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What Okrand created from there has spawned a dictionary (which he wrote), a Klingon version of “Hamlet,” and the Klingon Language Institute. Klingon creator Okrand’s raw materials were a few commands actor James “Scotty” Doohan barked out in the first “Star Trek” movie. Frommer thinks he is up to about 2,000 now. Martin included in the books that inspired the series and expanded them into a language that has more than 3,500 vocabulary words and is expanding all the time.įrommer’s exotic Na’vi language began with a list of about 30 words created by “Avatar” director Cameron. “When someone like Jim Cameron designs a world where every plant has a Latin name, an English name and a Na’vi name, with that kind of detail, it would be unthinkable for him to say, ‘With the language, anything goes,’” said Frommer, a professor emeritus of clinical management communication at USC.įor “Game of Thrones,” Peterson took the smattering of Dothraki words that author George R.R. And they need a professional to make them sound that way, too.

Whether it is the exotic planet of Pandora that James Cameron created for “Avatar” or the “Game of Thrones” fantasy kingdoms brought to life by HBO, advanced special-effects wizardry make the landscapes look real. But much of the credit for the boom in the ancient art of word-creation probably goes to modern technology. Tolkien, who created multiple imaginary tongues for “The Hobbit” and his “Lord of the Rings” series. The daunting task of creating functional languages to go with fictional worlds goes back at least as far as J.R.R. I don’t think anyone in the language-creation community thought we would have opportunities like this.” Now I’m working on ‘Game of Thrones’ (for HBO) and ‘Defiance’ (for the SyFy Channel). “I figured I would still be teaching English at the community college level. “I never imagined, even as late as five years ago, that I would ever have the opportunity to do something like this,” said Peterson, president of the Language Creation Society. Klingon: “jol yIchu’!” (“Activate the transport beam!”)

Na’vi: “Nari si, ma skxawng! Oeri nga tìmìran sìn kxetse!” (“Watch out, you idiot. Na’vi: There are no bathrooms on Pandora, so Paul Frommer gave us, “Fko tsun fngivä’ peseng?” (“Where can one relieve oneself?”)ĭothraki: “Hash jini atthirarido, hash anha vaddrivak mahrazhes fin kis vallatha anna.” (“If this is a dream, I will kill the man who tries to wake me.”) Impress your otherworldly friends with these Dothraki, Na’vi and Klingon phrases, graciously translated from English by the creators themselves.ĭothraki: “Anha zhilak yera.” Na’vi: “Nga yawne lu oer.” Klingon: Klingons are not likely to say “I love you,” so Marc Okrand suggested “qamuSHa’.” Which means “I don’t hate you.” Close enough. And if you think you’re excited, think how the linguists feel. “But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”įriday night, the men who thought up the words that have launched wedding proposals, T-shirt slogans and “Big Bang Theory” punch lines will discuss the glittering joys and brain-twisting challenges of turning science-fiction dreams into functional languages. “It sounds like such an exaggeration,” said UC San Diego linguistics instructor Grant Goodall, who is moderating the panel. Peterson, the UC San Diego graduate who created the Dothraki language of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Paul Frommer, creator of the Na’vi tongue in “Avatar.” And Marc Okrand, the linguist who expanded the “Star Trek” universe by developing Klingon.ĭothraki! Na’vi! Klingon! Let the Wordsmith Worship begin. Ladies, gentlemen, Hobbits, we present the men of Friday night's “Linguistics Goes to Hollywood” panel: David J. Thank the pop-culture gods that UC San Diego is bringing in a team of cult heroes who can talk us out of our funk. It is awfully quiet out here in Geekville. And don’t get us started on the “Avengers” sequel, which doesn’t begin filming (filming!) until next February.

Comic-Con is a painful eightysomething days away, not that anyone is counting down the milliseconds or anything. The new “Star Trek” movie doesn’t open until May.