka Quenderin, comes from the Primitive Quendian, a language of the Elves. This family of many related Elvish languages and dialects is used by the Elves of Middle-earth. These constructed languages, along with their Elvish scripts, were developed by J.R.R. Tolkien. Furthermore, Tolkien designed the vocabulary and grammar for at least 15 of these Elvish languages and dialects, covering the Early, Mid, and Late periods.