Inkling: The Language of Splatoon

[Zombie Aladdin]

Eh, it goes so much deeper than simple substitution. I don't think anyone has been able to figure out vingere autokey yet qithout brute force, ect. If we assume nintendo decided to make a language in this world, that it would be some way for inlkings to communicate, while codes and ciphers are meant to communicate in secret (I think the closest the two have been used together would be the navajo code talkers). You mentioned one-time pads, but what if someone at nintendo was given a copy and leaks it? Also, if nintendo goes through the effort to encode everything, then they may as well make it gibberish because nobody is going to break an RSA 2048 code anytime soon, and I don't think quantum computers would be given for such an effort (probably more likely to run protein folding code).

I most strongly suspect it's a polyalphabetic substitution cipher; Nintendo has worked with substitutions in the past, most notably with Hylian (which is a simple substitution cipher for hiragana/katakana, except in Twilight Princess where it's English). That being said, I'm sure the people at Nintendo know by now that Hylian has been solved and may have turned to something more complex.

Vigenère ciphers HAVE been broken without needing brute force or the keys on hand. It merely took a few centuries to do that. I mentioned recently that Union codebreakers in the U.S. Civil War solved Confederate encoded messages; those were Vigenère-encoded. The problem is that the Kasiski technique, the only publicly known technique to solve vigenère ciphers, is only effective on messages longer than the key. If Nintendo moved from simple to Vigenère (a la Gravity Falls), then it would be excruciatingly difficult to solve as nearly all Inkling text is names and slogan-length messages, and if multiple keys were used, it'd be one-time pad levels of difficulty.

As far as utility goes, I think it's in Nintendo's best interest to leave it as some sort of substitution cipher if they want to have a believable-looking written language. Messages can be easily typed and digitally converted into those letters, rather than drawing each letter and copy-pasting them around. That is, unless Nintendo programmed a digital enigma machine to automatically encode messages as they're typed (which is not beyond the realm of possibility). And all of these are still far less effort than creating a language entirely from scratch.

 

[Zwei]

I most strongly suspect it's a polyalphabetic substitution cipher; Nintendo has worked with substitutions in the past, most notably with Hylian (which is a simple substitution cipher for hiragana/katakana, except in Twilight Princess where it's English). That being said, I'm sure the people at Nintendo know by now that Hylian has been solved and may have turned to something more complex.

Vigenère ciphers HAVE been broken without needing brute force or the keys on hand. It merely took a few centuries to do that. I mentioned recently that Union codebreakers in the U.S. Civil War solved Confederate encoded messages; those were Vigenère-encoded. The problem is that the Kasiski technique, the only publicly known technique to solve vigenère ciphers, is only effective on messages longer than the key. If Nintendo moved from simple to Vigenère (a la Gravity Falls), then it would be excruciatingly difficult to solve as nearly all Inkling text is names and slogan-length messages, and if multiple keys were used, it'd be one-time pad levels of difficulty.

As far as utility goes, I think it's in Nintendo's best interest to leave it as some sort of substitution cipher if they want to have a believable-looking written language. Messages can be easily typed and digitally converted into those letters, rather than drawing each letter and copy-pasting them around. That is, unless Nintendo programmed a digital enigma machine to automatically encode messages as they're typed (which is not beyond the realm of possibility). And all of these are still far less effort than creating a language entirely from scratch.

Good point. However, please note that I mentioned autokey versus common vingère. Vingère's original "unbreakable cipher" was similar to the one you are thinking of with the repeating key causing repeating ciphertext, but autokey is where you only use they key once then encode the message with earlier segments of it's plaintext causing a snowball effect similar to those in irreversable hashing algorithms.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Actually, what I figured is the case is that it is an unusual polyalphabetic substitution cipher: That is, there are multiple keys, all of them simple substitution, and one of them is chosen when they write a message in Inkling. Hence, when looking at just one piece of text, it would be a simple substitution cipher, but you can't necessarily use letters you encode in that text to solve letters in another piece of text, because that one may use another simple substitution key.

 

[Zwei]

Actually, what I figured is the case is that it is an unusual polyalphabetic substitution cipher: That is, there are multiple keys, all of them simple substitution, and one of them is chosen when they write a message in Inkling. Hence, when looking at just one piece of text, it would be a simple substitution cipher, but you can't necessarily use letters you encode in that text to solve letters in another piece of text, because that one may use another simple substitution key.

Wait... Does that mean that this is basically one-time pad, seeing as there is no consistency between the keys and the messages are too short to use frequency or structure attacks on?

