Inventor of the Na’vi Language of “Avatar” to Speak at Wellesley College Oct. 21: Event Highlights New Class Offering, "Invented Languages"

In 2009's blockbuster hit "Avatar," the Na'vi, an indigenous species of the planet Pandora, speak in a tongue incomparable to any spoken by humans— a language that had to be built from the ground up for the film.

Director James Cameron tapped Paul Frommer, professor emeritus of clinical management communication at the University of Southern California, for the job, who then spent years creating and later teaching the language to seven of the film's actors.

"This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors," said Frommer, in an interview with BBC News. ""It has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing."

Frommer will talk about his involvement in the project during "The Native Voice of 'Avatar': Creating and Navigating the Na'vi Language" Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 pm in Tishman Commons, Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center, on the Wellesley College campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Frommer will discuss how he got the job, developed the language and worked with Cameron and the actors. He will also talk about the interplay of language and culture in the creation of Na'vi and Na'vi post-"Avatar," including the astonishing development of a Na'vi community, where passionate enthusiasts are using the language to communicate and helping with its further growth.

The lecture is a highlight of a new course this fall at Wellesley. Angela Carpenter, assistant professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences at Wellesley, created the class, "Invented Languages: From Wilkins' Real Character to Avatar's Na'vi." She hopes the lecture will ignite discussion on the topics of language learning and invention.

"Over the centuries, invented, or artificial, languages have been devised for many reasons, including a desire to improve existing languages, an effort to unite the world, or a need to explore how languages are learned," she said.

"Invented Languages" explores 400 years of historical, philosophical and sociological background and requires each students to invent a language.

"It was then a natural addition to invite Paul Frommer, as he had invented a language that has become well-known around the world because of the success of the film 'Avatar,'" Carpenter said.