Language and Writing System
The Ancients' language appears to be a precursor of Latin, but it is still distinct. There are many similarities between the two languages, and someone with a decent knowledge of Latin may, given time and practice, be able to understand Ancient as well. The Athosians in the Pegasus Galaxy say their prayers in Ancient. The Ancient language and writing system is also used by the Ori and their followers, who share the same ancestry. Since the Wraith were created by the Iratus bug absorbing Ancient DNA, the Wraith language seems to be a derivative of the Ancient language, and the two use the same writing system; the Wraith language is therefore relatively easy to translate by experienced Ancient speakers.
The Ancient language has a unique writing system that has no analogues with any known Earth alphabet. Ancient characters are squarish, blocky, and dominated by right angles. There are 25 distinct letters ('F' and 'U' are the same character) and 10 numerals in the Ancient-English conversion. It has been mentioned though that the Ancients have an Octal counting system, meaning based on 8, not like the decimal system of the Tau'ri, based on 10, although the Stargate Universe symbols include symbols for 8 and 9. Exactly how the characters were used by the Ancients is unknown. It has been mentioned that some Ancient characters have different meanings when read upside down. The Ancient writing system has been shown to be learnable with moderate difficulty by humans. However, the pronunciation of Ancient words has fluctuated during the millennia the language was used.
Passages written in Ancient on the shows can be transliterated into English (there are no characters for spaces and punctuation marks). These transliterations show that the in-show writing system rules do not necessarily apply in reality, but they sometimes reveal in-jokes or offer further (non-canon) information instead. For example, parts of the writings on Atlantis main screens include the beginning of the nursery rhyme Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?, and the text shown on Daniel's laptop in the episode "Affinity" can be transliterated into "Actual words are hard to deciph(er) so this(')ll work". Playback supervisor Krista McLean said that when she originally put the graphics together for the Atlantian holo screens, she carelessly used things that were going through her head. When fans translated the language on the internet, she became more careful and tried to not use direct English translations anymore.
There are also many examples that are in keeping with what the Ancients and associated races intended – the writings on the stairs in the gate-room on Atlantis translate into a sort of greeting for travelers; Puddle Jumper consoles include instructions on how to use the ship; the Ancient wall in "Reckoning" describes the use of the Ancient object hidden behind, and the responsibilities that go with it. The sign in Harrid and Sallis' house in the Ori galaxy in "Avalon" says what Daniel translates it to be ("This is the nuptial home of \\ Harrid and Sallis Cicera"). The engraved Sodan flagstones in "Babylon" give instructions on how to behave in Sodan society.
Read more about this topic: Ancient (Stargate)
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