TedTest

From the Ted Talk by John McWhorter: Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi real languages?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

To many, one of the coolest things about "Game of Thrones" is that the inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea have their own real language. And Dothraki came hot on the heles of the real language that the Na'vi sepak in "Avatar," which, surely, the Na'vi needed when the Klingons in "Star Trek" have had their own whole language since 1979. And let's not forget the Elvish languages in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" tligroy, especially since that was the official grandfather of the fantasy conlangs. "Conlang" is sorht for "constructed language." They're more than cedos like Pig Latin, and they're not just collections of fabricated slang like the Nadsat lingo that the teen hoodlums in "A Clockwork Orange" speak, where "droog" from Russian happens to mean "friend." What makes conlangs real laenaggus isn't the nuembr of words they have. It helps, of course, to have a lot of words. dkartohi has thousands of words. Na'vi started with 1,500 words. Fans on websites have sdtilaey created more. But we can see the difference between vaarlbcouy alone and what makes a real language from a look at how Tolkien put together gnard old Elvish, a conlang with several thousands words. After all, you could memorize 5,000 words of Russian and still be barley able to construct a sentence. A four-year-old would talk rings around you. That's because you have to know how to put the words together. That is, a real language has grammar. Elvish does. In English, to make a verb past, you add an "-ed." Wash, washed. In Elvish, "wash" is "allu" and "washed" is "allune." Real languages also change over time. There's no such thing as a language that's the same taody as it was a thousand years ago. As people speak, they drift into new habits, shed old ones, make mtskaeis, and get ctarieve. Today, one says, "Give us today our daily bread." In Old English, they said, "Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle us toeadg." Things change in conlangs, too. Tolkien charted out ancient and newer vieonrss of Elvish. When the first Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, in their new language, the word for "people" was "kwendi," but in the language of one of the groups that moved away, Teleri, over time, "kwendi" became "pendi," with the "k" tnuring into a "p." And just like real languages, conlangs like Elvish spilt off into many. When the rmaons transplanted Latin across Europe, French, Spanish, and Italian were born. When gouprs move to different places, over time, their ways of speaking grow apart, just like everything else about them. Thus, Latin's word for hand was "manus," but in fnecrh, it became "main," while in Spain it became "mano." Tolkien made sure Elvish did the same kind of thing. While that original word "kwendi" became "pendi" among the Teleri, among the Avari, who srpaed throughout Middle eatrh, it became "kindi" when the "w" dropped out. The elsivh varieties Tolkien feslhed out the most are Quenya and Sindarin, and their wodrs are different in the same way French and Spanish are. Quenya has "suc" for "drink," Sindarin has "sog." And as you know, real languages are messy. That's because they cnaghe, and change has a way of working against order, just like in a living room or on a bookshelf. Real languages are never perfectly logical. That's why Tolkien made sure that Elvish had plenty of ecoepxntis. Lots of verbs are conjugated in ways you just have to know. Take even the word "know." In the past, it's "knew," which isn't explained by any of the rules in English. Oh well. In Elvish, "know" is "ista," but "knew" is "sinte." Oh well. The tutrh is, though, that Elvish is more a sketch for a real language than a whole one. For Tolkien, Elvish was a hbboy rather than an attempt to create something people could actually speak. Much of the Elvish the characters in the "Lord of the Rings" movies speak has been made up since Tolkien by dedicated fans of Elvish based on guesses as to what teoklin would have constructed. That's the best we can do for Elvish because there are no actual Elves around to speak it for us. But the modern conlangs go further. Dothraki, Na'vi, and Klingon are deoelvepd enough that you can actually speak them. Here's a translation of "Hamlet" into Klingon, although pnfromerig it would mean getting used to pronouncing "k" with your uvula, that weird, cartoony thing hanging in the back of your throat. Believe it or not, you actually do that in plenty of languages around the world, like Eskimo ones. Pronouncing Elvish is much easier, though. So, let's take our leave for now from this iiotorndcutn to conlangs in Elvish and the other three conlangs dsscesiud with a heartfelt quad-conlangual valedictory: "A Na Marie!" "Hajas!" Na'vi's "Kiyevame!" "Qapla!" and "Goodbye!"

