King Ottokar's Sceptre - Syldavian Language

Syldavian Language

Like many of the fictional languages in the Tintin books, the Syldavian language is based on the slang of the Marolliens, the people of the working class quarter of Brussels, with the addition of some s and z sounds to make it sound more Slavic. For example, the Syldavian motto, "Eih bennek, eih blavek", means "If you gather thistles, expect prickles" according to the book, but the 'Syldavian' words in fact resemble Marollien dialect for "Here I am, here I stay."

Read more about this topic:  King Ottokar's Sceptre

Famous quotes containing the word language:

    The necessity of poetry has to be stated over and over, but only to those who have reason to fear its power, or those who still believe that language is “only words” and that an old language is good enough for our descriptions of the world we are trying to transform.
    Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)