David J. Peterson

{{Short description|American language creator (born 1981)}}

{{About|the language creator|other people named David Peterson|David Peterson (disambiguation)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}

{{Like resume|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = David J. Peterson

| image = David j peterson 2019 06 03.jpeg

| alt =

| caption = Peterson in 2019

| birth_name = David Joshua Peterson

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|01|20}}

| birth_place = Long Beach, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = {{ubl|UC Berkeley (BA)|UC San Diego (MA)}}

| occupation = Language creator

| known_for = Creating Dothraki and Valyrian for Game of Thrones

| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Erin Peterson|end=div}}|{{marriage|Jessie Peterson|2023}}}}

| children = 1

| website = {{url|https://artoflanguageinvention.com/|artoflanguageinvention.com}}

}}

David Joshua Peterson (born January 20, 1981) is an American language creator. He came to prominence after creating the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for the television series Game of Thrones. He has subsequently worked on a number of other projects, including the films Dune and Dune: Part Two, for which he created the Chakobsa language. He has written a book on language construction entitled The Art of Language Invention.

Life

= Early life =

David Joshua Peterson was born in Long Beach, California, on January 20, 1981, to a father of German descent and a mother of Mexican descent.{{cite web|first=Emma|last=Robertson|date=September 23, 2020|title=David J. Peterson: "Does it fit the culture?"|url=https://the-talks.com/interview/david-j-peterson/|website=The Talks|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022233619/https://the-talks.com/interview/david-j-peterson/|archive-date=October 22, 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite tweet|first=David J.|last=Peterson|user=Dedalvs|number=896345462210539520|title=I was born in Long Beach, California. Mother's family is from Mexico, and as far as I know, my birth father's family emigrated from Germany.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240812072859/https://x.com/Dedalvs/status/896345462210539520|archive-date=August 12, 2024|url-status=live}} Studying at University of California, Berkeley (1999–2003), Peterson received BA degrees in English and in linguistics.{{cite web |url=http://dothraki.com/about-david-j-peterson/ |title=About David J. Peterson |work=Dothraki.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406080154/http://dothraki.com/about-david-j-peterson/ |accessdate=April 27, 2013 |archive-date=April 6, 2021 }} He received an MA in linguistics from University of California, San Diego (2003–2006). He had his first contact with constructed languages while still at Berkeley, after attending an Esperanto class in 2000.{{cite news |url= https://www.scribd.com/doc/254356039/Conlangs-Monthly-February-Edition#scribd |title= Interview with David J. Peterson |date= February 2015 |accessdate= February 2, 2015 |work= Conlangs Monthly}}

= Language creation =

In 2007, he co-founded the Language Creation Society with nine other language creators and served as its president (2011–2014).{{cite web |url=http://conlang.org/lcs/bodmeeting352011.txt |title=Minutes for LCS Board Meeting (3/5/2011) |publisher=Language Creation Society |accessdate=April 14, 2016 }}

In 2009, the television network HBO needed a fictional language (Dothraki) for the Game of Thrones television series and turned to the Language Creation Society for help. This resulted in a contest, which Peterson won.{{cite web|first=Manvir|last=Singh|date=February 28, 2024|title="Dune" and the Delicate Art of Making Fictional Languages|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/dune-and-the-delicate-art-of-making-fictional-languages|website=The New Yorker|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240319224623/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/dune-and-the-delicate-art-of-making-fictional-languages|archive-date=March 19, 2024|url-status=live}}{{Cite press release |title=Expert Creates Language for New HBO Series Game of Thrones |date=April 12, 2010 |publisher=Dothraki.com |url=http://dothraki.conlang.org/official-hbo-press-release/ |access-date=May 14, 2017 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719045742/http://dothraki.conlang.org/official-hbo-press-release/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web|title=Creator of 'Game of Thrones' languages coming to Iowa State in February - News Service - Iowa State University|url=https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2018/01/30/game-of-thrones-languages|access-date=2018-10-16|website=www.news.iastate.edu|language=en-us}}

