Trigedasleng

Executive producer Jason Rothenberg stated that the Grounders have their own language which is a Creole English that has evolved over three generations.

The Grounders often speak their language around their own. When they are around enemies they speak English.

This makes many Grounders bilingual.

This language has yet to be featured on The 100. In Season Two, Lincoln will teach Octavia some of this language to help her blend in as a Grounder. With Lincoln from The Woods Clan going to Luna's Clan, It can be assumed that all Grounder Clans speak this language.

The 48
"Ai laik Okteivia kom Skaikru en ai gaf gouthru klir."

English translation stated on-screen to be, "I'm Octavia of the sky people, I seek safe passage".

The official spelling in the script is phonetic, meant to reflect the pronunciation shifts which occurred in the Grounder language. However, the actress was having difficulty at first, so language creator David J. Peterson made a more explicit transcription, without as much slurred pronunciation:

"'''I like Octavia come sky crew, an' I gaff go-through klin."

Conjectural analysis:


 * "I (am) like, Octavia" - like "Valley-girl speak", and ultimately "like" absorbed "am", with "is, am" just implied. So "like" is the new verb for "to be".
 * "Come" - clipped form of the phrase "come from (the)", now functioning like "de" (of) in Spanish and French.
 * "crew" = people, group.
 * "en" = "an" = clipped form of "and"
 * "gouthru"="go-through"= passage
 * "klin" = clean? As in, "a clean getaway", "clear passage"?  (Octavia first says "klir" before being corrected that it's "klin").
 * "gaff" = "seek". Possibly "go-for"-->"go-fer"-->"ga'fer"-->"gaff".