Dothraki & the Nostratic Superfamily
Author: McLean R. Ketchum
MS Date: 08-27-2023
FL Date: 02-01-2015
FL Number: FL-000029-00
Citation: Ketchum, McLean R. 2023. “Dothraki & the
Nostratic Superfamily.” FL-000029-00, Fiat
Lingua,
2023.
Copyright: © 2023 McLean R. Ketchum. This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Fiat Lingua is produced and maintained by the Language Creation Society (LCS). For more information
about the LCS, visit https://www.conlang.org/
Dothraki)&)The)Nostratic)Superfamily)
#
Background:#This#piece#was#originally#written#by#an#MA#student#in#linguistics#as#a#
response#to#an#exam#question.#The#original#assignment#was#to#prove,#in#2000F2500#
words,#that#Dothraki#is#a#part#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#of#languages.#Assuming,#
of#course,#that#one#believes#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#hypothesis.#
)
#
Whether#or#not#a#given#language#belongs#to#a#given#language#family#can#be#
hotly#contested.#When#speaking#of#an#invented#language,#or#conlang#(constructed#
language),#it#can#be#even#more#of#a#challenge#to#determine#where#in#the#‘real’#world#
that#language#might#fit.#Dothraki#is#a#conlang#that#was#created#beginning#in#2009#by#
the#linguist#David#J.#Peterson#for#the#HBO#television#series#Game%of%Thrones.#The#
Dothraki#people,#per#the#Living#Language#course#book#written#on#the#language#itself,#
are#“a#population#of#loosely#confederated#bands#of#horseFriding#warriors#who#make#
their#home#on#the#steppes#of#Essos,”#while#“Dothraki#[the#language]#is#a#lightly#
inflectional#language#related#to#the#Lhazareen#language…The#Dothraki#have#no#
writing#system#and#no#use#for#books.#To#be#appreciated#properly#it#needs#to#be#
spoken#aloud.#Forcefully”#(Peterson,#pp.#6F7).#Because#the#Dothraki#have#no#writing#
system#and#no#books#(their#word#for#book,#timvir,#is#borrowed#from#High#Valyrian,#
another#of#Peterson’s#Game%of%Thrones%conlangs),#Dothraki#is#represented#using#a#
Romanization#system.#The#fanFmaintained#English#to#Dothraki#and#Dothraki#to#
English#dictionaries,#in#addition#to#the#official#Living#Language#Dothraki#book,#CD,#
and#companion#app,#represent#the#primary#tools#for#learning#the#language.#Before#
those#resources#existed,#some#dedicated#fans#learned#as#much#as#they#could#of#
Dothraki#by#watching#the#TV#show#–#while#there#are#some#words#in#Dothraki#in#the#
A%Song%of%Ice%and%Fire#book#series#by#George#R.#R.#Martin#that#inspired#the#show,#they#
are#few#and#far#between.#Those#few#words#are#what#Peterson#used#to#begin#building#
the#language#as#it#exists#currently.#Trying#to#discern#where#in#the#real#world#
Dothraki#might#fit#is#an#interesting#challenge;#I#shall#argue#here#in#favor#of#it#being#
part#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#The#Nostratic#Superfamily,#per#the#definition#in#
Lyle#Campbell’s#Historical%Linguistics:%An%Introduction#is#a#group#of#languages#that#
are#not#yet#known#to#be#related,#but#that#have#been#hypothesized#to#be#so#
(Campbell,#pg.#345).#The#Nostratic#Superfamily#has#various#slightly#different#
versions,#but#the#bestFknown#version#groups#together#IndoFEuropean,#Uralic,#Altaic,#
Kartvelian,#Dravidian,#and#AfroFAsiatic.#Some#also#include#ChuckchiFKamchatkan,#
EskimoFAleut,#Sumerian,#and#Gilyak#(Nivkh)#(Campbell,#pg.#346).#The#Nostratic#
Superfamily#hypothesis#is#controversial,#and#how#accepted#it#is#depends#on#which#
community#of#linguists#one#asks.#Lyle#Campbell,#the#author#of#the#historical#
linguistics#textbook#on#which#I#have#based#some#of#my#background#knowledge,#has#
himself#argued#against#it.#Regardless,#by#examining#the#phonology,#lexicon,#
geography,#and#culture#of#the#Dothraki#people#and#their#language,#I#intend#to#prove#
that#Dothraki#is#indeed#a#branch#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily,#and#is#at#least#
tangentially#related#to#the#languages#listed#above.#
#
To#begin#with,#there#is#the#phonology#of#Dothraki#as#compared#to#the#
phonology#of#other#languages#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#Most#letters#in#Dothraki#
