In Superman: Man of Tomorrow the bounty hunter Lobo claims that Superman is the only survivor of Krypton's destruction. The animated adaptation of All-Star Superman features the inhabitants of Kandor, and a pair of surviving Kryptonian astronauts named Bar-El and Lilo. This religions god Rao is based on the planet Kryptons sun, which is revered by those who follow it. Kal-El, the name given to Superman by his adoptive Earth name, Clark Kent, is an adaptation of that. It's because it's just a letter-substitution font used to give the impression of an alien language without actually having to go through the trouble of creating an alien language and then translating into that alien language. Kryptonian is Superman's second language. In Sub-Zero's ending, Superman joins forces with Kryptonian criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non after escaping the Phantom Zone through a portal accidentally created by the Batman's Justice League while trying to create a portal to Earthrealm. Since Superman and. The goal of the language project was to create a working Kryptonian language accommodating and reconciling as much of the Superman canon as possible. Initially powerless due to their cells having been treated with blue kryptonite radiation, these clones later gain powers when Clark is forced to provide Zod with a sample of his blood to heal him after he is shot, Zod using this blood to empower his followers. They are also vulnerable to physical attacks from beings native to Krypton essentially in proportion to their vulnerability in non-powered situations. bukhush wai zhehd ki zhaulivahzh w tiv shokh zw ehworahzh ,Kal,Ik, kaokypzhrriges rraopo w mir fehl i tiv zhrrig rahn, zah nahn tiv shokh i tiv iahzhrrim w tiv girod i tiv iahzhrrim. In the 1970s and 1980s, details about the Kryptonian calendar as it existed in the Earth-One universe were revealed. In later depictions, their abilities are attributed to the differences between Earth's gravity and that of Krypton and the different radiation of the stars they orbit. Kryptonian culture and its language (well, its writing, at least) have appeared in many different forms and places over the 75 years of Superman's history. With this method, Kryptonians are designated pre-determined roles in society at their conception for example, Jor-El is a Scientist, whereas General Zod is a Warrior. Needless to say, finding all of the relevant material, let alone getting a coherent grasp of it, is a difficult and daunting task. He fell [greatly] by not heeding the truth that Kal-Ik spoke. I also owe a lot of inspiration to Kevin J. Anderson's Last Days of Krypton for developing an understanding of how a race that had conquered interstellar travel could be completely doomed by the destruction of one planet. http://www.langmaker.com/db/Kryptonian, A guide to the Kryptonian language Clark Kent. I think I also taught myself because of Smallville. The ending reveals that Lois Lane will be artificially inseminated with Superman's child and that their descendants will remain super-power heroes centuries into the future. It's best they learn the 2nd most used language here. So here is the official Kryptonian and just my own twist to make it easier to write because who wouldn't want to write in Kryptonian? In Superman, teenage Clark discovers who he is in the Fortress of Solitude, where a hologram of Jor-El tells him, "You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. In ancient times, they were a race in the midst of an era of expansion, travelling to other worlds via scout ships in order to colonize them. The result is a house glyph ingrained with meaning. All Kryptonians are capable of long range telepathic communication. Characters, character names, logos, and related indicia are of and DC Comics. So what does Kryptonian sound like? In its most basic form, the polite imperative form of please do is spelled out in the comic book world of Kryptonian. Even before the timeline changed, Brainiac would have taken Kandor and its people. Further deepening the land-language connection are elements of Cree syllabics Schreyer brought to this project remember her undergrad directed study? There is a rule from DC Comics that says it is illegal to listen to the spoken form of the K-9. Shes also always been interested in Indigenous peoples, and completed a directed study on the Cree language during her undergraduate studies at the University of Winnipeg. })(); This website is home to the unofficial Kryptonian language project started in 2003 by Darren Doyle, and has grown to encompass information on all the various depictions of Kryptonian. If Schreyers career is an example, you never know where your childhood dreams and undergraduate research could take you. In addition, it is shown that without some form of training, Kryptonians are left vulnerable to their own abilities, as the case with Zod when Superman destroyed his solar-visor and caused him to develop a sensory overload. Dutch | This is a conundrum that I have seen every depiction of Krypton struggle with. In other versions of canon, there is a last daughter of Krypton Kara Zor-El. The writing system for this language is based on the substitution font released by DC Comics in 2000. 