Khaleesi zheanae: ‘Thrones’ fans get Dothraki course
This image released by HBO shows Natalie Dormer, left, and Diana Rigg in a scene from “Game of Thrones.” AP FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON–Cult television saga “Game of Thrones” may be best known for killing off its leading characters, but a US academic is trying to salvage a living language from all the death and destruction.
Like Star Trek’s Klingon before it, the invented language of the Dothraki people — an imaginary race of horse-borne warriors from the steppes of Essos — now has a grammar and a vocabulary.
Its creator, linguist David Peterson, began the development of the tongue to add some realism to the dialogue of the fantasy figures, but now plans to develop it into an ongoing shared project.
A course, to be released in November in book form and on a CD with audio samples, will teach the series’ more committed fans phrases such as “khaleesi zheanae” or “the queen is beautiful.”
There will also be cultural and etiquette tips for those hoping to slip more thoroughly into the skin of the nomadic raiders and their culture of warfare, honor and horsemanship.
“Whatever you do, never call a Dothraki warrior an ‘ifak’ — a ‘walker.’ It’s the ultimate insult since it implies he can no longer ride his horse,” publisher Living Language warned in announcing the book.
Peterson said that he had often been asked by fans when he was going to make his new language open to all, and the course was his response.
“This book will take you from ‘arakh’ to ‘zhavvorsa’ in no time, and the audio samples will help you perfect your pronunciation,” he said.
The HBO series “Game of Thrones” — now in its fourth season — is based on the epic multi-volume saga “A Song of Ice and Fire” by US novelist George R.R. Martin.
The book series is not yet complete, but budding Dothraki will have to hurry to learn the new language as most of the characters in the show drawn from the tribe have already been killed or died of thirst.
