Gallifreyan (language): Difference between revisions

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*The word "valeyard" is said to mean "learned court prosecutor" (([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors|Trial of a Time Lord]]'') - it is possible this is the only example in the series of a spoken Gallifreyan word.
*The word "valeyard" is said to mean "learned court prosecutor" (([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors|Trial of a Time Lord]]'') - it is possible this is the only example in the series of a spoken Gallifreyan word.


:''In ''The Time of Angels'', Amy asked what writing in Old High Gallifreyan meant, implying that the TARDIS did not translate it, River Song explicitely stated that the TARDIS could not translate it in A Good Man Goes to War.''
:''In ''The Time of Angels'', Amy asked what writing in Old High Gallifreyan meant, implying that the TARDIS did not translate it. River Song, in ''A Good Man Goes To War'', confirmed that the TARDIS could or would not translate Gallifreyan.''


===Modern Gallifreyan===
===Modern Gallifreyan===
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[[file:Written_gallifreyan2.jpg|thumb|An example of the interlocking/overlapping circles. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')]]
[[file:Written_gallifreyan2.jpg|thumb|An example of the interlocking/overlapping circles. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')]]
*A complex system of interlocking circles was used by [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] output screens in "[[TARDIS coral|coral desktop theme]]" mode and was seen in the notes that the Doctor scattered around the [[console room]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'' onwards) Earlier, the TARDIS' displays had appeared in English.
*A complex system of interlocking circles was used by [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] output screens in "[[TARDIS coral|coral desktop theme]]" mode and was seen in the notes that the Doctor scattered around the [[console room]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'' onwards) Earlier, the TARDIS' displays had appeared in English.
*Simpler handwritten circles appear on The Doctor's Betamax tape used to trap [[the Wire]], scribbled over, presumably saying what the contents of the tape were at one time. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
*Simpler handwritten circles appear on the Betamax tape used by [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]] to trap [[the Wire]]. The circular text, since scribbled over, presumably stated the tape's contents. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
*[[The Visionary]] wrote interlocking circles, which Rassilon and the other Time Lords could understand. One of the words was "Earth" ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
*[[The Visionary]] wrote interlocking circles, which Rassilon and the other Time Lords could understand. One of the words was "Earth" ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
*Text in circular Gallifreyan was seen carved into [[the Doctor's cot]]. It was implied that this writing was his name. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
*Text in circular Gallifreyan was seen carved into [[the Doctor's cot]]. It was implied that this writing was his name. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')

Revision as of 05:09, 3 October 2011

Various forms of written Gallifreyan have appeared. By the time of the Doctor, the archaic Old High Gallifreyan language spoken in the days of Rassilon had given way to a more contemporary form of the language. (DW: The Five Doctors) This later "vulgate" was presumably the Doctor's native language.

Examples

Old High Gallifreyan

File:Ohg.jpg
The phrase "Hello, Sweetie" in Old High Gallifreyan. (DW: The Time of Angels)

Old High Gallifreyan was the ancient language of the Time Lords. It was not known by many; by the Doctor's era, it was virtually extinct, superseded by modern Gallifreyan. The Eleventh Doctor claimed that Old High Gallifreyan once possessed immense power when correctly harnessed, such as raising empires or destroying gods. (DW: The Time of Angels) The truth of this statement is unknown.

The written form of Old High Gallifreyan resembled, to human eyes, a mixture of Greek letters and mathematical symbols.

In The Time of Angels, Amy asked what writing in Old High Gallifreyan meant, implying that the TARDIS did not translate it. River Song, in A Good Man Goes To War, confirmed that the TARDIS could or would not translate Gallifreyan.

Modern Gallifreyan

File:Written gallifreyan1.jpg
An example of Gallifreyan script written by the Fourth Doctor. (DW: The Deadly Assassin)

While Old High Gallifreyan was the original language of the Time Lords, it had evolved into a later form by the time of the Doctor. (DW: The Five Doctors)

This implies that the Renegade Daleks knew how to read Gallifreyan writing.

Circular Gallifreyan

An example of the interlocking/overlapping circles. (DW: Utopia)

External links