1 Jor-El's delinquent neighbor, Dev-Em believed his warnings enough to build a shelter that survived the destruction of Krypton and was propelled through space. There is no one Kryptonian language, as the planet Krypton had many different cultures and languages. Everything is round on Krypton. Doyle Kryptonians short phrase refers to a good dream because he does not have a word for sweet. The six loraxo (months) were: Belyuth, Ogtal, Ullhah, Eorx, Hefralt and Norzec. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); In Injustice: Gods Among Us, General Zod appears as a DLC character, though he plays no role in the game's story. Is Kryptonian A Real Language? So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site. 10 woluo (Kryptonian hours) per zetyar (Kryptonian day). Rereading this, the text is pretty lame but it was for an electronic comp class in college. This phrase (assumably) derives from something more formal and grammatical, such as have sweet dreams or sweet dreams to you, so the next few words will have variations. Sometimes I'm like, is this a real e-mail? The style of these depictions has since evolved over the life of the series from decipherable transliterated writing to a more stylized (and indiscernible) form. Writing, after all, should be a very practical thing (something MoS completely misses). Kara and Kal-El escape Krypton as it is destroyed by Brainiac, though Kara's ship is damaged by the explosion knocking it off course and putting Kara into hyper sleep. referring to the language as 'Kryptonian'. E. Nelson Bridwell / Al Turniansky Language (ca. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; Supergirl and the Regime try to break Superman out of prison, but are stopped by Batman and his allies, though Batman decides to release Superman, calling a temporary truce between the Regime and the Insurgency to combat Brainiac. In The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson, young Kal-El and the people of Argo City (along with refugees from another city living there after General Zod destroyed their home) are the only survivors of Krypton's actual destruction. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); Yeah I'd think there would be a need for it, can't always go digital. In the season finale, Zod makes his first full bodied appearance on the series, along with a large number of other Kryptonians who are later revealed to be clones created as part of an old experiment. I remember translating it and it was so cool to see what they said without them telling the translation. The Last Son of Krypton. As Superman he forms the Justice League and befriends Batman. There are brackets with strange characters known as ipa, or international phonetic alphabets. Until then, all information on the language has been gleaned from a very small set of examples including mainly the Man of Steel movie tie-in book, and the Deep Space Radio Wave Project and the Glyph Creator websites which were launched as a promotional pieces for the movie. I mean Honestly sometimes I believe writers have lost a lot of creative capacity. "Truth" of the Girod is the beginning of beginnings. The syllabic system used for writing is similar to Japanese hiragana and katakana, two popular Japanese forms. Turniansky, Al. They are eventually rescued and restored to normal size by Superman and Supergirl, who were sent to Earth in rockets as in other versions of the story. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=comics-kryptonian_alphabet This class on endangered languages and language documentation will include a community project with the Splatsin First Nation, whom Schreyer has been working with since 2008. It's not by any means a sweeping choral theme but it's something right? (function() { Superman reveals there is still a place for her and that he is creating an army using beings freed from Brainiac's collection. A multi-dimensional defeat. Does the Mint really want to make coins? said Schreyer. The Kryptonian grammar is off in a couple of places, too but it's not terrible. The world of Krypton was so well-imagined theres so much in there I feel that is not on-screen, said Schreyer. AIR Awareness Outreach; AIR Business Lunch & Learn; AIR Community of Kindness; AIR Dogs: Paws For Minds AIR Hero AIR & NJAMHAA Conference They just used this alphabet to write