Top 20 Greatest Fictional Languages

“A Clockwork Orange” (1962)
Anthony Burgess' classic 1962 novel depicts a dystopian world where teen gang violence runs rampant. A linguist, Burgess crafted a unique argot called Nadsat, a type of slang used by the droogs. Nadsat incorporates elements of Russian, Cockney, and German, among various other influences. Burgess' goal was to create a group-specific language that could be timeless, as slang naturally morphs as cultures change. Stanley Kubrick's adaptation trickles Nadsat phrases into the characters' dialogue, although it’s nowhere near as prominent as in the book. This slang helps emphasize Alex and the droogs’ antisocial behavior, creating a wall between the sociopathic teens and everyone else.

“Harry Potter” franchise (1997-)
Yes, Harry, the snake can understand you. A precious few wizards and witches in the "Harry Potter" universe are gifted with Parseltongue, a skill that allows them to communicate with serpents. In the books, Parseltongue generally takes the form of hissing since most people cannot understand it and will probably not even notice it. The films opted for a more cinematic and ear-catching approach, giving the language a unique and identifiable sound. As this skill is associated with the likes of Voldemort and the wizarding community is not free of prejudice, Parseltongue tends to attract a negative reaction.

“Transformers” franchise (1984-)
Be it the comics, cartoons, games, or live-action movies, Transformers typically stick to English, even when on Cybertron and there are no humans to be found. Throughout the franchise's history, glimpses have been provided of different languages that have been used by the Transformers, primarily in the form of glyphs and background data. 2007's "Transformers" movie gave sound to this language, with the Decepticons communicating with each other in what is presumably a form of Cybertronian. To the human ear, the live-action Cybertronian is indecipherable, a blend of futuristic-sounding noises that are near impossible for a non-Transform to verbally replicate.

“Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001)
Disney's often forgotten 2001 epic blends science-fiction and fantasy, but there's also an element of history there. For "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," an Atlantean language was created, one that could be spoken and also written. As a root dialect, Atlantean incorporates common aspects from many different languages, which kind of explains why Atlantis's natives can speak French and English. Atlantean's writing system, which can be seen through glyphs and in the Shepherd's Journal, harbors back to ancient dialects. "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" revolves around preserving a shrinking culture, and that goes into the language that only Atlanteans and Milo can speak.

“Watership Down” franchise (1972-2018)
Richard Adams' complex "Watership Down" follows anthropomorphic rabbits seeking to survive after their home's destruction. As the animals have a well-developed culture, a language was created to bring to life the unique experiences and perspectives of the rabbits. Lapine primarily boils down to a handful of choice words, many of which sound oddly natural despite being made up. "Watership Down" is a harrowing tale that warps its cartoonish setting into something that feels real. Lapine plays a crucial part in bringing to life the rabbits, establishing them as a defined society with history, norms, and beliefs.

“Blade Runner” franchise (1982-2017)
"Blade Runner" envisions a future driven by mega-corporations, and Ridley Scott's movie has served as something of a blueprint for many subsequent cyberpunk settings. In this alternate universe, Los Angeles has become a fusion of cultures, most of which are just shallow imitations of what they used to be. Cityspeak personifies this amalgamation, as the street language combines Japanese, French, Hungarian, German, Spanish, and Chinese. When preparing for his role as Gaff in the original "Blade Runner," Edward James Olmos used his background in different languages to come up with Cityspeak.

“Stargate” franchise (1994-2018)
Sampled in the 1994 movie before being expanded further in the subsequent series, Goa'uld is the language spoken by, well, the Goa'uld, a parasitic race with a nasty track record of destroying worlds who do not submit. This language reflects the Goa'uld's history and nature, as it's believed to be based on the mother tongue of the Unas, the first race to fall victim to the parasites. When it comes to humanity, this language inspired Ancient Egyptian and is also spoken by the Jaffa, who are humans enslaved by the Goa'uld.

“1984” (1949)
Language is powerful and, in the wrong hands, dangerous. George Orwell's "1984" presents one of the most sinister examples of a fictional language, as Newspeak is designed entirely to shape and limit the freedom of Oceania's people. In the book, Ingsoc, the English Socialist Party, is still in the process of perfecting Newspeak, but its impact can already be seen. Once complete, Newspeak will feature a lexicon with a tiny selection of simple words that leave no room for interpretation or critical analysis. Basically, Newspeak is a form of mind-control, and it's effective.

“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)
Serving as something of a stand-in for the Roman Empire in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" universe, the Valyrian Freehold's influence can still be felt hundreds of years after its collapse. While touched upon in the books, HBO's "Game of Thrones" adaptation created a functional High Valyrian language, introducing it in Season 3. High Valyrian doesn't have much use in modern-day Essos or Westeros, and is generally only spoken by scholars and some nobles. Similar to Latin, High Valyrian influenced future languages and dialects that are collectively known as Low Valyrian.

“The Fifth Element” (1997)
Known as the Divine Language, Mondoshawan is spoken by Leeloo throughout "The Fifth Element." Developed by Luc Besson and consisting of a few hundred words, the director and Milla Jovovich were the only two people who could speak the language on set. By the end of filming, Besson and Jovovich grew quite fluent, being able to even write letters in the language. In-universe, the Divine Language is associated with the Mondoshawan race and is said to have been spoken before time was time. It might sound like Leeloo is speaking gibberish, but every word means something.

