Linguists in Hollywood: Language Creators From ‘Avatar’ and ‘Star Trek’ Coming to Campus
Can you translate the Na’vi greeting tsun oe nga-hu nì-Na’vi p‹iv›ängkxo a fì-’u oe-ru prrte’ lu? How about the Klingon term of endearment jupoypu’na’wI’vaD?
Paul Frommer and Marc Okrand can. They are icons in the realms of linguistics and science fiction, and both will be on campus for “Linguists in Hollywood.” Presented by the Boise State Linguistics Association and English Majors Association, the event will feature a panel discussion and interview at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the Student Union Simplot Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.
Paul Frommer created the Na’vi language for the Oscar-winning film “Avatar.” Hired by venerable director James Cameron, he was tasked with devising an entire language for the film — including grammar and syntax — and teaching it to the actors. Frommer is a professor emeritus of clinical management communication in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Marc Okrand created the enduring Klingon language for “Star Trek,” first used in “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.” He is the author of two books about Klingon, “The Klingon Dictionary” and “Klingon for the Galactic Traveler,” and co-authored the libretto for “u,” an opera in the Klingon language that debuted at The Hague in September 2010. Okrand is director for live captioning at the National Captioning Institute and formerly taught undergraduate linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“Both speakers have Ph.D.s in linguistics, and we’re hoping to raise awareness about it as a potential field of study for students here on campus,” said Michal Temkin Martínez, an assistant professor and director of the Boise State Linguistics Lab. “We also welcome the community to campus to meet these individuals and hear their viewpoints on academics making it big in Hollywood.”
The event is sponsored by the Associated Students of Boise State University. Visit the Boise State Linguistics Association website for more information, or send questions to bsulinguists@gmail.com.
