Bible translations into fictional languages
Bible translations into constructed languages that were created as part of a fictional setting include:
Quenya
is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. Various parts of the Bible have been translated into Neo-Quenya, an attempt at editing a unified Quenya from Tolkien's evolving and often contradictory ideas about the language. Helge Fauskanger has translated the New Testament and the first two chapters of Genesis. Psalm 130 has also been translated by people on the website Aglardh.Translation | |
Fauskanger | An Eru emélië i mar tenna antië ernóna Yondorya, i ilquen ye savë sessë lá nauva nancarna, mal samuva oira coivië. |
LOLcat
The LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a wiki-based website where editors aim to parody the entire Bible in "LOLspeak", the slang popularized by the LOLcat Internet phenomenon. LOLspeak has been called "kitty pidgin" and also been likened to baby talk. The project relies on contributors to adapt passages. As of March 27, 2008, approximately 61% of the text had been adapted.Translation | |
Various | "So liek teh Ceiling Kitteh lieks teh ppl lots and he sez 'Oh hai I givez u me only kitteh and ifs u beleeves him u wont evr diez no moar, kthxbai!'" |
Klingon
NSKOL has published two volumes containing several portions of the Bible translated. One can find online the following specimen:
Translation | Psalm 117 |
K'mel | joH'a' yInaD Hoch qorDu'pu' yIquvmoH Hoch ghotpu' numuSHa'qu'mo' 'ej reH taHtaH vItDaj. joH'a' yInaD !' |
The linguist Nick Nicholas has also translated the Gospel of Mark into Klingon
Na'vi
is the constructed language of the Naʼvi, the sapient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of the fictional moon Pandora in the 2009 film Avatar. It was created by Paul Frommer, a professor at the USC Marshall School of Business with a doctorate in linguistics.Work on the Naʼvi language has continued even after the film's release. Its creator, Paul Frommer, is working on a compendium which he plans to deliver to Fox in the near future. He think that the language " a life of its own," and thinks it's "wonderful" that the language has developed a following, as is evident through the increasing learner community of the language.
Translation | |
Various | Fìfya kifkey leru yawne Yawäru, alunta pol tolìng 'awa 'itanit sneyä, fte pori fratìspusaw ke tiverkup, ki fìfrapor livu tìrey frakrr. |
Láadan
is a constructed women's language from Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue trilogy. In a fictional future in which the United States Constitution's Nineteenth Amendment has been repealed, and women no longer have the rights of adults, a group of women has constructed a language to express women's thoughts and experiences more adeptly than can the languages of male-dominated society. In the second book of the series, The Judas Rose, the constructors of Láadan use Thursday-night women's prayer services beyond their own households. Part of this task involves translating the King James Version into Láadan. A portion of Psalm 23, verse 5 is translated with cultural shifts:Translation | |
Láadan | ...Boóbin Na delith lethath oma Nathanan... |
Literal translation | ...Thou braidest my hair with Thine own hands... |
The King James Version reads, here, "…thou anointest my head with oil…"