Baron Dipitous - The Linguistics of Zelda - Examining the possible conlang clues and linguistic history

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

The Linguistics of Zelda explores the linguistic history of the Hyrulian peoples and how possible conlang clues relate to the established Zelda timeline. The project argues that, even without an official franchise-wide “scheme,” the game world can be treated as a living setting with cultures that change over time. It focuses on the development of Hylian scripts and the “common tongue,” then analyzes utterances by multiple species in Breath of the Wild in the English localization, supported by a literature review and research sources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Research Question

Two-Fold Focus

Development of Hylian over time

Languages “of the Wild”

Disclaimers

Outline

Literature Review

Zelda Timeline

Hylian Scripts

Languages “of the Wild”

Sources/Further Research

Literature Review

Zelda Timeline

Hylian Scripts

Nintendo Wiki

Zeldapedia

Zelda Wiki

First Hylian Script

Mudoran

Logographic Hylian

Link’s Awakening

The Linguistics of Zelda Examining the possible conlang clues and linguistic history of the various Hyrulian civilizations Baron Dipitous, dLLC 2021 (March 7, 2021) About Me ● “Librarian gamer” ○ Lore wikis, D&D, game lore & language ○ Twitter: @BDipitous ● Conlanger since 2016 ○ Tɛk ɾɪ d ○ Almost Home ([https://anchor.fm/banner-studios](https://anchor.fm/banner-studios)) ○ Ju-Klɪb ( [https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1VnR4FZhnjJzKa6GrKLRyafF5vsxebRW_MjqVGefpVR](https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1VnR4FZhnjJzKa6GrKLRyafF5vsxebRW_MjqVGefpVR) c/edit?usp=drivesdk) ○ 2nd conlang for another Banner project (b/c why not?) ● Zelda fan since about 2000 ○ Happy 35th to the series! Research Question What is the linguistic history of the Hyrulian peoples, and how does it relate to the established Zelda timeline? I am not the ﬁrst to look into the linguistics of Zelda games, but to my knowledge each study on the subject focuses on one speciﬁc language or aspect of a game. I'm hoping to provide a broader view of the linguistic data available in the series as a whole (and perhaps inspire similar studies for other franchises) . Two-Fold Focus ● Development of Hylian over time ○ Compare the designs, placement, & use of each variation of the Hylian alphabet, the“common tongue” in the game worlds ○ Collect and analyze each bit of linguistic data I could ﬁnd in the Zelda series ● Languages “of the Wild” ○ Closely examine the utterances of the various species in Breath of the Wild to see what, if any, unique linguistic traits each race shows ■ Gerudo ■ Goron ■ Hylian ■ Korok ■ Rito ■ Sheikah (ancient and contemporary) ■ Zora Disclaimers ● I recognize these languages & cultures are created for player enjoyment & immersion. Also, it is clear that any overarching “lore” or “world history” is simply made up as each game is released. The video game developers clearly had no grand “scheme” for the entire Zelda franchise. ● Regardless, for this project I’m operating under the assumption that the game world, as presented in oﬃcial materials, is a true, living world with unique cultures that change over time. ● Although each game is carefully localized, and a lot could be learned by looking at the way diﬀerent languages interpret things in the game world, I will be focusing on the English version of each game. Outline ● Literature Review ● Zelda Timeline ● Hylian Scripts ○ Plus Hylian morphemes & existence of non-Hylian languages ● Languages “of the Wild” ● Sources/Further Research Literature Review ● Numerous translation projects ○ One example: [https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/1twqfc/translation_challenge_the_legend_of_zelda/](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/1twqfc/translation_challenge_the_legend_of_zelda/) ● Many studies on the various writing systems & languages ○ Fairly comprehensive article: [https://ancworlds.wordpress.com/2017/04/10/the-writing-systems-of-the-legend-of-zelda/](https://ancworlds.wordpress.com/2017/04/10/the-writing-systems-of-the-legend-of-zelda/) ○ Older article on Hyrule’s writing systems: [https://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/writing-systems-of-hyrule/](https://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/writing-systems-of-hyrule/) ○ Breath of the Wild Gerudos: [https://strategicdilemma.tumblr.com/post/158480149376/an-observed-and-obviously-incomplete-grammar](https://strategicdilemma.tumblr.com/post/158480149376/an-observed-and-obviously-incomplete-grammar)of ● Fan-made conlangs ○ Istana-Hutan (Hylian): [https://www.deviantart.com/istana-hutan/art/Introduction-to-the-Hylian-language-546553794](https://www.deviantart.com/istana-hutan/art/Introduction-to-the-Hylian-language-546553794) ○ Sarinilli (Hylian): [https://www.deviantart.com/sarinilli/gallery/39317194/the-hylian-language-project](https://www.deviantart.com/sarinilli/gallery/39317194/the-hylian-language-project) ○ [Kasuto.net](Kas

FAQs

What is the main research question of this project?

It asks what the linguistic history of the Hyrulian peoples is and how it connects to the established Zelda timeline.

What are the two main focus areas?

One focuses on how Hylian changes over time by comparing variations of the Hylian alphabet and collecting linguistic data across the series; the other closely examines species utterances in Breath of the Wild to identify unique traits.

How does the project handle the relationship between official lore and linguistic analysis?

It acknowledges that languages and cultures are created for immersion and that world history is not necessarily planned across the entire franchise, but assumes the presented game world acts as a living setting for this study.

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by Adam