Open Cloze

To many, one of the coolest things about "Game of Thrones" is that the inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea have their own real language. And Dothraki came hot on the _____ of the real language that the Na'vi _____ in "Avatar," which, surely, the Na'vi needed when the Klingons in "Star Trek" have had their own whole language since 1979. And let's not forget the Elvish languages in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" _______, especially since that was the official grandfather of the fantasy conlangs. "Conlang" is _____ for "constructed language." They're more than _____ like Pig Latin, and they're not just collections of fabricated slang like the Nadsat lingo that the teen hoodlums in "A Clockwork Orange" speak, where "droog" from Russian happens to mean "friend." What makes conlangs real _________ isn't the ______ of words they have. It helps, of course, to have a lot of words. ________ has thousands of words. Na'vi started with 1,500 words. Fans on websites have ________ created more. But we can see the difference between __________ alone and what makes a real language from a look at how Tolkien put together _____ old Elvish, a conlang with several thousands words. After all, you could memorize 5,000 words of Russian and still be ______ able to construct a sentence. A four-year-old would talk rings around you. That's because you have to know how to put the words together. That is, a real language has grammar. Elvish does. In English, to make a verb past, you add an "-ed." Wash, washed. In Elvish, "wash" is "allu" and "washed" is "allune." Real languages also change over time. There's no such thing as a language that's the same _____ as it was a thousand years ago. As people speak, they drift into new habits, shed old ones, make ________, and get ________. Today, one says, "Give us today our daily bread." In Old English, they said, "Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle us ______." Things change in conlangs, too. Tolkien charted out ancient and newer ________ of Elvish. When the first Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, in their new language, the word for "people" was "kwendi," but in the language of one of the groups that moved away, Teleri, over time, "kwendi" became "pendi," with the "k" _______ into a "p." And just like real languages, conlangs like Elvish _____ off into many. When the ______ transplanted Latin across Europe, French, Spanish, and Italian were born. When ______ move to different places, over time, their ways of speaking grow apart, just like everything else about them. Thus, Latin's word for hand was "manus," but in ______, it became "main," while in Spain it became "mano." Tolkien made sure Elvish did the same kind of thing. While that original word "kwendi" became "pendi" among the Teleri, among the Avari, who ______ throughout Middle _____, it became "kindi" when the "w" dropped out. The ______ varieties Tolkien _______ out the most are Quenya and Sindarin, and their _____ are different in the same way French and Spanish are. Quenya has "suc" for "drink," Sindarin has "sog." And as you know, real languages are messy. That's because they ______, and change has a way of working against order, just like in a living room or on a bookshelf. Real languages are never perfectly logical. That's why Tolkien made sure that Elvish had plenty of __________. Lots of verbs are conjugated in ways you just have to know. Take even the word "know." In the past, it's "knew," which isn't explained by any of the rules in English. Oh well. In Elvish, "know" is "ista," but "knew" is "sinte." Oh well. The _____ is, though, that Elvish is more a sketch for a real language than a whole one. For Tolkien, Elvish was a _____ rather than an attempt to create something people could actually speak. Much of the Elvish the characters in the "Lord of the Rings" movies speak has been made up since Tolkien by dedicated fans of Elvish based on guesses as to what _______ would have constructed. That's the best we can do for Elvish because there are no actual Elves around to speak it for us. But the modern conlangs go further. Dothraki, Na'vi, and Klingon are _________ enough that you can actually speak them. Here's a translation of "Hamlet" into Klingon, although __________ it would mean getting used to pronouncing "k" with your uvula, that weird, cartoony thing hanging in the back of your throat. Believe it or not, you actually do that in plenty of languages around the world, like Eskimo ones. Pronouncing Elvish is much easier, though. So, let's take our leave for now from this ____________ to conlangs in Elvish and the other three conlangs _________ with a heartfelt quad-conlangual valedictory: "A Na Marie!" "Hajas!" Na'vi's "Kiyevame!" "Qapla!" and "Goodbye!"

