<p>The short answer: no, the language from <em>Arrival</em> is not a full conlang.</p>
<p>The logographs were designed by artists and designers, and, while some components of the logograms were assigned meaning, they did not define enough of its rules for it to be possible to make new symbols with definite meanings.</p>
<p>They did hire linguist Jessica Coon to consult on the film, and she annotated printouts of the logograms so the set designers would know what to put in the background and on the whiteboards (If I remember correctly, they consulted physicists for similar work as well). They also had Stephen and Christopher Wolfram provide some analysis and design the computer program used to analyze and generate the logograms in the film.</p>
<p>However, in the end, the movie was not for linguists or conlangers, so they did not design it as a fully fledged conlang—given that it's supposed to be a mystery they don't quite solve in the film, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.</p>
<p>These articles might interest you if you want more information.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/11/arrivals-designers-crafted-mesmerizing-alien-alphabet/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How <em>Arrival</em>'s Designers Crafted a Mesmerizing Alien Alphabet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11" rel="nofollow noreferrer">'<em>Arrival</em>' nails how humans might actually talk to aliens, a linguist says</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-02-11T21:18:16.863Z
2021-01-01T19:20:42.020Z
2021-01-01T19:20:42.020Z
Sparksbet
<p>Here are few examples of words written in the alien language from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film)" rel="noreferrer">"Arrival" (film)</a>:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/483785184963936330/" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Wmx8Wm.png" alt="&quot;time&quot; word from Arrival movie"></a>
<a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/483785184963936330/" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MQ90Lm.jpg" alt="&quot;human&quot; word from Arrival movie"></a>
<a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/47780446029793952/" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/CEyVpm.jpg" alt="&quot;death&quot; word from Arrival movie"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4oKltm.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4oKltm.jpg" alt="&quot;man&quot; word from Arrival movie"></a>
<a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/554716879095680958/" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RIYeL.jpg" alt="words from Arrival movie"></a></p>

<p><sup>Image source: <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/explore/arrival-movie/" rel="noreferrer">Pinterest</a>.</sup></p>

<p>Does this alien writing have some logic in order to construct some custom meaningful sentences?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-27T10:49:20.070Z
Related video: [Christopher Wolfram - The Code Behind the Arrival](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N6HT8hzUCA).
kenorb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T01:05:07.987Z
afaik the sentences are not actually nonlinear; the words seem to be put around the circle in an order similar to the English translation
mic
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-10T03:08:35.223Z
The reports from the Wolfram people about how a lot of the graphics were made in Mathematica should be relevant: http://blog.wolfram.com/2017/01/31/analyzing-and-translating-an-alien-language-arrival-logograms-and-the-wolfram-language/
durka42
<classification><writing-systems>
Is the alien writing in "Arrival" really a language? Can we form custom sentences?
# Is the alien writing in "Arrival" really a language? Can we form custom sentences?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-06)

Here are few examples of words written in the alien language from ["Arrival" (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film)):

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/Wmx8Wm.png)](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/483785184963936330/)
[![](https://i.sstatic.net/MQ90Lm.jpg)](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/483785184963936330/)
[![](https://i.sstatic.net/CEyVpm.jpg)](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/47780446029793952/)
[![](https://i.sstatic.net/4oKltm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/4oKltm.jpg)
[![words from Arrival movie](https://i.sstatic.net/RIYeL.jpg)](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/554716879095680958/)

Image source: [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/explore/arrival-movie/).

Does this alien writing have some logic in order to construct some custom meaningful sentences?

**Tags:** classification, writing-systems

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: The reports from the Wolfram people about how a lot of the graphics were made in Mathematica should be relevant: http://blog.wolfram.com/2017/01/31/analyzing-and-translating-an-alien-language-arrival-logograms-and-the-wolfram-language/  
> **username_0**: Related video: [Christopher Wolfram - The Code Behind the Arrival](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N6HT8hzUCA).  
> **username_1**: afaik the sentences are not actually nonlinear; the words seem to be put around the circle in an order similar to the English translation  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-02-11. Score: 18 | Accepted answer

The short answer: no, the language from *Arrival* is not a full conlang.

The logographs were designed by artists and designers, and, while some components of the logograms were assigned meaning, they did not define enough of its rules for it to be possible to make new symbols with definite meanings.

They did hire linguist Jessica Coon to consult on the film, and she annotated printouts of the logograms so the set designers would know what to put in the background and on the whiteboards (If I remember correctly, they consulted physicists for similar work as well). They also had Stephen and Christopher Wolfram provide some analysis and design the computer program used to analyze and generate the logograms in the film.

However, in the end, the movie was not for linguists or conlangers, so they did not design it as a fully fledged conlang—given that it's supposed to be a mystery they don't quite solve in the film, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

These articles might interest you if you want more information.

* [How *Arrival*'s Designers Crafted a Mesmerizing Alien Alphabet](https://www.wired.com/2016/11/arrivals-designers-crafted-mesmerizing-alien-alphabet/)
* ['*Arrival*' nails how humans might actually talk to aliens, a linguist says](http://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11)


---