He produced a number of videos on YouTube, in a series called The Art of Language Invention,{{YouTube|channel=UCgJSf-fmdfUsSlcr7A92-aA}} and published a book of the same title in 2015. Peterson also worked as an executive producer on the 2017 documentary film, Conlanging: The Art of Crafting Tongues.{{cite web|url=http://conlangingfilm.com/about|title=Conlanging, The Film About|accessdate=August 28, 2017|quote=David J. Peterson EXECUTIVE PRODUCER David began work on his first language in 2000 and has been creating languages ever since. He's worked as a language creator on HBO's Game of Thrones, Syfy's Defiance and Dominion, the CW's Star-Crossed and The 100, plus Marvel's Thor: The Dark World. He’s also the author of two books: Living Language Dothraki (2014) and The Art of Language Invention (2015).}}

In 2019, Peterson created a free High Valyrian course on the Duolingo website/app{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/14/game-of-thrones-fans-this-app-teaches-you-to-speak-in-high-valyrian.html |title=If you are a 'Game of Thrones' fan, this app will teach you how to speak in High Valyrian |date=April 14, 2019 |first=Noah |last=Higgins-Dunn |work=CNBC}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/13/game-of-thrones-high-valyrian-language-learning-duolingo |title=Do you you speak High Valyrian? Duolingo launches Game of Thrones language app |first=James |last=Tapper |date=April 13, 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian}} and expanded the course in conjunction with the House of the Dragon series premiere in August 2022.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbr.com/house-of-the-dragon-duolingo-game-of-thrones-course/ |title=Duolingo Expands Its High Valyrian Course for GoT: House of the Dragon Debut |first=Frankie |last=Negron |date=July 21, 2022 |work=CBR.com}}

Peterson has also worked on the films Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).{{Cite web|last=Elderkin|first=Beth|title=Game of Thrones Language Builder David Peterson Is Working on Denis Villeneuve's Dune|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/game-of-thrones-language-builder-david-peterson-is-work-1833921344|access-date=2019-05-07|website=io9|date=April 9, 2019 |language=en-US}}{{cite web|first=Marc|last=Tracy|author-link=Marc Tracy|date=March 23, 2024|title=The Invention of a Desert Tongue for 'Dune'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/23/movies/dune-language-fremen.html|website=The New York Times|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240323170919/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/23/movies/dune-language-fremen.html|archive-date=March 23, 2024|url-status=live}}

= Personal life =

Peterson was previously married to Erin Peterson, but the marriage ended in divorce.{{cite tweet |author= David J. Peterson |user= Dedalvs|number= 328054376117710848 |date= April 27, 2013 |title= David J. Peterson referring to his wife |access-date= April 27, 2013 }}{{YouTube|id=rUPUJM65pZ8|time=1h55m39s|title= David J. Peterson (and Dr. Jessie Sams) talking about their divorces}} They had one daughter together.{{cite web|title=About|url=http://artoflanguageinvention.com/about/|website=Artoflanguageinvention.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128080701/http://artoflanguageinvention.com/about/|archive-date=January 28, 2021|url-status=dead}}

In 2023, Peterson became engaged to and subsequently married fellow linguist and conlanger Jessie Peterson (née Sams).{{Cite web |title=Imeimei |url=https://dedalvs.tumblr.com/post/719325249451245568/while-in-finland-i-proposed-to-my-conlang-partner |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=Tumblr |date=June 2023 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2022-11-11 |title=Home - Jessie Sams |url=https://jessiesams.com/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |language=en-US}}{{Cite Instagram |user= athdavrazar|postid= CzAfpVqt5Ze|title= Today we hiked up to the Wisdom Tree (next to the Hollywood sign) and got married. It's now official: We are David and Jessie Peterson. :)|date= October 29, 2023|author = David J. Peterson |access-date= October 30, 2023}}