are#pronounced#as#they#are#in#English;#Dothraki#is#a#conlang#that#was#invented#by#a#
native#English#speaker,#spoken#on#the#television#show#by#actors#who#–#for#the#most#
part#–#are#also#native#English#speakers.#As#with#many#words#in#English,#there#are#
sometimes#multiple#acceptable#pronunciations#for#one#word#in#Dothraki,#depending#
upon#whether#the#speaker#is#native#or#nonFnative.#There#are#several#key#
phonological#differences#between#Dothraki#and#English.#Three#of#the#most#notable#
perhaps#are#the#Dothraki#‘q,’#which#is#like#the#‘k’#in#sky,#“but#pronounced#deep#in#the#
back#of#the#throat”#(Peterson,#pg.#14);#the#Dothraki#‘kh,’#which#is#compared#to#the#
‘ch’#at#the#end#of#‘Bach,’#and#is#represented#in#the#International#Phonetic#Alphabet#as#
[x];#and#the#Dothraki#‘r,’#which#is#described#as#“rolled,#as#in#Spanish,#when#at#the#
beginning#of#the#word#and#followed#by#a#vowel,#at#the#end#of#the#word,#or#when#
doubled;#everywhere#else,#tapped”#(Peterson,#pg.#15).#Peterson#himself#has#
expressed#that#he#sourced#the#phonology#of#the#Dothraki#‘q’#from#the#voiceless#
uvular#stop#‘q’#in#Standard#Arabic#(D.#Peterson,#personal#communication,#October#
17,#2014).#Arabic#in#turn#belongs#to#the#AfroFAsiatic#family#of#languages,#a#family#
that#is#also#included#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#This#same#voiceless#uvular#stop#
occurs#also#in#Aleut#(Ladefoged,#2005),#another#language#that#is#part#of#the#Nostratic#
Superfamily#hypothesis.#Moving#on#to#the#second#pertinent#example,#the#Dothraki#
‘kh’#occurs#quite#frequently#in#the#dialogue#of#the#HBO#television#series.#
Interestingly,#most#of#the#actors#who#are#tasked#with#pronouncing#it#end#up#saying#it#
the#way#a#nonFnative#Dothraki#speaker#would#–#as#a#plain#‘k,’#rather#than#the#[x]#it#
should#be.#The#title#khaleesi,#for#example,#is#basically#the#Dothraki#equivalent#of#
‘queen’;#it#refers#to#the#wife#of#a#khal,#who#is#the#leader#of#a#horde#or#tribe#known#as#
a#khalasar.#Khaleesi#should#be#pronounced#[xaleesi]#but#is#often#pronounced#
[kaleesi]#or#even#[kalisi]#instead.#The#other#previously#mentioned#words#that#start#
with#‘kh,’#khal#and#khalasar,#should#also#rightly#be#pronounced#with#the#[x]#sound#at#
the#beginning.#The#voiceless#velar#fricative#[x]#occurs#across#multiple#languages,#
including#many#members#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#–#Aleut,#Arabic,#Somali,#West#
Frisian,#and#Yiddish,#just#to#name#a#few.#It#even#existed#in#Old#English#in#the#word#
wealh,#pronounced#[wæalx],#meaning#‘foreigner’#or#‘slave.’#The#third#example,#the#
Dothraki#‘r’,’#is#described#specifically#as#rolled#‘as#in#Spanish,’#and#Spanish#is#of#
course#a#member#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#itself.#In#addition,#the#rolled#‘r’#
appears#in#Finnish,#which#is#a#member#of#the#Uralic#family#of#languages#–#the#Uralic#
family#too#being#a#member#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#The#other#‘r’#that#occurs#in#
Dothraki,#described#as#‘tapped,’#is#an#alveolar#flap#that#also#occurs#in#quite#a#few#
languages#that#are#included#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily:#Dutch,#Hebrew,#Punjabi,#
and#Galician,#just#to#name#a#handful.#These#three#examples#of#Dothraki#phonology#
demonstrate#clearly#that#Dothraki#is#a#branch#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily,#since#its#
phonology#so#closely#resembles#that#of#many#members#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#
#
together#–#essentially,#the#lexicon#itself#reflects#both#the#Dothraki#culture#and#the#
geography#of#where#they#live,#based#on#what#words#it#does#and#does#not#contain.#To#
begin#with,#the#specific#words#included#in#the#lexicon#of#Dothraki#provide#quite#a#
few#clues#as#to#where#Dothraki#would#fit#into#the#world’s#‘real’#languages.#The#
Dothraki#culture#is#intensely#horseFfocused;#they#travel#everywhere#on#horseback#
and#are#wary#of#crossing#water#that#their#horses#cannot#drink#(meaning,#they#are#
The#lexicon,#geography,#and#culture#of#the#Dothraki#are#all#closely#bound#