things in English in the comics. The white formal clothes are often luminescent. The third season reveals that Alura and the populace of Argo City survived Krypton's destruction due to Alura's husband Zor-El's energy shield. In Kryptonian writing, there is a combination of both ideographic and alphabetic characters. These include kryptonite (a substance that weakens Superman), superman (a powerful superhero), and Zod (a villain from Supermans home planet). Schreyer has taught a course that examines constructed languages such as Star Trek's Klingon and the Na'vi language devised for 2009 film Avatar. A previous version of this article included an incorrect version of the Superman commemorative coins which Schreyer was not involved with. In the long run, the accent of Superman is never a problem. It is also seen as a sad, scary, ghostly, faded colour as is depicted in many similar cultures around the world on Earth. The cellular structure of Kryptonians allows for solar energy to be absorbed at extremely high levels. And in SUPERGIRL #8 we learn that he is self-conscious about his accent around native speakers, such as his cousin Supergirl. It's a very interesting coincidence that there is such a correspondence between the Kryptonian alphabet and the English alphabet. Kryptonian is a little like Japanese, with both an older system of symbols or glyphs akin to kanji, as well as a syllabic writing system similar to hiragana and katakana. Like in Smallville, a number of criminals imprisoned by the Kryptonians in the Phantom Zone are from other planets and have different powers from those of either Superman or Supergirl. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. While many Kryptonians wear brightly colored clothes on a daily basis, formal occasions such as funerals and certain council meetings require everyone to wear white. This time, it was dipped into and removed from the container. At least, as close any of us will ever get. Copyright 19982023 Simon Ager | Email: | Hosted by Kualo, http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=comics-kryptonian_alphabet, Constructed scripts for constructed languages. However, after Brainiac's defeat, Superman and Batman argue over Brainiac's fate, leading to an end to their truce. There are no straight lines. This standardized alphabet was then used by DC Comics until John Byrne's 1986 "reboot" of the Superman universe.[7]. A bit of notoriety is a welcomed perk of Schreyers job, but the true goal is research that is applicable to existing communities. It is also possible to replace the pronouns with pronouns for different genders and verb terms. Almost all Kryptonians were killed when the planet exploded shortly after the infant Kal-El was sent to Earth. El mayarah is a blessing. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-16097713-1']); The Kryptonian society, as described in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (at least, according to what was seen of its surviving colony) is ruled by aristocracy. The two symbols found in the story of Kryptonian are glyphs and syllabic writing systems. It's really fun not having to look at the subtitles or wonder what's being said and just being able to read the kryptonian text. The exact number of days between February 29, and June 16 two years later, is 838 (or 2.294 years). Spanish | However, his father Jor-El's memories remains sentient in the mysterious Kawatche Caves and Fortress of Solitude an disembodied AI, and the disembodied spirit of Zod is similarly sentient albeit trapped in the Phantom Zone. I have also had it in the back of my head to create some YouTube "how-to" videos for writing Kryptonian figures, stroke order, that sort of thing too much to do, too little time! In the Super Friends Kandor appears inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude in one episode and several of its miniaturized (yet still super-powered) inhabitants provide aid to the titular group of heroes. Fictional race native to the planet Krypton. However, in some continuations humans are not only able to reproduce with Kryptonians, but are able to create fertile offspring with them.[4]. The data from the ship was retrieved on Earth and used by the ship to learn more about the languages spoken on Earth, including English. