The Kryptonian Thread - Language, Writing, Culture, etc.

[StarLord]

'Speaking Kryptonian' from the Art Book:

Spoiler

 

[Krumm]

i put the name "YOU" in the glyph creator and it didnt fit with the YOU of the website : http://dsrwproject.com/

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that is because YOU is pronounced "Mati" in Kryptonian so it would begin with an "M" not a "Y."

Our English names are direct translations (most likely because there isn't a Kryptonian equivalent) whereas english words have an Kryptonian equal and therefore aren't necessarily spelled the same way.

 

[LeMartien]

http://kryptonian.info/about/news-f...wn-of-kryptonian-writing-in-the-man-of-steel/

 

[Dark Sentinel]

http://kryptonian.info/about/news-f...wn-of-kryptonian-writing-in-the-man-of-steel/

Wow, nice find LeMartien! it's good to see that I was at least on the right track.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

After taking in consideration from the info provided by LeMartien, I think the correct translation MIGHT be:

"Mutæ soden guren nekæ"

 

[Dark Sentinel]

So apparently the small notches above the first glyphs of Brackets 1 and 3 are indicative of which vowels those glyphs carry. Without either a notch or a swoop (which indicates a non-vowel carrier, and which I shall hereafter refer to as an "tail"), it is assumed that the rotation/flipping of said glyph indicates which vowel is attached to it.

I was correct in assuming that the attached vowels "follow" their adjacent consonant, so assuming that the new information on http://kryptonian.info is correct, we get:

Mute sodin guræn nikæ.
(simple pronunciation: moo-TAY soh-DEEN gu-RAN nik-AH)

If I find anything else that helps me better reverse-translate the text (including what the HELL those things are atop Bracket 4 ) I'll update you all t:

 

[Dark Sentinel]

With the advent of the word sodin "alone", it makes me think/postulate that the word for "one" in Kryptonian must be something along the lines of sod, the s-d consonant combination meaning "single, solitary, one" etc.

Random thoughts t:

 

[jmc]

Cool info!

 

[jmc]

I'm wondering if that website has gotten the first two vowels back to front 'ao' and 'a', my name is written using what they've called the 'a' vowel, yet translated it doesn't make sense as my name is more in lined to be using an 'ao' sound. It would also seem to me Kryptonian doesn't have the consonant cluster of 'sh' because my name should have that cluster yet is only translated as 's' according to that site. 'Dz-ao-s'. Interesting to note that the last name isn't a letter at all, it's just a symbol, basically a family crest.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

Apparently ao is a diphthong, but for some reason the guy on the kryptonian.info site can't find it

I guess it all depends on the input. Remember, alphabets are made for the sounds of a language, not just the letters represented by those sounds. I'd recommend trying to put in the best approximation of how your name sounds and see what comes up.

 

[jmc]

Oh wow, I think if some of the consonants are turned upside it adds a vowel to them immediately after. My name begins with a 'J' but noticed the first character of the name 'Jason' is upside down compared to my letter then followed by another consonant. Edit: sorry, I see that website already mentioned that. Missed it somehow.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

t:

There is a "vowel glyph" that corresponds to a, e, i, o, u (o and u appear to be similar enough to warrant the same glyph).

This guy did a pretty thorough analysis of the writing, and I'm too tired to explain

http://kryptonian.info/about/news-f...wn-of-kryptonian-writing-in-the-man-of-steel/

 

[Dark Sentinel]

Here are the breakdowns of the letters from the site in question:

Consonants:

Vowels (take note of the "notches" above a and u)

Syllables:

 

[jmc]

There is also no 'ch' cluster. Man, someone went to a lot of trouble with this language.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

But notice, there is a ð, which I believe is voiced (as in then)

 

[Kal-El.9859]

I hope they release a "Speaking Kryptonian for Dummies" book...I'd buy it

 

[jmc]

It appears also that any name translated into 3 characters will be written as consonant-vowel-consonant as opposed to consonant positioned in relation to vowel. That could just be a kink in the website however.

 

[jmc]

How does 'El' fit into that and how do you think it means hope?

The 'El' symbol (Superman logo) is there as essentially a cote of arms designed by each house, the 'hope' part I'd assume merely comes from what that symbol is meant to represent to the family, in the same way that the dove can represent either 'peace' or 'freedom' that symbol represents 'hope', at least to the El family. Unless it's presented differently in the film, we'll have to wait and see but I think it's the most likely explanation.

 

[jmc]

What I'll be curious to see with the logo is if Supergirl makes an appearance in the future whether her 'El' symbol would be different to Superman's. It wouldn't surprise me if there are variations of the 'E'l symbol either due to her being on a different side of the family, or due to her being female as some languages have both masculine and feminine writing systems an vocabulary.

 

[Willi Berg]

What I'll be curious to see with the logo is if Supergirl makes an appearance in the future whether her 'El' symbol would be different to Superman's. It wouldn't surprise me if there are variations of the 'E'l symbol either due to her being on a different side of the family, or due to her being female as some languages have both masculine and feminine writing systems an vocabulary.

Here is Kara with the logo in the prequel comic:

Spoiler

 

[ValZho]

Hello! Darren from Kryptonian.info here. Just wanted to throw in my two cents.

…assuming that the new information on http://kryptonian.info is correct, we get:

Mute sodin guræn nikæ.
(simple pronunciation: moo-TAY soh-DEEN gu-RAN nik-AH)

Actually... you would get [mutɛ saodɛn guɹæn nɪkæ]. From what I can tell, there is no [o] sound, only the diphthong [ao]. The pronunciation provided on the glyph website is written in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). So, Dark Sentinel's simple pronunciation is a bit off. The consonants here are about what you would expect. The vowels are as follows:

• u as in moo, too, or blue
• ɛ as in pet, met, or get
• æ as in cat, bat, or that
• ɪ as in pit, sit, or fit
• ɑ as in father, hot, or con
• ɑo a diphthong as in cow, shower, or tower

So, I would make a "simple" pronunciation more like "mooteh sowdinn goorann nikka"

Apparently ao is a diphthong, but for some reason the guy on the kryptonian.info site can't find it

It's not that I couldn't find the ao diphthong, it's that I couldn't get that vowel to combine with any consonant. If the logic follows, an unturned, unflipped consonant without any hooks above should have that vowel attached to it, but the glyph creator website would not return that combination, i.e., it would not return an unturned, unflipped consonant without any hooks above it.

There is also no 'ch' cluster. Man, someone went to a lot of trouble with this language.

But notice, there is a ð, which I believe is voiced (as in then)

It appears as though there is no "ch" (&#679 sound (an unvoiced alveolar affricate), but there is the voiced equivalent which in English we write with the letter j (&#676. Likewise, it appears as though there is no unvoiced dental fricative (&#952 which we write with a th (thing, bath, math, ...), but there is the voiced equivalent (ð) which we also happen to write with a th (this,that, the, other, ...).

 

[Kal-El.9859]

Can someone help me whip up "Kneel Before Zod" in Kryptonian???

 

[Krumm]

More translation?

www.manofsteel.com/nokia/

 

[LeMartien]

Br m ?

 

[Krumm]

Has anyone been able to decipher the text on the BvS shield in Kryptonian? I know what it translates to in English but I'm curious as to how it is written in Kryptonian -- it's tough to see considering the way it bends around the "S."