The Grammar of Trigedasleng
About Trigedasleng
Trigedasleng is a constructed language (conlang) developed by David J. Peterson for use on the CW show The 100. The Woods Clan (Trigedakru/Trikru) and Sand Nomads (Sanskavakru) have been heard using this language, but other groups of grounders (that is, earth-born people not born inside Mt. Weather) may also speak the language. Some of the Sky People (Skaikru; those from the Ark) began to learn Trigedasleng after repeated contact with the Trigedakru.
Trigedasleng is descended from a heavily-accented dialect of American English. It has evolved rapidly over three generations. Its development was also influenced by an early code-system that was developed shortly after the Cataclysm, but this only affected the lexicon in any substantial way. At the time of the Ark's descent, it is believed that most grounders speak only Trigedasleng; warriors (and certain others, like Nyko the healer) speak both Trigedasleng and American English, a fact which they are careful to hide from their enemies.
Trigedasleng is not a creole, but a descendant of American English alone, and while it may share similarities with AAVE (African American Vernacular English, which is also derived from American English), those similarities are not intentional, and Trigedasleng does not derive from AAVE.
Pronunciation & Writing
Trigedasleng doesn't have its own writing system. The bits of writing that have survived the last 97 years are incomplete and have probably been passed down from warrior to warrior along with English. The writers of The 100 asked Peterson to use a simplified spelling system for the scripts, instead of using more English-like spelling rules. The table below illustrates this simplified system.
| Vowel | Sounds Like | English Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, a* | apple | short A | |
| Ai, ai | ice | long I | |
| E, e | get | short E | |
| Ei, ei | face | long A | |
| I, i | meet OR kid | long E / short I | |
| O, o | law OR son | short O / short U | |
| Ou, ou | wrote | long O | |
| U, u | rude | long U | |
| * A, a (end of word) | sofa | schwa | |
| Au, au (diphthongized) | loud | "ow" | |
| Consonant | Sounds Like | Consonant | Sounds Like |
|---|---|---|---|
| B, b | ball | P, p | pull |
| Ch, ch | chair | R, r | radio |
| D, d | daft | S, s | seven |
| F, f | fire | Sh, sh | shine |
| G, g | good (not giraffe) | T, t | talk |
| H, h | hello | Th, th | think (not these) |
| J, j | juice | V, v | viking |
| K, k | kick | W, w | water |
| L, l | lime | Y, y | yellow |
| M, m | made | Z, z | zipper |
| N, n | need |
Trigedasleng does not use the letters C, Q, or X.
Names
Names in Trigedasleng are rendered phonetically, or 'sounded out', based on the system above. Here are a few examples from the show:
| Bellamy | Octavia | Clarke | Lincoln | Lexa | Gustus | Nyko |
| Belomi | Okteivia | Klark* | Linkon | Leksa | Gostos | Naikou |
| * Peterson originally transcribed Clarke's name as Klok, but later corrected the spelling to Klark. | ||||||