30 replies to this topic

[Ser Greguh]

So I just noticed that the closing credits to the show features the following quotes:

"Dothraki, Ashai'i, and Skroth languages created by the Language Creation Society and David J Peterson."

Ashai'i and Skroth?  What's up with that?

[Ran]

Skroth is the name given to the language of the white walkers. You hear it in the opening of the first episode -- all that snow-crunching, ice-cracking sound when they're around? That's them having a bit of a chat.

Asshai'i will appear in a later episode. Book spoilers:

Spoiler

I expect they'll be using it in relation to Mirri Maz Duur in some fashion.

[smegma]

I thought I had seen a mention of a White Walker language - glad to know I'm not crazy. So when do we find out what the White Walkers were saying  

[Tywin's bastard]

smegma, on 25 April 2011 - 03:56 PM, said:

I thought I had seen a mention of a White Walker language - glad to know I'm not crazy. So when do we find out what the White Walkers were saying  

I believe that when one throws the head towards Will he's saying "your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries".

[herkles]

If Asshai'i is the language of Ashai then I assume that it would play a large role in this season's end but a larger one in the next season.

Spoiler

Millisandra and Stanniss's story I suspect might involve this language.

[TrueMetis]

Ran, on 25 April 2011 - 12:59 PM, said:

Skroth is the name given to the language of the white walkers. You hear it in the opening of the first episode -- all that snow-crunching, ice-cracking sound when they're around? That's them having a bit of a chat.

What it's an actual language? With real meaning, I thought it was just a bunch of random snow sounds and ice breaking. So how much of the language exists? Is it a full language?

[ingsve]

Thor The Almighty, on 27 April 2011 - 05:30 PM, said:

What it's an actual language? With real meaning, I thought it was just a bunch of random snow sounds and ice breaking. So how much of the language exists? Is it a full language?

I'm not sure what we hear is exactly what was created. Here is what David Peterson said about it: "@gussvenin Yeah. There was an option to use more language-like stuff, but I think what they went with was good."

There has not been anything published about what David created.

[Aedan Stormrage]

I think someone mentioned that the Asshai'i and Skroth language featuring in the first season were not in fact taken from a developed language as happened with Dothraki, as they only needed a little bit of dialogue in those languages. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, that maybe in the second and third seasons they will need to develop some actual Asshai'i and other languages.

I would like to help develop some of the languages, such as Valyrian. But I think David Peterson might already have something developed concerning High Valyrian, as it is going to appear soon enough and being questioned about it he said he couldn't comment, which to me is a possitive.

Edited by Aethan Stormrage, 11 March 2012 - 09:28 PM.

[Tourniquet]

D&D mention Skroth again in their preview interview of Blackwater.

[The Anti-Targ]

I can;t see any other fully developed language being created for the show other than High Valyrian, everyone from the East speaks it. Indeed aren't they supposed to be conversing in High Valyrian in Qarth, at least some of the time?

[Jory]

The Anti-Targ, on 22 May 2012 - 06:11 AM, said:

I can;t see any other fully developed language being created for the show other than High Valyrian, everyone from the East speaks it. Indeed aren't they supposed to be conversing in High Valyrian in Qarth, at least some of the time?

I wish they did, that way I wouldn't have to listen to Xaro's absolutely lifeless delivery.

[The Anti-Targ]

Jory, on 22 May 2012 - 01:44 PM, said:

I wish they did, that way I wouldn't have to listen to Xaro's absolutely lifeless delivery.

Not sure lifeless delivery in High Valyrian would be much of an improvement.

Hopefully at least the folks at Slaver's Bay speak High Valyrian.

[sumpthy]

This may be a little off-topic and probably has been suggested before, but why do they need to create a new language? We can accept that Westerosi and English are exactly the same so why couldn't they just hire a bunch of French or German or Italian etc. actors and have them speak in their native language and say that it's High Valyrian? It would have saved the expense of developing a new language and allowed Qarth to feel a bit unique.

[boojam]

The Anti-Targ, on 22 May 2012 - 06:11 AM, said:

I can;t see any other fully developed language being created for the show other than High Valyrian, everyone from the East speaks it. Indeed aren't they supposed to be conversing in High Valyrian in Qarth, at least some of the time?

High Valyrian intrigues me the most, because it's integral to the story in Storm of Swords. As I remember the Astapori (jerks) Dany has to deal with think she is Westerosi, I can't remember how this came about.
They speak some form of Valyrian , Dany is advised to not let on that she is really a Valyrian and pretend she does not understand, so it's a strategic part of the narrative.

At other time she speaks High Valyrian  some settings and the listeners respond with surprise that she speaks it (no surprise to us, we know she is a Valyrian!). It was a nice touch on George's part.

Edited by boojam, 26 May 2012 - 07:00 AM.

[Aedan Stormrage]

Well not only High Valyrian, but you should develop the different lesser valyrian languages spoken all throughout. Each free city has its own version as different European nations had different romances. I think David will be able to handle this quite well, he even developed a Proto-Dothraki to make his complete Dothraki, so that he could work different dothraki dialects if needed.

I would imagine he'll do the same with High Valyrian and its descendants.

[Cora Stark]

I was thinking Skroth for the Wightwalkers and Ashai'i for the Old tongue (giants, first men)
Just a thought.

[gussvenin]

Cora Stark, on 05 August 2012 - 07:25 PM, said:

I was thinking Skroth for the Wightwalkers and Ashai'i for the Old tongue (giants, first men)
Just a thought.

Skroth was a mockup for hte White Walkers language but it wasn't really used. They came up with the crackling sound instead rather than having someone speak words that wold sound like that. Asshai'i was used for the chants that Mirri Maz Duur was chanting. This was not a complete language created but mostly just a pholology in order to produce words but there was no grammar or meaning to the words created.

[Adogs]

The Old Tongue would be great to see on the show.  Maybe by season 5 when we get giants and whatnot...

Let's have a look at the samples in the book and see what you can sketch up.  Is Wun Wun's name typical of the Old Tongue, or just typical of giants?

[Aedan Stormrage]

Adogs, on 07 August 2012 - 04:37 AM, said:

The Old Tongue would be great to see on the show.  Maybe by season 5 when we get giants and whatnot...

Let's have a look at the samples in the book and see what you can sketch up.  Is Wun Wun's name typical of the Old Tongue, or just typical of giants?

That's actually a very good question. I've been thinking on that myself. The names of the giants seem to be monosyllabic, while the Old Tongue seems to be polysyllabic... that's really puzzling but it could be that the giants have their own dialect of the Old Tongue... even when nothing hinting this is mentioned.

On the one side you have words like magnar, sygerrik and skagos, which look very germanic... but on the other you have the names of the giants, Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, and Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg, and even woh dak nag gram, the giant's name for the Children of the Forest, which seem pretty Chinese or other monosyllabic languages. This could be due to a difference in dialect, but it's never stated explicitly.

[Adar]

I believe that Mirri Maz Duur was singing in the language of Asshai.

Spoiler

There are more languages that must be created. I'm most looking forward to hearing what Braavosi sounds like because Jaqen and Syrio don't seem to have the same accent.