Game of Thrones returns tonight! Did you know the TV show has a billion UC Berkeley connections?
The creator of the Dothraki and High Valyrian languages that are spoken throughout the show is David J. Peterson, a UC Berkeley alum (1999-2003). Peterson is currently teaching a summer session course on the “The Linguistics of Game of Thrones and the Art of Language Invention”.
Peterson has invented more than 40 languages, including 17 for television and film. He said the course aims to teach linguistics students about the fundamentals of language creation as well as reshape students’ perspectives on language.