Valyrian languages
Fictional language family from A Song of Ice and Fire.
The Valyrian languages are a fictional language family created for George R. R. Martin's *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels and their television adaptations, *Game of Thrones* and *House of the Dragon*. In the books, High Valyrian and its descendant languages are referenced but only a handful of words appear. For the TV series, language builder David J. Peterson developed High Valyrian, along with the derived dialects Astapori and Meereenese Valyrian, using the novel fragments as a starting point. Critics have called Valyrian and Dothraki the most convincing invented languages since Elvish.
Peterson was chosen to create Dothraki and Valyrian for *Game of Thrones* through a competition among conlangers. The producers gave him considerable freedom, as Martin himself was not deeply interested in the linguistic side of his work. The published novels contain only a few High Valyrian terms, such as *valar morghulis* ("all men must die"), *valar dohaeris* ("all men must serve"), and *dracarys* ("dragonfire"). Peterson later supplied Martin with additional Valyrian translations for the forthcoming novel *The Winds of Winter*. Peterson found Martin's choice of *dracarys* unfortunate due to its resemblance to the Latin *draco* for dragon. Since Latin does not exist in this fictional world, Peterson treated the similarity as coincidental and made *dracarys* an independent word; his High Valyrian word for dragon is *zaldrīzes*. The phrases *valar morghulis* and *valar dohaeris* became the basis for the language's conjugation system. The word *trēsy*, meaning "son," was created in honor of Peterson's 3000th Twitter follower. By early June 2013, the High Valyrian lexicon contained 667 words. Peterson later expanded the languages for the prequel series *House of the Dragon*.
Since 2019, Peterson has been documenting the Valyrian languages—along with his other constructed languages—in a Wiktionary-style repository on his website, The Languages of David J. Peterson, with help from curators.
In the world of *A Song of Ice and Fire*, High Valyrian fills a cultural role similar to Classical Latin in medieval Europe. It is no longer spoken in daily life but serves as a language of learning and education among the nobility of Essos and Westeros, with much literature and song composed in it.
Quick Facts
- Creator
- David J. Peterson, George R. R. Martin
- Created
- From 2012
- Setting
- A Song of Ice and Fire novels (1996–) / Game of Thrones TV series (2011–2019) / House of the Dragon TV series (2022– )
- Posteriori
- A priori language
- Notice
- IPA
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
To create the Dothraki and Valyrian languages to be spoken in Game of Thrones, HBO selected the language creator David J. Peterson through a competition among conlangers. The producers gave Peterson a largely free hand in developing the languages, as, according to Peterson, George R. R. Martin himself was not very interested in the linguistic aspect of his works. The already published novels include only a few words of High Valyrian, including valar morghulis ('all men must die'), valar dohaeris ('all men must serve') and dracarys ('dragonfire'). For the forthcoming novel The Winds of Winter, Peterson has supplied Martin with additional Valyrian translations.
Peterson commented that he considered Martin's choice of dracarys unfortunate because of its (presumably intended) similarity to the Latin word for dragon, draco. Because the Latin language does not exist in the fictional world of A Song of Ice and Fire, Peterson chose to treat the similarity as coincidental and made dracarys an independent lexeme; his High Valyrian term for dragon is zaldrīzes. The phrases valar morghulis and valar dohaeris, on the other hand, became the foundation of the language's conjugation system. Another word, trēsy, meaning 'son', was coined in honour of Peterson's 3000th Twitter follower. At the start of June 2013, there were 667 High Valyrian words. Peterson expanded the languages for the successor series House of the Dragon.
Reader's Guide
The Valyrian languages, particularly High Valyrian, occupy a cultural niche similar to that of Classical Latin in medieval Europe within the fictional world. The novels describe it as no longer being used as a language of everyday communication, but rather as a language of learning and education among the nobility of Essos and Westeros, with much literature and song composed in Valyrian. The language features a complex grammar with four grammatical numbers (singular, plural, paucal, collective), eight cases, and four grammatical genders (lunar, solar, terrestrial, aquatic). Verbs conjugate for seven tenses, two voices, and three moods. Since 2019, Peterson has been documenting the Valyrian languages in a Wiktionary-style repository on his website. A Duolingo course for High Valyrian for English speakers began construction on October 31, 2016, with Peterson as a contributor; the beta version was released on July 12, 2017, and was updated in April 2019 in anticipation of Game of Thrones' eighth and final season, with Peterson creating audio for the course's lessons and exercises.
Did You Know?
- High Valyrian has four grammatical numbers: singular, plural, paucal, and collective.
- The phrase valar morghulis ('all men must die') and valar dohaeris ('all men must serve') became the foundation of the language's conjugation system.
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