Valyrian vs. Valerian

Maybe it was a mistake to name myself Valerian while being interested in conlangs, because every so often, someone will mistakenly refer to that one Game of Thrones conlang with my name. To rectify this misunderstanding, I'm putting together a list of similarities and differences between Valyrian (the conlang) and Valerian (me). (Also, I'll be mainly using "Valyrian" to mean "High Valyrian", for stylistic consistency. There are more Valyrians that people who actually watch the show probably know more about than I do.)

Every item on this list will end with a "Similarity" rating with three possible values: True, False, and Partial.

Pronunciation

The y in "Valyrian" is natively pronounced as a close front rounded vowel. I'm not sure how it's usually pronounced in English, but I think of it as being the vowel in "near". The e in "Valerian" is pronounced like the vowel of "square", or "dress" if your accent makes that distinction.

Similarity: False.

Gender

Valyrian has four genders. No one is sure how many Valerian has, but it's probably not four.

Similarity: False.

Writing system

Valyrian, according to the wiki, is written with "a mixed script that is composed of a logographic (“iconic”) component, an abjadic (“alphabetic”) component, and a grammatical (“paradigmatic”) component". Valerian is not a conlang, but if I were, I would certainly be written with an at least partially logographic orthography.

Similarity: Partial.

Being "high"

High Valyrian is so called because it's the fancy language variety. High Valerian should not exist, because I don't smoke weed.

Similarity: False.

Setting

Valyrian is spoken in some kind of dark fantasy setting with dragons, and in the real world by nerds. Valerian has original characters who technically live in a fantasy setting, has been interested in Dungeons and Dragons, and is a nerd.

Similarity: Partial.

Relationship to Latin

I've heard that Valyrian is supposed to be a fantasy analogue of Latin (fancy prestige language falling into disuse with lots of daughter languages). Valerian, the name, comes from Latin, so I guess that counts for something.

Similarity: Partial.

Relationship to George R. R. Martin

Some words of Valyrian are in George R. R. Martin's books; these were later used as a baseline to create the full conlang for the show. Valerian has never read those books and has no opinion on them or their author.

Similarity: False.

Relationship to David J. Peterson

Valyrian was developed into a full, speakable, writable conlang by David J. Peterson. Valerian is inspired by DJP, both in the "his creativity stimulates my own" sense and in the "I want to be like him" sense, but he did not literally create me.

Similarity: Partial.


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