189
votes
Accepted
What language(s) were Yoda's speech patterns based on?
In an article addressed, this subject was.
“Surprisingly, there are a very few languages—it seems to be in single digits—that use OSV [Object Subject Verb] as their basic or normal order,” Pullum ...
- 7,680
115
votes
Why does Fleur say "zey, ze" instead of "they, the" in Harry Potter?
Rowling is using alternate spelling to bring across Fleur's accent. In English-speaking popular culture, it's common to stereotype French people speaking English as replacing voiced dental fricatives (...
- 164k
93
votes
Accepted
Were the Smurfs the first to smurf their smurfs?
It is hard to say for certain, as the search terms to apply for "smurfing" aren't very clear. However: Although there's likely to be many stories for children where a character replaces a ...
- 826
80
votes
Accepted
Is Picard actually fluent in French?
Picard speaks fluent French. Not only was he born and raised in France but we see him speaking French confidently with a French accent, swearing in French under his breath and singing French songs on ...
- 708k
70
votes
Did Balrogs have their own language?
They almost definitely could talk, probably Melkian.
Balrogs are corrupted Maiar. We know that other Maiar can speak (e.g. Gandalf, Sauron). If balrogs can't speak, it would mean they lost that ...
- 2,429
65
votes
How does “Valar morghulis” translate to “all men must die”?
It likely doesn't, at least not properly. George R. R. Martin has said several times he only creates words as he needs them and is no linguist. In fact the actual language itself is only a handful of ...
- 144k
64
votes
Did Balrogs have their own language?
We don't know
There are no instances in any of Tolkien's writings of a Balrog speaking, so it's not clear whether they could, or what language they would have spoken. They were, however, definitely ...
- 164k
61
votes
Accepted
How is Yoda's speech translated to non-English languages?
There's an interesting extract from The Open University's OpenLearn website on precisely this:
This is easily replicated in other languages that also have follow the SVO order, but others have to ...
- 622
60
votes
Does this website provide consistent translation into Wookiee?
We actually know several Wookiee words and phrases, courtesy of the Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know factbook.
How to speak Shyriiwook
"WYAAAAAA!" = "Hello!"
&...
- 708k
59
votes
What language(s) were Yoda's speech patterns based on?
There is some evidence to suggest that Yoda's speech is based on, well, English.
In this The Week article (I suggest reading the whole thing, the argument seems pretty convincing to me), Yoda's speech ...
- 11.9k
48
votes
Were the Smurfs the first to smurf their smurfs?
Like the Smurfs I am Belgian, French-speaking native and also a comic fan since my childhood. I grew reading the smurfs, in their original version. I emphasis on this because it has an importance in ...
- 589
47
votes
Did Balrogs have their own language?
No: they don't talk at all.
From Tolkien's Letters, Letter #210:
The Balrog never speaks or makes any vocal sound at all. Above all he does not laugh or sneer. ... Z[immerman] may think that he ...
- 135k
47
votes
Accepted
Was Tolkien's concept of an Oliphaunt borrowed from Afrikaans?
Probably not.
When guiding translators on how to properly render the word "Oliphaunt", Tolkien explicitly said that he had derived it from the Old French 'Olifant', saying that the intent ...
- 95.7k
43
votes
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Was the Tamarian language in "Darmok" inspired by Jack Vance's "The Asutra"?
According to an interview with Star Trek Magazine, the show's co-writer Joe Menosky came up with the idea of a metaphor-based language from two key concepts; the linguistic notions of John Ciardi (...
- 708k
41
votes
Accepted
How did Finn learn to understand Chewie so quickly?
Vanity Fair reported in their The Rise of Skywalker preview that the gap between the two movies is "about a year." Assuming that was based on conversations with producers and is likely accurate*, that'...
- 39.9k
39
votes
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How is it possible that Gollum speaks Westron?
The Stoors lived in Eriador before Smeagol's people moved to the Gladden.
Firstly, the Hobbits had began to learn letters and languages long before Smeagol was even born, let alone before he left ...
- 77.6k
36
votes
Accepted
What is the strongest profanity used in a Star Trek show?
Some of this will depend on how you personally rate the offensiveness of the words:
Pre-Discovery
Bloody, bollocks - Uttered by Miles O'Brien on a few episodes of DS9 (Also Scotty on "Relics")
Son ...
- 19.7k
34
votes
How does Rey know the Wookiee language?
She picked it up by interacting with offworlders.
According to Pablo Hidalgo’s TFA Visual Dictionary (which is canon):
Rey’s interaction with offworlders has allowed her to learn nonhuman ...
- 135k
33
votes
Accepted
Are there any invented tonal languages in sci-fi and fantasy?
Láadan
Is a tonal constructed language created by Suzette Haden Elgin in 1982 included in her science fiction Native Tongue series. Actually a feminist science-fiction.
It was created with the ...
- 10.9k
33
votes
Accepted
Trying to remember the title of the novel I thought Arrival was based on
You are remembering a short story not a novel. Specifically, the story is Try to Remember by Frank Herbert. It has been identified before in the questions Science Fiction short story about learning to ...
32
votes
Accepted
How does “Valar morghulis” translate to “all men must die”?
Yes, valar morghūlis does mean ‘all men must die’.
TheLethalCarrot’s answer gives most of the background of High Valyrian, but unfortunately misparses some of the grammar of the sentence, which ...
- 14.1k
31
votes
Accepted
First use of the term "belter" in sci-fi as the demonym for asteroid belt inhabitants?
The Oxford English Dictionary has the sense of belter:
Science Fiction. Also with capital initial. A native or inhabitant of an asteroid belt; esp. one who works as a miner.
going back to 1966, ...
- 99k
29
votes
If Harry spoke two or more languages, what would it sound like to him if he talked to a snake?
He would probably hear what he expected to hear
We actually do have a case where Harry hears, if not two languages, at least words from two languages.
As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could ...
- 118k
29
votes
Accepted
Chinese in Serenity?
There were at least 11 instances of Chinese pidgin that made it into the theatrical cut of Serenity. I've listed them below for ease of searching, along with what each statement actually means.
Given ...
- 708k
29
votes
Does this website provide consistent translation into Wookiee?
Seeing how typing "hello" doesn't give a consistent translation, I'd say 'no'.
- 10.9k
28
votes
Why does everyone in Game Of Thrones have a British accent?
In a previous answer, it was stated that the producers said that they felt that British/Irish accents "suited" the show. I'm going to explain why they feel that way.
Out-of-universe background on in-...
- 1,528
28
votes
Why does Fleur say "zey, ze" instead of "they, the" in Harry Potter?
The phoneme "th" is not a regular part of the French language. Since French speakers never use that phoneme, they are generally unable to say it. Losing phonemes starts at a pre-verbal level of ...
- 4,824
28
votes
Accepted
Is Raktajino Klingon like a bat'leth or Klingon like Shakespeare?
This is answered in Klingon for the Galactic Traveler by Marc Okrand. (Marc invented modern Klingon.)
Though not native to the Empire, Klingons have developed a way to make
coffee (qa'vIn) (caffiene?...
- 16.1k
27
votes
Did Balrogs have their own language?
Unclear, but probably
They're never described as talking in any of Tolkien's writings that I could find. However, they can certainly make noises. Some actions can be interpreted as being spoken and ...
- 11k
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