Languages created

{{BLP sources|date=May 2022|section}}

= Television =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s) / Role

2011–2019

| Game of Thrones

|

  • Dothraki (Lekh Dothraki), the language of the eponymous people.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-ca-game-of-thrones-language-creator-david-peterson-dothraki-20190409-story.html |title=How 'Game of Thrones' linguist David J. Peterson became Hollywood's go-to language guy |first=Meredith |last=Blake |date=April 9, 2019 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}
  • High Valyrian (Valyrio Udrir), a literary language once spoken in Valyria.
  • Astapori Valyrian, a descendant of High Valyrian spoken in Astapor.{{Cite web|title=How do you create a real fake language?|url=https://lwlies.com/articles/how-do-you-create-a-real-fake-language/|access-date=2024-04-19|website=lwlies.com|date=March 28, 2023 |language=en-US}}
  • Meereenese Valyrian, a descendant of High Valyrian spoken in Meereen.{{Cite web|title=House of the Dragon: How Was the Valyrian Language Created for the Show?|url=https://movieweb.com/house-of-the-dragon-valyrian-language-created-how/|access-date=2024-04-19|website=movieweb.com|date=September 28, 2022 |language=en-US}}
  • Mag Nuk ("great tongue"), the language of giants. It was only used for one line.{{Cite web|last=Busch|first=Jenna|title=Pixar's Elemental Recruited A Game Of Thrones Vet To Create A Brand-New Language |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1310178/pixar-elemental-game-of-thrones-vet-created-language-dothraki/|access-date=2024-04-19|website=slashfilm.com|date=June 13, 2023 |language=en-US}}
  • Skroth ("ice"), an unused language that was meant to be spoken by the White Walkers.{{Cite web|title=Game Of Thrones' Failed Pilot Would've Actually Made White Walkers Better |url=https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-white-walkers-language-skroth-original-pilot/ |access-date=2024-04-19|website=screenrant.com|date=March 8, 2022 |language=en-US}}
  • Asshai, an unused language that was meant to be spoken by the Asshai'i.{{Cite web|title=David J. Peterson on creating languages for the White Walkers and the people of Asshai |url=https://winteriscoming.net/2017/05/19/david-j-peterson-interview-white-walkers-ghiscari/ |access-date=2024-04-19|website=winteriscoming.net|date=May 19, 2017 |language=en-US}}
  • Lhazareen, an unused sister language of Dothraki that was meant to be spoken by the eponymous people.{{Cite web|last=Watel|first=Stephanie|title=Game of Thrones' Linguistics Veteran Hired to Create Language For Pixar's Elemental |url=https://movieweb.com/game-of-thrones-vet-hired-to-create-language-for-pixars-elemental/ |access-date=2024-04-19|website=movieweb.com|date=June 13, 2023 |language=en-US}}
  • Gerna Mohr (or Gerna Moussha), an unused language that was meant to be spoken by the Children of the Forest.
2013–2015

| Defiance

|

  • Castithan (Kastíthanu), the language of the eponymous species. It has its own abugida called Fajizwalino.
  • Irathient (Thwelu l'Irathi), the language of the eponymous species. It has its own abugida called Izra.
  • Indojisnen, the language of Indogenes. It has its own syllabary called Hazugimari.
  • Kinuk'aaz ("our language"), the language of the Omec. It has its own alphabet called Zaduusel.
  • Yanga Kayang, an unused language that was meant to be the Liberata's.
2014

| Star-Crossed

| Sondiv, the language of the Atrians. It has its own abjad called Kwandon.

2014–2015

| Dominion

| Lishepus, a language invented by the angels to prevent humans from understanding them. It is based on Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Afroasiatic roots. Peterson also translated a few lines into Akkadian for one episode.

2015–2020

| The 100

| Trigedasleng ("forest language") or Trig, the language of the Grounders. It is a descendant of a cryptolect based on American English.

2015

| Penny Dreadful

| Verbis Diablo (or Verbis Diabolo), the language of witches and demons. Its vocabulary is based on Classical Arabic, Akkadian, Middle Egyptian, Attic Greek, Latin, Persian and Turkish.

2016

| Face Off

| Guest judge.

2016–2017

| The Shannara Chronicles

| Noalath ("great tongue"), the language of druids.

2017

| Emerald City

|

  • Inha ("we"), the language of witches. It has four varieties (referencing the four countries of the Land of Oz), called Water Inha, Fire Inha, Wind Inha and Stone Inha.
  • Munja'kin, the language of the eponymous people.
2017

| The Defenders

| Written Tibetan translation.

