Questions about languages, whether alien, fantasy, or human.
7
votes
1answer
81 views
Trying to remember a novel with an efficient alien language
I remember reading this science fiction novel several years ago. Here's what I remember (or think I remember) about the story:
Coded transmissions are intercepted right before assassinations are ...
-2
votes
2answers
342 views
After Earth: The characters use English. That isn't realistic, considering the setting, I mean — or is it?
According to Wikipedia, the plot goes as follows:
In the near future, after humanity abandoned Earth after cataclysmic
events, they re-established society on the planet Nova Prime, light
years ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Looking for canon Quenya and Sindarin dictionary
Are there any canonical English <-> Elvish dictionaries, that means with no added material? Some Grammar would also be useful.
5
votes
1answer
132 views
What do we know about the Black Speech of Mordor?
We know the Ring Verse (Ash Nazg . . .), and single words like 'Ghâsh' (Fire). Do we know any more about canonical Black Speech?
38
votes
3answers
2k views
Was Picard speaking French and being translated the entire time?
Someone forwarded me this link titled Sudden Star Trek realization :
(Also found on reddit)
So, is there any clue that indicate that Picard is really speaking French and being translated to ...
4
votes
1answer
248 views
What does Q*Bert say when he dies?
When the classic Q*Bert character dies, he says something that sounds like an alien language:
What is he supposed to be saying, exactly?
3
votes
0answers
62 views
Does the beeping language of R2-D2 follow any rules? [duplicate]
Creating the beeps and sounds that make up R2's language consisted of electronically synthesised and human-generated sounds:
R2-D2's personality was developing like a toddler's, and Burtt
...
6
votes
2answers
183 views
Was the Wookie language fully designed or is it just random emotionally-relevant sounds?
We know that some of the other Star Wars languages were fairly well developed by the movie's creators, in terms of vocabulary, grammar, etc. Was the Wookie language designed in this level of detail ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Is it possible to understand what R2-D2 is saying?
I often find myself in Null Void when someone talks to an Astromech droid flawlessly.
How can I understand voice of an Astromech like R2-D2?
Is it like an advanced version of morse code or ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Is the Doctor Who episode 'Blink' the first use of the phrase “timey-wimey”?
Was the phrase "timey-wimey" (or time-y wimey) used in Doctor Who, or elsewhere, before it appeared in the script of the 2007 episode "Blink"?
2
votes
0answers
143 views
What story features an alien who lands on a warring earth and maintains he could stop it if he taught humans his language?
I have been told about a story and wondered if anyone could tell me what it is/where it comes from?
The plot is:
An alien visitor (crash?) lands on earth
Alien is taken prisoner by humans
Alien ...
6
votes
1answer
309 views
Who discovered the Engineer's language (and how it sounded)?
On the trip to the Engineer's world, David was learning to speak their language. But where did the lessons come from? On the star maps that were left, they showed a few symbols, but a) there don't ...
8
votes
4answers
482 views
Why do alien cultures tend to have one language, one religion etc
What are some common logical reasons given within any sci-fi universe for the lack of cultural diversity within a single alien race?
Examples of what I mean:
Star Trek: Vulcans come from Vulcan and ...
11
votes
3answers
674 views
Was Aragorn's First Language Elvish?
Aragorn was taken to Rivendell by his mother when he was two years old; presumably he lived in Rivendell for some time, as in one of the Peter Jackson movies he mentions to, I believe, Éowyn that he ...
4
votes
1answer
293 views
Was there Klingon used in any of Star Wars movies?
A comment on this SO question stated:
Klingon is a real Earth language, but it's only heard in the second movie and never shown printed.
I couldn't find any references to that.
Was there ...
8
votes
2answers
395 views
Do the Borg have a language?
I just realised something, with the amalgamation of species and cultures into the Borg, what language do they speak? I see three options but I can't find evidence for any:
The Language of Species ...
25
votes
5answers
2k views
Does The Doctor hear everyone speaking in Gallifreyan?
I just spotted this on reddit today :
I've only watched the newer episodes (from 2005-Present) and I don't believe this question was ever answered, but I just thought of this -- The Doctor ...
6
votes
1answer
260 views
Are swords usually referred to as male, or female?
"and drawing Scalpel whistling from her sheath"
(Fritz Leiber, Swords Against Wizardry)
I was surprised to see the Mouser's blade referred to as "she". No particular reason why, I just thought ...
10
votes
1answer
261 views
Was the first T-800 sent from Europe?
Was the first T-800 sent from a Europen country? I understand why all the later versions of the Arnold model sounded like the first one. But why did the first one have a thick accent? The T2 version ...
4
votes
0answers
83 views
In “Darmok”, how do the Tamarians learn their stories in the first place? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How would a metaphorical language such as in Darmok (ST:TNG S05E02) be taught?
In the Star Trek episode Darmok, there's an alien race, the Tamarians, who communicate ...
6
votes
1answer
190 views
Has French fallen out of use?
"This is my Universal Translator, although it only translate into an incomprehensible dead language"
When Cubert speaks into it 'Hello', it responds 'Bonjour'.
Does this mean French is a dead ...
15
votes
1answer
347 views
Why did the Klingon language flourish?
I've been thinking recently about the development of the Klingon language, and how it started off as a few small phrases developed by James Doohan (Scotty) and was developed into a full language over ...
7
votes
1answer
225 views
Is there a community for learning Sindarin?
For years now I try to engage myself in how to learn Quenya or Sindarin. I started with two printed excellent courses, but couldn't motivate myself to keep at it — it is difficult when you are ...
