Do ponies have their own language or typography?

[Malinter 3,064]

I've seein some folks use mirriored alphabet letters to depict "Equestrian" with lower letters looking abit russian, certain letters like E or C are easier to see. 

[Omega 0]

Late to the parade. But some observations.

 

The Spikes Dragon code is reversed handwriting. "Spikes Dragon Code". Good job spotting that!

 

The scrip shown on the newspaper from the older show looks like a nod to Galactic Standard and reads JIQUAY or something like that. It is not 100%. That an some other examples in FIM also bear a slight resemblance to the script used in the comics Erma Felna: EDF and Albedo. I worked on one of the RPGs for that way back and was pretty familliar with it after a while and it shares some styles with GS. But GS seems to be the more likely source for the appearancces.

 

So one strong connection to Galactic Standard, and one nebulous connection to Albedo.

 

Personal guess is someone was a fan of Commander Keen, or read Albedo, or both.

 

The legends book font looks like a cross between heirohlyph style and something else. IE: Some letters are whole words or names like in Egyptian and Mayan cultures and others.

 

Hope that helps any future delvers into the mysteries of the series.

[Steve Piranha 29,419]

The first episode had those kind of symbols I think, but the show never went into detail about their written language. Clearly they have a very comprehensive one. Spoken language is unknown.

I just wonder how Twily managed to (badly) write her own name using our symbolism and characters in EG  . And spoken languaje, English, our the humans in EG (presumably in America) wouldn't understand her  :comeatus:

[sweetolebob18 728]

I've read that IRL some of the Oriental languages (like Chinese & Japanese) originally had a written language of 1 "letter" = 1 word.  (This was useful in China because  the various dialects meant this was useful -like the international symbols for restrooms or no smoking, they could be understood whatever language you spoke).  However, the needs of the modern age meant that a 2nd alphabet had to be invented to fit on a keyboard.  It could be the same in EQ, the need for an alphabet that could be used with a printing press might have forced a more compact alphabet on them.

 

Also, IRL all (European) textbooks used to be written in Latin.  It is possible they have some formal tongue that is used for writing textbooks (possibly in an archaic language).  In Pinkie's Pride the cows talk with a Swedish accent & Iron Will sounds like somebody talking a 2nd language (with different grammar rules).  Thus, IMO, EQ has more than 1 language & could have more than 1 alphabet.

 

As to "the ponies speak English", I'll go with "its been dubbed"
 

[Justin_Case001 4,881]

This is pretty neat.  I never really noticed this before.  They often just use squiggles to represent writing in cartoons and comics because it's easier, but it looks like a lot more thought went into this!

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Didn't Apple Bloom speak French ("fancy") in The Cutie Pox? I'm surprised no one brought that up.

[Yufery 205]

To me, it seems like they have the same spoken language to us (Equestria Girls really is my main example for that), but have two different written languages. One, as said by everyone here, is used in more formal occasions, while others are the same as our's. The main evidence I have for this is as I said previously, Equestria Girls. After all, that has been confirmed to be canon, and we did see Twilight using a keyboard, as well as read their books.

 

I can only guess that the 'squigglies' represent the language similar to our own, and they just write it like that to make it easier. Shows often do this, even ones that are very plot heavy like Gravity Falls.

 

Although I could be wrong and Equestria Girls could use the same language as the main show does, I just have doubts that they would.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I recall somepony on the forums making a thread on what they think the pony language is, and it was quite extensive and impressively well done. My personal opinion is that they don't speak English, or any spoken language known to us. Sure, the writing in the show has since transitioned from abstract symbols to English and it didn't even consistently use symbology in the past either, but I attribute that more to the writers not really putting that much thought into such an obscure detail. Perhaps we see what looks like English because we also hear what sounds like English. Everything is filtered for us to understand through something akin to a translator in the Mass Effect series. If you're not familiar with that series, none of the species speak the same language but wear translators that make it sound like they are speaking the same language, which sounds like English to the humans.

 

Anyways, it's highly doubtful the ponies would speak a conventional human language because they have not only had zero contact with humans (in this particular universe at least), but their language also dates back well before the English language does, and also kind of goes against all logic regarding dialects in our world. You know how most people have difficulty with Shakespeare because his work is written in what we consider an "old English" dialect? Well, English is not that old by comparison to other languages, many of which have written works that date back even more centuries, and maybe even millennia. So many dialects have come and gone over a great deal more time than English has been around, and apparently even native speakers of those languages often have difficulty deciphering really old texts, even if they specialize in the field of studying historical documents.

 

That doesn't appear to be the case in Equestria. When Twilight entered the Castle of the Two Sisters and found its library, she should not have been able to read all those books with the ease that she did. I suppose Celestia, who was alive even back then, could have taught Twilight her old dialect in her studies, assuming that Celestia's vernacular has evolved with the times to better communicate with her subjects, which is highly likely. However, the rest of the mane six would not be able to read those texts with the same ease. Anything written a millennium ago or more would not be easily readable by anypony who doesn't specialize in ancient vernacular.

 

In that case, we can either infer that Celestia has helped to keep the language the same over her long reign as Princess, or that language doesn't change in Equestria in the same way that it does on Earth. Also, while we're on the subject, if it did then it should not be easy for various species to communicate with one another since they would undoubtedly have their own unique languages. Sure, various species in Equestria may have been forced to adopt a common language, but places outside of Equestria would not be subject to the same rules. Sure, some foreign delegates could possibly have learned the common Equestrian language to better communicate with the princesses and their subjects, but it's doubtful that a country such as Yakyakistan who has been estranged from Equestria for so long would make any such effort. I've arrived at the conclusion that language in Equestria just doesn't work the same way as any language we would know.

[Prince Firemane 309]

It seems to me that various writings appear to be various "fonts", or maybe a fancier or archaic form of writing, like calligraphy or Gothic styles are here. However, the average writing style really does seem to be squiggles that we see on notes, letters and the like. Just look at Equestria Girls as an example. Twilight signs up to be on the ballot for the Princess of the Fall Formal and signs her name. Pinkie can't read it and when we see it, we can't read it either.

 

 

However, Sunset Shimmer snatches the clipboard from Pinkie, she is able to read it and menacingly asks where Twilight is. This, coupled with the fact that Sunset didn't recognize Twilight until after this moment shows that these squiggles are a legitimate form of the written Equestrian language.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Prince Firemane

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

I remember that one book from the Crystal empire had a bunch of random ass lines on it, so some might have their own language.

[CameoShadowness 251]

Through the entire show, the English Alphabet is mentioned and shown though out... A Youtuber covered it I think I got the link: 

 

[Senko 459]

We need a Rosetta stone equivilent.