David J. Peterson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David J. Peterson
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Peterson in 2019
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David Joshua Peterson
January 20, 1981 Long Beach, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Language creator |
| Known for | Creating Dothraki and Valyrian for Game of Thrones |
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| Children | 1 |
David Joshua Peterson (born January 20, 1981) is an American language creator. He is famous for making up languages for TV shows and movies. You might know his work from Game of Thrones, where he created the Dothraki and Valyrian languages. He also worked on the Dune films, creating the Chakobsa language. He even wrote a book about how to create languages called The Art of Language Invention.
Contents
Who is David J. Peterson?
His Early Life and Education
David Joshua Peterson was born in Long Beach, California, on January 20, 1981. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley from 1999 to 2003. There, he earned degrees in English and linguistics. Later, he received a master's degree in linguistics from the University of California, San Diego. He first learned about constructed languages, also called "conlangs," when he took an Esperanto class in 2000.
How He Became a Language Creator
In 2007, David Peterson helped start the Language Creation Society. This group is for people who enjoy making up languages. He was also its president for a few years.
In 2009, the TV network HBO needed a new language for their show Game of Thrones. They asked the Language Creation Society for help. This led to a contest, and David Peterson won! He created the Dothraki language for the show.
He has made many videos on YouTube about creating languages. These videos are part of a series called The Art of Language Invention. He also published a book with the same title in 2015. In 2017, he was an executive producer for a documentary film called Conlanging: The Art of Crafting Tongues.
In 2019, David Peterson created a free High Valyrian course for the Duolingo app. He made the course even bigger when the House of the Dragon series came out in 2022. He also worked on the films Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).
His Personal Life
David Peterson has one daughter. He is married to Jessie Peterson, who is also a linguist and language creator. They got married in 2023.
Languages for TV Shows
David Peterson has created many languages for television series. Here are some of his notable works:
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2011–2019 | Game of Thrones |
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| 2013–2015 | Defiance |
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| 2015–2020 | The 100 | Trigedasleng (or Trig): The language of the Grounders. It came from an older form of American English. |
| 2019, 2021, 2023 | The Witcher | Hen Linge ("elder speech"): The language of elves and mages. |
| 2021, 2023 | Shadow and Bone |
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| 2022, 2024 | House of the Dragon | High Valyrian: More lines and a new writing system for this language. |
Languages for Movies
David Peterson has also brought many fictional languages to life on the big screen.
| Year | Title | Language(s) / Role |
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| 2013 | Thor: The Dark World | Shiväisith: The language of the Dark Elves. |
| 2016 | Warcraft: The Beginning |
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| 2017 | Bright |
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| 2021, 2024 |
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Other Cool Projects
David Peterson's language creations aren't just for TV and movies. He has also worked on video games, operas, musicals, and books.
Video Games
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2018 | Arena of Valor | Veda, Afata, Gandal, and G'vunna: Languages for different groups in the game. |
Operas
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2019 | Lampedusa | Vōv: A language spoken on Ariel's island. |
Musicals
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2021 | WeCameToDance | Hanyana: A language spoken by aliens from the planet Hanyana. |
Books
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2014, 2017 |
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Væyne Zaanics: A secret language invented by the Lyrs and the Severns. |