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? symbols for each of the letters of the English alphabet. Kryptonian 4 languages Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. With the aid of the Justice League from another universe, the Regime is defeated and the Insurgency works to rebuild. However in the fourth season Young Justice: Phantoms, after Superboy gets accidentally transported to an unknown dimension after being presumed dead after an explosion on Mars, Superboy meets General Dru-Zod and his followers Ursa Zod, Faora Hu-Ul, Non, Kru-El, Jax-Ur, and Vor-Kil and learns that he is in the Phantom Zone. Dr. Schreyer teamed up with graphic designer Kirsten Franson who designed the look of the writing. If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Superman was always a leader, but he is no longer the focal point of the League. Click over to the Man of Steel Kryptonian Writing page for a detailed breakdown of the writing including a downloadable chart, as well as the phonology of the language. Contact me (Darren Doyle) through any of the social media channels above or email. After Kandor is rescued from Brainiac, attempts are made to re-enlarge the city and its people, but it is unconfirmed whether they succeed. However, the Joker ends up tricking Superman into attacking Lois Lane, who was pregnant with Superman's child. You know, a lot of the changes I did to that alphabet for my writing system [PDF] (which is a full writing system and not just a font substitution) were based off of being able to hand-write the letters. Throughout the site you will encounter facts and references to Kryptonian culture and history; Although I try to rely on existing canon as much as possible, much of this material has been created by me for various reasons. The Light has Klarion hunt down all the Kryptonians in the zone and has the dozens of them in stasis aboard The Warworld with Apokolips acquiring Kara Zor-El as a member of their army. 100 thribo (Kryptonian seconds) per dendar (Kryptonian minute). Kryptonian In 2000 DC Comics introduced a transliteration alphabet containing symbols for each of the letters of the English alphabet. Kryptonese automatically gets points because it's the only writing system on this list that's a syllabary, not an alphabet. As a result, I must be imaginative when referring to the fictional world of Kryptonian. But it's a lot further from completion than the other versions since it was barely used or seen. 1970s E. Nelson Bridwell created an alphabet of 118 letters, Kryptonese, in the Superman comics at first as random squiggles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptonian Posted on February 14, 2018 by Joe McVeigh. They just used this alphabet to *"and where we had thought to bealone, we shall be with all theworld.". I taught myself to read and write this version of Kryptonian after Smallville started using it back in 2003. "Kryptonian has never been spoken in a moviebut now there is a created language," says Schreyer, an assistant professor with the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another In the animated film Superman: Unbound Brainiac abducted and shrunk the people of both Kandor and Argo City from Krypton. In some continuities Kryptonians are difficult to clone because their DNA is so complex that human science is not advanced enough to decipher it. Pretty cool! Persian | Schreyer began her journey quite young she has wanted to . Jax-Ur was the Kryptonian tyrant who blew up Krypton's moon, Wegthor kind of the Kryptonian Hitler, if you will. Kryptonian law did not believe in capital punishment. The Fortress of Solitude is often portrayed as a recreation of Krypton's surface and a storehouse for all the knowledge that the Kryptonian race had obtained. The abilities of Kryptonians evolve and grow more powerful as Kryptonians age and develop. Then during the The different Houses were also broken up into a loosely-based caste system as well. She is a cousin of Superman and known as Supergirl. A rip in space-time transports Kal-El to an alternate universe in which he is transported. I love Languages are trademarks or registered trademarks of the George Lucas Educational Foundation in the U.S. and other countries. Add to that the many revisions and inconsistencies between . His name alone is remembered of the council of Jax-Ur. Sub-Zero confronts Superman, while Supergirl faces General Zod, and Batman battles Ursa and Non. That was a big one there with the Swamp Thing. I never realized this before, but Superman is an L2 speaker of Kryptonian! She currently does field work in Papua New Guinea documenting Kala, which is spoken in six villages and one of the countrys 862 languages. The Phantom Zone also makes an appearance, implying that prisoners inside it survived Krypton's destruction like in so many other continuities. An opportunity to show my tattoo!] Consider in all of that time in space they surely have come across other species and utilized translation technology allowing them to broadcast in multiple languages simultaneously. Minionese Spoken by the Minions in the Despicable Me. The language appears in writing WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman/Superman #2 by Joshua Williamson, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez