Valyrio Bardion: Final Notes
So far, so complicated, and I haven’t even started to get into the minutiae and all the exceptions to the rules. One thing I had in mind when I worked on this was Tyrion Lannister, who does his very best in the series but who struggles with Valyrian. A lot. I figure a writing system that is not very phonetic and which doesn’t rely on you being able to conjugate to understand a written sentence might explain that. He’s probably doing alright when all he has to do is read a text.
As I have hopefully made clear, there are several ways to write High Valyrian, and even single High Valyrian words, and a combination of all these systems is often used. In general, it is preferred to write as much in logograms as possible. One context where it’s generally accepted to use phonograms are personal and family names. This is partially for emphasis, partially due to many names not being Valyrian in origin.
This sentence is “Nyke Daenerys Jelmāzmo hen Targārio Lentrot” – “I [am] Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen”. “Daenerys” and “Targārien” are written in phonemes. “Jelmāzma” is written with a ligature after the word “jelmio”, and “hen” is written with a ligature. In addition to that, we see some case markers, although theoretically it would be possible to leave them off, provided “-āzmo” and “Targārio” were written phonetically to convey their case. Overall, there isn’t really a “right” way to write, much like there wasn’t before our languages were standardized.
I’ve actually got most of the words from Dothraki Wiki figured out, and an idea for a more aesthetically pleasing “font”, so to speak, for the phonograms, at least. If there’s any interest in it, I could post about the origins of the phonograms as well, or anything else you might want to know. Just let me know! Until then, valar morghūlis!
