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 the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for the TV show Game of Thrones. He also created the Chakobsa language for the movies Dune and Dune: Part Two. Peterson wrote a book called The Art of Language Invention about how to create languages.
Contents
About David J. Peterson
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. He then got a master's degree in linguistics from the University of California, San Diego in 2006. He first learned about made-up languages in 2000 when he took an Esperanto class.
How he creates languages
In 2009, the TV network HBO needed a new language for their show Game of Thrones. They asked the Language Creation Society for help. David Peterson won a contest to create the Dothraki language for the show.
He also made a series of videos on YouTube called The Art of Language Invention. In 2015, he published a book with the same name. Peterson was also a producer for the 2017 movie Conlanging: The Art of Crafting Tongues, which is about creating languages.
In 2019, Peterson created a free course for High Valyrian on the Duolingo app. He made the course bigger when the show House of the Dragon came out in August 2022. He also worked on the languages for the movies Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).
His family life
David Peterson was married to Erin Peterson, and they have one daughter. Later, in 2023, he married Jessie Peterson, who is also a linguist and language creator.
Languages he created
David Peterson has created many languages for different TV shows, movies, video games, and more.
Languages for TV shows
| Year | Title | Language(s) / role |
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| 2011–2019 | Game of Thrones |
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| 2013–2015 | Defiance |
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| 2014 | Star-Crossed | Sondiv: Language of the Atrians. |
| 2014–2015 | Dominion | Lishepus: A language angels made to keep humans from understanding them. |
| 2015–2020 | The 100 | Trigedasleng: The language of the Grounders, based on American English. |
| 2015 | Penny Dreadful | Verbis Diablo: Language of witches and demons, based on many old languages. |
| 2016–2017 | The Shannara Chronicles | Noalath: The language of druids. |
| 2017 | Emerald City |
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| 2018 | Into the Badlands | Azrán: A language based on Mexican Spanish. |
| 2019, 2021 | Another Life | Achaian, Tala, and Decuma: Three writing systems without specific spoken languages. |
| 2019, 2021, 2023 | The Witcher | Hen Linge: The language of elves and mages. |
| 2019 | Euphoria | Dothraki lines. |
| 2020–2022 | Motherland: Fort Salem | Méníshè: The language of witches. |
| 2021, 2023 | Shadow and Bone |
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| 2022, 2024 | Halo | Sangheili: The language of the Covenant. |
| 2022, 2024 | House of the Dragon | High Valyrian: Lines and a new writing system for this language. |
| 2022 | Paper Girls | Kezhwa: A language spoken by time travelers, used for one line. |
| 2022 | Vampire Academy | Aazh Naamori: The language of vampires. |
| 2022 | The Witcher: Blood Origin | Hen Linge lines and texts. |
Languages for movies
| 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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| 2016 | Doctor Strange | Nelvayu: A language demons use for spells. |
| 2017 | Bright |
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| 2018, 2020 |
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Yulish: The language of Santa Claus and the Christmas elves. |
| 2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon | Kumandran: The language of Kumandra, used for one line and some words. |
| 2021 | The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf | Hen Linge lines and texts. |
| 2021, 2024 |
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| 2023 | Elemental | Firish: The language of the fire elements. |
| 2025 | The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep | Roozh Linge: A language like Hen Linge, spoken by merfolk. |
| 2025 | Superman | Suh Ankripton: The language of the Kryptonians. |
Languages for video games
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2018 | Arena of Valor |
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Languages for operas
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2019 | Lampedusa | Vōv: A language spoken on Ariel's island. |
Languages for musicals
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2021 | WeCameToDance | Hanyana: A language spoken by aliens. |
Languages for books
| Year | Title | Language(s) |
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| 2014, 2017 |
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Væyne Zaanics: A secret language. |
