If learning French during high school seemed at times to be an unbearable chore, the words of the great Khaleesi (which actually means ’’queen’’ in Dothraki language) have entangled millions of people around the world, who now have the opportunity to join in conversation with The Mother of Dragons. Game of Thrones fans will surely rejoice in knowing that the Dothraki language might become easier to learn than one might have expected.
Are you an avid reader of contemporary fiction, a constant film-goer impatiently waiting for your favorite TV series to broadcast the upcoming season, one of the most devoted Game of Thrones fans or a passionate learner of exotic languages? Whatever the answer, you definitely fit the category of the Donthraki speaker to become.
Dothraki consists of around 3,200 words, a constantly increasing number, taking into consideration that it is probably the latest fashion among science fiction readers. Apple has made it possible for fans around the world to easily access the new-born idiom and grow as speaking Dothrakians simultaneously with the development of the language itself. The application is based on a common method used by teachers of foreign languages in kindergartens: it consists of about 15 thematic flashcards with more than 300 words in the Dothraki language.
David Peterson, American linguist and language creator, co-founder of the Language Creation Society, is the architect of the Dothraki language in Game of Thrones. As he himself confessed during an interview, he had to create Dothraki language basically from scratch, by returning to George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels and building around the writer’s suggestions. When asked about the nature and the influences of Dothraki, Peterson hinted that it resembles a combination between Arabic and Spanish languages: ’’You know, most people probably don’t really know what Arabic actually sounds like, so to an untrained ear, it might sound like Arabic. To someone who knows Arabic, it doesn’t. I tend to think of the sound as a mix between Arabic (minus the distinctive pharyngeals) and Spanish, due to the dental consonants.’’
What is more, the iOS application does not come as a singular language learning piece: it is meant to function as a practicing tool in addition to Living Language Dothraki, written by David Peterson and published by Random House.