Trigedasleng

Trigedasleng is a language spoken by the group known as Grounders. The Woods Clan and Nomadic Grounders are the most commonly seen using this language. Luna's Clan may also speak this language as Lincoln was teaching Octavia Trigedasleng on their way there. However, the language is a universal language, meaning most if not all Grounders know this language. Trigedasleng is a Creole English that has evolved over three generations. As a result, while the words might not be recognizable at first, on closer examination many of them can be identified as slurred English words which are now pronounced differently and which took on different grammatical meanings, i.e. "kru" apparently stems from "crew", as in "our crew", but which is now broadly used to mean "people" in general.

Grounders often speak Trigedasleng around their own. However, they speak English around their enemies.

The language
Below is some terminology that is either often used, or is part of a plotline.


 * Octavia: "Ai laik Okteivia kom Skaikru en ai gaf gouthru klir."
 * Translation: "I'm Octavia of the Sky People, I seek safe passage".
 * Grounders : "Jus drein jus daun!"
 * Translation: "Blood demands blood!"

Nouns

 * I: "ai"
 * Slurred from English pronounciation
 * You: "yu"
 * Slurred from English pronunciation
 * Healer : fisa
 * Fis from the english "fixer" (the "-er" suffix now tends to be slurred as an "-a" suffix).
 * Murderer : ripa
 * Slurred from English "ripper"/"reaper"
 * Fight : Gonplei
 * Gon from the english "gun"
 * plei from the english "plei", play/fight - "gun play" = "gun fight" = "fight" in general
 * Group: "-kru" suffix
 * Slurred from english "crew", now meaning "group" or "people" in general
 * Sky People: skaikru
 * Slurred from english "sky-crew", "crew" now meaning "people". What the Grounders call the humans who survived the nuclear war in orbital space stations.
 * Warrior : gona
 * Gona from the english "gunner"
 * Warriors/army : Gonakru
 * Gon from the english "gunner"
 * Kru from the english "crew"
 * English (language) : Gonasleng ("the language of warriors"; only warriors learn to speak English)
 * Gona from the english 'gun'
 * Leng from the english "slang"
 * Quiet / Be quiet : Shof op
 * Slurred form of presumably "shut up"
 * Mother : Nomon
 * Father : Nontu
 * Wait : Hod op
 * Slurred from the english "hold up".
 * Grounders : Trigedakru
 * Meaning "Tree People", the Grounders' name for themselves. "-Kru" means "people".  "Tri-" seems to mean "tree"; "-geda" = "getter"?
 * Odon : over/done/finished
 * Perhaps slurred from "over and done"
 * Nowe : never
 * Apparently slurred from "no way"
 * Blood: "Jus"
 * Apparently slurred from "juice"

Adjectives

 * Safe: "klin"
 * Slurred from "clean"; used in "gothru klin" = "safe passage", as in "clean getaway".

Conjunctions

 * And: "an"
 * Slurred from English pronunciation, dropping the "d" at the end.

Prepositions

 * From: "Kom"
 * Shortened from "come from": "Ai laik Okteivia kom Skaikru" = "I like Octavia come Sky Crew" = "I'm (like) Octavia, I come from the Sky People"

Grammar and Verbs
Two of the main changes that drove the grammar of Trigedasleng are:
 * The elimination of articles (i.e. a(n) and the).
 * The ascension of the verb + preposition system.
 * This means that verb forms apparently don't change in different tenses, instead relying on their auxiliary word. This happens in some English tenses already:  "I walk" is present tense, "I will walk" is future tense - the form of "walk" has not changed, but the phrase gains the auxiliary "will".  In English, however, the past tense is "I walked" - changing the form of "walk" by adding the suffix "-ed" instead of using an auxiliary the way future tense does.  Trigedasleng uses "gon" instead of "will" for future tense (apparently derived from "I am going to" to "I'm gonna" to "I gon"); mirroring future tense, the past tense doesn't change the form of the main verb, but uses the auxiliary "don" (from "I done" to "I don").
 * Agreement between subject and verb has also been eliminated: the verb doesn't change form depending on the subject.  In English, the forms are "I walk", "you walk", and "he/she/it walks" - gaining an "s" for third person "he".  Trigedasleng stopped doing this, so the same verb form is used for each without distinction.
 * There are a few irregular verbs that still retain these distinctions: "Ai don breik em au" is "I done broke them out" = "I freed them", and is based on "broke" them out, instead of present tense form "break" them out".

The language has developed in a way that shows some resemblence to the french language. The participle is fixed in all tenses, and the use of an added word indicated the tense. The following example is about the verb 'fis' which means 'cure' or 'heal' derived from the verb 'to fix'.
 * Ai fis em op. “I cure him.”
 * Ai don fis em op. “I cured him.” - apparently slurred from "I done fix him up"
 * Ai na fis em op. “I’m going to cure him.” - apparently slurred from "I'm gonna fix him up" - "I'm going to heal him"
 * Ai ste fis em op. “I’m curing him.” - apparently slurred from "I'm still fixing him up." The English Present Participle is formed by adding the suffix "-ing" - "I am walking".  Trigedasleng simply dropped this, and as with normal tenses, it is now simply signaled with the auxiliary word "ste" = "still".  It also doesn't use "is, am" with the participle the way English does.  Instead of "I am still fix-ing him up", it is now simply "I still fix him up", because "still" on its own indicates ongoing action the way "-ing" does.

Examples:


 * Is, Am = "laik"
 * Slurred from english "like"; apparently mutated from the phrase, "I am, like, Octavia", (like in stereotypical Valley Girl usage), until "like" absorbed "am" entirely.
 * Have (past tense particle): "don"
 * "Ai don fis em op" = "I done fix him up" = "I have healed him"

Throughout the Series

 * -|Season Two =

In The 48, Octavia Blake practices the phrase Lincoln told her in Trigedasleng. Octavia expresses that she doesn't understand why she needs to learn it. Lincoln explains that only the warriors, in his clan, speak English and in order to blend in she needs to speak his native language.

In Inclement Weather, Octavia uses Trigedasleng to negotiate for Lincoln's life. Indra also uses this language to speak with Octavia.

In Reapercussions, Indra and her people use Trigedasleng to discuss strategy for the assault on some Reapers to get Nyko and their people back.
 * 'Taim yu drag raun, taim yu ge ban au. Oso souda lok em veida tro op fou bilaik emo hon emo sobwe op. Pas daun, em bilaik—'
 * Translation : “If you fall behind, you get left behind. We must find the raiding party before they reach the tunnels. After that, it is—”.

Notes and Trivia

 * This language was made by David J. Peterson, whom also made the Game of Thrones Dothraki language.
 * Show creator Jason Rothenberg stated that the official name of the language is Trigedasleng.
 * The official spelling in the script is phonetic, meant to reflect the pronunciation shifts which occurred in the Grounder language. However, Marie Avgeropoulos had 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."
 * Due to speaking Trigedasleng and English many Grounders are bilingual.