This Game of Thrones language course will teach you to speak Dothraki
Winter is coming, and so is season five of Game of Thrones (eventually). If you’re not sure how to channel your inner Khaleesi in the meantime, how about picking up a little Dothraki? You’re no longer limited to fan-made YouTube videos now that Living Language has just announced a new in-depth course that takes learners into the fictional lingo of the show.
Developed in conjunction with linguist and co-founder of the Language Creation Society David J. Peterson, the course covers vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and even culture. Of course, George R.R Martin originally created Dothraki in the Song of Ice and Fire books on which the show is based. But when it came time to film it, HBO asked Peterson to use his expertise to flesh out the language for new scenes, which included creating a root language to figure out the origins of words and all the rules of sentence structure. (If you’re curious, he went into more depth about his work on a recent episode of the Nerdist podcast.)
The course includes more than 500 words and phrases, including exclusive content created specifically for Living Language. While there are plenty of fan wikis and videos, this is the first officially-sanctioned Dothraki guide, and includes audio samples so you can be sure you’re saying things properly. You’ll also learn what you should never say in polite society, like why calling someone an ‘ifak’ (‘walker’) is one of the the worst things you could do.
It costs £16.99 and will be released on 7 October but is available for pre-order now from the HBO shop. There will also be an expanded online version for £18 for sale from Living Language, and an iOS app costing £2.40. Me nem nesa, or something.
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