Comparative Analysis of Bilingual Dictionaries: Real vs Fictional

Name: Jasmin Noack
Course: Dictionaries of English: Past, Present, and Future
Semester: WiSe 24/25
Matriculation Number: 5188344
E-Mail: [email protected]

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 3
2. Theoretical Background ....................................................................................... 4
2.1 Real versus Fictional Languages ................................................................. 4
2.2 Bilingual Dictionaries: Theory and Function ................................................. 5
3. Case study: Comparison of Two Bilingual Dictionaries ........................................ 6
3.1 German-English Dictionary .......................................................................... 6
3.2 Dothraki-English Dictionary .......................................................................... 8
3.3 Comparative Analysis ................................................................................. 10
4. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 11
Sources .................................................................................................................... 14

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A Comparative Analysis of Bilingual Dictionaries
for Real and Fictional Languages
1. Introduction
Bilingual dictionaries have, for the longest time, been the main source of information
for people learning or studying a new language. They translate words from one
language into another and appear in various forms, covering many existing and spoken
languages. However, there are not only dictionaries for real languages, but also some
that translate fictional languages into real languages, or the other way around.
By real languages, I refer to languages that are or have been actively spoken by a
group of people that exist in the real world. By fictional languages, I refer to languages
that were artificially developed for fictional purposes, for example for fantasy novels or
science-fiction movies.
In my term paper, I want to research the question how bilingual dictionaries bridging
actual and fictional languages navigate the balance between linguistic precision and
creative expression compared to traditional bilingual dictionaries. Linguistic precision
means how accurately and systematically a language’s meanings, structures, and
nuances are conveyed in translation. Creative expression refers to the flexibility,
imagination, and artistic choices involved in constructing, translating, and adapting
language, especially in the case of fictional languages.
I want to research that by comparing a conventional German-to-English dictionary and
a Dothraki-to-English dictionary.
My paper starts by giving theoretical background, covering explanations of real and
fictional languages, as well as explanations for bilingual dictionaries and their theory
and function. That is followed by the case study, meaning the comparison of two
bilingual dictionaries, starting with analyzing the German-English dictionary, then the
Dothraki-English dictionary and then a specific comparison. After that, I will conclude
my paper.
My primary sources will be the mentioned dictionaries, which are available on the
internet. My research is going to be supported by the use of current scientific literature.

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2. Theoretical Background
2.1 Real versus Fictional Languages
Most important is to differentiate between real and fictional languages. Real languages
are naturally evolved over time (Goodall, 2023), whereas fictional languages are
intentionally constructed for artistic, literary, or entertainment purposes and lack natural
speech community (Peterson, 2015).
Characteristics of real languages are that they have native speakers and are passed
down through generations. They are governed by complex grammatical rules that
develop organically, while they also show diachronic change, which means that they
evolve over time due to cultural, social, and political influences (Goodall, 2023). An
example for a diachronic change in both German and English is Grimm’s Law, which
is a consonant shift found in every Proto-Germanic language. Another example that
only applies to English is the Great Vowel Shift, or Tudor Shift, which affected the
pronunciation of vowels. Real languages also often have multiple dialects and regional
variation, in Germany for example is an audible difference between Saxonian and
Bavarian German, however there is even a difference between Upper Lusatian (East
Saxony) and the Vogtland Dialect. Real languages function as a primary tool for
communication, with practical use in daily life.
Characteristics of fictional languages are that they are created deliberately by linguists,
authors, or screenwriters for specific narrative purposes (Peterson, 2015). They often
reflect the culture and identity of fictional peoples, Dothraki in Game of Thrones for
instance represents a nomadic, warlike society. They typically have limited vocabulary
and grammar since they are not fully developed like real languages. They do not
naturally evolve but can expand through fan engagement and linguistic reconstruction.
Some fictional languages even gain a semi-real status if they are adopted by a speech
community, examples for that are Elvish from Lord of the Rings and Klingon from Star
Trek, where parents even raise their children speaking the language (Goodall, 2023).
Linguistic features and systematic differences can be found in phonetics and
phonology. Real languages show natural sound shifts, while fictional languages often
emphasize aesthetic or cultural associations (Peterson, 2015). Another example is
semantics, where in real languages, meaning develops based on historical usage,

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fictional languages are predefined but can shift over time depending on if used by fans
(Goodall, 2023).
Another difference between real and fictional languages are dictionaries and the
representation of that language. Real-language dictionaries are built through historical
linguistic research, corpus analysis, and descriptive principles (Klotz & Herbst, 2016),
while fictional-language dictionaries are often prescriptive, defining the language as it
is intended by the creator, rather than reflecting natural evolution (Peterson, 2015).
2.2 Bilingual Dictionaries: Theory and Function
Bilingual dictionaries could be defined as such: They provide word equivalents
between two languages, aiding in translation and cross-language communication
(Klotz & Herbst, 2016). They serve receptive functions, meaning to understand foreign
texts, and productive functions, meaning to produce language in another tongue (Klotz
& Herbst, 2016). Bilingual dictionaries are essential in language learning, professional
translation, and intercultural communication (Goodall, 2023).
Some lexicographic principles in bilingual dictionaries are equivalence, which means
that words and phrases must have close conceptual and functional equivalents
(Goodall, 2023). Another one is contextualization, meaning effective dictionaries
provide usage examples to clarify meaning (Peterson, 2015). Structural differences
between languages require explanations of word order, case, and idiomatic expression
(Klotz & Herbst, 2016). Phonetic representation is also a common aspect since some
bilingual dictionaries include IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions to
guide pronunciation (Klotz & Herbst, 2016).
However, there are some challenges in bilingual lexicography. There are, for example,
untranslatable concepts, like words that have no direct counterpart in another
language, for instance the German word “Schadenfreude” (Goodall, 2023). Then there
is polysemy and homonymy, which means that a single word can have multiple
meanings, requiring careful disambiguation (Klotz & Herbst, 2016). Cultural nuances
also pose challenges, since certain terms are deeply tied to specific cultural contexts
(Goodall, 2023).
The source I chose for Dothraki-English is, in fact, more of an encyclopedic word list
rather than a true bilingual dictionary. Unlike real dictionaries, it lacks contextual