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

No, from what I can tell from frequency and pattern analysis, there seems to be most likely 4 to 5 keys for the English character set and about 3 for the numeral set (which, I realized, is why there are 11 characters for numerals).

Most likely, what's happening is that multiple people have been writing the in-game text, and each of them has his or her own key. That is, there was never a consensus over the rules, and each person wrote Inkling text according to how he or she wanted.

 

[pumpCurry]

it's simple, they talk inkling language.
maybe known only .... The "from high" (JA: カミさま(splatFest Fax machine) だけが知っている )


so, we have to relax!! and , feel and feeeeeeeel inklings!!!

I think, They are very suitable. Therefore possibly all the next letters may be the same meanings.

for example 1, These letters that we look like two or more. In fact, it may be one.
for example 2, These letters that we look like one. In fact, it may not be one.
for example 3, These letters looking like a letter, something which, in fact, is not a letter may be mixed.

Only ONE thing that their pronunciation and their letter were displayed with a set by a past exists:
That is The promotion video, and song of High-Color Evolution. (splatune disc2 track #01).
When they compared three of ; North America edition, Europe edition, or Japanese edition,
It is recognized that a reading is different from the name of two of them Sea-O-Colours, and the name of all the salesclerks, the name of all the brands.

I read and saw The IKASU-ART-BOOK, the number seem to have to be a decimal number.
BUT, The Two of the next are different in a letter, but the meaning seems to be the same.

ε and з　is 3
∀ is 6　, Ａ is 9 .


- - - - - - - -
updated:

heyhey! Museum d'Alfonsino ( JA : キンメダイ美術館 ) is comming!!!
check it out and take a walk, seek the Rosetta stone!!

Aha,motif is that: www.momat.go.jp

 

[sammich]

I would not be at all surprised if the Inkling language, like actual Japanese, had two completely separate phonetic representations of the language; in Japanese, apart from Kanji (the ideogrammatic written language that's often supplemented with the other two) you have Hiragana (the phonetic character set used to transliterate Kanji, as well as for particles; basic rule "native Japanese words") and Katakana (the phonetic character set used to render foreign "loan words" and proper names of non-Japanese origin). It's obviously not a 1-1 thing (as I recall, Japan doesn't really have Hiragana and Katakana for numerals, instead using either the Western number system in most contexts and the traditional Kanji for each number otherwise), but given that Inklings have a heavily Japanese cultural context, it wouldn't surprise me that they would develop similar rules for their own language.

i think this is undeniable. even if it's gibberish, it's designed with multiple alphabets/(possibly different languages as well) in mind.

you probably have all seen this because it's ALL over kelp dome (on the walls and on the side of the central cylinder), but have you noticed that these letters are considerably more complicated than most of what you see in Splatoon?

i don't normally come here, and you've probably talked about this already, but i noticed the script while i was playing the other day and i HAD to bring it up somewhere. anyway, the cool thing about this is that this stage is called "モズク農園" in the japanese version. it means like "kelp/seaweed plantation," in which the kanji 農 refers to agriculture/farming.

can you see it? it looks a LOT like the third character in the kelp dome script (albeit the kelp dome one is a lot simpler). the last character also looks a lot like 所, which means "place" and is a common kanji suffix for places (it may be hard to see just looking at the shape, but when writing it by hand it can look really similar). so we have the last two kanji of kelp dome's text: 農所 (farming place / farm / agricultural center). it's not the kind of word that'll come up in dictionaries, but it's a reasonable combination that is actually used in some place names.

as for the first two kanji in kelp dome... i can't really tell what the first is supposed to be. japanese is my second language, so even though i'm good at kanji for a foreigner, i'm not as widely versed as most japanese adults. but the second one seems pretty obvious to be 化 (which doesn't have a lot of meaning by itself but signifies something changing or going through a process). ?化農所 implies that this is a farm for making something INTO whatever the '?' is supposed to be.



this signifies to me that nintendo is dedicated to actually having some semblance of meaning. though it's possible, i doubt their scripts for this game are gibberish. my guess would be AT LEAST multiple alphabets like real-world japanese, possibly multiple languages to give a real global feel to the game (given that some of the scripts like in the shoe shop name vs hat shop name seem so different to me). as for the squid kanji, though, i'd assume they'd approach kanji on a case-by-case basis rather than creating a giant script.