15
votes
2answers
401 views
Why does C-3PO speak to Jabba in Basic/English?
It's established that C-3PO can speak the Huttese language, as he does at the gate to Jabba's palace, but when he is performing his interpreting duties for Jabba (for example, when Jabba is ...
3
votes
2answers
237 views
I'm trying to remember a book, in which learning a new profession = learning a new language
I remember an interesting book, in which the state of science was quite advanced, and, the process of learning a particular advanced profession was less about learning the related skills, and more ...
15
votes
1answer
753 views
What is Yoda's native language?
Clearly, he speaks English not very well.
So he must speak another language natively. Which one?
15
votes
1answer
1k views
A short story of a guy on a strange alien planet
A long time ago I read a short novel (can't remember the actual length, but not likely that it was more than 100 pages long) about a human astronaut on some sort of mission who landed on an alien ...
4
votes
2answers
229 views
Is there a canonical textual representation of Binary?
R2D2 (and several similar Astromech droids) are generally not equipped with a vocabulator, and instead communicate using a well-established series of electronic beeps, "bloops," buzzes, chirps, ...
8
votes
1answer
229 views
Are the languages in Eragon based on real languages?
Are the Dwarf, Ancient, and Urgal languages based on real languages from Earth, and if so, which ones?
27
votes
3answers
884 views
If there are universal translators, how do people talk in other languages?
In Star Trek, there are universal translators on the ship to make communications between the different species possible.
But there are countless times when Klingons talk in Klingon and English, when ...
20
votes
2answers
674 views
Do we ever see written English in the Star Wars films?
In Empire Strikes Back, we see a transcription of what R2's beeps and bloops mean, but it's not English (sorry for the low quality, it's from the 2004 DVDs):
I'd assume it's what Basic looks like ...
7
votes
2answers
487 views
How does one learn new words in the Ancient Language?
In the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, magic is controlled on the basis of knowing it's true name in The Ancient Language. There are many words which are forgotten, which are too new to have ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Are the dwarf runes from 'The Hobbit' just a script or does it have a language?
In the book 'The Hobbit', the map that the dwarves have has writing in what is the dwarf runes. The script is simple enough as the foreword includes some tips and each letter can be substituted ...
16
votes
3answers
3k views
How many written forms does the Gallifreyan language have?
As far as I can tell, there are at least four forms of Gallifreyan: (Images are large, so I'm not inlining them)
Old High Gallifreyan (same as High Gallifreyan?)
Modern Gallifreyan
Cut-Out Circles ...
8
votes
1answer
271 views
Series featuring telepaths, raising children with aliens to learn each other's language
So, I'm trying to remember the name of a series of books that features telepaths who contact people with their minds across the galaxy, and send ships. I remember one of the key ones was on a moon in ...
4
votes
5answers
322 views
Are there languages for which postures are very important?
Many speculative fiction works have languages that depend to a great deal on the postures of the people communicating. Some examples are the language of the Adem in Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's ...
25
votes
6answers
4k views
Why does everyone on almost every planet in the Pegasus Galaxy speak English?
We know that Earth is the origin of humans in the Milky Way galaxy. The Goa'uld relocated people from Earth to other planets. As far as I remember the Goa'uld has rarely or never been in Pegasus ...
22
votes
7answers
635 views
What's the first instance of fictional profanity in sci-fi?
There's a tradition of sorts in sci-fi where aliens or future humans use profanity that doesn't exist in the real world. I'm curious when this started. Which story or novel is the first time the ...
19
votes
2answers
408 views
How does one pronounce the word “Akallabêth” from the Silmarillion?
In the Silmarillion, "Akallabêth" is the story of how Numenor fell. Its an Adunaic word, not an elvish word, and I haven't found any Adunaic pronunciation guides.
So, how is Akallabêth pronounced? I ...
33
votes
3answers
720 views
Lord of the Rings written to support constructed languages or the other way round?
I've heard the claim that Tolkien wrote, or at least started writing, The Lord of the Rings to support (with a history providing cultural depth) the artificial languages he was creating at the time.
...
33
votes
2answers
1k views
Is the Klingon language fully realized, or just a handful of disconnected phrases?
I watch Big Bang Theory a lot and notice they sometimes speak to each other in Klingon and I remember at one point seeing a poster, when I was little, with a bunch of Klingon phrases for like, where ...
22
votes
7answers
900 views
Why don't Vulcans speak a loglan (a logical language)?
If anything Spock appears to be speaking a Tolkeinesque Elvish language.
Were Vulcans intended to be space elves or logical beings? It isn't reflected in their current language.
Is canon too well ...
10
votes
2answers
338 views
Is there a Huttese Sound Archive online?
"Huttese" is the Star Wars Language spoken by Jabba the Hutt. It was designed by sound designer Ben Burtt. I read on wikipedia that it was based on Quechua.
Now... I noticed that my 1 year old son ...
14
votes
3answers
401 views
Fictional languages: How prevalent is it in SF stories compared to fantasy stories?
I've come across numerous instances of the development of well-developed fictional language in fantasy stories. How common is it for well-developed fictional languages to be developed in science ...
7
votes
1answer
474 views
Story about earth children playing with alien toys. Who wrote it?
I remember reading what I believe is a short story about a brother and sister who somehow come into possession of some toys which turn out to be from aliens. Through playing with them they develop a ...
18
votes
6answers
988 views
How is the universal translator device in Star Trek supposed to work?
It is stated that Star Trek characters can talk freely with aliens using the universal translators, later built-in their com badges; but is it also mentioned somewhere how this device is supposed to ...
