Akorbi translates and interprets more than 170 languages thanks to our talented staff, our world-class ADAPT multimodal language services platform, and our advanced proprietary software. Language is our business. In today’s blog, we have a little fun by examining some fictional languages in pop culture.
Quenya and Sindarin from Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien was a linguist by trade, and it was his academic specialty. It’s no wonder that he created two fully functional elvish languages, Quenya and Sindarin, for his legendarium. In the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, translation and interpretation of the elvish word for “friend” is key to entering the mines of Moria as the fellowship journeys towards Mount Doom.
Frodo unlocks the great stone door by asking Gandalf what’s the elvish word for “friend” when he realizes some magical text on a rock wall is a riddle. Gandalf says the word “mellon” out loud and the magical doors part. The scene illustrates the quirks of language that go beyond just a literal translation of words, which is why you need professional translation services from a company like Akorbi.
Klingon from Star Trek
The crew of the Starship Enterprise encounters many alien races in their travels. The Klingons are one of the most feared races in the galaxy. Linguist Marc Okrand created the Klingon language ahead of the release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in the mid-1980s. Instead of saying hello, you might say “nuqneH” (“What do you want?”), or you might say “qapla’” (“Success”) as a goodbye. Like Akorbi’s ADAPT platform, there are plenty of tools to help someone learn and translate Klingon.
Since its inception, a few literary works have been translated into Klingon, including Hamlet and A Christmas Carol. The Klingon Language Institute keeps this full-fledged language alive. Akorbi doesn’t translate fictional alien languages, but if you want to impress a Star Trek fan in your life you can still learn some Klingon phrases. Qapla’!
Dothraki and Valyrian from Game of Thrones
Fans of the uber-popular book and TV series Game of Thrones occasionally hear Dothraki and Valyrian. Linguist David J. Peterson developed Dothraki for the TV series based on some phrases created by George R.R. Martin for the novels. Before he was Aquaman, Jason Momoa played Khal Drago in Season 2 of GoT. He spoke Dothraki all of the time. Peterson, the linguist behind Dothraki, drew from Estonian, Inuktitut, Turkish, Russian, and Swahili to create both fictional languages. Akorbi’s ADAPT platform handles more than 170 languages worldwide.
Peterson made more than 2,000 words for Dothraki. His work proves that real-life language translation and interpretation comes in handy when making fictional languages. Fun fact: There is no word for “Thank you” in Dothraki. Translation service involves knowing all the intricacies of a language, which is why professional services like Akorbi are essential parts of international business.
Contact Akorbi Today
Akorbi gives you all the tools you need for multilingual services, whether you need an interpreter, localization, or translation services. Contact us today or give us a call at 1-877-425-6724 to discuss options.