and John J. Hill, in stores . Kryptonian survivors of alternate worlds, such as Power Girl (Kara Zor-L), the dog Krypto the Superdog, and the monkey Beppo the Super-Monkey, also reside on Earth. So sign up for that directed seminar and pursue what interests you, because you never know it may even take you to an imaginary world. So what is to be done? Schreyer was fascinated by the fact that in Cree, some syllables flip based on how they are being used. Barsoomian is the constructed language of the fictional wise inhabitants of Mars. As Earths resources run out, humans are sent to the planet of Kyanfrost to stay and continue humanity there. six zetyaro (Kryptonian days) per fanff (Kryptonian week). The Neanderthals have been pioneers in space travel and advanced technology since 100,000 years ago. Same here. Yes, Superman is fluent in the English language as well as some others (Superman speaking English) "Is it one of his kryptonian powers?" No. Krypton has its own language that is spoken by the inhabitants of the planet. For example, an L-shaped symbol denotes the consonant m when used with the vowel a. This same symbol flips upside down when m is used with i, upside down and backwards when m is used with e and backwards when m is used with o., They had already decided that the numbers were going to flip The Kryptonian counting system flips pieces of the shield shape the glyph that Superman wears on his chest and then rotates that into different numbers. The simple way to explain it is that they are speaking a language, but from our perspective, English is their preferred language. Answer (1 of 8): Because kryptonian language in comics is shown as this And so far no one has ever had the initiative to simply create a language that would represent the symbols. He was also devoid of any Kryptonian minerals, because any such minerals would turn to kryptonite upon leaving Krypton's atmosphere. The New 52 introduces a survivor named H'El, a Kryptonian clone who piloted a prototype of the rocket Jor-El uses to save his son and departed Krypton with the planet's historical records. She is last shown flying with other Kryptonian survivors in the sky of a restored Kryptonian city. Schreyer has happily fielded emails from fans who want to get tattoos in the syllabic writing system, which she responds to when she has time and a word that answers the request. Kal-El is the first (and technically, last) naturally-born Kryptonian in centuries, as Jor-El and Lara believed that Krypton had lost the freedom of choice and wanted their son to choose to become who he wanted to be. For most of Superman's published history, Kryptonian writing was represented by random, alien-looking squiggles. I dont recall seeing a explanation of it. How will the other members of the Justice League cope with the loss of their leader? Linguistically speaking I'm guessing they just made it simple since they were English writers. The letters used to represent a pronunciation are referred to as pronounced words. The light of dwarf stars, pulsars, and quasars also grants Kryptonians different abilities. Zack Snyder originally had the idea to create a whole fictional Kryptonian language for Man of Steel, though it's far better that he decided not to. The 2013 film Man of Steel featured Kryptonian writing created by graphic designer Kirsten Franson. Although the language was never spoken in the film, the writing was featured prominently in most scenes set on Krypton. (function() { Tal-Rho comes into possession of a Kryptonian invention called the Eradicator which survived the planet's destruction and contains the consciousnesses of many Kryptonians like Lara Lor-Van and General Zod. In subsequent films, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017), the writing can be seen on several places on Superman's suit, most prominently on the "S"/"hope" symbol on his chest. It could be. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman not only got a re-imagined origin, but Kryptonian's got a new written language too. Jonathan Kent and Jor-el had fantastic stories to tell, which we would not have had otherwise. A pictographic crest or symbol represents each Kryptonian family, or House; the head of the House usually wears it. In Superman's story mode ending, Batman is defeated, though Superman spares him due to not wanting him to become a martyr. 