Differences between High Valyrian and Dothraki

Let us now compare the way the two major fictional languages are handled in the novels. First of all, there is obviously much more Dothraki than High Valyrian in the novels. This makes sense because Dothraki is a living language while High Valyrian is not, and this also adds to the mystery of the latter. The meaning of the High Valyrian content is also exposed in a way that makes the language feel arcane: the reader is often left guessing what certain words mean for several hundred pages, spanning even to the next instalment in the series. On the other hand, the meaning of Dothraki words and phrases is either given explicitly, or it is easily inferable from the context. All in all, High Valyrian is shrouded in an aura of mystery throughout the novels, while Dothraki seems far more commonplace and we become much more familiar with it.

High Valyrian was spoken by members of the most highly civilised society in the history of Martin's story world, while Dothraki is spoken by a people of horse riding nomad raiders. This seems to be reflected in the languages themselves: High Valyrian has certain qualities that make it feel “civilised” or “pleasant”, while Dothraki seems much “rougher”, befitting the people that speak it. This is not to say that the qualities of a language would actually have anything to do with the nature of its speakers, but the way we perceive the language still seems to affect our views on them. This, in turn, can

be exploited by the one who creates the fictional language to portray its speakers in a certain light.

As discussed before, High Valyrian has some Latinate features, which helps

create parallels between High Valyrian and Latin, and the Valyrian and Roman empires. In itself, this link creates an image of High Valyrian as a “civilised” language. While there is not that much information on High Valyrian in the novels beyond the few phrases already discussed, we do learn a few additional things. For example, Daenerys encounters a man who speaks a language that is described as “the liquid Valyrian of the Nine Free Cities” (CK, 389). This is not High Valyrian per se, but one of its descendant languages. As we have discussed above, the Valyrian spoken in each of the nine cities is rather different from each other – as Tyrion noted, they are in the process of becoming separate languages (DWD, 17). Yet the wording here suggests that all of them are “liquid”. I think it is fairly reasonable to assume that they get this shared quality from High Valyrian, of which they are descended from. This kind depiction of the language conjures images of flow, smoothness and clarity, for example. We also get another indirect account of what High Valyrian sounds like. Daenerys meets “A small, damp man, he smelled as if he had bathed in perfume and spoke a bastard form of High Valyrian, much corrupted and flavored with a thick Ghiscari growl (DWD, 41). The Ghiscari Empire was a rival of Valyria, and was eventually conquered by it. Their language was replaced by High Valyrian in the process, but as we can see from Daenerys's account here, it is rather different from “pure” High Valyrian. We can assume that the “growl” is not characteristic of High Valyrian, as it is said to corrupt it, which in turn, suggests that “pure” High Valyrian is rather pleasant-sounding.

something to him in the rough Dothraki tongue” (GT, 35) and guttural: “The pale man with the blue lips replied in guttural Dothraki, 'I am Pyat Pree, the great warlock'” (CK, 183). These descriptions conjure an image of a much harsher sounding language; one that does not necessarily sound pleasant to the ear, nor flow like liquid. Guttural is not a particularly precise term, but it pertains to sounds that are articulated in the throat or are perceived as such. The OED defines guttural as follows:

Of sounds or utterance: produced in the throat. By non- phoneticians any mode of pronunciation which is harsh or grating in effect is often supposed to be ‘guttural’; with this notion the designation is popularly applied by English-speakers to the German ch, but not to k or g, though technically it belongs equally to them. As a technical term of phonetics, the word was first used to denote the Hebrew spirant consonants , ע א, ה, ח; it is now commonly applied (inaccurately, if its

etymological sense be regarded) to the sounds formed by the back of the tongue and the palate, as /k/ɡ/x/ɣ/ŋ/).

When we look at the Dothraki language that appears in the novels, we can see that k, g,

q and h occur very frequently. These are sounds can be considered guttural by their

place of articulation. Another very frequent occurrence is the combination kh, which we can probably assume to stand for the voiceless velar fricative [x], as ch does in German, a sound considered throaty or guttural by English-speakers.

Finally, let us briefly compare High Valyrian and Dothraki proper names. Although names will be discussed in more detail below, they play an important part in giving each language a distinct flavour and characterising its speakers, and should therefore be mentioned here. Some High Valyrian male names include Aegon, Aenys,

female names include Rhaenys, Visenya, Rhaenyra, Naerys, Rhaella and Daenerys (GT, 833-835). All of these names belong to members of the Targaryen dynasty, which probably explains similarities between names such as Viserys and Visenya etc. Some Dothraki male names include Drogo, Jhogo, Aggo, Rakharo, Pono, Jhaqo, Maggo,

Moro, Rhogoro, Jommo (FFC, 929-931), while female names include Irri and Jhiqui

(FFC, 930). As a side note, there are very few named female Dothraki characters in the novels; I believe the aforementioned two to be the only ones. Valyrian surnames include

Targaryen (GT, 832), Baratheon (GT, 810) and Velaryon (GT, 812). On the other hand,

the Dothraki do not use surnames as such, but they have a patronymic system instead: “This I vow, I, Drogo son of Bharbo (GT, 594; emphasis added).

The main differences here seem to be that Dothraki names are simpler, slightly shorter and more uniform. Almost all of the Dothraki names are just four or five letters and two syllables long, while High Valyrian names are slightly longer as a whole. All male Dothraki names end in -o, and both female names end in -i, while High Valyrian names for both sexes have much more varied endings. All in all, Dothaki names are very straightforward, while High Valyrian names are much more complex. This, in part, characterises the two peoples: the Dothraki lead a seemingly simple, even “barbaric” way of life, while the Valyrians belong to a highly complex, “civilised” society. The image of the Dothraki as a less organised society is also supported by their lack of fixed surnames.