Gallifreyan (language): Difference between revisions

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There were several forms of written '''Gallifreyan'''. By the time of [[the Doctor]], the archaic Old High Gallifreyan language used in the days of [[Rassilon]] had changed considerably. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'') The later "vulgate" was presumably the Doctor's native language.
There were several forms of written '''Gallifreyan'''. By the time of [[the Doctor]], the archaic Old High Gallifreyan language used in the days of [[Rassilon]] had changed considerably. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') The later "vulgate" was presumably the Doctor's native language.


== Examples ==
== Examples ==
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The written form of Old High Gallifreyan resembled, to human eyes, a mixture of Greek letters and mathematical symbols.
The written form of Old High Gallifreyan resembled, to human eyes, a mixture of Greek letters and mathematical symbols.
[[File:Shada_-_gallifreyan_text.jpg|thumb|left|A page of [[The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey]].]]
[[File:Shada_-_gallifreyan_text.jpg|thumb|left|A page of [[The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey]].]]
* Inside the [[Tomb of Rassilon]] in the [[Death Zone]] on [[Gallifrey]], an old rhyme was written in "Old High Gallifreyan," which explained the outcome of the "Game of Rassilon". ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'')
* Inside the [[Tomb of Rassilon]] in the [[Death Zone]] on [[Gallifrey]], an old rhyme was written in "Old High Gallifreyan," which explained the outcome of the "Game of Rassilon". ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
* Within the Doctor's rooms on Gallifrey there was a painting of a woman holding a scroll with the words "Death is but a door" written in High Gallifreyan. ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'')
* Within the Doctor's rooms on Gallifrey there was a painting of a woman holding a scroll with the words "Death is but a door" written in High Gallifreyan. ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'')
* The [[First Doctor]] wrote his [[Five Hundred Year Diary]] in High Gallifreyan to make sure no one else could read it. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')
* The [[First Doctor]] wrote his [[Five Hundred Year Diary]] in High Gallifreyan to make sure no one else could read it. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')
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=== Modern Gallifreyan ===
=== Modern Gallifreyan ===
[[File:Written_gallifreyan1.jpg|thumb|An example of Gallifreyan script written by the [[Fourth Doctor]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')]]
[[File:Written_gallifreyan1.jpg|thumb|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 different form by the time of the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'')
While Old High Gallifreyan was the original language of the Time Lords, it had evolved into a different form by the time of the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')


* Two Time Lords looked at an archive of information on the [[Third Doctor]], which displayed a photo and writing in modern Gallifreyan. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'')
* Two Time Lords looked at an archive of information on the [[Third Doctor]], which displayed a photo and writing in modern Gallifreyan. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'')

Revision as of 18:17, 23 February 2012

There were several forms of written Gallifreyan. By the time of the Doctor, the archaic Old High Gallifreyan language used in the days of Rassilon had changed considerably. (DW: The Five Doctors) The 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 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 some 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 did 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 different form by the time of the Doctor. (DW: The Five Doctors)

Circular Gallifreyan

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

External links