The Languages of the Marvel Universe: ‘Avengers: Endgame’

April 26 is the release date for “Avengers: Endgame,” which wraps up a 22-movie story arc in the Marvel cinematic universe. The film that started it all, “Iron Man,” was released in 2008． Since then, Marvel has released 21 separate movies, all with distinct but interconnected storylines.

To say that fans are excited about the coming conclusion is an understatement. 

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen “Avengers: Infinity War,” you might want to skip ahead about 5 minutes. In that film, an alien known as Thanos, the Mad Titan, collects six infinity stones, powerful artifacts that existed before the universe was created. He uses their combined power to destroy half the galaxy in one fell swoop.

When “Endgame” comes out, we’ll find out what happens next. Will some of our favorite superheroes remain piles of dust? Will the remaining ones recover from their grief? Will the entire universe ever go back to normal?

All will be revealed in a few short days. 

To celebrate, we’re going to talk today about some of the languages featured in the Marvel movies. (By the way, if you like hearing about fantastic languages, check out our April 4 episode on the Languages of Game of Thrones.)

Here’s what you might hear in the theatre next week.

Wakandan

First, off, there’s Wakandan. That’s the Earth language spoken by T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia, and everyone else in Wakanda, the technologically supercharged African nation depicted in “Black Panther.” Two other languages are spoken there — Hausa and Yoruba — and most citizens also speak English and several other African and European languages.

Wakandan — unlike other Marvel languages — wasn’t made up by a language creator. It’s a real language, isiXhosa, that’s spoken in South Africa by more than eight million people. The director of the movie, Ryan Coogler, said he wanted to include as much of the language in the movie as possible. He employed native speakers, translators, and dialect coaches to make it happen. (1)

Groot

Next, there’s Groot. Groot is the name of a language, and also the name of the sentient alien tree from the Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s from the planet Flora Colossi, and he’s an adorable grumpy little creature. He says only three words — “I am Groot” — but that doesn’t mean he’s missing a language. Groot can only form those three sounds because his larynx is made of wood, and therefore pretty stiff. But his inflection can give them a host of different meanings, from “I don’t like hats” to “They’re looking at me funny!” 

“Groot” also means “big” in Dutch, Afrikaans, and Flemish. So you can giggle to yourself when watching the movies, thinking of Groot saying “I am big” over and over. (2)

One final fact about Groot. In the final scene of “Infinity War,” Groot reaches out for help to Rocket, his close friend and a human–racoon hybrid. An executive producer of the movie, James Gunn, has said that the words “I am Groot” in this scene mean simply “Dad.” (3)

Asgardian

Asgardian is the language spoken by Odin and Frigga; their children Thor, Loki, and Hela; and the other citizens of Asgard. Asgard is a celestial realm that’s connected to Midgard — our world — by a rainbow bridge called the Bifrost.

Asgard, and the characters who populate it, are based on real-life Norse mythology. The word “Asgard” comes from two Old Icelandic words: “aesir,” meaning “gods,” and “garor,” meaning “enclosure or dwelling.” Asgard is thus the dwelling of the gods. (4)

The name of the hammer wielded by Thor, Mjollnir, may have come from an Indo-European root word meaning “lightning.” It may also be related to the Icelandic words “mjöll,” meaning “new snow,” and “mjalli,” meaning “white.” (5)

Kree, Skrull, and Chitauri

The Kree are blue-skinned humanoids from the planet Hala. The Skrulls, a rival race, are shape-shifters with lizardy skins. Their home planet, Skrullos, was destroyed by the Kree. The Kree speak … the Kree language. The Skrull speak several languages, probably because they’ve been forced to spread out across a number of planets. Their dialects include Frti, Irdu, and Tligi. (6)

The Chitauri are a cybernetic alien species that has also fought the Kree. They attacked Earth in the first Avengers movie, serving as Loki’s air force and army. 

The Chitauri language is noteworthy because it contains 192 ways to say the word “hate.” (7)

Centaurian

Centaurian is the language spoken by Yondu, a Reaper who saved the young Star-Lord from being delivered into the murderous hands of his father, Ego. Yondu’s language, which we don’t hear much in the Marvel movies, consists of grunts, clicks, and whistles. 

I take that back. We do hear his whistle, which controls the movement of the arrows he can send flying after his enemies. The arrows respond because they’re made of yaka, a metal from Centauri that’s highly sensitive to sound. (8)

‘Whisperer’ Language

Finally, it’s worth mentioning Ebony Maw, one of Thanos’s henchmen. He’s an alien with powers of telekinesis, and the creepy habit of flying around completely vertical. Like the assassin Gamora, he was taken from his home world and “adopted” by Thanos. 

Although we only hear Ebony Maw speak English, one of his superpowers is his voice. He’s known as a “whisperer.” His words act like weapons that can break down an opponent’s will so Ebony Maw can take over their mind. (9,10)

In the Marvel comic books (not the movies), his voice was so persuasive that he was able to control the mind of the mental master Dr. Strange.

Embiggening the Dictionary With a Marvel Word

One final note. The Marvel character Kamala Khan, who can stretch her body to superhuman size, isn’t in the Avengers movies. But her signature phrase — “Embiggen!” — was added to the Meriam-Webster Dictionary in 2018． (11)

The word had been in use since the mid-1990s, and is probably more often associated with the TV show “The Simpsons,” where it first appeared, but in an interview, Kamala Kahn’s co-creator, G. Willow Wilson, said she was thrilled that the character’s power word had made it into the dictionary. 

If you plan to go see “Avengers: Endgame,” we hope now you enjoy the languages a little bit more.

Samantha Enslen runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at dragonflyeditorial.com or @DragonflyEdit.

Sources

1. Eligon, John. Wakanda Is a Fake Country, but the African Language in ‘Black Panther’ Is Real. New York Times, Feb. 16, 2018 (accessed April 10, 2019). 
2. Zambrand, Mark. Guardians of the Galaxy: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Groot. ScreenRant.com (accessed April 10, 2019). 
3. Cooper, Gael F. James Gunn reveals what Groot said to Rocket in Infinity War. C|NET.com, May 7, 2018 (accessed April 10, 2019). 
4. Oxford English Dictionary. Asgard. Oxford University Press. (subscription required, accessed April 10, 2019).
5. McCoy, Daniel. Thor’s Hammer. The Creation of Thor’s Hammer. Norse Mythology for Smart People (accessed April 10, 2019). 
6. Comicvine.com. Skrulls (accessed April 10, 2019). 
7. Fandom Marvel Database. Chitauri. Marvel.fandom.com (accessed April 10, 2019). 
8. Marvel.com. Yondu Udonta (accessed April 10, 2019).  
9. Marvel.com. Ebony Maw (accessed April 10, 2019). 
10. Staley, Brandon. Meet Ebony Maw, Thanos’ ‘Hype Man’ in Avengers: Infinity War. CBR.com, April 21, 2018 (accessed April 10, 2019).
11. Markus, Tucker Chet. Merriam-Webster Adds “Embiggen” to Dictionary. Marvel.com (accessed April 10, 2019).

Image by nuwandalice at Flickr. CC BY-NC-NC 2.0