Conlanging David J. Peterson press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 2016
David J. Peterson, language creator for Game of Thrones, will invent a new language just for you… for only $15,000
LOS ANGELES – Have you ever dreamed of having your own Dothraki, or Valyrian, or even a language custom-made for giants? Well, probably not, but if these languages by David J. Peterson for HBO’s Game of Thrones excite you, we have good news: David will create a unique language just for you.
As you might imagine, inventing a language from scratch is not an easy undertaking—it requires months of work to figure out the grammar and come up with hundreds of words, which is why even at $15,000 a professionally crafted language by an industry master could be considered a bargain! And to top off your ‘savings,’ the money is going to a good cause: it’s the top level perk of a crowdfunding effort to raise money for a new documentary called Conlanging.
What’s a conlang you ask? It’s an abbreviation for ‘constructed language,’ which is exactly what the film is about. In fact it’s the first feature documentary about constructed languages and the people who make them. Esperanto, Klingon, Na’vi from Avatar—conlangs have been around for a long while, but the general public knows almost nothing about them. This film aims to change that.
David J. Peterson is an executive producer on the film, and is offering to create a language for you via the same process by which he would collaborate with big Hollywood or television productions. You’ll get a world-class custom language for your personal or franchise purposes, and it will simultaneously help bring in much needed funds for finishing the documentary. It’s a way for him to help contribute to the consciousness-raising that the film will bring to a subject he is very passionate about. “My work is well known because the shows and movies I work on are well known,” David writes, “but the best created languages I’ve seen have been done by those who pursue the art for the pure joy of it. I’m ecstatic that we’re going to be able to tell their stories in this documentary. They’re stories worth hearing, and work worth celebrating.”
Will the language Peterson creates for you be spoken by humans, or elves, or hundred-eyed aliens? Will its sound system rely exclusively on the ingressive airstream and be just on the cusp of what humans normally try to pronounce, or beautiful and flowing? It’s all up to you to decide…if you’ve got the cash.
More info at https://conlangingfilm.com
About David J. Peterson
David began work on his first language in 2000 and has been creating languages ever since. He’s worked as a language creator on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Syfy’s Defiance and Dominion, the CW’s Star-Crossed and The 100, plus Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World. He’s also the author of two books: Living Language Dothraki (2014) and The Art of Language Invention (2015).
About Conlanging, The Art of Crafting Tongues
Featuring an overview of the history of constructed languages up to and through the amazing creations and initiatives of those who actively invent new tongues today, this feature-length film tells the rich story that has expanded far beyond Tolkien’s “secret vice.” It’s being made by the people who know the craft intimately for language lovers and a general audience alike. The film is currently in post-production and is actively crowdfunding at https://conlangingfilm.com
Images for publication
Zip archive of all images:
David J. Peterson (right) and Jason Momoa (left) who spoke the constructed language Dothraki on HBO’s Game of Thrones.
David J. Peterson, executive producer of the feature documentary Conlanging: The Art of Crafting Tongues.
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