Hype Podcast sits down with language creator David J. Peterson to talk about his work on The 100 and Game of Thrones.

We were very happy to have David J. Peterson come on the show for a long chat about the art of language creation, particularly the inside-outs of The 100‘s Grounder language Trigedasleng.

In this interview, David explains his process, discusses how this language may have formed within the reality of the show, just what it would take to get a Trigedasleng dictionary published, why the amazing word “Trumpvodah” didn’t make it into season 4, and much more!

You can find David on The Art of Language Invention, on Twitter and on Tumblr. For Trigedasleng enthusiasts, he recommends the fan-run website Trigedasleng.info.

Shownotes:
– David J. Peterson explains his educational background, and how it led to his first language creating job on Game of Thrones
– We discuss how Game of Thrones paved the way for other shows to request fictional languages, such as The 100
– (Psst, it’s actually “The One-Hundred”)
– Just how did he construct Trigedasleng within the show’s fictional reality, in which the Grounders also spoke perfect English?
– There might be more revealed about the origins of Trigedasleng on the show…
– The finer points of Trigedasleng: What has evolved from English, and what is a new creation?
– Does he also come up with Grounder names? (Spoiler alert: no)
– Are there regional dialects for the Grounders?
– How he works with actors on pronunciation and language comprehension
– Why it’s fun to write for characters that are still learning the languages themselves
– Why do fans get so passionate about learning their favorite characters’ language? David calls it “verbal cosplay”
– On that Trigedasleng dictionary: David would love to do one, but it would require fans to express their enthusiasm for it to publishers! More details in the podcast
– We take some questions for Twitter, where David teaches fans to say “I love you,” “You are dead to me,” and funny insults
– He will not teach us how to say “We will rise,” but there’s a specific spoilerific season 4-related reason for that!
– The 100 season 4 is… “something else,” according to David. Some bits of the scripts have even been redacted
– Getting really technical now, David explains how he organizes and keeps track of his languages
– Would a language like Trigedasleng be able to develop naturally?
– Some parts of Trigedasleng are intentionally coded though, like “mother” and “father” became “number one” and “number two” (which eventually became “nomon” and “nontu”)
– Why is Hollywood not hiring more language creators? Looking at you, Star Wars!
– Finally David reveals how he hypes! (Hint: It’s another CW show that’s catching his attention.)

Thank you to David J. Peterson for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk Trigedasleng with us, and thanks to all the fans who sent in questions for him!

The 100 fans might also be interested in our recent interview with book author Kass Morgan, where she discusses the latest The 100 novel Rebellion. Hype Podcast is also excited to announce that we will be releasing season-by-season reviews/recaps of The 100 leading up to season 4! Look for the first one on your iTunes feed, on Twitter or here on Hypable.com between Christmas and New Year’s!

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