Creating the Language within Jade Empire

As you travel through the world of Jade Empire, you'll often encounter characters that speak in the Old Tongue, which is a language called Tho Fan. It sounds similar to other Asian languages but it is completely unique. So unique that it is an actual language and not just random gibberish. BioWare sought out a linguist and found one at the University of Alberta. For just over $2,000, Wolf Wikeley, 32 and a Ph.D. candidate, spent four months crafting the language found throughout Jade Empire.

He invented an alphabet and began making words, 50 a day and then 200. "Person" would be "uyu" (pronounced OO-yoo). Blood was "kawisrihr" (caw-wee-SHEER). Some words were inside jokes: Rabbit was "punihrapith" (POO-knee-raw-peeth). Similarly, the word for "director" was "wankaawayi," sounding somewhat like Wong Kar-wai, the Hong Kong film director.