Tool to translate, decode and write messages in the Hylian language of Ocarina of Time, understand the syllabic alphabet inspired by Japanese kana and decipher the symbols of the Zelda game
Hylian Language (Ocarina of Time) - dCode
Tag(s) : Symbol Substitution
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Hylian Language (Ocarina of Time)
Hylian Translator (Ocarina of Time)
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Answers to Questions (FAQ)
What is the Hylian language? (Definition)
The Hylian language is a fictional writing system created for the world of The Legend of Zelda, notably in Ocarina of Time (1998). It is a syllabic alphabet, used to represent the language of the Hylians, a mythical race in the game.
How do I write a message in Hylian?
Each Hylian symbol represents a syllable corresponding to a Japanese kana. The Hylian syllabary is therefore a graphic substitution of the 46 basic Japanese kana (gojūon).
Example: OCARINA is written .png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
(o-ka-ri-na)
To write a message in Hylian from French, proceed in these steps:
— Transcribe the English text phonetically.
— Convert this transcription into rōmaji, then into Japanese kana.
— Replace each kana with its equivalent Hylian symbol using the correspondence table.
| あ ア (a) | .png) | い イ (i) | .png) | う ウ (u) | .png) | え エ (e) | .png) | お オ (o) | | か カ (ka) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| き キ (ki) | .png) | く ク (ku) | .png) | け ケ (ke) | .png) | こ コ (ko) | .png) | さ サ (sa) | .png) | し シ (shi) | .png) |
| す ス (su) | .png) | せ セ (se) | .png) | そ ソ (so) | .png) | た タ (ta) | .png) | ち チ (chi) | .png) | つ ツ (tsu) | .png) |
| て テ (te) | .png) | と ト (to) | .png) | な ナ (na) | | に ニ (ni) | .png) | ぬ ヌ (nu) | .png) | ね ネ (ne) | .png) |
| の ノ (no) | .png) | は ハ (ha) | .png) | ひ ヒ (hi) | .png) | ふ フ (fu) | .png) | へ ヘ (he) | .png) | ほ ホ (ho) | .png) |
| ま マ (ma) | .png) | み ミ (mi) | .png) | む ム (mu) | .png) | め メ (me) | .png) | も モ (mo) | .png) | や ヤ (ya) | .png) |
| ゆ ユ (yu) | .png) | よ ヨ (yo) | .png) | ら ラ (ra) | .png) | り リ (ri) | | る ル (ru) | .png) | れ レ (re) | .png) |
| ろ ロ (ro) | .png) | わ ワ (wa) | .png) | を ヲ (wo) | .png) | ん ン (n) | .png) | ||||
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The inscriptions visible in the game generally do not contain spaces between the symbols.
How do we translate Hylian symbols?
To translate Hylian symbols, identify each glyph and convert it to Japanese kana using the table. Once the kana are obtained, transliterate them into rōmaji to achieve a phonetic reading.
Example: ZELDA is transcribed ze-ru-da (ゼルダ) and written
The final meaning depends on the target language: in Ocarina of Time, the texts generally correspond to simple Japanese (sometimes transcribed later in Western localizations).
How to recognize a message written in Hylian? (Identification)
A message written in Hylian is recognizable by its use of angular (sometimes pixelated) symbols, generally arranged continuously without spaces.
In Ocarina of Time, the length of the inscriptions and the frequency of repetition of certain symbols correspond to the syllabic structures of Japanese, which serves as an identifying clue.
Do all Zelda games use the same Hylian language?
No, each era of the saga often introduces a distinct variant or writing system.
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