*grain of salt: i haven't been taking part in this thread or even read more than a page or two, so i might be adding absolutely nothing -- i just wanted to share the kelp dome kanji: ?化農所

 

[pumpCurry]

dear sammich,
ahaaaah, yes,yes. maybe written "五化農研" I don't know what's mean is it, or , how to read,
but, "五化" is in Chinese "all-round/Ulitimate", "農研"→"農業研究所" is in Japanese "Agriculture research (center)".

so, maybe written to that: "Institute for ultimate agriculture research center".

i think this is undeniable. even if it's gibberish, it's designed with multiple alphabets/(possibly different languages as well) in mind.

you probably have all seen this because it's ALL over kelp dome (on the walls and on the side of the central cylinder), but have you noticed that these letters are considerably more complicated than most of what you see in Splatoon?

i don't normally come here, and you've probably talked about this already, but i noticed the script while i was playing the other day and i HAD to bring it up somewhere. anyway, the cool thing about this is that this stage is called "モズク農園" in the japanese version. it means like "kelp/seaweed plantation," in which the kanji 農 refers to agriculture/farming.

can you see it? it looks a LOT like the third character in the kelp dome script (albeit the kelp dome one is a lot simpler). the last character also looks a lot like 所, which means "place" and is a common kanji suffix for places (it may be hard to see just looking at the shape, but when writing it by hand it can look really similar). so we have the last two kanji of kelp dome's text: 農所 (farming place / farm / agricultural center). it's not the kind of word that'll come up in dictionaries, but it's a reasonable combination that is actually used in some place names.

as for the first two kanji in kelp dome... i can't really tell what the first is supposed to be. japanese is my second language, so even though i'm good at kanji for a foreigner, i'm not as widely versed as most japanese adults. but the second one seems pretty obvious to be 化 (which doesn't have a lot of meaning by itself but signifies something changing or going through a process). ?化農所 implies that this is a farm for making something INTO whatever the '?' is supposed to be.



this signifies to me that nintendo is dedicated to actually having some semblance of meaning. though it's possible, i doubt their scripts for this game are gibberish. my guess would be AT LEAST multiple alphabets like real-world japanese, possibly multiple languages to give a real global feel to the game (given that some of the scripts like in the shoe shop name vs hat shop name seem so different to me). as for the squid kanji, though, i'd assume they'd approach kanji on a case-by-case basis rather than creating a giant script.

*grain of salt: i haven't been taking part in this thread or even read more than a page or two, so i might be adding absolutely nothing -- i just wanted to share the kelp dome kanji: ?化農所

and, A bag of the manure Maybe written with "oHaナ元気 → お花 元気", and a meaning, "a flower gets well" seems to be written.

 

[sammich]

dear sammich,
ahaaaah, yes,yes. maybe written "五化農研" I don't know what's mean is it, or , how to read,
but, "五化" is in Chinese "all-round/Ulitimate", "農研"→"農業研究所" is in Japanese "Agriculture research (center)".

so, maybe written to that: "Institute for ultimate agriculture research center".

ahh it makes sense! i can see 五 really well. 研 also is pretty visible in that last kanji, plus it makes a lot of sense given 農業研究所 exists.

as for 五化,
if you read them purely for sound, 五 can be read as イ and 化 can be read as カ → イカ (which means 'squid').
i didn't figure that out on my own -- i did a quick google search for 五化農研 and japanese fans worked that (though i should have known because i have multiple coworkers who have 五 in their names being read as イ)

so that's pretty cool. we now know the inkling kanji for "squid" → 五化 (albeit squigglier)

 

[Flipz]

i think this is undeniable. even if it's gibberish, it's designed with multiple alphabets/(possibly different languages as well) in mind.

You know, something just occurred to me. Inkopolis is a highly multicultural environment, with representatives from many different species present (though with Jellies being the most prominent of the non-Inkling species). It would make sense, then, for the writings we find in-game to be multilingual as well, just as much of the signage in Japan itself is. I think you're very much on the right track with this; we're not just having to translate one language with multiple phonetic characters and/or ideograms, we're dealing with multiple languages mashed together depending on the context, as the result of a heavily diversified population.

