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Topic-icon Kilrathi Language

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11 years 8 months ago #8110 by Mantis
Kilrathi Language was created by Mantis
I'm very interested in the world of WCSaga and in languages, and therefore I wondered whether someone created a Kilrathi language or Kilrathi writing system. The manual says body language was very important for them, but doesn't really say anything about spoken language. It also talks about the writing system, which I imagine looks like this:

||:|
!|::
:i|:
i|i!
!::|
!::|
|i!!

("|" is a "full line", ":" a "split line", "i" a "short line with dot above", and "!" a "short line with dot below")

I also wondered whether someone had already invented real letters. Does anyone, perhaps someone who played other Wing Commander-games, know anything about this?

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11 years 8 months ago #8114 by Thor
Replied by Thor on topic Kilrathi Language
In this case it is not just looking at other games, but looking at the books and the movie as well. When you watch the movie, you can see some Kilrathi writing on instrument panels and other locations. Granted it is not a complete language or alphabet, but it does indicate that an alphabet exists somewhere. Knowing this and since producers of movies and games know that if you show an alien writing, someone is going to figure out what it means, therefore your alphabet better make some form of sense. Considering other games, I think WC III and IV may have had a little Kilrathi writing visible from time to time in some of the cut scenes.

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11 years 8 months ago #8115 by fekleyrtarg
Replied by fekleyrtarg on topic Kilrathi Language
Aginor has released a Kilrathi font based on the one seen in WC Prophecy:
www.wcnews.com/chatzone/threads/ ... 091/page-2

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11 years 8 months ago #8118 by Aginor
Replied by Aginor on topic Kilrathi Language
We know at least three or four completely different Kilrathi scripts, and the description from the Kilrathi Saga manual fits to none of them well.

- the Wing Commander movie letters (you can find them somewhere on the Internet, although the movie suggests it is actually syllable-based or even a pictograph script) For my taste it is too round.
- the script used on the Tome of Sivar (WCP intro, thus often called WCP script), I did a TTF file based on that one, just adding some numbers and stuff. It is intended for use with a single-letter alphabet. In my mod I actually use English, just with the Kilrathi font. It is for decorative reasons anyway. WC Standoff used the same letters for their easter egg.
- the Dralthi thing that is supposed to be the one described in the manual. But come on, that thing is pretty low-res.
- The script from the Wing Commander CCG that looks awfully similar to Klingon
- There are also some symbols/letters in the Korlarh cockpit: www.wcnews.com/chatzone/attachme ... -png.3893/

Fan made:
The guy from "Tomes of Sivar" did this based on the description from the manual:
home.sprynet.com/~avatarr/killang.gif


And maybe you should check out this thread at the CIC, there's a lot of information/speculation/debate over Kilrathi language and writing there.
www.wcnews.com/chatzone/threads/ ... age.24077/

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11 years 7 months ago #8177 by Mantis
Replied by Mantis on topic Kilrathi Language
Somehow, the language of the Kilrathi seems to have similarities with Japanese. I can speak a bit Japanese myself, so that thread is really interesting to me. Thank you guys!
A bit surprising was the amount of incoherence. The only fictional language I was interested in so far was Quenya, the ancient elvish language of LotR. Because this was entirely constructed by Tolkien, there were no incoherences caused by having too many authors as with the language of the Kilrathi.

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11 years 7 months ago #8178 by Aginor
Replied by Aginor on topic Kilrathi Language
Yeah, it's not monolithic at all unfortunately, but that can also be an advantage since you can base your own stuff freely on some of the existing stuff, ignoring the rest when doing an own project involving the Kilrathi.

Most fictional languages aren't planned well. Klingon and Quenya are OK, and there are one or two others that are also done well, but most are just rudimentary.

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11 years 7 months ago #8179 by Mantis
Replied by Mantis on topic Kilrathi Language
I think that may be because it really is a lot of work to build up a whole language, and so most people will just make something up when they need it, and slowly it gets more and more incoherent, until one day, you have got a really big problem...

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