“Sim” franchise (1989-)
Often a fictional language is created to increase immersion, but sometimes it can serve a different purpose. EA's "The Sims" franchise simulates life, so the Sims need to be able to speak in the games; however, since the developers can only record a finite amount of voice lines, things would eventually get repetitive. As a response to this, Simlish was created, a gibberish dialect so that the Sims would not be endlessly spewing out the same lines in English. Simlish, which traces back to 1996's "Simcopter," has become a staple of the "Sim" brand.

“Quest for Fire” (1981)
Set in prehistoric times, "Quest for Fire" follows the Ulam tribe's attempt to protect and then retrieve its flame. Anthony Burgess of "A Clockwork Orange'' fame was brought in to craft a language for the tribe, one that would go beyond the cartoonish grunts typically associated with cavemen. The Ulam speak in mostly brief phrases accompanied by physical gestures, allowing the language to purposefully come across as strained and primitive. The Ulam do not use speech as their primary source of communication, and the language differs depending on the tribe. Despite seeming rather simple, Ulam is a complex language.

“Despicable Me” franchise (2010-)
Gru's hijinks-driven Minions have outgrown the "Despicable Me" movies, and their cute language is one of the reasons why. Minionese generally takes phrases from real languages like English, Spanish, or even Chinese and adds a few unique touches to give them a marketable edge. The result is a language that flows well because it doesn't sound too foreign to the ear and usually makes sense within the context of a scene. Minions are adorable and easily amused creatures, and their language resembles a toddler who's just learning to express themselves.

“The Elder Scrolls” franchise (1994-)
In this case, language is literally power. Introduced in 2011's "Skyrim," Dovahzul is the language of the dragons. As dragons became less prominent, Dovahzul diminished in relevance, although a few people are still able to speak it. The coolest feature about the dragon language is that learning certain three-word phrases unlocks powers called shouts, which there are over 20 of in "Skyrim." It's even possible to learn to speak the language. Granted, you won’t be able to unleash your very own Fus-Ro-Dah unless you’re Dragonborn. Them’s the rules.

“The Lord of the Rings” franchise (1954-)
Tolkien pretty much wrote the book on crafting fictional languages, with more than a few showing up in Middle-earth. While not the most commonly heard or fully developed language in "The Lord of the Rings" universe, Black Speech sealed its legacy through the inscription on the One Ring. Black Speech contrasts well with the other languages created by Tolkien, including Elvish and the Dwarves’ language of Khuzdûl. Although pure Black Speech is mostly limited to two lines, some Orkish dialects are partially derived from it. Peter Jackson’s movies adopted an interpretation of Black Speech, one that sought to incorporate Tolkien’s initial vision for the language.

“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)
Like the other fictional languages on HBO's "Game of Thrones," Dothraki was developed by David J. Peterson, who expanded on the glimpses provided by George R.R. Martin in the books. Over the show's run, the language grew to contain thousands of words, all of which are designed to reflect the Dothraki's culture, customs, and everyday lives. Dothraki words like "khaleesi" have become ingrained into pop culture, and the series does a great job of showing Dany's gradual adoption of the language. Considering it started as a few loose phrases, the fact "Game of Thrones" transformed Dothraki into a functional language is nothing short of impressive.

“Star Wars” franchise (1977-)
"Return of the Jedi" marked the debut of the Ewoks, tribal bears who proved to be cute and controversial in equal measure. Rather than creating a language from scratch, "Star Wars" looked to real-life when crafting Ewokese, specifically East-Asia. Kalmyk was one of the biggest influences on Ewokese, as the actors would repeat phrases from the language to create an alien-sounding dialect, at least to Western ears. As such, there are only a handful of official Ewokese phrases, although the vocabulary does increase considerably if the Expanded Universe is taken into account. And don’t get us started on the intricacies of Huttese.

“Avatar” (2009)
For "Avatar," James Cameron wanted to create a language for the Na'vi people, an undertaking that was accepted by American professor Paul Frommer. The fictional language had to strike the sweet spot of sounding entirely alien but also being relatively easy to learn and pronounce, both for the in-universe human characters and the actors. Growing to more than 2000 words, Na'vi has well-established syntax and rules, making it one of the most complete fictional languages in film. With more "Avatar" movies in the works, the Na'vi language has continued to grow with each passing year, expanding along with the franchise.

“Star Trek” franchise (1966-)
How many fictional languages can claim to have multiple dictionaries, an opera, and even an institute dedicated to them? The Klingons' official language made its debut in 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," the same movie that also expanded on Vulcan. Klingon was developed into a structured language for 1984's "The Search for Spock" by Marc Okrand. Designed to be difficult to speak, Klingon is emphatically alien-sounding and uniquely combines aspects of human languages. Among fictional languages, Klingon is one of the most commonly learned, serving as a testament to "Star Trek's" enduring popularity and influence.

“The Lord of the Rings” franchise (1954-)
Tolkien's fascination with languages served as the backbone of Middle-earth, and Elvish was the author's magnum opus in this area. As Elves are a diverse race, Elvish refers to multiple languages, with Quenya and Sindarin being the most fully developed. Quenya is associated with the High Elves, while Sindarin is the more common tongue used by the Sindar. Tolkien used Elvish to explore how language develops across time, and this project started long before "The Lord of the Rings" or even "The Hobbit" were published. Peter Jackson's movies adapted Tolkien's dialects, further cementing Elvish as iconic fictional languages.