not#big#fans#of#oceanic#travel).#In#their#lexicon,#they#have#a#specific#word#that#means#
‘poison#water,’#because#of#this#belief#–#any#water#that#their#horses#cannot#drink#may#
as#well#be#poison.#The#word,#evethiz,#is#a#simple#compound#of#their#word#for#water,#
eveth,#and#their#word#for#poison,#iz.#Perhaps#the#most#similar#‘real#world’#culture#to#
the#Dothraki,#at#least#in#terms#of#their#focus#and#dependence#on#horses,#would#be#
the#Mongol#Empire.#The#languages#spoken#among#the#Mongol#hordes#at#that#time#
would#have#been#Turkic#and#Mongolian,#both#of#which#have#been#hypothesized#to#be#
members#of#the#Altaic#family#of#languages,#which#is#itself#a#family#belonging#to#the#
Nostratic#Superfamily.#Interestingly,#the#Mongol#hordes#drank#fermented#mare’s#
milk#that#they#called#airag,#and#the#Dothraki#lexicon#coincidentally#contains#a#phrase#
for#this#drink#as#well#–#lamekh%ohazho,#lamekh#meaning#‘mare’s#milk’#and#ohazho#
meaning#‘fermented.’#As#well,#the#Mongol#Empire#is#said#to#have#originated#in#the#
steppes#of#Asia,#and#the#Dothraki#have#been#described#as#living#on#the#steppes#of#
Essos,#so#it#is#clear#that#in#at#least#a#very#basic#way,#the#geography#of#the#two#
cultures#would#likely#be#fairly#similar,#as#both#live#or#lived#on#the#steppes.#Another#
clue#in#favor#of#Dothraki#being#a#member#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#has#to#do#with#
what#core#vocabulary#is#proposed#for#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#itself.#One#of#the#
words#in#this#core#vocabulary#means#‘boar,’#as#in#a#wild#or#feral#pig,#and#as#it#turns#
out,#Dothraki#has#a#word#for#‘boar,’#too#–#qifo.#Furthermore,#while#the#Nostratic#
Superfamily#core#vocabulary#does#not#include#words#for#‘white#lion’#and#‘black#
stork,’#Dothraki#does,#and#the#presence#of#these#words#in#Dothraki#turns#out#to#be#
vitally#important#to#its#potential#inclusion#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#The#fact#that#
Dothraki#has#both#of#those#words#provides#an#intriguing#clue#towards#the#geography#
of#the#Dothraki#people.#The#black#stork,#or#qana%in#Dothraki,#avoids#large#bodies#of#
water,#like#the#Dothraki,#and#the#range#of#the#black#stork#includes#the#Palaearctic#–#a#
range#that#would#cover#most#if#not#all#of#the#languages#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#
White#lions#are#found#mostly#in#captivity#now,#but#based#on#oral#records#(and#the#
earliest#recorded#sighting#of#them#in#1938),#they#likely#originated#in#a#specific#part#
of#Africa.#They#are#very#rare#in#the#wild,#so#for#Dothraki#to#have#a#word#in#the#
lexicon#that#means#‘white#lion’#–#the#word#hrakkar#–#means#that#the#Dothraki#
probably#would,#in#the#‘real’#world,#live#somewhere#similar#to#this#part#of#Africa,#and#
so#their#language#would#then#fit#into#the#Nostratic#Superfamily,#like#some#of#the#
other#‘real’#languages#spoken#in#that#region.#
#
the#religion#they#follow.#The#Dothraki#believe#in#a#central#god,#the#Great#Stallion,#
known#in#Dothraki#as#Vezhof#(Peterson,#4/16/2012).#The#Dothraki#believe#that#
when#a#person#dies,#he#or#she#must#be#cremated#so#as#to#be#spiritually#set#free#from#
this#world#and#move#on#to#a#realm#called#the#Night#Lands,#or#Rhaeshi%Ajjalani%
(Peterson,#4/9/2012).#Not#burning#someone’s#corpse#is#not#only#a#cultural#faux#pas,#
but#a#terribly#nasty#insult#as#well;#in#fact,#in#one#scene#of#the#television#series#the#
Dothraki#leader#Khal#Drogo#threatens#an#enemy#by#saying#that#he#will#not#burn#his#
body,#that#he#will#leave#him#out#to#rot,#to#be#consumed#by#animals,#etc.#This#is#about#
the#worst#death#threat#one#can#utter#in#Dothraki#–#it#implies#that#not#only#are#you#
going#to#kill#the#person,#you#are#going#to#bar#him#from#joining#his#ancestors#and#the#
Great#Stallion#in#the#Night#Lands#by#not#burning#his#corpse.#One#‘real#world’#religion#
that#also#requires#cremation#is#the#Hindu#religion.#Hinduism#is#the#majority#religion#
A#particularly#important#cultural#aspect#of#the#Dothraki#and#their#language#is#
Dothraki#is#a#fascinating#and#extensive#conlang#that,#according#to#its#creator,#