2018

| Into the Badlands

| Azrán, a descendant of Mexican Spanish spoken in Azra.

2018

| Iron Fist

| Written Tibetan translation.

2019, 2021

| Another Life

| Achaian, Tala and Decuma, three asemic syllabaries. Peterson worked on this show with Claire Ng.

2019, 2021, 2023

| The Witcher

| Hen Linge ("elder speech"), the language of elves and mages. It has its own alphabet called Hen Wökina.

2019

| Euphoria

| Dothraki lines.

2020–2022

| Motherland: Fort Salem

| Méníshè ("mother tongue"), the language of witches. A language derived from Méníshè and spoken by Camarilla members was also used for one line, and an ancient form of Méníshè appears in season 3. Peterson created all three languages with Jessie Peterson.

2020

| Lovecraft Country

| Language of Adam. Peterson created a writing system for this show in collaboration with Claire Ng, but it was not used.

2021

| Mr. Mayor

| Dothraki lines. Uncredited.

2021, 2023

| Shadow and Bone

|

  • Ravkan (Ravkaye Vyechost), the language of Ravka, which mainly appears in writing as it is rendered as English in most of the scenes where it is spoken. It has its own alphabet called Im Shaliloriyi. An older form of Ravkan was also used for one line.
  • Fjerdan, the language of Fjerda. Peterson created this language with Christian Thalmann.
  • Kerch, the abugida of Kerch. It does not have an associated conlang, instances of written Kerch are actually coded English texts.
  • Kerch sign language.
  • Zemeni, the language of Novyi Zem. It has its own abugida called Isunuche Zemen. Peterson created this language with Jessie Peterson.
  • Shu, the language of Shu Han. It has its own alphabet called Shighraad Shu. Peterson created this language with Jessie Peterson, and its writing system was created by Christian Thalmann.
2022

| From

| Background dialogue lines for the creatures. Peterson worked on this show with Jessie Peterson, both are uncredited.

2022, 2024

| Halo

| Sangheili, the language of the Covenant. Peterson created this language with Carl Buck.

2022, 2024

| House of the Dragon

| High Valyrian (Valyrio Udrir) lines, as well as a new logoconsonantal script called Nekesse Valyrio for this language.

2022

| Paper Girls

| Kezhwa, a creole language spoken by time travelers. It was only used for one line. Peterson created this language with Jessie Peterson, both are uncredited.

2022

| Vampire Academy

| Aazh Naamori ("Language of the Moroi"), the language of vampires. It has its own abugida. Peterson created this language with Jessie Peterson.

2022

| The Witcher: Blood Origin

| Hen Linge lines and texts.

= Films =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s) / Role

2013

| Thor: The Dark World

| Shiväisith ("soft speech"), the language of the Dark Elves. It has its own alphabet called Todjydheenil, which was not used in the film, Peterson invented it after the film was released.

2016

| Warcraft: The Beginning

|

  • Orcish, the language of orcs.
  • Draenei, the language of the eponymous species. It was only used for one line.
  • Common, an unused language that was meant to be the humans'.
2016

| The Bad Batch

| Dialect coach.

2016

| Doctor Strange

| Nelvayu, a demonic language the Zealots use for incantations.

2017

| Conlanging: The Art of Crafting Tongues

| Executive Producer.

2017

| Bright

|

  • Övüsi (Övüsi Kieru, "Elvish tongue"), the language of elves. It has its own abugida. An older form of Övüsi was also used for one line.
  • Bodzvokhan (Bodzvokhan Dǝzhn, "farmer's language"), the language of orcs. It has its own abjad called Vukht as well as a Cyrillic alphabet.
2018, 2020

|

| Yulish, the language of Santa Claus and the Christmas elves.

2021

| Raya and the Last Dragon

| Kumandran,{{Cite web|url=https://sg.style.yahoo.com/what-we-know-about-raya-and-the-last-dragon-so-far-045101477.html|title=What we know about Raya And The Last Dragon so far|last=Lee|first=Reta|website=yahoo|language=en-US|access-date=2021-02-21}} the language of Kumandra. It was only used for one line and a few untranslated words in English lines.

