Bible translations into fictional languages
Bible translations into constructed languages that were created as part of a fictional setting include:
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. Various parts of the Bible have been translated into Neo-Quenya, an attempt at editing a unified Quenya from Tolkien's evolving and often contradictory ideas about the language. Helge Fauskanger has translated the New Testament and the first two chapters of Genesis. Psalm 130 has also been translated by people on the website Aglardh[1]
| Translation | John 3:16 (Yohannëo 3:16) |
|---|---|
| Fauskanger | An Eru emélië i mar tenna antië ernóna Yondorya, i ilquen ye savë sessë lá nauva nancarna, mal samuva oira coivië. |
LOLcat
The LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a wiki-based website where editors aim to parody the entire Bible in "LOLspeak", the slang popularized by the LOLcat Internet phenomenon. LOLspeak has been called "kitty pidgin" and also been likened to baby talk. The project relies on contributors to adapt passages. As of March 27, 2008, approximately 61% of the text had been adapted.[2]
| Translation | John 3:16 |
|---|---|
| Various | So liek teh Ceiling Kitteh lieks teh ppl lots and he sez 'Oh hai I givez u me only kitteh and ifs u beleeves him u wont evr diez no moar, kthxbai!' |
Klingon
Co-ordinated by Kevin Wilson, the KBTP has assumed the immense task of translating the books of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, into Klingon. Promoted by the Klingon Language Institute (whose goals do not include missionary work, but this project was considered worthy of KLI's efforts for purely secular reasons).
NSKOL has published two volumes containing several portions of the Bible translated. One can find online the following specimen:
| Translation | Psalm 117 |
|---|---|
| K'mel | joH'a' yInaD Hoch qorDu'pu' yIquvmoH Hoch ghotpu' |
The linguist Nick Nicholas has also translated the Gospel of Mark into Klingon Link
Na'vi
Naʼvi is the constructed language of the Naʼvi, the sapient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of the fictional moon Pandora in the 2009 film Avatar. It was created by Paul Frommer, a professor at the USC Marshall School of Business with a doctorate in linguistics.
Work on the Naʼvi language has continued even after the film's release. Its creator, Paul Frommer, is working on a compendium which he plans to deliver to Fox in the near future.[3] He think that the language "have a life of its own,"[4] and thinks it's "wonderful" that the language has developed a following, as is evident through the increasing learner community of the language.
| Translation | John 3:16 |
|---|---|
| Various | Fìfya kifkey leru yawne Yawäru, alunta pol tolìng 'awa 'itanit sneyä, fte pori fratìspusaw ke tiverkup, ki fìfrapor livu tìrey frakrr. |
External links
References
- ↑ http://middangeard.org.uk/aglardh/?q=node/5
- ↑ Guzman, Monika (2007-10-19). "Time Killer: The "lolcat" bible". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- ↑ Sancton, Julian (December 1, 2009). "Brushing up on Na'vi, the Language of Avatar". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ↑ Boucher, Geoff (November 20, 2009). "USC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2010.