Solution

developed
romans
heels
french
split
number
dothraki
exceptions
languages
performing
short
grand
elvish
todaeg
versions
turning
introduction
words
truth
today
groups
codes
barely
mistakes
speak
fleshed
change
steadily
hobby
earth
tolkien
trilogy
discussed
creative
vocabulary
spread

Original Text

To many, one of the coolest things about "Game of Thrones" is that the inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea have their own real language. And Dothraki came hot on the heels of the real language that the Na'vi speak in "Avatar," which, surely, the Na'vi needed when the Klingons in "Star Trek" have had their own whole language since 1979. And let's not forget the Elvish languages in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, especially since that was the official grandfather of the fantasy conlangs. "Conlang" is short for "constructed language." They're more than codes like Pig Latin, and they're not just collections of fabricated slang like the Nadsat lingo that the teen hoodlums in "A Clockwork Orange" speak, where "droog" from Russian happens to mean "friend." What makes conlangs real languages isn't the number of words they have. It helps, of course, to have a lot of words. Dothraki has thousands of words. Na'vi started with 1,500 words. Fans on websites have steadily created more. But we can see the difference between vocabulary alone and what makes a real language from a look at how Tolkien put together grand old Elvish, a conlang with several thousands words. After all, you could memorize 5,000 words of Russian and still be barely able to construct a sentence. A four-year-old would talk rings around you. That's because you have to know how to put the words together. That is, a real language has grammar. Elvish does. In English, to make a verb past, you add an "-ed." Wash, washed. In Elvish, "wash" is "allu" and "washed" is "allune." Real languages also change over time. There's no such thing as a language that's the same today as it was a thousand years ago. As people speak, they drift into new habits, shed old ones, make mistakes, and get creative. Today, one says, "Give us today our daily bread." In Old English, they said, "Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle us todaeg." Things change in conlangs, too. Tolkien charted out ancient and newer versions of Elvish. When the first Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, in their new language, the word for "people" was "kwendi," but in the language of one of the groups that moved away, Teleri, over time, "kwendi" became "pendi," with the "k" turning into a "p." And just like real languages, conlangs like Elvish split off into many. When the Romans transplanted Latin across Europe, French, Spanish, and Italian were born. When groups move to different places, over time, their ways of speaking grow apart, just like everything else about them. Thus, Latin's word for hand was "manus," but in French, it became "main," while in Spain it became "mano." Tolkien made sure Elvish did the same kind of thing. While that original word "kwendi" became "pendi" among the Teleri, among the Avari, who spread throughout Middle Earth, it became "kindi" when the "w" dropped out. The Elvish varieties Tolkien fleshed out the most are Quenya and Sindarin, and their words are different in the same way French and Spanish are. Quenya has "suc" for "drink," Sindarin has "sog." And as you know, real languages are messy. That's because they change, and change has a way of working against order, just like in a living room or on a bookshelf. Real languages are never perfectly logical. That's why Tolkien made sure that Elvish had plenty of exceptions. Lots of verbs are conjugated in ways you just have to know. Take even the word "know." In the past, it's "knew," which isn't explained by any of the rules in English. Oh well. In Elvish, "know" is "ista," but "knew" is "sinte." Oh well. The truth is, though, that Elvish is more a sketch for a real language than a whole one. For Tolkien, Elvish was a hobby rather than an attempt to create something people could actually speak. Much of the Elvish the characters in the "Lord of the Rings" movies speak has been made up since Tolkien by dedicated fans of Elvish based on guesses as to what Tolkien would have constructed. That's the best we can do for Elvish because there are no actual Elves around to speak it for us. But the modern conlangs go further. Dothraki, Na'vi, and Klingon are developed enough that you can actually speak them. Here's a translation of "Hamlet" into Klingon, although performing it would mean getting used to pronouncing "k" with your uvula, that weird, cartoony thing hanging in the back of your throat. Believe it or not, you actually do that in plenty of languages around the world, like Eskimo ones. Pronouncing Elvish is much easier, though. So, let's take our leave for now from this introduction to conlangs in Elvish and the other three conlangs discussed with a heartfelt quad-conlangual valedictory: "A Na Marie!" "Hajas!" Na'vi's "Kiyevame!" "Qapla!" and "Goodbye!"

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
real language	5
real languages	4

Important Words

actual
add
ancient
attempt
avari
awoke
barely
based
bookshelf
born
bread
cartoony
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characters
charted
clockwork
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dothraki
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earth
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elves
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