for#the#people#in#India#and#Nepal,#and#coincidentally,#the#official#languages#of#India#
and#Nepal#–#Nepali,#Hindi,#and#English#–#fall#under#the#umbrella#of#the#Nostratic#
Superfamily.#Cremation#is#considered#an#option#for#many#cultures,#but#it#is#
specifically#a#requirement#in#Hinduism,#just#as#it#is#a#requirement#in#Dothraki#
culture.#Additionally,#the#Dothraki#believe#specifically#in#their#one#god,#the#Great#
Stallion,#but#they#do#not#actively#deny#the#existence#of#other#gods#–#they#just#believe#
their#god#is#the#most#powerful,#and#the#most#likely#to#help#them.#This#type#of#belief#is#
known#as#henotheism,#and#as#a#word,#henotheism#was#originally#coined#to#describe#
a#theology#particular#to#the#Rigvedic#religion.#The#Rigvedic#religion,#in#turn,#is#
thought#of#as#the#predecessor#of#Hinduism,#so#that#one#might#think#of#the#Dothraki#
religion#as#a#predecessor#to#a#HinduFesque#religion#that#might#later#develop#as#the#
people#and#their#culture#change#and#evolve.#This,#when#combined#with#the#
importance#of#cremation#in#both#Hinduism#and#the#Dothraki#Great#StallionFbased#
henotheistic#religion,#points#at#the#Dothraki#culture#as#being#at#least#partially#based#
on#IndoFAryan#culture.#IndoFAryan#as#a#language#family#is#a#branch#of#the#IndoF
Iranian#language#family,#which#is#of#course#then#a#member#of#the#IndoFEuropean#
language#family,#and#IndoFEuropean#itself#is#included#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#
The#religion#of#the#Dothraki,#based#on#its#tenets#and#requirements,#seems#to#be#
loosely#based#on#an#early#form#of#Hinduism,#and#as#Hinduism#is#the#majority#religion#
for#people#who#speak#languages#that#are#included#in#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#
hypothesis,#it#stands#to#reason#that#the#Dothraki#language,#too,#would#be#included#in#
the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#
#
is#still#under#construction.#While#he#has#created#upwards#of#3,000#words#at#this#
point,#David#J.#Peterson#has#expressed#the#desire#to#someday#expand#the#Dothraki#
language#to#at#least#10,000#words.#Naturally,#conlangs#are#based#on#real#languages#–#
no#matter#how#inventive#a#language#creator#is,#he#or#she#must#draw#upon#his#or#her#
own#realFworld#knowledge#and#what#resources#are#available#to#create#a#language#
from#thin#air#(or,#as#the#case#is#here,#create#a#language#from#a#short#list#of#words#that#
George#R.#R.#Martin#created#from#thin#air).#It#is#my#belief#that#if#Dothraki#were#
included#in#the#world’s#real#languages,#if#it#had#to#branch#off#of#any#particular#
superfamily,#it#would#be#the#Nostratic#Superfamily.#The#evidence#is#all#there:#
Dothraki#sounds#like#a#Nostratic#language,#it#has#the#lexicon#of#one,#its#people#live#in#
a#geography#not#unlike#that#of#a#Nostratic#language#region,#and#the#Dothraki#culture#
seems#to#align#with#several#Nostratic#language#cultures,#among#them#IndoFAryan#
and#early#Mongolian.#I#feel#that#the#data#that#thus#far#exists#on#Dothraki#–#the#
language#and#the#people#–#points#directly#toward#the#Dothraki#language#being#a#
branch#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#because#no#other#hypothesis#seems#nearly#as#
sound.#As#a#researcher,#I#found#that#the#most#striking#evidence#for#Dothraki#being#a#
branch#of#the#Nostratic#Superfamily#came#not#from#the#lexicon#or#the#phonology,#as#I#
might#have#expected,#but#from#a#specific#aspect#of#the#culture#–#in#terms#of#major#
world#religions,#the#Dothraki#religion#resembles#early#Rigvedic#much#more#than#I#
ever#would#have#realized,#if#not#for#the#intense#research#I#did#on#the#subject.#While#
this#striking#similarity#alone#is#not#enough#to#make#the#case#for#Dothraki#being#a#
branch#of#the#Nostratic#superfamily,#I#believe#that#when#combined#with#the#other#
extensive#evidence#I#have#presented,#it#paints#a#very#clear#picture#of#the#Dothraki#
language#–#or,#as#they#would#call#it,#lekh%dothraki#–#and#its#place#in#both#the#fantasy#
world,#and#our#own.#
#
#
#
#
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