Syldavian - Conlang Profile	Advanced
Language Name Syldavian Language Author Hergé Year Began 1937 Site Syldavian Broken Link No Site Language English Site Author Mark Rosenfelder Language Type professional fictional language Editorial Invented by the Belgian comic artist Herge for the Tintin series, Syldavian is used as background in two of the books, notably King Ottokar's Sceptre. Rosenfelder has created a 200-word dictionary and has translated the sample texts, and developed a grammar to explain them, based on Dutch grammar, commenting, "As in restoring a fresco, a bit of invention was needed to form a coherent picture." Although the language of a fictional East European country, Syldavian is based on Dutch, but with a Slavic-sounding orthography and some French and German borrowings. This site has been written up in Le Monde and Il Corriere del Sera, and is mentioned on the website of the Fondation Herge. Uniqueness Syldavian is the language invented by the Belgian comic artist Herge [Hergé] for the Tintin series. It's used as background in two of the books, notably "King Ottokar's Sceptre". I've translated all the instances and developed a grammar to explain them, based on Dutch grammar. As in restoring a fresco, a bit of invention was needed to form a coherent picture. Language Sources Syldavian, though it's set in a fictional East European country, is based on Dutch-- specifically, the Marols dialect of Brussels, which Herge's grandmother spoke. (Herge also used Marols for Arumbaya and foor naming characters and cities.) However, the language is not simply Marols; Herge jazzed it up with a Slavic-sounding orthography and some borrowings from French and German. Interest Of Others Their love of Tintin, of course. Many are curious to see what the Syldavian expressions in the books mean, and are often charmed to see the system behind it. The page has been written up in Le Monde and Il Corriere del Sera, and is mentioned on the website of the Fondation Herge. Conculture Noun Phrase Tintin Dictionary Yes Etymologies Yes Grammar Yes Sample Texts Yes Unique Script Yes Primer No Babel Text No Lexicon Size 200 Submitted By Mark Rosenfelder Date Edited Monday, January 24, 2005 Date To Headline Monday, January 31, 2005 < Swa-di  Syldavian  Sylvyn >
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