Inkling: The Language of Splatoon

[Mithical1]

Any linguists in the house? I've been wondering about about the language that has been depicted throughout the world of Splatoon. Mostly curious about the orthography since we haven't really heard the language except for maybe a bit in the music.

First of all, is there any structure to the written language? If someone can confirm that it is all made up nonsense then this thread can be abandoned.

Until then, I'd like to know what people think about "Inklanese" and it's inclusion within the overall aesthetic of the game. I myself haven't looked into it much but I really hope that it is interpretable. That would be inkredible attention to detail on the developers' part.

Edit: The official Tumblr calls the language "Inkling" so that is what we'll go with if we discuss any further developments.

 

[Lyn]

I don't think they really have a strict language, it's probably just noises that sound similar to English or whatever language it's localised to. :P

 

[StarHunter789]

I don't think they really have a strict language, it's probably just noises that sound similar to English or whatever language it's localised to. :p

I agree with this but the written language does mean something. Someone will probably decode it when of the comes out.

 

[Oni]

I kind of like "squidgin"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin
I only know this from recently rereading East of Eden.

as for the language im guessing its just nonsense :p would like to be proven wrong though

 

[Mithical1]

I kind of like "squidgin"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin
I only know this from recently rereading East of Eden.

as for the language im guessing its just nonsense :p would like to be proven wrong though

I like Squidgin but I think calling it Inklanese more obviously identifies it as a language. But do you think I should change it to Squidgin? I don't mind.

 

[Inari]

It would be pretty crazy if they made up their own language like the Ar tonelico games did (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hymmnos.htm)

I kinda doubt they went through that kind of effort for Splatoon though since the language doesn't really play much of a part in the game. I probably wouldn't expect it to be more than symbol swapped japanese/english or just random symbols

 

[Lyn]

I like Squidgin but I think calling it Inklanese more obviously identifies it as a language. But do you think I should change it to Squidgin? I don't mind.

I like Inklanese more, it's like "Inkling" and "Japanese" put together. Since it was made and Japan and the race is called Inklings I think it fits perfectly. :)

I kinda doubt they went through that kind of effort for Splatoon though since the language doesn't really play much of a part in the game. I probably wouldn't expect it to be more than symbol swapped japanese or just random symbols

You never know, it is a new IP. They did the same for Zelda so.. :P

 

[Oni]

inklanese is the super obvious one

squidgin is the hyper intelligent sounding one that sounds fancy for no reason and no one will understand :p I prefer squidgin because I just made it up but who cares.

 

[Mithical1]

It would be pretty crazy if they made up their own language like the Ar tonelico games did (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hymmnos.htm)

I kinda doubt they went through that kind of effort for Splatoon though since the language doesn't really play much of a part in the game. I probably wouldn't expect it to be more than symbol swapped japanese/english or just random symbols

Yeah, I'm hoping it's just character substitution. It would be cool if it was decipherable.

 

[Yaezakura]

I imagine the written language is a simple character swap from Japanese. That tends to be how Nintendo handles languages.

The spoken version is probably just random noises, though, perhaps made in familiar cadence to sound like sentences, but with no actual translatable meaning.

 

[Infinity343018]

I myself am more partial to Squiddish or Inkish

 

[Rescue22]

I guess we'll see whenever the game comes out, it should be interesting to learn about the Inklings more.

 

[StarHunter789]

I myself am more partial to Squiddish or Inkish

Both of those names are pretty good for language names. But then what about the Octarians? Do they speak a different language or do they speak the same language as the Inklings?

 

[Infinity343018]

Both of those names are pretty good for language names. But then what about the Octarians? Do they speak a different language or do they speak the same language as the Inklings?

I think it would be a different language. Perhaps Octarese or heck even just Octarian

 

[StarHunter789]

Hmm, I watched some footage again of people playing a single player mission with Octolings and they appear to die like Inklings do (their soul flies out like a squid except purple). They sort of make noises similar to Inklings too, but not exactly the same.

 

[Lyn]

Hmm, I watched some footage again of people playing a single player mission with Octolings and they appear to die like Inklings do (their soul flies out like a squid except purple). They sort of make noises similar to Inklings too, but not exactly the same.

Maybe they have a different accent of the same language? Maybe it's a universal language, since the shop owners aren't Inklings.

 

[Yaezakura]

Maybe they have a different accent of the same language? Maybe it's a universal language, since the shop owners aren't Inklings.

Ah, but they talk on the Tumblr about how jellyfish, the second-most-common species in Inkopolis, don't speak Inkling. The only one that can is Jelonzo, the owner of the clothing store... and his use of the language is fairly broken.

 

[Lyn]

Ah, but they talk on the Tumblr about how jellyfish, the second-most-common species in Inkopolis, don't speak Inkling. The only one that can is Jelonzo, the owner of the clothing store... and his use of the language is fairly broken.

Hmm, I see. That makes sense.

 

[Bottlecapn]

Ever since I noticed the weird language I've wanted to decipher it, but I haven't much luck yet. I've been interested in this for a while now and I'll share with you guys any info I can get.

 

[LunarDistortion]

Wouldn't it be awesome if it were decipherable like Hyrulian in Zelda? That detail would probably be one of the best in the game if they implemented it.

Sadly though, it doesn't seem to be the case.