UC Berkeley is offering a course that aims to channel your Game of Thrones obsession in the name of higher learning excellence. No nudity or beheadings required. (Presumably.)
As pointed out by The Wrap, UC Berkeley has announced a summer class that will teach students the fantasy language Dothraki. David J. Peterson, the linguist that developed the language, is the professor guiding the classroom on their journey. As we’ve seen from HBO’s behind-the-scenes profile of the language, it’s not the easiest bit of talk to pick up.
Peterson’s six-week course isn’t going to be simply a boot camp on word meanings and the like. He’ll be placing emphasis on the creation and development of a language.
“[The class is] best understood as an art course, the same way a figure drawing course might include a fairly rigorous component on human anatomy,” explained Peterson when speaking to Berkeley News about his approach to the material.
Tied into Peterson’s goals for the course is a desire to place a spotlight on critical awareness on the structuring of a new language.
“To the average TV viewer, there’s no difference between the work I’ve done for Game of Thrones and Gallifreyan from Doctor Who, which isn’t even a language, but a different way of writing the English alphabet.” noted the linguistic guru.
If making the trek out to campus doesn’t work for you or if you’re more interested in improving your Dothraki speaking skills, there’s always the Random House app as a substitute. Season 7 of Game of Thrones will premiere (in assorted languages) on July 16.
(Via The Wrap)
