High Valyrian: How a Dead Fictional Language Came Back to Life
In the world of Game of Thrones, High Valyrian died with its empire. The Doom of Valyria destroyed the Freehold, and the language survived only in books, prayers, and the mouths of a few noble families.
Then something strange happened. In the real world, the "dead" language came alive — with hundreds of thousands of learners. And House of the Dragon brought it back to life on screen too.
The Counterintuitive Truth: A Dead Language Is the Easiest Kind to Revive
Living languages change constantly, with slang, accents, and new words. Dead languages are frozen. That makes them easier to standardise, teach, and learn from books.
High Valyrian's "dead" status in the story made it perfect for real-world learners: a fixed, classical language with clear rules. We call this frozen advantage: the learnability that comes from a language no longer changing on its own.
Death in the Story
According to the lore of A Song of Ice and Fire:
- Valyria rose as a dragon-riding empire in Essos.
- It spread its language across colonies — the future Free Cities.
- The Doom of Valyria, a cataclysm about 400 years before the main story, destroyed the Freehold.
- High Valyrian survived as a language of learning and nobility, while colonies developed Low Valyrian dialects.
That's almost exactly what happened to Latin after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Learn the difference in High Valyrian vs Low Valyrian.
First Revival: Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
George R.R. Martin used only fragments of High Valyrian in the novels, like Valar morghulis and Valar dohaeris.
For the HBO series, linguist David J. Peterson built a full grammar and vocabulary. Daenerys's speeches, especially in Astapor in Season 3, showed High Valyrian as a language of power.
In-story, High Valyrian was still a "dead" classical language. But on screen, it spoke with conviction.
Second Revival: Real-World Learners (2017)
In 2017, Duolingo launched a High Valyrian course, developed with Peterson. It became one of the platform's most talked-about launches, drawing hundreds of thousands of learners.
That means a fictional dead language gained more learners than many real endangered languages have speakers. Linguists noted the irony — and the opportunity.
Third Revival: House of the Dragon (2022–)
House of the Dragon is set about 200 years before Game of Thrones, when the Targaryens were at the height of their power. Here, High Valyrian is used more naturally:
- Family members use it privately.
- Riders command dragons in it.
- It signals Targaryen identity and heritage.
For audiences, High Valyrian shifted from ancient relic to family language. That's backwards revival: a language that becomes more alive as the story moves back in time.
How Revived Languages Work in the Real World
Real language revivals give useful comparisons:
Hebrew
Hebrew was mainly a liturgical and scholarly language for centuries before being revived as an everyday spoken language in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is often credited with leading the effort. Today it has millions of native speakers.
Cornish
Cornish lost its last traditional native speakers around the late 18th century. Revival efforts in the 20th century created a new community of speakers.
Latin
Latin never fully died — it survived in the Church, science, and education. Some enthusiasts still speak it conversationally today.
High Valyrian's fan revival resembles Latin enthusiasts more than Hebrew: people learn it for love of culture, not daily necessity.
We explore these real-world stories in How Dead Languages Come Back to Life.
Why High Valyrian Revived So Well
- Emotional connection. Fans love Daenerys and the Targaryens.
- Quality design. Peterson's grammar is consistent and learnable.
- Official support. A structured course gave learners a clear path.
- Iconic phrases. Dracarys and Valar morghulis are instantly memorable.
- Ongoing content. House of the Dragon keeps adding dialogue.
Phrases From the Revival
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Valar morghulis | All men must die |
| Valar dohaeris | All men must serve |
| Dracarys | Dragonfire |
| Rytsas | Hello |
| Kirimvose | Thank you |
| Zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor | A dragon is not a slave |
Try your own sentences in the Valyrian Translator.
Other Fictional "Dead" Languages
High Valyrian isn't alone. Fiction loves ancient tongues:
- Quenya — Tolkien's "Elvish Latin," used for lore and ceremony (Quenya Translator)
- Aldmeris — an ancient elven language of the Elder Scrolls (Aldmeris Translator)
- Ayleidoon — the language of vanished elves in Cyrodiil (Ayleidoon Translator)
- The Old Tongue — a dead language in The Wheel of Time (Old Tongue Translator)
Where High Valyrian Is Heading
Future Westeros stories may explore Old Valyria before the Doom. We predict that if a production is ever set in the Valyrian Freehold itself, High Valyrian will become the primary spoken language of a TV series — making it the first fictional "dead" language to be fully brought back to everyday life on screen.