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Daenerys was meant to be bad at the Game of Thrones language, linguist explains after Emilia Clarke’s complaint

To be clear, HBO-hired linguist David J. Peterson doesn't think Daenerys Targaryen's pronunciation in Game of Thrones was perfect. But it wasn't supposed to be

Personally? I love when fantasy TV makes use of a made-up language. It's a joy picturing some Hollywood A-listers sitting around a table, trying to parse out the same kind of nerd-study that the plebeian fanbase take part in. If you're Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, though, learning a fantastic vernacular can be even more than a chore than you'd expect it to - especially if your character is supposed to be bad at it.

Let me explain. In case you haven't heard, the former (and never again) Daenerys Targaryen recently made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers to say she felt "hurt" after hearing the Game of Thrones' official linguist seemed to critique her pronunciation of Dothraki, one of the George R.R. Martin-created languages used in the series. But according to that linguist himself, that was the point.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, David J. Peterson went on record to make amends between himself and the ex-Mother of Dragons. "I think Emilia may have misunderstood what I said," language-expert Peterson said, "Because I've never criticized her Dothraki. [...] Why would I? Her character was never supposed to speak it like a first language, so she never had to be good at it."

"Criticizing any imperfections in her Dothraki performance," Peterson expanded, "Would be like criticizing Colin Firth for stuttering in The King's Speech. It would be entirely missing the point. [...] In fact, grammatical and punctuation errors were built into many of her Dothraki lines — and these were included in the MP3s I recorded for her — for this very purpose."

Well there you go, folks - Emilia Clarke had nothing to worry after all, and if Peterson still has those audio files, chances are there's proof. Hell, I'd love to get a listen of those MP3s for myself - I know Duolingo is trying, but I'm just not getting that Dothraki accent.

Game of Thrones' latest spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is airing new episodes every Sunday night on HBO Max.


A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has brought Westeros back to HBO Max, and Popverse has got more Game of Thrones articles than could fit on a spiky chair. We've got everything you need to dive into the series, including:

Plus much more coming as it gets announced!

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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