 

[pumpCurry]

uoooo, nice, "五" is can read sound "i", "五つ(I-TSU-tsu)" is number of 5, and stage design like "五".
so, "五化" are "五(つの)化(学)(I-tsu-tsu-no-KA-gaku)" → "イカ(I-KA)".

ahh it makes sense! i can see 五 really well. 研 also is pretty visible in that last kanji, plus it makes a lot of sense given 農業研究所 exists.

as for 五化,
if you read them purely for sound, 五 can be read as イ and 化 can be read as カ → イカ (which means 'squid').
i didn't figure that out on my own -- i did a quick google search for 五化農研 and japanese fans worked that (though i should have known because i have multiple coworkers who have 五 in their names being read as イ)

so that's pretty cool. we now know the inkling kanji for "squid" → 五化 (albeit squigglier)

You know, something just occurred to me. Inkopolis is a highly multicultural environment, with representatives from many different species present (though with Jellies being the most prominent of the non-Inkling species). It would make sense, then, for the writings we find in-game to be multilingual as well, just as much of the signage in Japan itself is. I think you're very much on the right track with this; we're not just having to translate one language with multiple phonetic characters and/or ideograms, we're dealing with multiple languages mashed together depending on the context, as the result of a heavily diversified population.

hello! have enjoy swimming at new map today? ;D

 

[splaturn]

Hey, all! I wanted to say: thank you for your efforts! It's really cool that you guys are working to make sense of the Splatoon language.
Just recently, Splatoon songs have been added to a game called Daigasso! Band Brothers P for the 3DS. It even features Japanese lyrics for the Squid Sisters's songs! Check out the video over on this page: http://gonintendo.com/stories/249208-more-splatoon-songs-added-to-daigasso-band-brothers-p

It noticed that that "jiyuri jiyuri" part at the start of the splatfest hub song actually aren't the same sounds, even though the lyrics from the official music video made it look like they were the same word. I'm sure someone here mentioned how inconsistent the pronunciations are, but I guess this proves it somewhat.

Anyway, have a look at the video, if you'd like!
Keep up the great work!

 

[Zwei]

could this obscure rythm game crossover be the rosetta stone?

Something's telling me we're grasping at straws. I wonder if the captions have any meaning or simply express the sounds? I know nothing about japanese. Korean is the only alternate writing system I know.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Something I noticed: There is yet ANOTHER character set, or perhaps it's a different font. Take a look at the sign above the main building for Mahi-Mahi Resort. The Japanese name is "Mahi-Mahi Resort & Spa" (meaning for once, the English name is taken directly from the Japanese name), and you can see the sign pretty clearly says "Mahi-Mahi Resort & Spa."

At this point, I've pretty much given up. I've concluded that each person making text for this game has his or her own system, and it's impossible to figure out which is whose and what the keys for all of them are. It'll take a codebreaking computer to figure out, which I don't have and isn't worth the price. (And because there are as many keys as there are text writers, if not more, there isn't going to be a Rosetta Stone for this.)

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

Funny, I was reading through Splatoon Nawabari not too long ago when I came across this article. The authors apparently found someone who looked through the Inkling text and decided it was a mix of kanji, kana and romaji obfuscated by the developers. And that player has more where those in the article came from. (Yes, both are in Japanese, but the pictures should mostly explain themselves).

So if this was what they were going for after all, I guess that explains why everything looks so inconsistent--the devs based it on their native writing systems (and romaji), sort of like a mix of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess Hylian but streamlined to a consistent style per text, rather than develop an actual conlang/writing system with its own rules and standards. On the one hand, I'm a bit disappointed they didn't go the extra mile in making that conlang, but on the other I guess they were focused primarily on the gameplay and aesthetics over worrying about how Inklings would actually speak. Considering that the game is still awesome despite those nitpicks, I can let that slide.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Wow, that's really impressive. Even if I can't read most of that, it looks like there's no real method to it all.

Making a conlang is extremely difficult, and a good one requires someone with a lot of knowledge of linguistics and has studied many different languages. Making a cipher, on the other hand, only requires you know your own language and that you produce a key. Problem is that, looking at those Miiverse posts, there might not even be a key at all.

 

[pumpCurry]

A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!!
evrybody, stay fleash!!

 

[Gliscorus]

I thought "Booyah!" Was pronounced "Woomy!" Lol

 

[Zwei]

Wow, that's really impressive. Even if I can't read most of that, it looks like there's no real method to it all.

Making a conlang is extremely difficult, and a good one requires someone with a lot of knowledge of linguistics and has studied many different languages. Making a cipher, on the other hand, only requires you know your own language and that you produce a key. Problem is that, looking at those Miiverse posts, there might not even be a key at all.

I did my own research and I agree. Seeing what went into the creation of a conlang as simple as Lojban, I doubt nintendo could make their own with any sucess. Also, I did notice signs bearing resemblance to russian characters.

 

[splaturn]

Hi all! Apparently the lyrics for all the Callie and Marie songs were in the Splatunes booklet.
Read on on this page for the lyrics and stuff:
https://www.reddit.com/r/splatoon/comments/3pge35/squid_sister_song_lyrics/

The third picture is the page with the lyrics