According toCBR, a new ruler has taken the Iron Throne - and it isn’t a Targaryen! In honor of HBO’s fast-approachingGame of ThronesprequelHouse of the Dragon, premiering on August 21, Duolingo is offering the realm a newly-updated course on High Valyrian. Duo the Owl, the company’s famed mascot, looks right at home on the throne. Duo is even said to be making an appearance at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con forHouse of the Dragon’simmersive fan experience.
When adapting theA Song of Ice and Firesaga by authorGeorge R.R. Martinto the Emmy Award-winning series, HBO sought the expertise of linguist and conlanger (someone who constructs a language)David Peterson, who went on to create a complete language based on the fragmented words and phrases featured throughout the novels. In 2019, Duolingo teamed up with Peterson to launch the first-ever full course on learning the native tongue of the Valyrian Freehold. Now, with the return to Westeros, Duolingo has updated their course with “…over 150 new words and more than 700 new sentences,” according toAP.
Peterson said:
“I am thrilled for new and old fans of the “Game of Thrones” series to experience the High Valyrian language. It’s been a pleasure to revisit the world of Westeros for “House of the Dragon″ and work with the team at Duolingo to breathe new life into this course."
RELATED:7 Things To Be Excited About For ‘House of the Dragon’
High Valyrian is the language spoken by the Valyrians, an ancient people who ruled a large portion of the known world on Essos in Martin’s ASOIF series. It was the discovery of dragons that ascended shepherds to royalty, as well as their mastery of magic and uniquely crafted Valyrian steel weapons. While the Valyrians were uncontested for thousands of years, roughly three centuries prior to the events of the upcomingHouse of the Dragonseries, a cataclysmic event destroyed the Valyrian civilization. Only a handful of descendants managed to survive the destruction, branching off into multiple houses, including theTargaryens and the Velaryons. As the years wore on the ancient language bore a number of dialects and fell from use.
Though High Valyrian is no longer widely used, it will be necessary for fans to know in order to get the most use out of HBO’s recently-launched augmented reality app,House of the Dragon: DracARys, made available on July 20. Just in time for the prequel’s immersive fan experience at this year’s SDCC, Targaryen stans have the chance to raise their very own dragon hatchling! In order to do so, however, a basic understanding of High Valyrian is needed to properly train your dragon, as they only respond the ancient tongue.
George Audi, Duolingo’s head of business development, said:
“At Duolingo, we know content drives interest in language. Our data shows a direct correlation between user growth and what’s happening in the cultural zeitgeist, from K-Pop to Eurovision, and various international shows and movies. We leaned into this by partnering with HBO Max to build excitement for one of the most anticipated shows of the year. This unique partnership around learning High Valyrian will enable fans across the globe to see how fun learning a new language can be while connecting closer with the world of Westeros.”
HBO’shighly-anticipated prequelwill bring Westeros' rich historical lore to life with the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war within the Targaryen house that sawa family dividedin a battle of succession for the Iron Throne.House of the Dragonwill featureEmma D’Arcyas Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, chosen heir to the throne by her father, King Viserys, played byPaddy Considine. Vying for the throne is King Visery’s brother Daemon Targaryen, played byMatt Smith, as well as Viserys' newborn son and child of Alicent Hightower, portrayed byOlivia Cooke. Other contenders and embittered family members will be portrayed bySteve Toussaint,Eve Best,Rhys Ifans,Sonoya Mizunoand many more.
House of the Dragonpremieres on HBO on August 21. Brush up on your High Valyrian onDuolingo, and check out the trailer for the upcoming series below:
