Atlantean Language

The Atlantean Language is constructed language created specifically for the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire by linguist Marc Okrand. The language was intended as a possible "mother language." Therefore it was crafted to include a vast Indo-European word stock with its very own grammar, which is at times described as highly agglutinative, inspired in Sumerian and North American languages. The decision of this language being a possible "mother language" was actually one made by the filmmakers, and not Okrand himself, who followed this presumption upon its creation.

Concept/Origin

The Atlantean language (Dig Adlantisag) is a historically constructed, artistic language. It is therefore based both on historic reconstructions or realities as well as on the elaborate fantasy/science fiction of the film's mythos. Here are the fictional bases upon which the language was created:

Atlantean is the “Tower of Babel language”, the “root dialect” from which all languages descended. It has existed without change since sometime before 100,000 B.C., within the First or Second Age of Atlantis until the present. This is when the Mother Crystal (Matag Yob) descended to Earth and brought enlightenment to the Atlantean people. It is preserved by the presence of the Mother Crystal in the same way that the Shepherd's Journal, the City of Atlantis (Wil Adlantisag), the Atlantean people (luden), and especially its royalty (yaseken) are preserved, healed, and given extended blissful life.

To create this, Okrand took common characteristics of all world languages and applied them to the Proto-Indo-European language. His main source of words (roots and stems) for the language is Proto-Indo-European, but he also uses ancient Chinese, Biblical Hebrew, Latin and Greek languages, along with a variety of other ancient languages or ancient language reconstructions.

Writing Systems

There are three identified writing systems for Atlantean:

1. Writers Script
2. The Atlantean Alphabet
3. Reader's Script - AHD-luhn-tihs

They are listed in order of creation. Okrand originally put together the language in Writer's Script. For those many parts in the film for which it was written, the filmmakers wrote it using the Atlantean Alphabet, which was created by artist John Emerson with help from Okrand. For those fewer parts of the film for which it is spoken, Okrand devised a Berlitz-syle notation which he hoped would make the language easier to read for the actors.

Example:

1. Spirits of Atlantis, forgive me for defiling your chamber and bringing intruders into the land.
2. Nish.en.top Adlantis.ag, Kelob.tem Gabr.in karok.li.mik bet gim demot.tem net getunos.en.tem bernot.li.mik bet kag.ib lewid.yoh.
   (Okrand's original wouldn't have had periods; these are used for the translation below.)¹
3. NEE-shen-toap AHD-luhn-tih-suhg, KEH-loab-tem GAHB-rihn KAH-roak-lih-mihk bet gihm DEH-moat-tem net GEH-tuh-noh-sen-tem behr-NOAT-lih-mihk bet KAH-gihb LEH-wihd-yoakh.

¹ (Spirit.Plural.Vocative Atlantis.Genitive, Chamber.Oblique you-plural-familiar.Genitive defile.Past-Perfect.1st-Person-Singular for and land.Oblique into intruder.Plural.Oblique bring.Past-Perfect.1st-Person-Singular for I-Dative forgive.Imperative-Plural.)

Written boustrophedon, as if in Atlantean alphabet:

NISHENTOP ADLANTISAG KELOBTEM

MIG TEB KIMILKORAK NIRBAG
DEMOTTEM NET GETANOSENTEM
BIGAK TEB KIMILTONREB

LEWIDYOH

Atlantean Alphabet: Use and Sources

Writing Systems Correspondence

Here is how all of the writing systems correspond to one another. For sake of standardization, they are arranged according a fan-composed alphabet. It is based on the oldest example of Northern Semitic Abecedary as found in the Ugaritic language.

The Atlantean Alphabet (as used in the film)

Writers Script

a

b

g

d

e

w

h

i

y

k

l

m

u

n

o

p

r

s

sh

t

Readers Script

uh ah

b

g

d

eh e

w

kh

ee ih

y

k

l

m

oo u

n

oa,oh

p

r

s

sh

t

20 letters of the Atlantean alphabet are used to write Atlantean in the film's media. The letters c, f, j, q, v, x, z, ch, or th have likewise been acknowledged by the filmmakers as not being used. They were created so that the language might be used as a simple cipher code. They are all also based on diverse ancient characters, just like the rest of the alphabet.

Atlantean Alphabet: Use

There is no punctuation or capitalization in the Atlantean Writing System. These characteristics are based by Okrand on ancient writing systems. The Atlantean Alphabet is written in normal boustrophedon writing order. It is written left to right for the first line, right to left the second, and left to right again the third, to continue the pattern. This order was also suggested by Okrand, based on ancient writing systems, and it was accepted because, as he explained, "It's a back-and-forth movement, like water, so that worked."

Atlantean Numerals and Numbers

Atlantean Numeral System

Emerson, Okrand, and the filmmakers also created numerals for 0-9. They are stacked horizontally, however, and hold place values of 1, 20, and 400. Their components are based on Mayan numerals and internally composed for the font like Roman numerals. If used according to the now-offline Official Website's directions, they are used, alternatively, like Arabic numerals.

Atlantean Numbers and Suffixes

Cardinal Numbers

Numeral	Atlantean Root	English
1	din	one
2	dut	two
3	sey	three
4	kut	four
5	sha	five
6	luk	six
7	tos	seven
8	ya	eight
9	nit	nine
10	ehep	ten
30	sey dehep	thirty

Ordinal numbers are formed with the suffix (d)lag: sey 'three', sey.dlag 'third'. The d is omitted if the root ends with an obstruent or nasal stop|nasal consonant: dut 'two', dut.lag 'second'.

Fractions are formed with the suffix (d)lop: kut 'four', kut.lop 'quarter', sha 'five', sha.dlop 'fifth (part)'.

Distributives are formed with the suffix noh: din 'one', din.noh 'one at a time, one each'.