Klingons do not say "Hello." The closest equivalent translates basically as, "What do you want?"
April 13, 2012 6:43 PM Subscribe
Looking for a database or collection of links to imaginary languages (preferably with translation capability or lists of common phrases.)
As a bit of background, I recently (i.e. at the beginning-ish of 2012) became the Assistant Editor at Escape Pod. Other than wrangling slush, my other responsibilities include reading the episode feedback, which involves culling quotes from the fans in the forums and reading them to give an overview on how a particular story was received. (It's all a scam to lure more people into the forums to argue with us so that we can enlist them in our never-ending battle against the spambots.)
In a problem entirely of my own creation, I decided to start doing my greetings as allusions, references, and so on rather than picking a stock phrase and sticking with it. So far, I've quoted Shakespeare and The Last Airbender and used Esperanto, Klingon, and Elvish greetings. (Also Al Bhed from FFX and the greetings from Tad Williams' "Tailchaser's Song.") Being slightly the wrong sort of nerd, I am rapidly running out of resources for this sort of thing, and it's hard to search for the right stuff on Google.
Can the hive mind supply me with any links to interesting fantasy/scifi languages and/or give me ideas for cute references or idiosyncratic English greetings? Every little bit helps...
As a bit of background, I recently (i.e. at the beginning-ish of 2012) became the Assistant Editor at Escape Pod. Other than wrangling slush, my other responsibilities include reading the episode feedback, which involves culling quotes from the fans in the forums and reading them to give an overview on how a particular story was received. (It's all a scam to lure more people into the forums to argue with us so that we can enlist them in our never-ending battle against the spambots.)
In a problem entirely of my own creation, I decided to start doing my greetings as allusions, references, and so on rather than picking a stock phrase and sticking with it. So far, I've quoted Shakespeare and The Last Airbender and used Esperanto, Klingon, and Elvish greetings. (Also Al Bhed from FFX and the greetings from Tad Williams' "Tailchaser's Song.") Being slightly the wrong sort of nerd, I am rapidly running out of resources for this sort of thing, and it's hard to search for the right stuff on Google.
Can the hive mind supply me with any links to interesting fantasy/scifi languages and/or give me ideas for cute references or idiosyncratic English greetings? Every little bit helps...
I would try Langmarker, except its down, so maybe its archive version: http://web.archive.org/web/20060114043124/http://www.langmaker.com/db/mdl_a2z_index.htm
They have links to various language websites where you can cull some words or phrases.
posted by Jehan at 8:02 PM on April 13, 2012
They have links to various language websites where you can cull some words or phrases.
posted by Jehan at 8:02 PM on April 13, 2012
You're probably looking for the keyword "conlang" - constructed language. Whole mess of external links in the Wikipedia article.
posted by XMLicious at 8:06 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by XMLicious at 8:06 PM on April 13, 2012
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posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:47 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]