1950s-1985): This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 21:28. It was worshiped by the Kryptonians as a deity (albeit in a more scientific and rational way as the giver and sustainer of all life on the planet). write things in English in the comics. var _gaq = _gaq || []; Consider that during their time in space, they probably encountered other species and used translation technology to broadcast in multiple languages simultaneously. The film Supergirl shows inhabitants of Argo City who also survived by fleeing to a parallel dimension, including Superman's cousin Supergirl. The Kryptonian time units were defined as follows:[8], (Note: In the Kryptonian language, the suffix "o" indicates the plural form of a noun.). Omniglot is how I make my living. UBC-Os Dr. Christine Schreyer an associate professor teaching anthropology and linguistics went to Krypton. They also started referring to the language as 'Kryptonian'. Her mother Alura rescues her from Brainiac's drones and reveals she and Jor-El have both been working to create two ships, one for Kara and the other for her baby cousin Kal-El. In addition Kryptonian beings are vulnerable to infection from viruses or bacteria native to Krypton. In 2011, Warner Brothers approached Schreyer to develop the Kryptonian language for Man of Steel. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) There is also a pantheon of 14 major dieties, 203 demigods, and over 1000 titans. In "Hostile Takeover" more Kryptonians, led by Astra's husband Non, surfaced on Earth preparing for take over of the planet, and came prepared to counter the kryptonite weapons with anti-kryptonite body armor. To be fair, though, a better translation into Kryptonian would use the gender-neutral word for person, Sed. Other Kryptonians not present at the time are the people of Kandor (who were abducted by Brainiac) and Zod and at least two of his minions (who are confined to the recently created Phantom Zone). Zack Snyder actually commissioned the creation of an artificial language for the Kryptonians in Man of Steel that we barely even see on screen. One of Astra's operatives, Vartox, was ordered to sabotage the Department of Extra-Normal Operations by causing a plane crash that was thwarted by Supergirl (when she realized her sister Alex Danvers, a DEO member, was on board), and to alert Astra that Kara survived the explosion and now has come into discovering her powers. Supergirl compares his methods to General Zod's and briefly fights Superman and his allies, though Brainiac's attack forces them to focus on dealing with him first. What will happen now that Superman is dead? By introducing the idea of the Kryptonians speaking their own language, Kal-El would be made even more of an outsider. Shes also become a filmmaker in her own right, appearing as executive producer on a documentary about con-langing (constructed languages). Magical alphabets | Together they free Superman's current lover Wonder Woman from imprisonment on Themyscira. Kryptonese is the official language of Krypton . You can build on the knowledge and wisdom that it provides. Is it wrong? Superman vows to escape and is hurt by Supergirl's betrayal. UBC-O's Dr. Christine Schreyer an associate professor teaching anthropology and linguistics went to Krypton. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); In Batman's story mode ending, Superman is defeated by Batman after Kara leads him to the Batcave. Unlike in the comics, the main clothing color seen is black. Believing Kara is the last surviving Kryptonian, Brainiac offers to spare Earth if they hand over Kara Zor-El as he wishes to study the effects of yellow sun radiation on Kryptonian cells, though Batman refuses. 5. Similarly, the syllabic writing system produces a script based on the syllables present in the text being translated. During those early days in her career, she studied the structure of words. and with the aid of Dabney Donovan, Tal-Rho used the Eradicator combined with X-Kryptonite to give those survivors physical bodies by having them possess inhabitants of Earth like inhabitants of Smallville like he did with his personal assistant Irma Sayres (who used the alias of Leslie Larr), his one-time minion David Fuglestad, and a select number of Smallville inhabitants. In the Arrowverse TV series Supergirl, another Kryptonian House was revealed, this one led by Alura Zor-El's twin sister, General Astra. The Phantom Zone also appears in one episode. This shield is worn on the right shoulder. Please be thankful for your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Relatively small crystals can hold vast amounts of information. However, given that Krypton is an advanced civilization, it is likely that they did indeed have their own language, and that English was not spoken on the planet. When exposed to a young yellow star like Earth's Sun, which is much smaller than their own sun and with a vastly higher energy output, their bodies are able to absorb and process so much energy that it manifests as vast superhuman powers (such as superhuman strength, superhuman speed, invulnerability, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision and superhuman senses).