Circular Gallifreyan

"Circular Gallifreyan" is a title based upon conjecture.

Check the behind the scenes section, the revision history and discussion page for additional comments on this article's title.

The phrases "Hello!", "My name is...", and "Let's be friends!" in Gallifreyan. (GAME: Gallifreyan Translator ^[+]Loading...["Gallifreyan Translator (video game)"])

You may be looking for the concept of circular Gallifreyan writing as a whole.

Gallifreyan symbols
Individual symbols

One Gallifreyan language was a comprised of symbols in which words were written as circles composed of letters represented by smaller circles, lines, and dots. Its letters were equivalent to the Latin alphabet and it could write words in English. (GAME: Gallifreyan Translator ^[+]Loading...["Gallifreyan Translator (video game)"])

History

The Division once used a circular Gallifreyan numerical system. (COMIC: Origins ^[+]Loading...["Origins (comic story)"])

The Wayfinder given by the War Doctor to Leela had circular Gallifreyan on it. (WC: The Final Battle ^[+]Loading...["The Final Battle (webcast)"])

In the Shadow World, the Twelfth Doctor used a reading aid with circular Gallifreyan on it. (TV: Extremis ^[+]Loading...["Extremis (TV story)"])

When the Twelfth Doctor piloted his TARDIS to Mars, the TARDIS monitors displayed several words in circular Gallifreyan. (TV: Empress of Mars ^[+]Loading...["Empress of Mars (TV story)"])

Simple variations of these symbols were part of the monitors on the control room of a QuadZone Rescue Craft. (GAME: Escape the Pting ^[+]Loading...["Escape the Pting (video game)"])

The Fifteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver had the Rwandan proverb "The sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior" written in circular Gallifreyan on it. (PROSE: Sonic Screwdriver ^[+]Loading...["Sonic Screwdriver (DWAN 2024 feature)"])

Behind the scenes

• This type of Gallifreyan was created by fan Loren Sherman in 2011.
  • Sherman was not asked, consulted, or notified about the usage of his symbols by the BBC.

• The name "Circular Gallifreyan" was coined in 2011 to refer to Sherman's language.
  • The only official instance of Gallifreyan symbols being described with the word "circular" occurs in the the novelisation of The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)","the novelisation of ''The Church on Ruby Road''"], to the Circular Gallifreyan on the Fifteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

Other official appearances

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!" on 11DY3 4 Cover D.

• Circular Gallifreyan appeared on Arianna Florean's Cover D of 11DY3 4. The Gallifreyan was created by DeviantArt user phantoms-siren, and is the iconic Sherlock Holmes quote, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!"
• The Official Doctor Who Tumblr has often spotlighted fanmade pieces making use of the Sherman Gallifreyan.
• A unique Gallifreyan Alphabet appeared in Worlds Collide.
• Circular Gallifreyan was used as a reference by the artist who did the Fifteenth Doctor's nail tattoos.
• Circular Gallifreyan appeared in the background of Doctor Who: Unleashed's end credits.

Errors in translation

Sherman Gallifreyan is sometimes written incorrectly when it appears in official sources.

• Loren Sherman's Gallifreyan writing system has also appeared, albeit vaguely, in the TV show. In Extremis, the device which the Doctor uses to temporarily regain his sight by sacrificing part of his future is briefly shown to have a sentence on it written in a simplified style of Sherman's Gallifreyan. When translated, it appears that it was supposed to read "To be paid back in full", however this intent, while likely, is currently unknown due to the simplified font.
• The Rwandan proverb inscribed on the Fifteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver ("The sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior") is also written (possibly incorrectly) using Sherman's script.
• The Gallifreyan Translator ^[+]Loading...["Gallifreyan Translator (video game)"], while being almost entirely an accurate Sherman Gallifreyan translator, swaps some of the Sherman vowel symbols. The translator's "O" is the Sherman "E", its "E" is the Sherman "A", and its "A" is the Sherman "O".

Other information

• The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Utah, United States of America notably has numerous secret messages in Circular Gallifreyan as a permanent part of the decoration on its facilities, alongside some Klingon.