2021

| The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

| Hen Linge lines and texts.

2021, 2024

|

|

2023

| Elemental

|Firish (Tsʼítsʼàsh), the language of the fire elements. It has its own syllabary,{{cite web | url = https://www.tumblr.com/dedalvs/720308170808066048/the-ts%C3%ADts%C3%A0sh-firish-language-from-elemental | title = The Ts'íts'àsh (Firish) Language from Elemental | last = Peterson | first = David J. | date = June 16, 2023 }} which was not used in most of the film as a different alphabet was also used more often to write coded English. Peterson created this language with Jessie Peterson.{{cite web |url=https://dedalvs.tumblr.com/722128532099284992 |title=Ts'íts'àsh Language from Elemental |website=Imeimei (David J. Peterson's Tumblr) |last1=Peterson |first1=David J. |author-link=David J. Peterson |date=July 6, 2023 |access-date=July 6, 2023 |via=Tumblr |quote=While this is my Tumblr (so I'll be answering asks, etc.), I didn't create the language by myself. Jessie Sams and I created the language together. [...] If you've sat through the credits of Elemental, you'll see that only I'm credited. That was, in a word, bullshit...who gets credited—or whether we get credited at all—is totally at the mercy of the studio. Even when it's written into our contract it sometimes doesn't happen [...] Anyway, in this case, it's really important to me that everyone knows this was a joint project of mine and Jessie's. It's our work, and we deserve equal credit.}}

2025

| The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep

| Roozh Linge ("deep speech"), a sister language of Hen Linge spoken by merfolk.

= Video games =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s)

2018

| Arena of Valor

|

  • Veda, the language of the inhabitants of Veda. It has its own abjad called Welqor ("stack-mark").
  • Afata, a descendant of Veda spoken by the eponymous people. It has its own abugida called Thala ("vine").
  • Gandal ("impure language"), a descendant of Veda spoken by humans. It has its own alphabet called Shul ("pure").
  • G'vunna (Zudǝllǝ g’Vunnǝ, "language from the abyss"), a descendant of Veda spoken by Lokheim. It has its own alphabet called Oz ("blade").

The scripts were only made for promotional purposes, none of them were used in the game.

= Operas =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s)

2019

| Lampedusa (Eduardo Reck Miranda)

| Vōv ("love"), a language spoken on Ariel's island.

= Musicals =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s)

2021

| WeCameToDance (Food Tank)

| Hanyana, a language spoken by aliens from the eponymous planet.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-01 |title=WeCameToDance |url=https://foodtank.com/wecametodance/ |access-date=2023-11-06 |language=en-US}}

= Books =

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Language(s)

2014, 2017

|

  • The Zaanics Deceit
  • The Zaanics Pursuit

| Væyne Zaanics ("God's gift" or "God's curse"), a secret language invented by the Lyrs and the Severns. It has its own cipher alphabet called Yesuþoh. Peterson created this language with Nina Post.

Publications

  • {{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Susan |last2=Battis |first2=Jes |date=2015 |title=Mastering the Game of Thrones: Essays on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-9631-0}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=David J. |date=2014 |title=Dothraki |publisher=Living Language |isbn=978-0-8041-6086-5}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=David J. |author-mask=2 |date=2015 |title=The Art of Language Invention |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-312646-1}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=David J. |author-mask=2 |date=2020 |title=Create Your Own Secret Language: Invent Codes, Ciphers, Hidden Messages, and More |publisher=Odd Dot |isbn=978-1250222329}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Post |first1=Nina |last2=Peterson |first2=David J. |date=2014 |title=The Zaanics Deceit (Cate Lyr) (Volume 1) |publisher=Nina Post, LLC |isbn=978-1-4954-6134-7}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Post |first1=Nina |last2=Peterson |first2=David J. |date=2017 |title=The Zaanics Pursuit (Cate Lyr) (Volume 2) |publisher=Nina Post, LLC |isbn=978-1-5376-4745-6}}

References

{{Reflist}}